Coaching Skills
What Does A Tale of Two Cities Have to Do with Us?
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it…
Read MoreDecember Wish #3 – Presume Positive Intent
One of the best gifts I ever received was learning from neuroscience about the brain. It just amazes me that if I don’t know or understand something about a situation or a person, my brain just naturally will default to negative thinking. It’s so crazy. Well, guess what? Our year has been packed with uncertainty…
Read MoreThe Learning Question – Finish Strong!
“Focus on the real problem, not the first problem. If you are not trying to fix things, you don’t need the backstory.” Michael Bungay Stanier This is the last question Stanier writes about in his book, The Coaching Habit. He states that the best way to finish strong is to ask the question, “What was…
Read MoreThe Kickstart Question: Using the 3P Model
“Answers are closed rooms; and questions are open doors that invite us in.”Nancy Willard Continuing our study of Michael Bungay Stanier’s book, The Coaching Habit, this article will take a deeper look at his Kickstart Question by focusing on the 3P Model. The 3P Model is a framework for choosing what to focus on in…
Read MoreThe Coaching Habit: 7 Great Questions
“To be on a quest is nothing more or less than to become an asker of questions.” Sam Keen Michael Bungay Stanier’s book, The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever, offers seven questions that he proposes will increase our impact as Coach Leaders. Question 1: The Kickstart Question…
Read MoreCourageous Conversations
The things I have loved about Coaching are the powerful, never perfect, progressive communication skills. How to be a better listener. How to respond in a way so that the other person feels heard. How to be self-aware of my own feelings and emotions and manage them in conversations. One thing I know for sure,…
Read MoreWhat Can I Do? Courage and Confidence to Move from Discouragement and Helplessness to Hope and Unity in Our Uncertain World Today
Every time I have the privilege to write for our ezine, I’m always happy to reconnect to the many skills and tools that we teach, share and practice as coaches. As Coach Leaders I have always been proud of the role model I have tried to be, albeit, with some good days and lesser days.…
Read MoreSurvival Skill #2: Resilience
“A person who falls and gets back upis much stronger than a person who never falls.” The 2nd Survival Skill for pushing through the COVID-19 experience is Resilience. What is Resilience? While resilience means different things to different people, the definition we will use is this: “Resilience is one’s ability to remain flexible in our…
Read MoreSurvival Skill #1: Empathy, not Sympathy
“Empathy is not connecting to an experience.Empathy is connecting to the emotions that underpin an experience.” Brené Brown’s, Dare to Lead, speaks to a survival skill for pushing through this difficult time. The COVID-19 experience has opened up a range of emotions some of which we have never felt before. Brené says, “When the heart…
Read MoreThe Positive Psychology of Peter Pan
In my quest to connect the lightness of children’s stories with our current reality, I had to finish with a few bits of wisdom from Peter Pan. Peter knew how to fly, even in adversity. He also knew the importance of thinking of happy things. The same idea goes for us. Here are three points…
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