Communication
Converging: Three Ways to Prepare for the Conversation
When coaching another person, be it a colleague or a client, all committed coaches desire to provide a safe and confidential space, some may even call it sacred, where the coach and the client join together in an open and honest manner, free of outside distractions, and ready to be different as a result of…
Read MoreChanging Our Hardwiring
This is the time of year where conversations are happening with great frequency. Summative conversations, evaluative conversations, planning conversations, hiring conversations, etc. Lots of talking, lots of meetings. You want this time to be an investment and bring about the outcomes you desire. How are you wanting to be intentional and have powerful impactful conversations…
Read MoreWhat Kind of Conversations Are You Having?
Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement, by Jackie Stavros and Cheri Torres classify four different kinds of conversations. All interactions either add value or they devalue people and situations AND all conversations are either inquiry-based or statement-based. When your questions devalue a person or situation, those are sometimes called…
Read MoreThe Power of Conversations
Conversations are a critical part of leading and leadership in schools – for teams, for planning, for motivating and inspiring results and actions. Most leaders don’t think about “having powerful conversations” as a critical skill. Just imagine the impact if everyone on your staff became exceptional at having meaningful conversations. In our RCG seminars we…
Read MoreProductive Conflict – Essential for High Functioning Teams
Very few people would say, “I’d like to have more conflict in my life, please.” Additionally, few teams would request additional conflict between and among members. Yet, as Patrick Lencioni author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2002) says, “All great relationships, the ones that last over time, require productive conflict in order to…
Read MoreTrust and Vulnerability Go Hand-In-Hand for Success
If you have ever participated in a “trust fall” you have a very good understanding of how trust and vulnerability go hand-in-hand. Having experienced this sensation, I can personally attest to the accuracy of the statement. You climb up about six feet and have people, some smaller in size than you say, “Come on! We’ve…
Read MoreHumility vs. Hubris
Results Coaching Global faculty instructors and coaches had a strong presence at the 2019 Learning Forward conference held in Dallas earlier this month. As we presented, coached and had casual conversations with others during this learner-focused conference, we continued to receive push back on the idea that “advice is toxic”. People embrace coaching—to a certain…
Read MoreHumble Inquiry in a Time of Gratitude, Giving, and New Beginnings
What an exciting confluence of holidays for personal reflection! During the Thanksgiving season, our focus was on reflections of gratitude. For the Christmas/Hanukah/winter holiday season, our focus moves to planning, purchasing, and creating gifts for others. For the New Year, our focus is two-fold—reflecting on prior successes and new learning and a forward look at creating our next…
Read MoreConversation Components That Matter
Every school leader wants to hold conversations that matter. They know this is not something you enter into lightly. It takes thoughtful preparation. This is why we spent a whole chapter in our new book on The Power of Conversations (Results Coaching Next Steps, 2017) and other chapters on the mindset and behaviors of a…
Read MoreBoosting Our Emotional Intelligence: Increasing Our Tolerance for Reactivity
Mary Beth O’Neill speaks of reactivity management in her book, Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart. She offers that “increasing your tolerance for your own anxiety is by nature a nearly unbearable experience because the pull of the old reactivity is so strong. However, you can take steps to help yourself arrive on the other…
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