Do you have a question that isn't posted here? I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about management coaching. Feel free to send me an email.
This will never work with my business / my people / in my industry!
How do you deal with people who are resistant?
How can you work with people who are not motivated?
How do I know your programmes are the best choice among the many options available?
Isn't it unrealistic to expect to change in an individual in only three months?
How are your team trainings of more value than a seminar?
Isn't this just another management fad?
If we were to start working together, what could I expect?
Ever more – faster – more effective – where does this lead us, except to ever better self-exploitation? What's in it for me – the employee?
Is Management Coaching any different from Coaching – is this just marketing?
Don't you give away too much of your know-how in your newsletters?
How long the coaching relationship usually lasts?
Can coaching accomplish with people who are “moulded”– can it get under the surface at all?
This will never work with my business / my people / in my industry!
"That‘s all very well, but my people won't change – they‘re just incompetent!“ “We can‘t do this differently – our competitors, costs, the market, our shareholders!! We have no room to maneuver.“ Sound familiar? In organisations everywhere, people face the same choice: either accept a situation as given and unshiftable or try to change something - not everything! - for the better. The choice is up to each individual and they will most likely base their decision on what their company or team culture is like. If you begin with the assumption that your options are limited, you create and confirm these limitations for yourself, and your team will behave and perform in line with your beliefs. So, you ultimately get all your worst expectations confirmed. This is what I call ‘self-impeding behaviour‘. My advice to anyone in its grip is simple: Challenge your deep-seated assumptions. Break the vicious cycle.
Change is a sign of life and is unavoidable in human beings because we need to adapt all the time to cope with our circumstances. But as human beings, we can also do more than this. Why should we only be propelled by external forces and unintentional changes? We can also modify our lives with vision and self-direction. We can reimagine and recreate the situations that surround us. When you make a self-directed change - by undertaking a new and exciting project, for example – you will find yourself querying many of your oldest assumptions and rethinking your self-image. This, in turn, increases the sense of your power and impact in the world and your motivation to make more changes. This is why every coaching project leaves the organisation with more self-driven and self-motivated people.
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How do you deal with people who are resistant?
Sometimes people ask me if I meet with a lot of resistance in my work since I want people to change! This is an interesting question. The truth is, however, that it's never really a matter of me wanting or pushing someone else to change; my clients always want (and sometimes also need) to change themselves! Irrespective of whether I am working with an individual or a team, my role is to facilitate self-directed change and not to impose change on unwilling participants.
Resistance is a natural by-product of imposed change, for example, in a situation where an expert, a consultant or your boss just tells you how you need to change. Typically, this person will say or perhaps just imply that they know what your problem is – your opinion isn‘t needed. This is something that would upset me very much. It's almost the opposite of the way that I work, and as a result, I never meet with resistance from a client.
Think about it: if it's you who has made the choice to work on a personal change project and has even set the particular agenda and focus for that project, then how can you possibly be resistant? You may be frustrated by some obstacles along the way or disappointed that you haven't yet mastered something you thought you‘d already overcome, but you won't ever be resistant. In fact, when you're confident that this is truly your project and your challenge, you're very likely to feel driven and energised by your work with a coach. This is what my clients usually report. How very different from your mood when you are being forced to change!
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How can you work with people who are not motivated?
Good question. When people are not motivated to perform, what they usually lack is not ‘motivation‘ but information of some kind. This might mean that they lack information about how their behaviour impacts on the organisation: they aren't aware of the difference they make to the future of the company and can‘t see the importance of their contribution. Alternatively, they may lack information about how to approach a task in another way in order to achieve different results. Once this information is supplied, it can help to rekindle their natural motivation and let them shine again – both for their own benefit and that of the company.
Another important aspect: Every person is naturally motivated – but not necessarily by the same things that motivate you. Coaching respects this fact, and helps people tap what motivates them naturally to perform better – and thus to reach both their own AND your goals.
If you think this can't work for your organisation because you face a very specific ‘people problem‘ or motivation problem, then please contact me for further information. You‘ll be surprised to learn that it can and has worked in those circumstances
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How do I know your programmes are the best choice among the many options available?
The best choice is the one that gives you results. Many seminars today present new methods and interesting concepts but expect participants to bridge the theory-to-application gap on their own. Our practical training sessions allow individual participants and teams to immediately apply the theory to the reality of their daily work. We collaborate with our clients to select content specific to your training needs. We also go one step further by combining the best managerial training approaches with coaching.
We set ourselves apart from other suppliers of training programmes by using not one but two trainers at all our training sessions and workshops. One trainer is an expert consultant who provides the latest training and information in his or her respective field. The other is an experienced coach/facilitator who ensures that the theory is effectively transferred to the practical realities of those participating.
Finally, participants are asked to do more than just take information in; through our training programmes, they are impelled to apply their new learnings and techniques to their everyday jobs.
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Isn't it unrealistic to expect to change in an individual in only three months?
Yes! If I promised that we would change our client that would indeed be unrealistic. We do not know how to change people, but we excel at encouraging people to take more control of their lives and work towards making these changes happen.
The meetings and workshops I have with my clients are only milestones on the road to success. The real progress takes place outside of our meetings and in the everyday lives of my clients.
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How are your team trainings of more value than a seminar?
Seminars are good environments in which to share knowledge and provide inspiration. But because seminars don't usually allow participants to apply their new knowledge in practice, their actual impact can be quite low.
Our workshops and training sessions, on the other hand, are excellent at tackling participants' needs and concerns head on. We do a lot of in-house training, where we can access practical material and focus on the real challenges the team is facing. As a result, participants integrate their new learnings into their day-to-day routines and maintain key behaviours long after the workshop has ended.
Another benefit that workshops and training sessions have over seminars is the need for active participation. The aim of every workshop I organize is to create a learning environment that impels every individual to get involved and share his or her experience.
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Isn't this just another management fad?
I see a fad as something that sounds promising and different, but is either trivial or too new to show results. Many of these “methods” rely heavily on manipulation and are therefore short-lived from the outset.
Our coaching methods are unlikely to be considered as a fad, since they combine principles that people who are described as excellent managers have been using for decades. Some people use these principles intuitively. Most people however, have to learn them. And this is exactly where we help. Thorough and in-depth reflection can help people develop these mindsets and adopt these principles for themselves, even if they were not born with them.
Finally, once mastered these techniques can be easily applied to almost all professional activities and are quick to show results.
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If we were to start working together, what could I expect?
Our cooperation would start with a two- to three-hour meeting at a location of your choosing, during which time we would discuss the direction you would like to take your career and set out a few short term goals to start working on immediately.
After this initial meeting, we would continue to meet once every three to four weeks for a two-hour session to assess your recent achievements, identify your stumbling blocks and determine a new list of goals and tasks to overcome them ahead of the next meeting. You will take a few tasks out of each meeting around which to start doing things a little differently and carefully observing the results.
The most dramatic change usually occurs during the first three months. After this critical stage, further change happens less dramatically, more organically, and causes much less upheaval as clients learn to accept change positively and naturally.
Four to six months after our initial meeting, you will have implemented several fundamental changes and will either be satisfied with your achievements, or be ready to set new, more challenging goals.
At this time, you may decide to first try to go it alone, applying what you learned during our cooperation, or perhaps meet for a follow-up session six months down the road. If this sounds simple, it is. The key is designing something that is easy for you to ultimately implement!
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Ever more – faster – more effective – where does this lead us, except to ever better self-exploitation? What's in it for me – the employee?
Well… that's quite a question! A bit like the meaning of life Let me take up just one aspect: I suspect there might be some imbalance between what your current position offers, and what your current priorities are. Something significant may have shifted. Or, your lack of enthusiasm for your work is rooted in a personality clash that might disappear if that person left. Since we cannot change other people, let me pursue the first option. Life priorities change – we don't just stay the same. Therefore, I cannot recommend enough to take inventory every now and then. Take a good look at where YOUR likes, interests and priorities currently are, and make sure your job caters to at least some of these. While you probably won't find the perfect solution (and contrary to what some believe, self-employment is not always the answer) there should be elements of your everyday routine that drive and energize you. BTW I am happy to send you a few self-coaching questions that help you identify aspects where your personal structure is badly supported by your current job or habits. Just e-mail me if you are interested in pursuing this a little further.
Whether your job is good for you ultimately boils down to your preferences. It's never just the job – it is about the fit. You are not going to be happy with the money if the job puts so much pressure on you that you develop sleeping disorders and feel hassled. More, faster and better paid can be stimulators for a while, but then invariably lose their appeal. So, unless you have decided to write off a few years for on-the-job training, you will probably be happier, healthier AND a better performer in an environment that reflects your priorities. My question: What exactly you would need in order to feel you are getting a good deal? These evaluations can be complex, so do have a look at those self-coaching questions!
Basically, it is about appreciating and seeing opportunities in what you have, as well as acknowledging what this position cannot (or may not) hold. If you decide that you thrive on tension and your importance to your company, you will always feel that you are working on YOUR priorities and goals – although your job makes high demands on your time! Being self-driven and making a difference will invariably raise your value for yourself, and possibly even in the job market. Just remember your remuneration is based on three factors: the perceived value you present to your employer, the results you deliver, and the ease with which you can be replaced. And guess what: you can influence all three!
So, imagine your conclusion is that you feel exploited, and that the present job is not what you deserve. This puts you right in the middle of the coaching cycle: First, you need consciousness, a feeling that something is not right for you – and it's not fate that keeps it that way. Second comes – or does not, as the case may be – the desire for improvement. Listen to yourself: do you want something different, or just do something differently than now? How and why? The third step is then the decision to act.
You may also consider this (unless your boss IS the problem): Help your boss to help you by telling them specifically what you want more of – and less of – in your job. Only when you are quite sure there is no point, use your insights for negotiations elsewhere. If you fail to tell people what you need, you may find it's not that different in other places! YOU make that difference – by knowing better what you want, and what you don't want, and then make a case for it. If you are proactive and take initiative, you will be surprised to see how others make an effort to accommodate you!
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Is Management Coaching any different from Coaching – is this just marketing?
Thanks for this question. The short answer is yes – it's basically about defining the market a coach has chosen to serve. I call myself a management coach because this is the essence of WHAT I do and WHO I do it with, in just two words. I work with managers on management issues. HOW can be found in the word coach – in a facilitating, challenging, supporting way that raises new questions and opens new perspectives, or better solutions. I work with managers who are “just” managing themselves and their workload in interdependence with experts from other teams, others are managing entire companies or large departments, where their decisions involve and affect hundreds of people and their families.
Management is basically a craft – skill sets that can (and have to be) acquired for proficiency. With the right training and ongoing practice, everybody can learn the craft. Proficiency on some levels requires not just a very strong commitment but also a certain mindset of discipline. Fortunately, very few people need to be Level 5 Managers (see Jim Collins' excellent book Good to Great, available in English and German at http://www.amazon.de). In this field, I have a lot of expert knowledge and experience that goes beyond the facilitating role of a coach. This means that the insights, examples, and opinions I offer, combined with very open feedback, often provide the shortcuts people are looking for. I don't interfere with my client‘s decisions however – my job is to ask the questions that allow them to chose from a broad choice of options. The rest is … their job!
Clients often mention that I am one of the very few people (sometimes the first) who they can bounce things off, create a big picture view on their present situation, and discuss their goals and self-image with – at a completely new level. High performers especially tend to have a strong inner motor that keeps them going – far beyond what anybody else expects from them! People who think in systems know that they can only develop maximum impact when they manage not just their immediate direct reports, but influence and shape complex contexts. For these strategies, a competent partner is a real asset. Who except a management coach do you want to spend 3, 4 hours with in which you develop new concepts that help your team or organisation make that leap forward?
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Don't you give away too much of your know-how in your newsletters?
Another great question... Let me put it like this: I don't think I give away anything Ironically, to my clients what I know is irrelevant EXCEPT FOR the few bits and pieces they want and need. And we spend quite a bit of time finding out what this is… and what would be different if they had it…!
So, unlike a consultant, a management coach has not necessarily read all the books on management. What I offer here may be sound advice for someone who is exactly in this or that model situation. But then who ever is! Everybody's situation is always very specific – and shapes this situation by being him or herself! For this reason, all I do is marketing: I help people realize that coaching deals with exactly those issues that concern them, and that the only difference between those who use coaching and other managers is that the latter have already taken the decision to ACT.
Before anybody who is busy enough as it is takes the decision to discuss their situation with a coach, they want to make a careful preselection. Fit is one element, and so is curiosity! The feedback I receive on this newsletter indicates to me that I definitely raise curiosity. Once that is established the pre-qualification process starts. Only those who feel prepared call me and want to meet. Others may prefer to just toy with the idea, that's fine too! (BTW I recommend this approach to anyone who markets knowledge-based services: Don't sit on your precious information and wait for someone to call who already knows that they need just that – instead, help yourself and others by creating opportunities to see the relationship between your services and their concrete problems and issues. If possible in a way that they immediately see the benefits!)
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How long the coaching relationship usually lasts?
Contrary to popular belief, management coaching is not a long-term or ongoing commitment. About 35% of my clients see me for between 3-5 sessions, and I work with another 30% for only 6-8 sessions. It is only a select group of my clients who consult with me over a longer period - These are top performers who often take long gaps between sessions so they can handle a wide range of roles and concerns. Our work together covers constantly evolving issues, major challenges, and regularly renewed goals.
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Can coaching accomplish with people who are “moulded”– can it get under the surface at all?
Let's review 30 years of management training history– and where we are now. The following illustrates this question very well indeed!
In the outset, people trained managerial behaviour almost in a (1) handbook-like fashion (“if x-then do y” manuals). “Clear Communication” was a typical topic – and quite soon participants were even recorded on video and could see themselves in action. This hands-on approach no doubt had its merits, although it was a huge oversimplification. Then came the days of (2) Competencies: Change competence, social competence, etc. – where the focus was already deeper than just superficially observable behaviour. Later the social competence was further deepened by the systemic angle, which for the first time included (3) social CONTEXT and the enormous complexities it brought to the table – a new dimension. Next (4) came the focus on Leadership Attitudes – after we noticed that attitudes strongly influenced behaviour – very useful indeed. Coaching (5) is state of the art because it encompasses all of the above AND moreover includes the level of IDENTITY into the equation. So, turning the question around: what, if not Coaching, can really make a difference in adult behaviour? Why would especially those with the highest expectations of themselves (and the least time!) turn to coaching for solutions and results? This is the exciting bit: in coaching, you learn from yourself, with your insights being stimulated, enriched, and sometimes guided by your coach.
Managers who do not believe people can change do not believe in development, and invariably radiate that. They limit those around them simply by not working strategically with human resources. One reason that this is limiting is that it turns away people who feel they deserve something else. There is a huge difference in managerial impact between lighting a fire under someone, and lighting a fire in someone , and it is no surprise that people who have experienced coaching will inspire their people in a completely different way. The unique proposition coaching holds is: Let's see what else is possible, where could you stretch a little more? How could this work for you? This individual approach has a lot to it. I am sure we all remember situations where someone took care of us, and gave us great advice – let's remember what difference this made to our confidence when we then started out!
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