Being coached doesn’t always feel good. So, how can you tell if it’s working? You know you are getting great coaching when …
- You are in the pit of despair. Many of your basic beliefs and assumptions about your role as a leader have been challenged, and you feel like you are losing your footing. You are seriously questioning your career to date and your personal aspirations.
- You are unusually excited about the future and the adventures awaiting you. You don’t know what the next chapter of your leadership career is going to look like, but you do know that there is no going back now. Something new and fresh awaits you.
- You are angry, frustrated, and ready to fire your coach. None of your expectations for great pieces of advice and insights are being met. All you get are annoying questions like, “What did you do yesterday that is worth talking about today?” and even more annoying statements such as, “I think you are much better than this.”
- You are feeling a little sheepish. Your coach has called you on the many ways you sell yourself short and get in your own way, and you have just realized you have been blaming others in the organization for holding you back when, in reality, virtually all your limitations have been self-imposed.
- You have a renewed enthusiasm about your role as a leader. You have just realized that there is a huge gap between the leader you are and the leader you can be. You’ve taken stock of your talents and strengths, and you’ve realized that you can have an enormous, lasting impact on your organization and the people in it. Very cool!
- You have been shaken by some sharp, gut-wrenching feedback. It’s getting tougher to dismiss this feedback as the mistakes of people who simply don’t understand you or who have ulterior motives. What if this is actually true? What if I am wrong?
- You are feeling energized and powerful. No longer a victim of organizational circumstances, you now have options and alternatives. You are committed to making your own choices and crafting your own leadership story. Wow!
- Your personal life has become brighter. You now show up to your friends and family as a kind, caring, and patient person who sees the very best in them and continually seeks out ways to serve them. You have realized that you can only be the best possible leader at work by being the best possible person at home.
- You have stopped wasting your precious time and energy. You have embraced your emotions and become their master, not their slave. You have ceased burning emotional energy reacting to issues you cannot influence and people you cannot control. You have developed an inner muscle that gives you the strength to choose your own best leadership actions and reactions.
- Remarkably … the people around you have changed for the better. Somehow, the underperformers, sloths, and misfits that used to be ever-present are now gone and have been replaced with wonderfully creative and highly engaged teammates. Interesting!
Enjoy the ride!
| Learn how to initiate and guide high performance and accelerated talent development, when you join Gregg Thompson for the action-packed workshop: Leader as Coach—Becoming a Catalyst for High Performance and Accelerated Talent Development. This engaging, highly experiential course is designed for managers, leaders, and influencers who understand the necessity of superior coaching in today’s business ecosystem where leadership development has become everyone’s responsibility. This learning opportunity will take place on November 14, 2018 as a preconference workshop at our annual Workforce L&D conference in Las Vegas. Click here to learn more or to register today! |
