The Coaching Mantra
Power of a Coach lies in asking powerful & may be difficult questions
We are all well aware of the old story when two sales professionals were sent to Africa to figure out the possibility to expand the business to African markets. One wrote back a letter saying “situation hopeless, no one wears shoes here,” however, the other wrote back saying “great opportunity, no one wears shoes here.”
This happens to most of the organizations today. Reverting back to the story, one person saw no opportunity whereas the other person saw a great possibility. In today’s business world, we need professionals who create possibilities; possibilities for business, and possibilities for people.
The major challenge for any business leader today is to create more leaders who can further create more possibilities for innovation and possibility for people to grow. This is where I think coaching skills make a huge difference in both professional as well as personal life to empower and lead a fulfilling life for yourself, your family and for your organization.
Coaching has emerged as one of the most effective tools to achieve diverse goals in organizations. It is defined by International Coach Federation (ICF) as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential, which is particularly important in today’s uncertain and complex environment.”
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach who was named as national coach of the year six times as in 12 years period his team won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships including an unprecedented seven in a row. Also, his teams won a men’s basketball-record 88 consecutive games. Bill Walton, an American retired basketball player said:
“Coach Wooden never talked about winning and losing, but rather about the effort to win. He rarely talked about basketball, but generally about life. He never talked about strategy, statistics or plays, but rather about people and character. Coach Wooden never tired of telling us that once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted an independent study commissioned by International Coach Federation (ICF) revealed the the following results:
Increased Productivity
Professional coaching maximizes potential and, therefore, unlocks latent sources of productivity. (image source: ICF website)
Positive People
Building the self-confidence of employees to face challenges is critical in meeting organizational demands.
Satisfied Clients
Almost all companies and individuals who hire a coach are satisfied.
Master Certified Coach (MCC) and Master Certified Life Coach (MCLC) Peter J. Reding defines his coaching model as a deep transformational model, and he emphasizes on saying that the deeper part of the coaching he talks about is that how it connects with the deeper part of the individual, how it connects with the deeper part of the organization, and if we bring that element into it, then coaching becomes much more powerful.
A great coach may not specifically talk about your immediate challenges that you encounter in your professional/personal life. However, s/he connects the coachee with her/his true-self and facilitate the journey of reflections and retrospection, thus, establishes a clear vision into the future. Therefore, the power of the coach lies in the asking really powerful questions.
In the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” Bagger Vance raised really powerful questions and helped Rannulph Junuh to connect with his deeper self and helped him perform at the optimum level.. here is the glimpse of their conversation:
“Bagger Vance: See, the trick is… to find your swing…
Rannulph Junuh: What’d you say?…
Bagger Vance: Well you lost your swing… We got to go find it… Now it’s somewhere… in the harmony… of all that is… All that was… All that will be…”
“Bagger Vance: Yep… Inside each and every one of us is one true authentic swing… Somethin’ we was born with… Somethin’ that’s ours and ours alone… Somethin’ that can’t be taught to ya or learned… Somethin’ that got to be remembered… Over time the world can, rob us of that swing… It get buried inside us under all our wouldas and couldas and shouldas… Some folk even forget what their swing was like…”
Above is one of the most powerful conversations I believe a coach could have with a coachee.
Organizations use coaching in multiple ways like coaching for managing change, coaching for driving attitudinal & behavioral change, coaching for improving performance, coaching for leadership development, coaching for driving shifts in cultures & values and many more.
Remember, John Wooden once described success as..
“SUCCESS IS PEACE OF MIND WHICH IS A DIRECT RESULT OF SELF-SATISFACTION IN KNOWING YOU MADE THE EFFORT TO BECOME THE BEST YOU ARE CAPABLE OF BECOMING”