Newsletter Archive

Executive Coaching

When do you hold and when do you fold?

You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away and know when to run. Remember that great coaching tip from Kenny Rogers? His words may conjure up a card shark, but his lyrical advice works well for any gamble. Including the gamble called Your Job.

One of the most delicate moments in coaching comes when an executive asks, “Should I stay or should I start looking for another job?” A coach might be tempted to respond gallantly and proclaim The Right Answer.

A preferred tactic would be for the coach to bite his or her tongue. This crucial moment is exactly the wrong time to give exactly the right answer. The client already has the right answer somewhere, buried in the psyche or in a journal.

In a career crisis, what should your coach do?

Give fewer answers and ask more questions:

• What’s the most important reason you’re thinking about leaving your job?
• If you decide to stay, what would have to change?
• What action steps would you need to take to make that change happen?
• If that change did happen, how would you feel?
• What are the risks of leaving?
• What are the risks of staying?

Plan in parallel

When the client still presses for The Answer, here’s a process a coach can recommend: plan in parallel. What can you do to make your job more palatable? What can you do to make yourself more marketable? Imagine both paths, without burdening yourself with a too-rigid timetable.

Perhaps someone in your workplace will leave. Perhaps your boss or board will ask you to leave. Perhaps someone in another workplace will ask you to join him or her.

Wherever fate takes you tomorrow, prepare today by running your daydreams along parallel tracks. And work with an executive coach who can help you engineer your future.

There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

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Training

To start being a better trainer, stop working so hard

A decade ago, I decided to capitalize on the management development I’d done in the corporate world. I became something called a Trainer. A legend in my own mind, I started by over-researching, over-preparing, and over-delivering. Physically drained by the end of each session, as if I’d run a marathon, I felt great about imparting years of wisdom to the fortunate few.

Trouble was, those ungrateful learners rewarded me with evaluations that weren’t exactly legendary. Oh, the scores were okay, but they weren’t the A-plus that Mom always expected. Those of you with mothers know what I mean.

The secret ingredient to add to your training: Subtraction

I realized that my training sessions needed something more. Fortunately, I discovered the secret ingredient that had been missing: Less. It turns out that with training, as with architecture and writing, Less is More.

Less “talking-head” means more engagement. More engagement transforms training into learning. That’s, of course, the point of being something called a Trainer.

Certainly, the top trainers over-research and over-prepare. The difference? They’re careful not to let their momentum sweep them into training rooms on tidal waves of wisdom that threaten to drown learning.

• They ask rather than tell.
• They stimulate several of the senses, not just hearing.
• They vary their tactics and their tools.
• They encourage interaction.

Training leaders know from experience—and from inexperience—that learning accelerates when learners are allowed to lead the dialogue.

If you want to be a better Trainer, continue to work hard before the training session. But when you arrive in the classroom, it’s time for the class to work hard. It will feel more like play. Especially while you’re reading the evaluations.

Time to end this essay, because less is…

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Facilitating

If peanut butter can co-exist with jelly, we can solve critical issues

We’d come to the end of the first day of the International Skiing History Association’s retreat in Park City, Utah. The board appeared to be at impasse. Pierce Management Development was facilitating their critical-issue meeting. If ISHA agreed to merge with another organization, would 1 + 1 = 3? Or zero? Or worse.

The consensus appeared to be tilting toward approving the proposed merger. But one highly respected board member remained strongly opposed to the merger. What’s a facilitator to do?

Nothing. Except to call for Day One adjournment. We knew from experience that the issue would be resolved by the end of Day Two.

Sandwich a break between Day One and Day Two

While it may seem efficient to schedule a grueling one-day meeting to “just get the job done,” we often recommend this more effective timetable for solving critical issues:

• Begin discussion in the afternoon
• Take a break in the evening
• Reconvene the next morning.

Planning successful facilitation is like building a PB&J sandwich. On Day One, the facilitator is the bottom slice of bread, building the platform for the day’s dialogue. On Day Two, the facilitator is the top slice of bread, wrapping up the discussion…and helping the board hang on! But what about the good stuff in the middle?

The good stuff is always in the middle

The good stuff happened deliciously that first evening. During the reception, I pulled the concerned board chair aside and pointed to the bar. Two board members (Jelly) who passionately believed in the merger were teaming to persuade the board member (Peanut Butter) who was stuck on his position.

The next morning, Peanut Butter began aggressively. “We haven’t even seen that association’s mission statement.” Jelly quickly found and read their mission to the group. After a pin-drop silence, Peanut Butter concluded quietly, “Sounds like their mission is aligned with ours. I support the merger.” Later that morning, ISHA’s merger with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame was unanimously approved, and we all adjourned. To celebrate on skis, of course.

We’ve seen this pattern of confrontation, confusion, informal collaboration, and consensus many times. To assure the healthiest dialogue, make sure you hire a whole-grain facilitator or facilitation team rather than the bleached-flour variety.

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