THE ZONE

Wisdom and Wit

"The definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior and expecting different results."

- author unknown

Gear Shifters
Hall of Fame

Gear Shifters have certain qualities in common. They are risk takers. They face fear and doubt head on and push through it. Are you a Gear Shifter?

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True coaching embodies a client-centered inquiry approach to each session that is focused and driven. Paying attention to the reasons people have sought me out and hired me to work with them yielded themes that became the bedrock of my practice because they are so fundamental to reaching goals. They are The Knowing, The Doing and The Being. Let me explain what these three areas mean.

The Knowing: To guide them as they discover the Knowing about their goals and themselves. Many people I talk to in business say they just don’t know what to do next or how to go about it. I will explore that with them. The Doing: to turn Knowing what they want to do into Doing what they want to do. Many times I hear people respond with “I know” when challenged regarding goals that are unmet, business or otherwise. Somehow, they get stuck between knowing what they have to do or want to do and actually DOING IT. That’s the gear they get stuck in…that netherworld between knowing and doing. The Being: to put focus on the Being (who we are) in conjunction with the Knowing and Doing. The Being is truly at the foundation of our existence.

We need to develop who we are since it touches and guides every aspect of our lives. Who we are influences what we know and what we do. They’re all tied together. What does that mean? I believe that what we DO has great importance in our lives and focuses on pragmatic things like working at our job so that we can have the things we want in life and provide for our families, etc. Very important.. The Being has to do with who we are, how we move through life, what we teach our children, how we influence others. It is that part of us that endures through time. It is in fact what creates that which we leave behind, how people will remember us, and what truly makes the difference between good and great. When we know who we are, what we want to do becomes clearer and the effort it take to actually engage in those activities becomes easier.

The coach serves as observer, guide, questioner, truth-sayer and challenger while keeping the coachee’s momentum and accountability moving forward. In this way, since the coachee is the one who comes up with the agenda, the possibilities, the next steps, the action plan and the commitment to complete them, there is an ownership and a learning that happens. Because the individual or team has worked out the pathway to their own solutions, they learn how to replicate it in future situations. This internal shift is what is known as a transformational change. When people are given the solutions or told what to do, as in a transactional change, they are denied the opportunity to discover, explore and try out their own ideas and skills. They do not discover what is at the root of why they are stuck. They may not develop a new and repeatable behavior which results in a critical thinking pathway that enables them to clearly identify an issue, own it, create a solution, plan an action and then execute.

When the coachee owns this process and is allowed to see their own accountability for the barriers that are keeping them from their goals, there is a better chance of an internal shift happening that results in a permanent behavioral (transformational) change.

Leadership Development

“Will the leader please stand up? Not the president or the person with the most distinguished title, but the role model. Not the highest-paid person in the group, but the risk taker. Not the person with the largest car or the biggest home, but the servant. Not the person who promotes himself or herself, but the promoter of others. Not the administrator, but the initiator. Not the taker, but the giver. Not the talker, but the listener.”—The Leader of the Future by the Drucker Foundation

Critical in today’s world is the need for true leaders at all levels…not titular ones who believe that if they are at the top of the corporate ladder the people on the rungs below will follow them. True leaders possess many qualities, such as the ability to inspire, listen; to trust and be trusted; to risk, plan, motivate; to teach, learn, celebrate victory giving credit to others and accepting accountability when in defeat. Most importantly, the great ones never, never trade off honor and credibility for accomplishment.

You don’t always find true leaders at the top of organizations either. They can be and are, in fact, found throughout organizations in some of the least expected places. That is because the quality of leadership isn’t in evidence by a rank or letters after one’s name or ordinal position….it is held in the hearts and minds of the people around them who decide “this person is credible. I trust and believe in him or her. I want to go where they’re going. I will do what they are asking of me to the highest level of my ability.” Leadership is earned. Leadership is not developed one day in time; it is developed a day at a time.

What makes a great leader? We could come up with many descriptions based on our experience, what we’ve read and imagined what a great leader should be. What makes those who decide to take on the role of leadership great at their chosen path? Some would say they were “born to it”. Others say they evolved over time through personal experience or opportunity and yet others report they were influenced by other great leaders. They are all true.

Leaders do, at times, materialize seemingly in an instant as a situation calls them into action. Others start out as leaders in title and become leaders in heart, mind and action….the kind people will follow anywhere. What do great leaders know that others who aspire to serve in a leadership capacity need to know? How do we become the leaders we imagine in our hearts and minds? How do we go from being good leaders to great leaders?

How do we get from where we are to where we want to be as leaders?

Musician asking a passerby for directions to the famous concert hall:
“Excuse me, how do I get to Carnegie Hall?”
Passerby: “Practice, my man, practice.”