Coaching Provided Log
This log documents the learnings, insights, and outcomes from my experience as a coach. (You will likely have 4-8 clients over the course of the CIT Program. Think in bullets, in abbreviated form. This is a high level look at the coaching the helps guide you and provides a reflective tool as well.)
Client #1
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Samuel Ambrose
Start Date/End Date: May 10th, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 4
Contact Information: Email: Samuel.ambrose@hp.com Telephone: 541-715-0385
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
Samuel is making a career change based upon feedback from his Strength's Finder Assessment. He wants to become a strengths coach within HP. He is looking to increase his competency as a coach and off-load his current work in order to increase capacity to take on this new role.
The Outcome: Once the coaching has been completed, what are the outcomes the client and you are able to articulate?
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Hours 5/10/13 70 minutes
Coaching Issues: Samuel is searching for the courage to trust his own abilities. He has demonstrated coaching skills outside of HP and now is attempting to shift his identity and contribution inside of HP.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes: I'm not sure this a very frustrating problem for Samuel. There are many moving parts within the organization that are being realigned in support of the work Samuel wants. Perhaps I need to get more specific about the issue he wants help with. I think the greater issue is, now that Samuel is transitioning...what is his goal and vision for the role. Does it align to his purpose? How is he modelling the behavior he wants in others for his new role? Is he building the relationships that will propel him in his new role? What does success look like? What does done look like?
There were a handful of times in the conversation where my questions were very powerful. Samuel stopped and said, "that's a very good question". He took away a handful of actions for our next meeting in two weeks.
On a couple of occasions I found myself mentoring Samuel, difficult to let go of the "sense making" part of my brain. My own Gallup skills are Strategic, Learner, Intellection, Ideation, Achiever. I am so accustomed to being an answer provider, that it presents a great personal challenge to let go of those reigns. As I caught myself providing advice, i next moved to leading questions...which I caught as well. clearly a space I need to work on. I recognized that learner and intellection are great skills I need to lean into.
Before my meeting with Samuel, I looked over the Stage 1 tasks to think remind myself what should be covered in our discussion. I'll document my observations in AgileZen, and be better prepared for our next meeting. I believe I need to establish the coaching contract with Samuel more formally and set expectations about our work together going forward,
Client #2
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Emad Awadalla
Start Date/End Date: May 23rd, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 6
Contact Information: Email: Emad.awadalla@hp.com Telephone:
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus? Emad and I discussed a couple potential issues:
1) How to handle myself when I disagree with someone? How to let them say what needs to be said
2) How to develop myself as leader when I don't have control over a situation?
The Outcome: Once the coaching has been completed, what are the outcomes the client and you are able to articulate?
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – Client #2
Coaching Hours 23rd 12-1pm
Coaching Issues: we compared and contrasted two situations in which Emad felt comfortable with leaders when they forced changes on his organization. In the first situation, the Smart Install project was cancelled but Emad felt respected and also respected the manager that communicated the change. In fact, Emad maintains a mentoring relationship with this individual even after he left the company. In the second story, Emad felt personally attacked by EVP on the flow program. Individual used threats as the primary means of conveying dissatisfaction over the programs progress. My sense is that Emad was not able to stand up for himself against the tirade from the EVP. I don't believe this is how he wants to show up.
Emad mentioned that he finds his current career choice to have destroyed his career. Had he stayed with the tried and true laserJet business, he would have been more successful and under less stress than his current role. Moreover, he would have the respect of his peers, and managers.
When I asked Emad about the feelings that arose for him, he mentioned that leaders above him often demonstrate fear and a lack of faith in the progress of the program is limiting. I asked him, how he showed up. At which point he became anxious in his response. I paused the conversation and shared that I observed his anxiety. I reinforced that my question was intended to create understanding, not to attack.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used: I articulated the differences between coaching, mentoring and counseling and asserted that Emad was in control of the direction and materials he would need to resolve his challenge. I did not establish the contract, but Emad was open to meeting on a weekly basis. We'll solidify the issue and desired outcome at our next meeting.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes
As Emad went through the three potential challenges he was facing, I was drawn to the second issue. Unfortunately, the second issue...which seemed to have the most meat escaped my mind as I was actively playing back the options for him to make a choice. Seems we were coached not to take notes, but how do we create the bread crumbs for remembering long lists of issues? We eventually recaptured the thought and were able to more carefully craft the beginning issue statement.
We used the Halo room as our means of connecting. The Halo room is a collaboration studio with full video and audio streaming. It's intended to represent a virtual board room. However, the real tables that sat between our virtual images created a distance that may make it more challenging to build trust and intimacy. Made it feel like we were sitting 10 feet apart.
Coaching Hours June 20th 12-1pm
Objectives for the meeting: Give Emad an opportunity to ask any questions he has about our work together. Establish the contract, Clarify the opportunity, goals, Obstacles, and expected duration. Who else should be involved? Discuss Emad's knowledge of self, personality types, autobigraphical, skills.
Coaching Issues: After much discussion about the issue and potential aspirational vision, we agreed that Emad is challenged when he feels judged by his peers and superiors and this causes him to become silent. He shuts down and perceives the signal as that of being bullied. I probed on his history with bullies and Emad recounted an incident in 3rd grade when his parents stepped in to handle the bully. When Emad is similarly bullied by his colleagues, he does not want to shrink from the conversation.
I shared my recent study with Crucial conversations and the consequence that fear has in causing a dialogue to degenerate into silence or violence. And that these repsonses originate from from feelings of fear. Emad went on to defend his ability to manage conversations. "resorting to tricks" and other manipulative techniques to shape a conversation through his own silence and violence. Sigh!
I challenged Emad, to think about how this approach is inconsistent with his desire for a high quality relationship with everyone he meets. He reflected! Yeah! Emad reflected, that the real opportunity is to increase his "stamima" to be able to stay in a hard conversation. To show up authentically and to find common ground when the conversation has a tendency to degenerate.
We made strides in building the quality of our relationship. Unfortunately, I felt like I moved into a mentoring stance at times. Though the crucial conversations framework and possibility are going to be very helpful for us!
Emad agreed to the contract, and to establishing the meeting on a weekly basis. I agreed that I am partner in our relationship and that when he failed to reach out to me, I would reach out to him.
Coaching Hours July 11th 10-11am
Objectives for the meeting: Record this session for Hudson coaching. Find out how Emad is doing? What new observations has he made since beginning our discussion? Is there anyone else we could bring into the conversation that Emad Trusts? How does he feel about the role he is in?
Coaching Issues: We confirmed that the development opportunity is for Emad to hang in on the conversations that he struggles.
Emad raised his concerns about the struggle to succeed (and enjoy) the leadership role in developing a new product. I think he knows he's going to fail and he doesn't know what to do. He remains optimistic, but all of his supporters are gone.
"I don't know how to leave things half done. I'm leading this team, so I cant flinch. "
What is the hard conversation that you need to be in?
Coaching Hours Aug 1st 12pm
Objectives for the meeting: Find out how Emad is doing? Urgency? Our cadence does no reflect a sense of urgency. Is he comfortable with the pace? Assuming wee only have 5 more sessions (arbitrary number to indicate an end); what does done look like? How did the experiments go? did we want to bring anyone else into the mix? Is this opportunity aligned with feedback he has received from his team/manager? Midpoint feedback?
Coaching Issues: Emad was excited about the successes he has had. He isn't clear how the work we are doing is making the changes within him, though he recognizes his triggers and his reactions to wanting to withdraw from a conversation. He shared the experience of an interview that was going sideways and how he wanted to dismiss the candidate. He recognized this impulse in himself and decided to change his perspective and the conversation. His joy with himself was palpable!
When I questioned Emad about "done", this shook up the conversation. I can see he'd like to continue to talk with me and we shifted the focus to more difficult conversations. Particularly the conversations and approaches he needs to have with Mike.
He suggested that I reach out to Keith to get his perspective. Emad said it would be ok to discuss our coaching arrangement and to Keith's observations of Emad's style..
Coaching Hours Sept 23rd 1:30pm
Objectives for the meeting: Record session for Hudson. Find out how Emad is doing? Has the original issue changed? How has what he's learned fit into his FY14 performance and development plan?
Coaching Issues: Emad continues to express success and gratitude for the progress he has made. We agreed that he had accomplished his original goals. More than making the changes for himself, Emad is also seeing changes int he way he coaches and mentors employees. He has a great appreciation for the role coaching has in his leadership repertoire. He has agreed to come back to me with a couple other items to work, and additionally folks on his staff that he'd like to have coached as well. Woot! that's quite an endorsement!
Client: #3
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Margaret Sullivan
Start Date/End Date: July 9th, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 1 hr
Contact Information: Email: margaret_m_sullivan@hotmail.com Telephone: 773-784-2648
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
Margaret is interested in determining what her next career move should be. How can she best utilize her skills to better the world?
The Outcome: Once the coaching has been completed, what are the outcomes the client and you are able to articulate? To not live with a regret of missed opportunity (my words). I need to get this answer from Margaret! What does done look like?
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
My understanding of boundaries is coming into clearer focus. I struggle with my nature to build relationship vs maintain a professional distance. perhaps I need to read Pam's chapter again.
As this is my first external client, I totally stumbled on the question of contract cost. I need to convey a confidence in my abilities...and that confidence is reinforced by the rate I am willing to charge a client.
When asked about next steps, I really had to dance. I told her that we really hadn't uncovered her passions, and that the next step may be to dig into that a little deeper before we create any action plans. I committed to helping her be accountable for her plans.
Coaching Provided Log – 7/9/13
Coaching Hours 3-4pm
Coaching Issues: This was our first session. It allowed Margaret to get to know me and for to get to know the opportunity she wanted to work on. Margaret is familiar with coaching and coaches (likely more than I am). She asked me a lot of questions about my decision to become a coach...perhaps to help her understand her own options. Perhaps, just to get to know me.
Not sure there is a great deal of urgency with her need to make a change. Though when I suggested that she could take her time, she really wanted to get the process started. She accepts that the end point doesn't have to be decided, but she does want to feel like she is making progress. She is committed to starting.
Margaret is in the latter stages of her career (expecting to work for another 10-15 years) and wants to devote her energies to pursuits that make the world a better place. "What makes for a valuable contribution?" What are her values?
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used.
What has she done that was her at her peak? She facilitated a meeting of 22 disparate teams to get them to a common ground/purpose. This was fun!
Ibarra's notion of multi-threaded future narratives. Margaret teased out five possible futures:
Continue the consulting work she has been doing, but minimize the amount of time she spends traveling into Chicago. She estimated that her travel time costs her a Month/year. Presumably that time is wasted.
Participate in a non-profit
Teach/Mentor the next generation
Coaching
Counseling
I suspect that she is in a cocooning phase, or soon to be entering one. I think she really wants to create a new identity for herself.
The dialogue would suggest that she is searching for meaning, and looking for greater contribution.
She mentioned that she is married, but does not have any children. Though she has neices and nephews that she is able to give attention to. She has volunteered for non-profits, seemingly committed to her community. Did not mention friends.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes
Read up on the 4 phases, particularly cocooning. Should provide some insight into the types of activities that she can undertake in this phase. can I introduce the 4 phase model? Is it time?
Client: #4
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Steve Greer
Start Date/End Date: July 19th, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 2 hr
Contact Information: Email: steve.greer@hp.com Telephone: 541-715-2989
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
The Outcome: Once the coaching has been completed, what are the outcomes the client and you are able to articulate?
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – 7/9/13
Coaching Hours 12-1:30pm
Coaching Issues: Steve is struggling with the role he plays within his organization. He has very little faith in the people around him (up or down). With the exception of another woman in his organization that shares a similar workaholic tendency. Initially, Steve has led me to believe that we were going to work on how he can transition from his current job to one which truly values his contribution. Where he is recognized and rewarded for his work. In passing comments with Steve I think he is working toward a larger life transition. He now wants to know how t adeqautely transition from his current work.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes: We need to establish trust. As a friend of Steve's it is obvious that he has a hard candy shell. His bitterness and dry humor make most people uncomfortable and sends a message to keep a safe distance. Steve has shared with me the abandonment he felt as a child based upon his mothers work habits. She literally left him at age 16 to care for himself and his brother. No doubt this makes it difficult for steve to trust people.
Given the potential shift in direction of Steve's challenge, I think it is prudent to have Steve complete the Life Launch report. In this way, I will learn what areas of the his life Steve trusts me with, and which areas he is wanting work on. Next will be to discuss the hudson quadrant model to determine if Steve can self assess his position.
Client: #5
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Holt Mebane
Start Date/End Date: Aug 20th, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 4 hr
Contact Information: Email: holt.mebane@hp.com Telephone: 858-655-4882
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
To have the courage to have the hard conversations whether it is empathy or fear that is clouding my judgement.
The Outcome: Once the coaching has been completed, what are the outcomes the client and you are able to articulate?
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – 8/20/13
Coaching Hours 3-4pm
Coaching Issues:
Holt is concerned that our history together may make the trust difficult to establish. I reiterated the confidential nature of our discussion and sent him a contract. His apprehension remained until I suggested there could be other coaches he could work with. This is his choice. I said, lets start small and build trust. If, at any point he feels like we are getting too personal, or too risky, then he can take this up with me. He is in control.
Description of the history that brings Holt to this place. Several months ago, the director of Holt's R&D lab left the organization. Holt was asked to step into the director role, and was immediately told to WFR portions of the Lab. Despite assurances from the VP, that he would not have to be the axe...she did not do the work either. Holt used his assessment of the business to determine that 25% was the right size. This equated to ~15 people. Holt was able to place 12 of these folks, including some very good talent. However 3 people did get let go. This was very hard for Holt.
Holt would like to be sure that his empathy does not affect his judgement. When asked about why he felt bad about this work, he said that he cares about people a lot. He told me a story about the time he helped a stranger with a flat tire. How he went out his way to see the situation to a conclusion, which included taking the stranger to a service station to get the tire repaired because there wasn't a spare.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used. I pared down the hudson life launch questionnaire to the career development section and asked Holt to complete the section. More over, I asked Holt to pay attention to situations this week that give rise to strong emotions that he feels may be clouding his judgement. Not to do anything different with these situations, but to simply notice how his feelings are arising. We'll discuss this at our next call.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes:
As Holt described his desire to be less influenced by his emotions, I feared that he would become heartless. My words. Watch your boundaries Greg!
I have a shadow self associated with WFR from my own experiences having to reduce my team. perhaps my most painful leadership experience. I need to be careful that I do not attempt to steer Holt's direction based upon my desire for HP, and my description of leadership. Do not go into mentoring. Trust that Holt is a great leader and who is guided by a core of authentic leadership. Have unconditional positive regard for him in this exploration.
Coaching Provided Log – 8/27/13
Coaching Hours 3-4pm
Coaching Issues:
Initially, we covered the responses that Holt provided to the career and personal development questionnaire. His answers reinforced that "Confronting" and "Comfort with Conflict" were highest priorities for improvement. He also mentioned "Trusting" - to which we discussed for further understanding. Trusting to Holt, meant trusting his own judgement. It did not mean a lack of trust in the intent of others. "Become more Calm" was also on his list.
Holt and I discussed an upcoming conversation that he needs to have. This is regarding the development charter of the SW resources in India, and their application to the current project Holt is leading. Sounds like the decision has already been made by Vivian, but Holt is still feeling accountable for roll-out.
I asked Holt, what would success look like? He mentioned that he wouldn't get stressed out or have performance anxiety. Holt went on to describe the his general disposition in these kinds of engagements and reiterated that most people experience him as calm (citing his wife's perspective). When I asked about if his mother experienced him in the same way, Holt became very uncomfortable. He said, "now that's a completely different story." Apparently one that Holt is not ready to discuss with me. I invited him to become comfortable, as somehow the story of his mother may contribute to his anxiety. He was clearly agitated by the mention of his mother, and I asked him to merely "slow down". I was hoping that I could calm him down, and if possible tease out the potential issue here. I decided to let it lie for now.
I asked Holt about the obstacles that are likely to impede him achieving his desired outcome:
Degree to which it will stick - will he slip back into old habits? Exercise program provided as an example - easier to fall off the program than to stick to it.
I asked Holt about a time when he has been able to successfully make a change "stick"
Holt mentioned that interpersonal skills were not always a strength of his. He wasn't clear as to why/how he had successfully made the shift to interpersonal skills as a strength. "perhaps as a result of getting older?" Perhaps it was something I had to do?"
Holt describes himself as a creature of habit. "I like to be awake, stay up late, get up early." though he knows that getting a good night sleep is important to his well being. He has not always been able to stay true to his commitment to get a good night sleep 11-7. This is another example of how Holt lets himself down in small ways, and how difficult it is to create new habits.
I asked Holt to describe the benefits/consequences of making the shift to less stress-filled conversations.
Benefits:
Stress reduction
more effective communication
calm
able to get the point across
Consequences of failing to address the issue:
Health problems (I asked Holt if he had any health problems? not yet)
I shared with Holt, my observation that he got riled up at the mention of his mother's judgment of him. Moreover, that when I asked him to slow down, he was unable to. I used this as an example of what he may need to look for as a trigger that causes him to become anxious. He understood.
As a homework assignment for the coming week, I asked Holt to become aware of the triggers that create anxiety for him in conversations. He may not be able to identify the triggers in the moment, but that he could spend 5 minutes at the end of the day logging the hard conversations and reflecting upon the causes of anxiety.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes:
Holt is very coach-able and willing to reflect upon his behaviors. It will be interesting to see how he responds to the request to log his observations.
Coaching Provided Log – 9/9/13
Coaching Hours 3:30-4:30pm
Coaching Issues:
Conversation with Holt began slowly, not sure we were going to have much to talk about. He asked if he had any homework that he should have done for today, with a sheepish guilty giggle. I said, I don't know...this time is your time...how do you want to make the best use of it? I did remind him that we had agreed he would monitor his feelings/anxiety during difficult conversations.
He said, we can talk about people that "get me going".
Great, like who and in what circumstances? Holt said that Jon Brewster (Fellow and CT) was his current challenge. "I hate it when it feels like he is looking over my shoulder!" We end up going back and forth over email, chat, phone.
What do you think is going on? Jon has his own ideas, and he wants to influence the problem I'm working on. Jon wants to have philosophical discussions, and I'd just like to get started on the solution. Can literally spend 2 hrs/day talking about the problem and solution space...which prevents me from being able to get it done. He's wasting hours of my day, and I "have to bring him along." I suppose email is the worst vehicle for having difficult conversation.
There are two main components to the problem:
Techincal issue: The service architecture is broken. It's not obvious who decided that all printers should keep an open line to the server, but when only 0.1% of the printers actually need to talk to the server...we're tying up the service with 99.9% waste. This issue arose out of an assumption that the cloud service should duplicate the desktop experience...a bad choice that has driven many subsequent other bad choices.
Personnel issue: whether or not to have the India team doing development.
So back the rub with Jon, Holt thinks it could be an Alpha male thing going on between them. Holt's wife reminds him that he doesn't like being told how to do something. Doesn't mind being told what needs to be done, just don't tell me how to do it. Feels like a competition between Holt and Jon.
Holt has a presentation on the material coming up , and he's expecting it will be a battle. What does that mean? A battle? You know how some people want a review (meaning they get to judge and provide feedback) and others just want an update...Holt thinks Jon will turn this into a review. Holt reiterated that he just wants to get stuff done, and Jon wants to have philosophical discussions. Holt wants data, not speculation. This project has been designed without UI/Designers/customer feedback...where is this data? Why arent we applying it?
There are parts of this discussion I don't want to have. Not with managers in the room, when winning and losing in public will be an issue. I asked Holt, how he can create the conditions for this meeting/conversation that would allow him to be "at his best"? He thought about golfing and being a pilot. He imagines his golf swing in his head. I asked, how as a pilot he manages not to panic,or get anxious. Holt went onto explain instrument rating and flying in the clouds, when you cant trust your inner ear. it was so perfect! He played out the entire parallel scenario for managing a highly risky and uncertain environment. I asked him if he could imagine Jon sitting in the copilot seat and kibbitzing the way Holt feels he's doing on the project. Holt said he'd tell him to just shut up. I said, is that how you'd ask a guest in your cockpit? :-) wow!
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes: Our clients truly have all they need to resolve the challenges in front of them. We just need to help them find it. such a blessing!
Coaching Provided Log – 9/25/13
Coaching Hours 2-3 pm
Coaching Issues: Confronting and Comfort with Conflict - How is it that Holt feels comfortable as a pilot in plane confronting a passenger, but not so in business?
Coaching Objectives: To find Grendel's mother, What is it that lurks beneath the surface that is preventing Holt from having the confidence and comfort in having a hard conversation?
Client: #6
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: David Wetchler
Start Date/End Date: Aug 26th, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 5 hr
Contact Information: Email: david.wetchler@hp.com Telephone: 360-607-9730
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
The Outcome: Once the coaching has been completed, what are the outcomes the client and you are able to articulate?
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – 8/26/13
Coaching Hours 2-3pm
Coaching Issues:
I explained the coaching process to David and differentiated it from mentoring or counseling. I shared with David the general flow of Challenge-->Aspirational Goal-->Obstacles-->Planning-->Actions-->Tracking.
He explained that he has taken the Chief of Staff role as a temporary assignment until he is aligned on his next career move. So the clock is ticking for him to decide. He'd like to get clarity on what he wants to do next: Life goals, align to fun, align to work, align to both.
He's hoping to get a skills transfer as well, recognizing that coaching may provide an avenue to reduce the negative energy that shows up in a conversation. wants to be a calming presence when things get heated. He recognizes that sometimes his passions get in the way. I speak what's on my mind (growing up in NY and all).
He mentioned that he liked Sam Angelos leadership style. He always seemed to be able to motivate a group to align and get something done. observed that "Sam led with humility".
When I asked David what he thought was his leadership style, he did not know. When I asked him, what got in his way, he paused a long time and observed that's a very good question. He mentioned that he's continued to choose technical and business leadership roles over people management. What's that about?
David is curious about coaching and how it might help him resolve the questions that are in front of him. I've asked him to consider a clear challenge statement. He was curious what one might look like. I shared with him the three marriages, self, work, and spouse. I also sent him the life launch questionnaire asking him to identify areas where he was most attracted.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used. life launch questionnaire; pay attention to areas that are most attractive to him.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes:
Coaching Provided Log – 9/3/13
Coaching Hours 2-3pm
Coaching Issues:
I asked David if the questionnaire revealed anything. He didn't share any thing specific about what was revealed, but did say that he was intrigued by the stories that he started to pay attention to. He noticed stories both professional and personal.
He wondered about "why can't I get into an exercise habit that works for me?" He knows he feels good as results of the workout, and yet cant seem to commit to it...I asked if he knew why? He didn't know. But the pause was good for him to reflect.
I asked David about the coaching challenge, hoping we could get something concrete and specific. "Where I am right now - everyone's happy!" My wife is happy! My kids are happy! but there is a lot on the horizon; daughter is graduating next year, Retirement thinking is shifting from "will I?" to "when can I?" starting to get anxious about it.
I explained adult transitions and the 4 quadrants of Hudson's chapter and transition model. I asked David to characterize his location on the hudson model. He thought that his job was in a "go for it", but that he had less than a year to make a decision about what was next for him. Is he getting ready? Daughter graduates next year, and he is "go for it". Social Life - "Doldrums". With all of the changes that are coming his way, David is wondering where he will be five years from now?
David and I discussed the differences between adjustments that take you back into "go for it" and the transitions that require a harder more distinct life change. I characterized the difference as "letting go". If the "letting go" isn't present or significant then your in a chapter adjustment. If the feeling of letting go doesn't conjure up an image of hanging on the edge by your fingernails and you are literally scared to death to let go, you're merely in a chapter refinement. As David thinks about the transition ahead of him, "what are you going to let go of?" Not to assume that he needs to let go of anything, but does he? and if so, what does it reveal? In 5 more years, another kid is headed of to college.
Back to the Social Duldrums - This summer was indicative, The kids were literally gone most of the time, and yet we did nothing. A lot of our friends are in a similar stage: Kids leaving, lots of activities. When things get hard, it's easy to ignore.
What are the consequences of not dealing with this:
1) gaps in relationship
2) Personal enjoyment - and then david shared a story of how the weekend played out. Monday was just the opposite: We went out with some friends and ended up on a sailboat. seemingly indicating that it wasn't planned. I asked David what was the source of the enjoyment? My brain started immediately filling in the blanks. I asked if it was the lack of a plan that created the spontaneity and thus enjoyment? He said, not having a plan doesn't bother us. The challenge is just saying, "let's just get together."
I asked David, who normally catalyzes his social interactions: He or his wife, Allison? David is the catalyst for their social activities. But now he has a lot going on. he's travelling quite a bit; he's tired, he has less initiative. I asked him how he feels about this answer, about hearing him say this? His inner voice is telling him, "e should do this..." and "he should do this.." "It goes back to the cup is full!" "you've gotta let something go" I asked David if it is possible to increase the capacity of the cup? He was silent for a while, great question.
David explained about the time spends at home and whether the activities were useful. "What to do with the empty hours in my day?" "get myself motivated to have a second wind when i get home" "how not to come home at 8pm?"
I asked David how many hours he worked, he said it was seasonal, but presently its 11-12 hours/day. In January it's less than 40/wk.
How does it make you feel to work this hard?
I'm making a difference
I'm getting recognized
In the printing world, I get depended upon by Hatem
Hatem treats me well!
I want to spend time with my kids.j
Have you had another time, when external forces were competing for your time and values?
David had a congregational posotion that was asking too much. It was creating negative energy, and a poor attitude at home. He "served out his term" as way of leaving it/ It was better to walk away than continue, so it was easy to leave. How do you choose between two things that bring positive energy? I'm thinking an exercise with the passion cards will help.
And David had an epiphany, "I think the relationship to myself is the most unhealthy" I got tingles! A breakthrough!
And then a redirect, the Job transition. I know I have to find a new job this spring or summer. If you know this is coming, why have you avoided looking? "good question"
I asked David what is strengths were:
Strategic, Communication, Individualization, Achiever, Activator (though he admits that this interpretation never did much him personally). He prefers the MB type test. ENTP. One of his greatest takeaways was the interaction matrix, how his type did/did not get along with other types. Particularly his mom (IxFx) must be a rough relationship for david.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used. Hudson Chapters and Transitions; Hudson 4 quadrants;,
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes: Ybarra's multiple scenarios crucible is coming; passion cards - what brings you alive?; Workaholic? don't fill in the blanks...when you find yourself writing the story in your head, it's time to ask a question.
Coaching Provided Log – 9/13/13
Coaching Hours 10-11:30am
Coaching Issues: I brought my passion card deck up to work with David. I had David go through the deck and filter out the passion cards that did align with his priorities. I found the conversation a real struggle. It was difficult to get david to make decisions and to focus on a smaller set. Eventually David reduced the set to 6 cards. Three of the cards were considered foundational (or non-negotiable). The other 3 cards indicated the areas that David would like to make improvements.
Foundational: Elements: Parenting with Wisdom and Love, Being a Friend, Inner Peace
Opportunities: Regular exercise, Staying healthy, Reaching goals(Financial &Job related)
I was moving to see if we could get to an understanding of the aspirational goal. What would the inspired future look like? David was so stuck in the current that he had trouble envisioning a future state. To do so, would mean he could imagine resolution to the blockages that he's not even yet aware of.
I explored prior successes, when he was able to overcome blockages that might reveal a pattern he could follow. He did not come up with an example. I asked him to select one of the challenge areas that we could focus on. He couldn't or wouldn't do it. Eventually, I selected the exercise and staying healthy goals and asked him to consider what he could do. He wouldn't or couldn't answer. He confided that this has always been and remains an issue.
I suggested that he consider the opportunities in combination with the foundational elements: how might he exercise while reinforcing his relationship with his kids, or while honoring his friends. This allowed David to explore ideas like playing golf with his son. aha! some traction!
David and I talked about habits, becoming aware of the triggers that cause them and a desire to break them. This conversation was more about awareness of habitual tendencies then about actually taking action against David's habits.
Coaching Provided Log – 9/27/13
Coaching Hours 10-11:30am
Coaching Issues: Recognizing that David struggled so much to identify with any of the specific opportunities, I explained to David that our goal as coach was to teach an individual to fish rather than to give them a fish. I wondered if he could identify a common theme that perhaps underpinned his challenge with the presenting issues. Who was Grendel's mother?
David immediately resonated with this perspective. He was wondering the same thing. These issues were not issues to him. Why does the challenge remain? Why has he not been able to overcome these issues despite knowing about them for so many years?
I asked David many questions that began to expose the issue. Many times, David would say, "that's intriguing?"
Coaching Provided Log – 10/11/13
Coaching Hours 10-12:00pm
Coaching Issues: Recognizing that David struggled so much to identify with any of the specific opportunities, I explained to David that our goal as coach was to teach an individual to fish rather than to give them a fish. I wondered if he could identify a common theme that perhaps underpinned his challenge with the presenting issues. Who was Grendel's mother?
David immediately resonated with this perspective. He was wondering the same thing. These issues were not issues to him. Why does the challenge remain? Why has he not been able to overcome these issues despite knowing about them for so many years?
I asked David many questions that began to expose the issue. Many times, David would say, "that's intriguing?"
Client: #7
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Ken Smith
Start Date/End Date: Aug 27th, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 2 hr
Contact Information: Email: kenneth.smith@hp.com Telephone: 208-396-5062
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
Ken understands that DT's are not humble, including himself. Their egos can get in the way of making timely and efficient decisions for the business. Ken would like to increase the quality of communication between himself and his audience to increase the quality and speed of alignment.
The Outcome: Once the coaching has been completed, what are the outcomes the client and you are able to articulate? Ken would like to be qualified to be a fellow. Is creating alignment his greatest obstacle?
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – 8/26/13
Coaching Hours 2:30-3:30pm
I explained the coaching process to Ken and differentiated it from mentoring or counseling. I shared with Ken the general flow of Challenge-->Aspirational Goal-->Obstacles-->Planning-->Actions-->Tracking.
Coaching Issues: Ken understands that his head is faster than his mouth. His thoughts are perhaps two or three steps ahead of what he has communicated and he leaves people behind trying to catchup or guess at how to fill in the gaps.
Ken's Strengths are, though he said he never received the full report. What can we learn from these?
Strategic
Learner
Achiever
Futuristic
Relator
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used. Send Ken the life launch career development questionnaire and contract.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes: What can I share with Ken regarding the strengths and potential guidance on how to make best use of them?
Coaching Provided Log – 9/9/13
Coaching Hours 11-12pm
Ken and I recounted our last discussion and the invitation to address the ultimate goal of becoming a fellow, and that he can make strides in his development by helping others understand his thoughts/ideas. We talked about his strengths report and the suggested activities that apply to developing himself. He had a copy of the action plans but had not read them. Homework.
I asked Ken, why he wanted to be a fellow. It f eels more important! Ties me into broader organizational goals/strategies/insights through a community of strategists. Dream job would be a CT, though I don't know if this is practical. Do you mean like Keith? No, Keith doesn't talk to the DT's. He doesn't create community with the strategists. More like Patrick? Yes, perhaps more like Patrick. To be more involved in establishing the broader agenda.
Ken then reflected on his current role and said, I think my current role is too narrow. Maybe I need to work on this. nice insight!
I was really struggling to hear Ken, due to the noise of an outside leaf blower. I asked Ken if he was a quiet person. He said, "soft spoken" not quiet. He is not afraid to say what he thinks. He said his wife refers to him as the Sun King. This was a term I didn't understand. Ken explained that he was the youngest male in his family. Ah, like the little princess. Curiously, I cannot find a wiki reference. Perhaps a story he tells himself about the way the youngest male child should be. He did speak up after this! :-)
I asked Ken, what barriers does he perceive that affect his ability to achieve his goal.
He said, getting alignment. I suggested that he must have given this some thought and wondered what he observed.
Better listening - He said that his mind conceives of an answer/solution very fast, and he stops listening.
How to capture my thoughts concisely. How to get my thinking to a single slide instead of 5.
Communication skills - everyone can use this kind of work.
Dilution - last week he had 32 hours of work time (4x8hrs) and 30 of them were in scheduled meetings (this is very frustrating for Ken). Ken doesn't want to become a manager (like Jim) if he has to spend his entire work life in meetings. He get's invited to meetings and feels like he should attend to stay abreast of the big picture items (forest), though his interests and expertise can be very deep and focused (tree). I think Ken is also afraid to disappoint others who make a recommendation of him. (Boundaries Greg!) how can he possibly get anything done?
I asked Ken to recount the actions and behaviors that had made him successful, and caused his promotion to DT. This was a nice turning point in the conversation as Ken recounted.
Ken is inventive - 75 patents
Ken is Strategic (#1 Stength) - He made a proposal that required significantly fewer resources for the LES business to get back into the MFP market. His lightweight solutions were adopted. Ken was valued for being able to see the 95% solution. That he could parse the complex feature requirements and come up with a simple and elegant solution. Others had continued to pursue the 100% solution which kept the problem complex and expensive. People valued my ability to see the forest and not get distracted by the trees.
I asked Ken if he recognized the potential for applying his success skills, to problem of meetings. hmm nice insight!
I recalled the barriers that Ken had earlier identified and asked which one he'd like to focus on. He said listening. I asked Ken how he would describe his listening challenge.
I jump to the answer rather than probe deeper. I want to be able to hear what someone is saying in their sole. I think conversations should look something like.
I present my ideas
I listen for feedback
I probe for understanding
I listen for feedback
I probe deeper
Finally get to the bottom of the issue.
Along the way I get understanding while building trust. I asked Ken to tell me a story about when his listening broke down. He shared about a recent meeting with a technical marketing person who was unable to see the bigger picture. She kept trying to bring my attention back to the single most up front issue, the tree standing in her face. I kept trying to get her to see the bigger picture, the forest.
I asked him how this felt - He said frustrated. I know how people make decisions, they're emotional. I tend to be logical. I follow a rational thread from a->b->c->d. I asked Ken if it was possible that his decisions were emotional...we both laughed at the ridiculousness of his logic (others are emotional, I am rational). I recalled the Kahneman book, Thinking Fast and Thinking Slow. Neuroscience has revealed that we all prefer to use our fast thinking emotional brain. It's not that we don't exercise our slower, rational brains, it's just that to do so requires so much glucose, that our bodies have evolved to preserve this precious energy. It made Ken wonder how he thinks compared to how other people think. Recognizing that we all probably don't think alike.
Well if the stories that we use to create an emotional response, differ from person to person...won't we all have a different emotional response to any given set of stimuli? If in fact we make our decisions emotionally, won't we all make them slightly differently?
In closing, I asked Ken to revew the strengths finder action guide and determine if there was resonance with our emerging plan, and if anything new might be revealed. I also asked Ken to sense the frustration that arises for him throughtout the day as he has conversations and jumps to the answer. Not to do anything with it, but just to notice it. If he hasn't noticed anything by the end of the day, then to spend 5 minutes reflecting on the day's conversation. Ultimately, our goal will be to recognize his habitual trigger of frustration and to choicefully move back into conversation, building trust and understanding.
I also asked Ken to trust his observed ability to create the 95% solution in his work hours, and trust that he can optimize his work hours/contribution by doing less.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used. Appreciative Inquiry.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes: When Ken was frustrated by a situation, I asked him to shift his thinking to when he had been successful. Wow! it is so powerful. He began to articulate a solution to the problem he had just identified. It wasn't obvious to him, what he had just done. I would have done better to provoke his discovery than to show it to him. Something shifted in today's conversation, similar to the dynamic that occurred with Holt, perhaps when the client understands my true intentions to help and support, they trust and let me in.
Client: #8
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Gene Pien
Start Date/End Date: Aug 30h, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 0 hr
Contact Information: Email: gene.pien@hp.com Telephone: 360-212-9398
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
The Outcome:
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – 8/30/13
Today I met with Alex Cho, Gene's manager and SVP of the printing supplies business. Alex shared with me his insights into Gene's development.
Currently Gene is in a hybrid role to stretch and grow him. He is responsible for the toner supplies engineering, CRM assets and initiatives, & helping to manage accessories. Alex respects Gene's business acumen, his insights into the toner business, he has a strong intuition about the needs of the business, and forms strong partnerships. Gene has been identified as a successor to Alex, and this development discussion is really about improving Gene's contribution and readying him for a larger role. There is no performance issue that must be addressed, and the timeline for Gene's development is purely at his discretion. Alex described Gene as a rocket scientist. Wants to disclose his thoughts when they are "right". That he is very thoughtful and intelligent, but has challenges in communicating and controlling the perception of others.
Observations: Alex is very supportive of Gene's contribution though he has to vigorously support him to others on the staff. This perception limits the trust and respect that the broader organization is willing to give Gene. Gene's team delivers very well. Alex has a long history as a peer and manager of Gene and trusts him implicitly. He wants Gene to achieve the same level of respect with others in the organization.
Opportunities for Gene's development: Executive Presence
Commanding Presence: Gene does not enter a room and immediately get the attention of those present. Take care of the distractions: Giggles inappropriately; Thinks out loud creates a perception of a lack of clarity; Doesn't frame context for the audience.
Facilitating Alignment, execution and delivery of activities beyond his team. Networking outside of the immediate and urgent business needs. Would like to see Gene be thinking about issues before there is an immediate problem. Have informal levels of dialogue with others and seek feedback on ideas.
Increase the mindshare of the org about the work he is doing, or wanting to do. Gaining trust of peers and superiors who may not have deep trusting relationship based upon history. "I can't be his biggest supporter." Create a process that the org can enter into. Perhaps by creating a cadence for his meetings and outreach.
Communication: Gene has a great strength and rapport in connecting with people 1:1; has an opportunity to improve in the 1:Many. (ie Sponsors)
Alex see's this as an FY14 goal for Gene, though not to be confused as a deliverable or must have. This development is opportunistic and at Gene's urgency.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used. Send Ken the life launch career development questionnaire and contract.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes: What can I share with Ken regarding the strengths and potential guidance on how to make best use of them?
Client: #9
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Paul Benning
Start Date/End Date: Aug 30h, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 2 hr
Contact Information: Email: paul.benning@hp.com Telephone: 541-715-5684
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
The Outcome:
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – 8/30/13 1-2pm
I explained the coaching process to Paul and differentiated it from mentoring or counseling. I shared with Paul the general flow of Challenge-->Aspirational Goal-->Obstacles-->Planning-->Actions-->Tracking.
Observations: Paul asked about the benefits of coaching and I shared the following observations:
1) Personal Development: Focusing on your development creates engagement.
2) Self-Confidence: As you develop your skills and honor the unique strengths you bring to any situation, your self-esteem grows.
3) Presence: As you gain confidence in your leadership abilities you can begin to be more present with the situations you encounter as a leader. This resonated strongly with Paul! He commented that he has observed this skill in Meg Whitman.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used. Sent Paul the life launch career development questionnaire and contract.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes: How to maintain my presence as a model for Paul's curiosity?
Coaching Provided Log – 9/9/13 12:30-1:30pm
I explained to Paul that the coaching process works when the client is able to articulate and agree to a clear challenge or opportunity. Paul explored the space of his career and was hoping to one day become the CTO. He compared and contrasted his understanding of Frank, Patrick and Mike and felt he'd rather that the position be more "Frankish"...an arm of the business to incubate and set technology strategy.
In the process Paul reflected that he had been the CT/Fellow of Print technologies for a couple years and was still finding and discovering what it is that fellows do. "Perhaps I should write this down..." ultimately, He asked, What do I want to do?
He sees the progression of his career, like a program. That it consists of a balance between a Deliberate and a Responsive side. Having a plan but not being wed to it. Right now, he doesn't feel like he has a plan and that Mike does not have a strength in partnering to create this.
Paul recounted his career at HP which started in 1995, and has consisted of major changes approximately every two years. I'm reminded the "clock time" that was first introduced to me by the Bailey profile years ago. Paul has a clock time of ~2 years, and he is nearing the end of his current two year cycle. Intersting.
Paul recognized that over the course of his 18 year career, he has never managed a person. He is interested in having direct reports if the opportunity is right. He thought hat 3D print would/could have been the right opportunity if it were located in Corvallis.
We discussed strategy creation and formation, and Paul's familiarity. Paul is comfortable applying the SPAR techniques that he has been a part of for several years. I discussed some of my history on Academic approaches to strategy and reinforced that his practical experience was very worthwhile.
The conversation shifted to our shared experience in mentoring the BIL cohort teams...a side light that didn't reveal much about the coaching opportunity. Paul is comfortable in this role of leading and mentoring incubation. I asked about his practical experience and he shared the 3D printing work along with the thin film piezo work he had led. Makes me wonder if he has ever been the catalyst for an intrapreneurial activities vs being responsible for one.
As we closed, I reminded Paul about his curiosity in presence, and he reaffirmed that his was an active area of curiosity for him.
Coaching Strategies & Maps Used. Paul committed to completing life launch career development questionnaire and contract.
Learnings, Insights and Outcomes: How to maintain my presence as a model for Paul's curiosity?
Client: #10
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Emre Ozguc
Start Date/End Date: Sept 13th, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 3 hr
Contact Information: Email: emre.ozguc@hp.com Telephone: 360-975-5153
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
To deliver business outcomes like I'm accustomed to, while being a nice person also. Don't want to be flowery, and lose my edge. But I don't want hall way conversations that reveal everyone thinks I could be nicer.
The Outcome:
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – 9/13/13 11:30-1pm
Provided life assessment tool.
Coaching Provided Log - 9/27/13 11:30-1pm
Provided Emre with the Crucial Conversations cliff notes.
Coaching Provided Log - 1017/13 3-4pm
Personal goal: Riding the wave instead of making one.
Emre completed the personal assessment and found that the answers revealed similar patterns to which we've already discussed. He too, wanted to ask about my assessment and resulting career influences. I'm getting suckered into dialogue. But i'm aware and can make a choice. I shared with Emre that I had taken the assessment as well, and that I I tended to focus on the areas where the state changes between current and future where the widest.
Emre commented that he had shared the assessment with his wife, and asked how she might score him. He was ready to give himself a 4 on listening, and she thought maybe a 3 would be appropriate. we laughed.
Emre went on to say that the assessment also reinforced his desire to stay balanced in his career choices. Not to choose work that wasn't fun, simply for the reason of career advancement. Perhaps there is an opportunity to leverage this thinking, If he wants his job to be more fun than career oriented...does he expect the same of others? How may he structure his job to be more fun? Would doing so change the way in which he is perceived?
Emre described fun as learning, and not the "day to day grind" that sales had become, no quota etc.
He noted that empathy was another area in which he wanted to grow. These are both in alignment with his overall growth objective. How to be a better listener with greater empathy? Geez how did I miss this signal in our discussion as well.
He noted that he really needed to take care of the lack of physical activity in his life as well. This led to a discussion about stress. and whether stress was perhaps the cause of some of his "meanness". I asked what he could do to help manage stress: More sleep, Better calendar management, Time to attend to things like email, not having back to back meetings. He mentioned that he asked his admin to preserve 60 minutes everyday so that he could have the time to address the urgent issues that are showing up. He also acknowledged that this was the first thing to get compromised when he gets busy.
I asked how losing this time affects his stress, and whether the consequence of becoming stress filled did more harm the other hours in his day. Would he make the same trade-off if he understood the real consequences? He compares himself to Alex a lot. He respects Alex and the way he shows up at work, striking the right balance in motivating his people. He is going to ask Alex how he manages his own stress, in order to stay present at work, perhaps over a beer.
We discussed about what motivates people, and Emre revealed many elements of management that are about creating alignment (process orientation), I suggested that there may be two other elements to creating a high performing innovation environment: Culture and Agency. Emre and I discussed whether people perform better with a challenge that requires courage or one that creates fear. He thought this was great perspective. I asked him how he perceives Alex's support for him?
In the coming two weeks, Emre will:
Look for the triggers in his conversations (emails) that cause him to respond curtly. Is it the recipient? Is it the content? Is it the time of day?
Are his responses stress related or not? Emre will stay aware of his stress level.
look at how he challenges people. Does it inspire confidence or create fear?
Coaching Provided Log - 10/31/13 3-4pm
Personal goal: Let Emre set the agenda...
Coaching Provided Log - 11/15/13 3-4pm
Personal goal: Riding the wave instead of making one.
Coaching Provided Log - 12/5/13 1-2pm
Personal goal: Riding the wave instead of making one.
Client: #11
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Name: Lyndsey Blythe
Start Date/End Date: Sept 13th, 2013
Total Hours Coached: 8 hr
Contact Information: Email: Telephone:
The Coaching Contract: What are the original goals, the outcomes this client is looking for, the agreements you’ve made about the coaching focus?
To get into a home and to get her book published.
The Outcome:
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – 9/13/13 2-5pm
Coaching Provided Log – 9/27/13 2-5pm
Coaching Provided Log – 11/2/13 5-7pm
Client: Spot Coaching
ICF Tracking Log:
Client Names: Don Eckhart, Eric Moran, Lonnie Mandigo, Rajeev Pandey, Bruce Cowger, John Greeven
Start Date/End Date:
Total Hours Coached: 5 hr
Contact Information: Email: Telephone:
The Coaching Contract:
Don Eckhart: Deciding how to make a decision on life partners.
Eric Moran: How to improve employee engagement. Leadership in complex systems.
Lonnie Mandigo: How to achieve what you want in life. How to put yourself in the positions to learn and grow.
Rajeev Pandey: Leadership passages and the growth of a leader
Bruce Cowger: How to increase my contribution, and realize my full potential
The Outcome:
My top three learning insights about me as a coach in this coaching case:
Coaching Provided Log – 9/13/13 2-5pm
Coaching Provided Log – 9/27/13 2-7pm