How Do I Define My Career Management Strategy?

Not sure where to begin?

Daunted?

Dis-illusioned?

Our new motivational video might help you follow the road to your new career management strategy.

#Coaching Part 2 How Do You Make It Happen?

Coaching is a great way to accelerate learning and development in the workplace and also in our personal lives.

Invest Some Time in Coaching - Be The Best You Can Be

 Having explored what coaching is and some different coaching styles: 

• how do you start

• how do you just make it happen?

My advice would be via some coaching models. Pick one you think will work best and give it a go in a real life work (or non work) example.

One of the most commonly used simple and effective coaching models is the GROW model, which is detailed below:

 

 I        Issue – What is the issue?

·         What is important to you right now?

·         What is your most important priority?

G        Goal – What are you trying to achieve?

·         Where do you want to be in x time?

·         What outcome are you looking for in this situation?

R         Reality – Where are you now in relation to your goal?

·         What have you tried so far, what has and hasn’t worked?

·         What is preventing you right now from achieving your outcome?

O         Options – What could you do?

·         If time, money and resource were no object what could you try?

·         What else could you try that could help you?

W        Will – What specific action will you take next?

·         What specifically could you do next time and when?

·         How confident do you feel that this will help you achieve your outcome?

Using GROW think of the coaching exercise like a journey:

• where do you want to go (on holiday)
• where are you now (in a busy office!)
• what do you need to do to make it happen (sort out the logistics)
• how do you get there (...well that's all in the planning bit)

A good way of thinking about the GROW Model is to think about how you'd plan a journey. First, you decide where you are going (the goal), and establish where you currently are (your current reality).
You then explore various routes (the options) to your destination. In the final step, establishing the will, you ensure that you're committed to making the journey, and are prepared for the obstacles that you could meet on the way.

Tip:
In its traditional application, the GROW Model assumes that the coach is not an expert in the "client's" situation. This means that the coach must act as a facilitator, helping the client select the best options, and not offering advice or direction.

When leaders coach their team members, or act as mentors to them, this may or may not apply. On one hand, it's more powerful for people to draw conclusions for themselves, rather than having these conclusions thrust upon them. On the other hand, as a team leader, you'll often have expert knowledge to offer. Also, it's your job to guide team members to make decisions that are best for your organization.

- See more at: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_89.htm#sthash.yn6kBm4F.dpuf

They key is to ask the right questions, ensuring they are open questions and and use active listening skills. Take time to listen and digest what is being said. Don't feel you have to be talking all the time. Think PUSH & PULL and pull the information from the other person, rather than feeling under pressure to come up with all the answers yourself.

You don't need to be a people manager to use this technique. If you have regular meeting with your people manager or team leader you could suggest that you both try this technique to help drive your personal development.


An example of using the GROW model in practice:

You manage a large team of mixed capability. One of your team members Iam Capable requests a career development discussion with you. He is worried about the lack of career progression and thinks he has to move teams to achieve the stretch and challenge he seeks.

• I - You discuss with Iam Capable the issue that is bothering him - he feels there is a lack of opportunities
• G - The goal is for him to feel motivated, not seek a new role and to provide him with stretch and challenge 
• R - you were completely unaware of how Iam Capable felt - now that you know you can do something about it
• O - you establish a development plan for Iam Capable enabling him to take on new stretching pieces of work and gain the recognition he is seeking
• W - you agree to sit down in 3 months and review his progress against the plan. You are on hand for 1-1's to provide any support he needs with his new responsibilities.

Why not give it a go and see how you get on?

#Coaching Part 1 - What Type Of #Coach Are You?

Coaching  is an invaluable tool in developing teams and high performance in the workplace.  There is no right or wrong style. The key thing as a people manager is to actively develop your teams, by whatever means works best.

Accelerate Your Growth Through Coaching

Following on from our recent blog posts on self assessment and coaching versus mentoring I thought it would be helpful to explore some different coaching styles.    

• Are you an accomplished coach? If so, what type of coaching style do you adopt? Do you flex this style according to the individual?
• Do you want to gain coaching skills and experience? What style do you aspire to?

Coaching Styles:

Key Influencer – a dominant figure who leads by example and who inspires others. This coaching style is typical of someone with influence, persona and charisma.

Visionary – this can be the most frustrating of coaching styles for recipients. The coach sees the big picture and enthusiastically talks about their vision - to them it is all crystal clear! However often the result is that recipients lack specific direction, as they have failed to understand the vision or keep up with the pace. This style is most effective when the vision is communicated, but time is taken to check team or individual understanding.

Hands On – common in the workplace, coaching on how to actually complete the specifics of a task e.g. step by step.

Hands Off – sometimes called “coaching on the run” e.g. telling someone where to find the information but then leaving them to figure it out themselves. A hands off coach is happy to help, after the individual or team has first tried the task themselves.

 

Formal and Structured – more “tell” in nature commonly used when there is little time to get the message across or in safety situations e.g. police, military.

Relaxed and Informal - being available when support and guidance is required. The coach understands individual or team strengths and plays an active role and ownership remains with the individual.

Collaborative – an group or team come together to support each other and set goals. Individuals feel "obliged" to follow through and deliver for the sake of the group so as not to lose credibility.

Following soon some coaching models that you might find helpful in developing others