After a series of sessions with a leadership group from one of the world’s largest multi-national corporations, I followed up with a list of their key learning outcomes. I wanted to share these with all of our clients as they reflect some of the broader brush strokes of our approach.
Transformational Change: An EQ Success Story
John Gardner, Systems Engineering Manager at Medrad, a medical devices company, was recognized as someone with a high degree of technical skills and an ability to “get things done.” But at what cost?
According to John, “Although senior management liked that I got things done, they were frustrated with my methods of dealing with people. Essentially, management was saying, “John, we love you, but we want to shoot you!”
John focused only on the outcomes of the work, believing that task completion was much more important than people’s feelings. “On the one hand, I was receiving performance reviews at the top of the performer range. Then I got a letter saying that if I didn’t change my style, I might be fired.” John couldn’t believe that he was being knocked for his interpersonal style when he was delivering such amazing results!
Make Feedback Work For – Not Against – You
Coaching client Belinda received some very honest feedback in her E.I. 360. Areas identified for development included more willingness to listen, less tendency to micromanage and less urgency in jumping to solutions. Overall, Belinda was being asked to become more aware of when her impact on her directs was negative, adversely affecting trust and her working relationships.
She struggled with receiving this feedback and came to E.I. coaching quite defensive – in fact, closer to denial.
“Micromanaging? I don’t get that – I’m just trying to help people who need it. We’re at work to get things done and some people need to try a little harder to meet deadlines, so I make sure it happens.”
I spent the first part of our meeting letting Belinda share her thoughts about her feedback, adding some questions in order to understand but not to challenge. This gave her a chance to share her side of the story, which helped to calm her emotions. I was also modeling one of the key behaviours identified for her to develop – listening. When she stopped, I asked, “So, what was it like, being able to tell me how you feel about this feedback?”
3 Ways Coaching is Like Reading a Good Book
I was flipping through a book on coaching the other day and it occurred to me that the process of coaching is rather like reading a good book. Read on to see how.
Coaching Takes You Away From the Every Day
You know how it is when a book catches your eye —you admire the glossy cover. Your interest is piqued, so you flip the book over and read the back-cover synopsis. Then you open to the starting page and dive in. In the same way a good book takes you out of the here and now and into a new world, a coach can help you move past your here and now into a future that is limitless and full of new possibilities.
EQ Coaching is Life Changing
Our Coaching Director recently shared a great experience she had with a coaching client. The client took our 2-day Emotional Intelligence Training course over four years ago then recently attended our Three Conversations of Leadership course. At the close of their final Three Conversations of Leadership coaching session, the client shared with her how strongly our programs and emotional intelligence coaching had impacted him, acknowledging he had become a different person.
