Reading Marc Simon Kahn's brilliant new book, Coaching on the Axis, I am struck by the crucial role of a systemic approach in business coaching. It is necessary to ensure that business coaching results in "the promotion of success at all levels of the organization by affecting the actions of those being coached." Backed by a strong theoretical foundation and his wide and deep professional [...]
This is a case study of team coaching in a 'virtual team' environment - where the coach and the team members are scattered around the globe and all calling in to a teleconference line. Some new skills are needed to work effectively in 'virtual teams.' We need to learn to work with people we never get to meet in the same room, build good relationships [...]
This is a combined text/audio posting based on a fascinating live interview with Faith Fuller, President and co-founder of CRR Global, Inc on the topic of Relationship Systems and South African Business. In keeping with our recent focus on global virtual teams, we held the interview via teleconference from Johannesburg to San Francisco, with interested colleagues and potential clients joining the conversation from around South Africa and France. [...]
It's 2012 and the era of the global virtual team is upon us. Whether we like it or not, more and more work teams are going to be global and virtual – i.e. made up of geographically separated members who still want to work together – because money and ecology say so (just look at what has happened to the oil price!), and the social [...]
Saying "No" can be hard. Yet without a good solid daily dose of "No", it becomes pretty meaningless to say "Yes." Too many yes's leave a person overloaded with so many promises that eventually they can't all be kept. Most people know this intellectually, but not all of us are as clear as we might be about when we say "no" and how we say it. [...]
Market conditions demand us all to examine how to deliver greater value for less cost. And now we find ourselves in a recession. The wonderful thing about recessions is that they offer us the stark choice: do what is most valuable, or perish. Coaching is no different – it must adapt to the times, or be crushed under the tightening belts of its clients. I’m a [...]
Leadership is not all about control. Nor is it all about democracy. Leaders are called upon in equal measure to hold the space for others in the group, and to give direction to the group. In other words, leaders both facilitate the emergence of leadership in their teams, and give guidance and direction to their teams. Put more bluntly, leaders hold empowerment in one hand [...]
This is about what changes as we go up the leadership ladder in organizations. I have found that the higher I go up the corporate ladder, the less detail I can control. It sometimes feels as if my control "budget" has shrunk, but the truth is that the number of things I can control has shrunk as their value has increased. I am now limited [...]
I’m just back from five nights alone in the hills of Retief’s Kloof in the Magaliesberg mountains near Johannesburg, South Africa. I feel deeply refreshed, energized and alive to new possibilities. There is something about alone time that burns off the fluff, helps get down to what is really important, and flushes out some of the chaotic complexities that lurk inside all of us. And [...]
You got to be a business leader by turning obstacles into opportunities, and exiting your business is another challenge you will succeed at. You might find the process takes you to new levels of emotional maturity. I'm sure you will find it harrowing and exhilarating at the same time. Create value, create a legacy Your business loses value when it loses you. However, the cool [...]
