COACHING TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS

SHORT NOTES FROM:

COACHING FOR TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS

BY COACH ABDUL AZIZ KASSIM

7 JUNE 2011

Coaching doesn't make sick people well, but makes ordinary people extra ordinary.  Coaching is the interaction that occurs between people which produces desired performance.  Coaching is thus performance focused but people centered.

Mentoring is the voluntary action between a willing experienced senior and willing grateful junior.  It is the process of sharing of tacit knowledge and experiences.

Those who don't know, teach or tell them;

Thos not able to do things, train them;

Those who want to perform and move forward; coach them

Coaches uses appreciative inquiry (questioning); active listening (only hearing); unbiased observation (look-see, look-see); constructive feedback (criticise and give comments); and support where appropriate.

Foe effective coaching, coaches need to shut up; listen; observe and get out of the way.  Thus the competencies needed are:

• emotional (relationship management)
• rational ( intellect, analysis, problem-solving)
• ethical (values, meaning, respect)
• able to relate to others
• have high EQ
•        know yourself
•        manage yourself
•        know others
•        manage relationship               

WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK - PART 3

SHORT NOTES FROM:

WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK

SUSAN FOWLER

Berrett-Koehler Publications, Inc., San Francisco

218 Pages

Leaders must understand how to motivate themselves before they can hope to guide others.  Teaching leaders about motivation is difficult because they believe their job is to motivate others not themselves.  Good things happen when you shift to or maintain an optimal motivational outlook.

Motivating people doesn't work because you cannot control someone else's internalisation process.  Motivational Outlook conversation can give a person a greater chance to explore their values.  These provides for growth and understanding.  Outlook Conversation is not to problem solve, impose your values, or expect a shift.  The purpose is to guide individuals to their own understanding of their motivational options and then shift.

OUTLOOK CONVERSATIONS' FRAMEWORK

1. PREPARE

2. TRUST THE PROCESS

3. REFLECT

4. CLOSE

5. SELF-REFLECT

Leadership is not a role; leadership is a practice.  Great leadership takes great practice.  When practicing leadership, you invest in the emotional labour which requires you to observe what the people are experiencing, how they are feeling and why.

Motivation is one of the most vital and emotional aspect of leadership and one of the most confused and misunderstood,  Thus making most leaders become blind to what does and doesn't work.

Leaders do not have access to someone else's internal state of motivation.  It is nearly impossible for a leader to understand others' internal state of motivation by observing their external behaviour.  Different people can internalise the same conditions differently.  Embrace the idea that all emotions are acceptable but not all behaviour is acceptable.  Acknowledge the crucial role that feelings play i work and life.

It might be helpful to consider the potential effect of each power has on people's emotional well-being, intentions and motivational outlooks:

1. Reward Power
2. Coercive Power
3. Referent Power
4. Legitimate Power
5. Export Power
6. Information Power

Power undermines people's psychological needs.  It's people's perception that you have it and could use it.  Your leadership values ultimately determine how you lead and the quality of the workplace you create.

Being a leader is a privileged position.  What you say, how you say it, and why you say it make a difference in the live of the people you lead.  Most leaders are stuck with systems that promote driving over thriving.  People already and are always motivated.  Thus, help people understand why they are motivated.

What do you want from your people

vs

What do you want for your people

COMMON MISTAKES AS LEADERS

1. Assuming that people are unmotivated if they are checking their text messenger or tweeting instead of paying attention
2. forcing someone to feel a sense of relatedness
3. imposing growth and learning on a person

The End

WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK - PART 2

SHORT NOTE FROM:

WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK

SUSAN FOWLER

Berrett Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco

218 Pages

3. THE DANGER OF DRIVE

Be careful of being driven.  Nobody liked the idea of something or someone outside controlling them.  One of the most popular motivational theories is called Drive Theory which is based on the idea that we are motivational to get what we don't have.

People want to thrive when they experience autonomy, relatedness, and competence needs.  Individuals are more likely to have high-quality self-regulation in a reliable, safe and trusting work-setting.  Thus, leaders and organisations need to work harder at creating a work place where people doesn't have to work so hard to self-regulate.  People also need to learn how to self-regulate; need to learn how to drive instead of being driven.

3 TECHNIQUES PROMOTING HIGH-QUALITY SELF-REGULATION

1. MINDFULNESS

2. VALUES

3. PURPOSE

Mindfulness provides a view of reality without the filters, self-centered thought, and historical conditioning that tint your outlook.  People are always acting from their values and they are more likely to meet or exceed expectations when they purse goals within the context of a meaningful purpose.

The danger of drive is that it promotes external motivations which comes in tangible forms.  people ultimately resent leaders who create a pressurised workplace that undermines autonomy.  People regards managers who drive for results as self-serving.  Driving for results by adding pressure and tension blocks people's creativity and ability to focus.  When employees thrive, leaders don't need to drive.

cont.......Part 3

WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK - PART 1

SHORT NOTES FROM:

WHY MOTIVATING PEOPLE DOESN'T WORK

SUSAN FOWLER

Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco

218 pages

1. STOP BEATING YOUR PEOPLE WITH CARROTS

Motivation that comes from choosing to do something is different from motivation that comes from having to do it.  One of the primary reasons motivating people doesn't work is the assumption that motivation is something a person has or doesn't have.  This leads to the erraneous conclusion that the more motivation a person has, the more likely they will achieve the goals and be successful.

Rewards and punishments can only buy temporary compliance.  Leaders need to question traditional beliefs and common practices.  We need leaders who want to cultivate a workplace where people flourish.  Great leaders must yearn for a practical yet honourable way to achieve and sustain results that brings out the best in and for people.

2. THE MOTIVATION DILEMMA

People are always motivated.  The question is not IF a person is motivated but WHY.  The dilemma is that leaders are being held accountable to motivate others.  Our well-being determines the intention, which ultimately lead to your behaviour.  A positive appraisal that results in a positive sense of well-being leads to positive intentions and behaviours that generate employee engagement.

The appraisal process is at the heart of employee engagement - and disengagement.  To improve the engagement scores, researches find what they call as employee work passion.  They found that individuals with employee work passion demonstrate these five positives intentions:

1. perform above standard expectations
2. uses discretionary effort on behalf of the organisation
3. endorses the organisation and it's leadership to others outside the organisation
4. uses altruistic citizenship behaviours towards all stakeholders
5. stay with the organisation

Leaders today need to help facilitate people's appraisal process so they are more likely to experience day-to-day optimal motivation.  Optimal motivation means having the positive energy vitality, end sense of well-being required to sustain the pursuit and achievement of meaningful goals while thriving and flourishing.

Motivation is a skill.  People can learn to choose and create optimal motivational experiences anytime and anywhere.

Motivating people does not work because they are already motivated.  The motivation dilemmas is that even tough motivating people doesn't work, leaders are held accountable for doing it.

Employees experience autonomy when they feel some control and choice about the work they do.  If people don't have a sense of empowerment, their sense of autonomy suffers and so do their productivity.

The role as a leader is helping people experience relatedness at work: caring about and feeling cared about, feeling connected without ulterior motives, and contributing to something greater than oneself.  This means a leader has to pay attention to how your people feel, gaining the skill to deal with their emotions, and also means getting personal.

cont.......Part 2

THE POWER OF SMALL - PART 2

SHORT NOTES FROM:

THE POWER OF SMALL

WHY LITTLE THINGS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE

LINDA KAPLAN THALER AND ROBIN KOVAL

Broadway Books, New York

140 Pages

GOING THE EXTRA INCH

Going the extra inch is that little thing you do that is special and shows what makes you different.  It's often the small act that shows you care, that proves the project or other person matters to you.

Getting noticed in a meaningful way is less about the grand gestures and more about the small, thoughtful things we do everyday.  Random acts of kindness can sometimes pay off in surprising ways.  Going the extra inch can be an enormously powerful catalyst for positive change.

TAKE BABY STEPS

While problem solving is often viewed as an intricate, consolidated process, often, the right solution is the simplest one.  The solution is to re-imagine the task from the onset; mentally dismantle the challenge into smaller, less formidable pieces.

The fear of change is rooted in the brain's physiology, and when fear takes hold, it can prevent creativity, change, and success.  Taking small steps engages the cortex, and prompts the brain to start laying down new nerve pathways to the desired change, building a neurological detour around the flight-or-fight roadblocks.

Victory is just as sweeter when you savour it bite by bite.  Small steps can make a huge difference.  

MATCH YOUR CUE AND CLUES

We are surrounded by interesting and important cues and clues that might help us to solve our everyday problems and looming challenges.  It takes a keen eye.  We have to train ourselves to be constantly on the lookout and to react with lightning speed.

Slow down; tune in to the signals around you.  External clues are important, but so are our internal cues.  We have 5 sensors for a reason.  Trust that filtering system and follow the cues it offers, you'll discover that you often know more than you know.

The unspoken cues people give in person can never be replicated.  Crack the codes; look for clues.  Study the frame and you can observe a lot just by watching.

LITTLE MISTAKES SPELL DISASTER

Never underestimate the power small. We are all human and we all make mistakes.  Perfection may be impossible, but mistakes are avoidable.  Sometimes forgetting to take care of the smallest details can have the biggest repercussions.

The first line of defence against embarrassing mistakes is to build a strong support team, with accountability as the guiding principles.  Sometimes we become so consumed with avoiding the big mistakes, we forget to read the fine print.

Asking questions, no matter how seemingly dumb or trivial, is the smart way to address and solve problems when they are still small and manageable.  Learning to let go of our pride and to ask for help, for another set of eyes or ears, is critical in avoiding the little disasters that can undo our best intentions.  Falling down is a part of life.

MAKE IT BIG BY THINKING SMALL

We are often told to think big, to see the larger picture, to not lose sight of the forest for the trees.

SMALL CHANGES THE WORLD

There is no limits to how great a difference we can make in the world.  Each and everyone of us has the power to leave this world a better place than we found it.

No one is too small because there is a hero in each of us.  Focussing on the tiniest details of the work we love, finding magic in even the smallest inspirations, embracing the briefest moments.

SO TAKE THE FIRST STEP AND THEN KEEP ON WALKING

the end.......

THE POWER OF SMALL - PART 1

SHORT NOTES FROM:

THE POWER OF SMALL

WHY LITTLE THINGS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE

LINDA KAPLAN THALER AND ROBIN KOVAL

Broadway Books, New York

140 Pages

In the world where we are urged to see the big picture, it often feels as if we don't have the time to sweat the small stuff.  The small cues, the simple gestures, the random acts of kindness that give life texture and meaning are too often overlooked or ignored.  Taking the time to give a compliment, or being attuned to a colleague or customers subtle body cues are consequential actions.  They are the details that make or break a relationship.

Believing that it is the small things that make the greatness difference is not just an ideology.  The surprising power of our small actions, our subtle shifts in thinking, and our dogged attention to the everyday details in life is that they can change everything.  Small and seemingly insignificant acts are powerful agents of change and growth.  Unfortunately, we are often and constantly told to concentrate on the big things and not to sweat on the small stuff.

Milestone are celebrated, daily victories are ignored.  We do need to ignore a lot of the 'noise' to get on with our lives.  The small gestures, words and daily kindness, speak volumes about our attention to detail and commitment and concern to effect change and make a difference.  Sometimes the small spontaneous acts make all the difference.

We can't change other people.  All we can control is what we do.  by making small changes in ourselves, we can effect big, positive changes.  We need to learn to pay attention to the right details.

The secret to getting ahead in life sometimes involves changing our perspective from the grandiose and the difficult to the small and doable.  The positive impressions that we make through little words, deeds, and gestures are what lay the groundwork for success in life.  It takes commitment to do so.

TRUTH #1:   IT'S A BYTE-SIZE WORLD

A byte-size world means we are all but a click away from being totally visible and vulnerable to virtually everyone else on the planet.  The world is a stage, empowering each of us to steal the spotlight.

Be observant of the small things that potentially can make or break our 'performance'.  Use the zoom lens more.  Don't overlook that one item that seems almost too trivial to worry about.  The ability to pay attention to the smallest details can set you apart from your competitors.

TRUTH #2:   SMALL ACTS TELL A LONGER STORY

You can learn so much from the small details in life.

TRUTH #3:   EVERYONE MATTERS

The ripple effects of small actions can never be underestimated.  Consider the potential impact of a single individual of employee: that one voice may be able to solve an ongoing problem, galvanise a community, or change the world.

TRUTH #4: A LITTLE GOOD GOES A LONG WAY

When you do nothing, you are doing something; you are closing the door to an opportunity.

small change

- become a mini-tracker

- create a series of smaller stages for a big task

- appreciate the little things

-make small impressions

- look for ways to insert a positive impression

- compliments in meetings

SMALL TALK

There are nothing small about small talk.  We are now so pressed for time that we routinely dismiss casual conversation as idle chitchat, a waste of time and energy.  We are losing the human texture in even our simplest conversations.

When we 'cut the small talk' with others, we are driving a wedge between human interactions.  The purpose of small talk is to get everything started.  Small talk is the social lubricant that brings people together, regardless of their differences.

Small talk allows people to discover common ground.  Finding common ground usually takes a matter of seconds, but the groundwork it lays can last the life of a relationship.

We are often too busy and focused on getting from one place to another, and achieving results.  Sometimes we forget how important it is to let our armour down and let people see another side of us.  Making human connection takes only a few seconds.

SCHMOOZE OR LOOSE

It only takes us about 7 seconds to decide how we feel about another person.

Once someone mentally labels a person as likeable or unlikable, everything else you do will be viewed through that filter.

Ability to excel at small talk can make an enormous difference in how others feel about you.

Ability to master the art of small talk can be a huge boost to our professional and personal lives.

TIPS

Lighten up

Just say please

Curiosity kills the competition

cont........Part 2

MONOTASKING

Multitasking is a way of life for many of us.  Managing lots of things at once has become normal.  But the brain can only take in so much information and by overloading it, you're essentially 'jamming' your attention filter.

Slowing down and giving something your full attention is said to be the key to happiness, yet many of us still spend our lives rushing around, and even wearing the 'busy-ness' as a badge of honour.

Monotasking brings with it a whole host of benefits, including increased life satisfaction, lower blood pressure and even more creativity.  Monotasking is where tasks for the day are trimmed down and focus on one at a time (Martina Sheehen, Mindfulness expert and co-author of 'Do Less Be More')

BENEFITS OF MONOTASKING

greatest potential and creativity is unleashed

brain whirrs into action and reveals its flamboyant side

able to think on a deeper level

able to creating and finding solutions

making things much easier

more productive in long run

THE SCIENCE BEHIND YOUR BRAIN

Although monotasking is ultimately better for you, your brain quite likes to be busy for these reasons

1. a reward centre is triggered each time you tick something off your list
2. being busy and completing something makes you feel good
3. your brain will be used to staying busy to the point where it feels uncomfortable not to be busy
4. it sends a 'threat' response when you leave something unfinished, so you want to get it done

4 STEPS TO MONOTASKING

1. THE WORKING HOURS DIET

Research in Sweden has shown that when people cut back to a 6 hour working day, they're more productive, healthier and happier.

2. STAYING FOCUSED

Need to be prepared or you're likely to be distracted.

3. TO DO OR NOT TO DO

Write down the tasks you're not going to be devastated by.  It helps you focus on the things that matter.

4. CRUISE IN THE SLOW LANE

Adopt a more mindful mindset to concentrate on what you're doing.

SHARED FROM:

ONE THING AT A TIME