|
| Home RSS Directory F.A.Q Try Custom Feed Sonneries Portable |
Latest Flows from this sub-category: random selection from this sub-category: |
Changing your perspective
It got me to thinking how good it is when we can get a different perspective,
either because we physically or mentally move. My theme for this Monday, given the weather outside is ???What???s your umbrella???? Can you believe the weather for August? We had a rare day of sunshine here in Nottinghamshire yesterday which was beautiful as I was with a group of family & friends at the wonderful EdenHall Spa. Good to take a day off, enjoy sunshine, friendship & fun. And it???s back to work & the rain this morning, however it???s making me thoughtful & ready for action rather than anything else ???and I hope it will make you feel the same way when you work through this??? I was thinking about the weather and the umbrella as a tool we use to help manage it. And, it???s a useful tool for that situation (unless it???s just too windy, of course : ) ) An umbrella is something that helps keep us dry, safe & protected in the context of the weather. In the ???wider??? context an umbrella is often an overview, or a bringing together of many themes into what is most important to you. ********************************************************************************** So for instance, my umbrella is EFFECTIVENESS. And my spokes, or themes, are Helping coaches be more effective when they start out by supporting on Vision, Goals & Action Helping coaches be more effective at coaching with supervision Helping professionals be more effective through career management & career transition coaching Helping small business owners be more effective in their relationships with their customers through customer focus coaching ********************************************************************************** And in the same way that sometimes with your umbrella you???ll need to move angles to be most effectively protected from the rain, sometimes you???ll need to focus on different elements within your business, to help you move them most forwards. ********************************************************************************** Action Challenge for this week: 1. Write yourself a list of the different projects or coaching themes you work on. 2. Brainstorm what the key theme or themes are that link them all together. This is your umbrella coaching theme 3. Test your hypothesis against the original list. Does it describe how you work? 4. Brainstorm what this understanding has brought to your coaching. Does it give you ideas for new products & services? 5. Let me know how it worked ??? leave a comment at the Grow as a Coach blog http://fabulouscoaching.typepad.com/growasacoach/ ********************************************************************************** 2 Question Research: Will you help me? I know as small business owners you CAN help me ??? will you spare 5 minutes to answer 2 very quick questions? I am launching an exciting new focus soon on Customer Service & Customer focus, & welcome your input. You can take the questionnaire here ??? do feel free to send on the link to any and all small business owners you know! PS ??? On question 2, I am looking for information on Customer Service as well as working with your customers in general! The link is below http://www.assessmentgenerator.com/H/cRcoachclaire1218791886.html Do you coach within a fairly well defined niche? A technique I am playing with at the moment is setting up google alerts relating to what is going on in my keywords. For instance, for coaching "professional coach", "coaching for coaches" are two that I use. So - what's your niche? 6 ways you can use this to benefit your coaching business 1. Sign up for alerts relating to your core niche
Hi,
You have the opportunity as a reader of the blog to share some thoughts & ideas ready for my new project which will benefit you as a coach & a small business owner.
As a reward I am offering a complimentary report & assessment for those who sign up once I have collected all responses.
Follow the link to sign up:
Click Here to take survey
I subscribe to Google alerts which is a great tool to keep up to date with news in the industry. I came across this link which talks about the ICF helping potential clients be able to assess which coach is the right one for them. What about how this would work for you? Could you answer these questions if a client rang to "interview" you?
1. Code of Ethics.
Do you work to a code of ethics? Do you tell clients about it and have it as a part of your material? The ICF publishes their own code of ethics, or your coach training school may have their own ethics. Being able to clearly state that you do work to a code and making it available & visible helps set you out as a coach where it is important to work in a certain way
2. Coach-specific training.
What can you tell a client, whether individual or corporate about your coach training? Coach training is a real way to show that you have put in that initial investment to the work you do. After all, you wouldn't go to an untrained doctor or dentist, would you? Why put your wellbeing at the same risk?
3. Credential.
As well as your coach training, are you independently accredited by a body someone will recognise, such as the International Coach Federation, or Association for Coaches? This helps show that you have a professional body & interest in your continuing self development. If you can't answer this in the affirmative now - how important is this to you and your client group?
4. Context.
This is where a basic bio, information you can send out or an about you page can help to direct the basic information about who you are, who you work with & what background, experience & skills you have relating to the background you coach in. For instance, I have a background in learning & balancing working full time with other projects such as my coaching, running & seeing friends - and this helps when I work with clients to understand the issues they have with feeling overwhelmed.
5. Chemistry. Now, this is probably one you won't be able to "tell" up front. However, what you can do to help with this is spend the time contracting up front, or what Co-Active Coaching calls creating the "designed alliance". This way, a client can get an idea about how YOU specifically as a coach works & what expectations you have when you coach people, as well as how YOU can help them with the specific issue that they came to find out about coaching solutions for. To communicate, you need to know or get to know other coaches. To help you I thought I???d put together a list of just a few of the networks I use as a coach. Some you have to pay to join, some are free to join. Some are there just to ask questions, some you can market on as well. Just make sure you know which are which and follow the rules of the board. All have a really supportive network of coaches. http://www.eurocoachlist.com/ Run by Coen De Groot it???s a well established list with a great resource list. A good mix of established, well known & less well known coaches along with lots of newer or trainee coaches as well. http://marionryan.typepad.com/newcoaches/2007/04/new_coaches_bus.html Marion runs the New Coach Business Network. Lots of support for new coaches & there are more experienced coaches on the board as well who offer a helping hand. http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/newcoachconnection/ The New Coach Connection is a US based list with lots of coaches from the global pond. I like this one as they have themes for the different parts of the week!
http://www.fionaharrold.com/conversation/ Fiona Harrold is one of the best known UK Life Coaches & her community board is a great place to connect with other people interested in self development. Also has an option for special boards for new coaches & coaches on the Newcastle College courses. This Communication tip links into Core Competency 2 ???Establish the Coaching Agreement??? Put clearly and simply: What???s included in your coaching And What isn???t included. This can be as basic as you like or as fully detailed as you can make it if you have a clear niche & distinguishable programs for your coaching clients. At the least, it should consider How a client gets in touch with you When they can get in touch with you and when they can???t If you set pre-work before coaching sessions or at the start of the coaching relationship Who calls who, on what contact number for the coaching If the coaching is recorded or if you take notes (and appropriate permission gained) If you give email or any other support between calls or coaching meetings How often calls or meetings are. When they are. What you charge. What???s included. Anything optional that a client COULD opt into that isn???t included in the cost of your coaching (for instance call charges) Any other resources you recommend. Action challenge: Think about what went well when you???ve set up coaching relationships in the past. What???s your ideal way to work with a client? Work out what this means for you in terms of how you would like to contract with clients in the future. Set up basic phrases that help you to discuss & clarify this as part of your coaching process. Discuss your logistics & what???s included as a part of the coaching relationship when you set it up. This is best done person to person rather than just via email so you can check in about what the client wants adding into the coaching agreement. Check back on the call/ before the end of the meeting that what you said was what was received. And that what you thought you heard your client wanted was what they meant. Send out a document that reflects what you both communicated to each other.
I love to talk to coaches ??? both because that???s currently the main group I work with, but also because we???re so focused as a group on communication. After all, that???s the main tool of our trade! So I???ve set up a facebook page where you can come along and say hi. In facebook business terms, that???s known as becoming a fan. You can join the page here. If you are an ICF coach, you can also join the discussion group here So far we???re talking about what it takes to act as a coaching ambassador, what top issues we have as coaches as well as introducing ourselves so we can network & support each other. Come by and say hi! Still on the ICF standard One, Meeting ethical Guidelines
& Professional Standards. The ICF
highlights the role of the coach as ???focused
on inquiry & exploration??? How do you elicit this through your communications as a coach? Here???s a starter with what NOT to do.
So what DO you communicate to explore & inquire?
Action Challenge:
What ethics do you uphold as a coach?
What can your clients expect from you?
If you are a member of a professional association of coaches
such as the ICF, it???s likely you have a base standard of what ethics you
follow.
3 key elements to
communicate about your ethics as a coach:
Outline them on your website
Tell your clients about them in your contract/ introductory
materials
Follow them by the way you work
Take action
challenge:
Review the ethics at either the ICF,
The
Association for Coaching or your own professional body or coach training
organisation.
Decide which are most relevant & ensure that you
document them for transparency for your clients
Update your materials to reflect this.
|
  |
contact |
All rss from this site
Print this article
Webmasters ! Get this feed on your site