Library of Professional Coaching

Transformation Magazine: A Road Map

Charles Smith — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:04:29 +0000

A new magazine is coming that will soon be located in the Library of Professional Coaching. Founded by Charles Smith, he invites you to soon become a reader, contributor and commentator in Transformation Magazine: A Road Map.

This invitation is for kindred Spirits, imaginative thinkers, and entrepreneurs all over the world who believe that businesses, communities, and governments can move forward with both high performance and a transcendent perspective; that Noble Purpose and Pragmatic Purpose can be pursued with equal conviction.

This invitation is for people from any line of work. Coaches, scientists, engineers, business leaders, accountants, managers, workers, teachers, students, parents, salespeople. All that’s required is that you are fed up with the dysfunction you see around you and are able to create useful maps of the territory you see.

Lean Six Sigma Must Be A Waste Of Energy

Joseph Paris Jr. — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:45:47 +0000

Would you get on an airplane if it you knew the flight would fail 25-70% of the time? What if it was only 1% of the time? Would you get on an airplane if you knew one out of every hundred (1:100) flights would fail? That would be a failure rate of approximately one flight per hour, every hour, out of Newark International Airport alone (or that of any other major international airport).

It seems that everywhere I look – every article I read, every subject matter expert with whom I speak and every talk to which I listen – the message appears to be the same each and every time; Lean Six-Sigma fails. Depending upon the source, Lean Six-Sigma initiatives might fail 25% of the time or even 70% of the time. Some even claim that they never fulfill its promise or realize its potential. In fact, there are so many articles and lectures on how often and how much Lean Six-Sigma fails that it is amazing anyone would even bother trying to implement it, or otherwise select it as a path for improvement.

Yet leaders in business from around the world and across nearly every industry insist that Lean Six-Sigma programs have been wildly successful in their companies and can be as wildly successful in others – even yours.

There is an obvious disconnect; in the story, in the way it’s “told”, in the way it’s deployed and in its ending. But what might that disconnect, or those disconnects be?

As a long-time member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and being on the Advisory Board of its Process Industries Division (PID), as well as being on the Advisory Board of Binghamton University’s System Science and Industrial Engineering (SSIE) Department; I have been intimately exposed to the material on the subject matter being taught at various institutions and purveyors of knowledge and decided to investigate the “root cause” of such poor results being reported, as well as the increasingly poor expectations associated with Continuous Improvement initiatives.

During this exercise – and for both academia and industry from sources around the world – I examined the curriculum offered and reviewed the books and other materials used in the teaching of the various disciplines associated with Continuous Improvement in general, and Lean Six-Sigma in specific. I also examined the websites and articles written by practitioners and consultancies (including my own).

The Art of Organizational Coaching: In Search of Patterns and Variations

William Bergquist — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:36:27 +0000

The art of organizational coaching is based on identification and appreciation of patterns and pattern-variations in the life of a coaching client and her organization. We know from the scientists who study chaotic and complex systems that vibrant and sustainable systems incorporate both redundancy and diversity. Systems sustain certain patterns and replicate basic structures everywhere, while also ensuring that each subsystem is a bit different from other subsystems. Scientists suggest that viable systems are in dynamic equilibrium. Each viable system fits into a specific ecological niche and sustains a specific operational pattern that is compatible with (adapted to) this niche. The pattern is sustained and reinforced precisely because of this ongoing adaptive outcome.

The story doesn’t end here. Any viable system is not totally successful in adapting to its environmental niche. If it were totally successful, then it would dominate and literally take over the niche—leading eventually (and ironically) to its own demise. We see this poignantly and often tragically illustrated in the ways human beings have learned how to adapt with complete success to certain niches. We have “tamed” nature and in doing so have come to dominate specific environmental nitches, which in turn has led to the extinction of certain species and to many environmental disruptions (such as climate instability).

In essence, there exists an inevitable tension between adaptation and mal-adaptation of any system to its environment. Patterns provide stability and the capacity of systems to adapt with some success and in a sustained manner to its environment. The disruptions of and variations in patterns not only enable an organization to adjust to changes in its environment, but also enable other systems to dwell in this environment and enable each system to enter into mutually beneficial relationships with other systems in the environment. Each system is good enough to live in the environment, but not good enough to dominate this environment—this is the beauty of nature when working effectively.

Coaching Client Relationships

Frankie Doiron — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:41:22 +0000

Coaches help clients achieve their goals by identifying the “gap” between where the client is (now) and where they want to be (the goal).Then, the action steps required to realize the goal are developed and put into motion. Yet it is often the client’s own lack of skills, unproductive attitudes, or misaligned choices that sabotage their success.

Coaches need to be able to readily identify the client’s specific obstacle (skills, attitudes or choices) and apply one or more processes to get the client unstuck and into positive, goal-oriented action. In the realm of relationship coaching, it is quite common for clients to demonstrate challenges in one or more of these three areas. The coaching paradigms used by relationship coaches are very powerful ways to shift the client and can be adapted for all types of coaching.

Note: A fundamental difference between relationship coaching and traditional coaching is that relationship coaches educate as well as coach their clients, especially in the area of skills.

The complete essay can be downloaded below.

This essay first appeared in choice:The Magazine of Professional Coaching.

Irony and the Coaching of Contemporary Leaders: Engaging the Wisdom of Carl Jung and Richard Rorty

William Bergquist — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:33:47 +0000

The work of Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychodynamically-oriented psychotherapist, is littered with dichotomies. Everything in the human psyche seems to have a counter-weight (or more accurately a counter-energy) that offsets or at least modifies the dominance of any one element of the psyche. The conscious element of the psyche is balanced off by the unconscious, the persona by the shadow, the anima force by the animus force, sensation by intuition, thinking by feeling, the personal unconscious by the collective unconscious. In many ways, Jung’s psyche is like an accountant’s ledger: everything balances out in the end.

There is much more involved, of course, in Jung’s psyche. It is dynamic and ever-changing unlike the accountant’s ledger. While Freud’s psyche often resembles an archeological site, with layers of unconscious material remaining undiscovered until it is carefully unearthed with the help of the expert archeologist/therapist, the various elements in Jung’s psyche are moving back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness. So-called unconscious elements are manifest in daily life when we “slip up,” are “caught off guard” or find ourselves infatuated, frustrated, angry or hopeful for a moment. These elements are also displayed publically in works of art, religious symbols and rituals, and in various temporary systems (Matthew Miles’ term) and sanctuaries (e.g. festivals, taverns, theatrical events, television and movies, Internet games).

The Hero’s Journey: A Case Study

Lynelle Tyler — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:14:39 +0000

In this essay I explore the potential healing power of mythology and its use as a professional coaching tool. The twelve stages of the “Hero’s Journey”, as set forth by Joseph Campbell, will provide the paradigm in which to view a contemporary case study. Joseph Campbell believed that mythology had the power to heal. Campbell was a follower of Carl G. Jung. Followers of Campbell and Jung have captured essential ideologies from both men and termed it, Depth Psychology. For the purpose of this paper, these essential ideologies include the beliefs that the unconscious mind contains an historical record of all human experiences and that the language of the unconscious is rooted in symbols.

A Brief History

“Freud and Jung both felt that myth is grounded in the unconscious” (Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth, pg. 58). Both also believed that it is logical to assume, the mind like the body, contained the history of our evolution. That is, we have inherited essential social information which resonates in us through the use of mythology and makes itself known in our dreams and even in psychotic fantasies. Our dreams and fantasies have a sort of direct access to the unconscious. Joseph Campbell tells us that mythology is the language of the unconscious and in myth resides transcendence, healing, and growth. Campbell reveals that mythology plays a profound role in the human psyche. Throughout the ages and across all cultures, myths have guided the stages of life for mankind. Jung believed that the unconscious contained:

Everything of which I know but of which I am not at the moment thinking. Everything of which I was once conscious but have not forgotten.Everything perceived by my senses but not noted by my conscious mind.Everything which involuntarily without paying attention to it, I feel, think, remember, want and do. All future things that are taking place in me and will sometime come to conscious. All this is the content of the unconscious. (Jung, The Wisdom of the Dream, Vol.1)

G.R.A.C.E at Work: A Model of Transformational Workplace Relationships

Eric de Nijs — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:57:01 +0000

A vital leadership model for today’s business environment would be one based on trust and transparency that can weather the storms of outsourcing, downsizing and any “unpredictables.” It would create a compelling vision that captures the hearts and souls of those engaged in the pursuit of the organization’s goals, and generate mutual benefit for employer and employee.

And this approach is precisely what is missing in today’s corporate culture. Relationships died during the transition from a social contract for lifetime work to a frantic, distrustful and self-advocating work-survival culture. The organization, employer and employee may have dealings together, but relationships have been abandoned. We conduct transactions, but fail to achieve transformations.

GRACE: Goodwill, Results, Authenticity, Connectivity and Empowerment.

The complete article, originally published in choice:The Magazine of Professional Coaching, can be downloaded below.

A Perfect Paradox

Charles Smith — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:37:01 +0000

My Doctor says that results are dangerous. This revelation began when two weeks ago. I was experiencing shortness of breath and my heart skipping beats. I was anxious about a medical test, lack of success in selling a house, and traveling too much. A customs agent in Toronto Canada had just looked at me and said: “You should be retired and enjoying life. Why do you do this?” The next day a doctor and friend examined me, said I seemed okay but should see a cardiologist when I got home to be sure. A few days later, I went to a warm and insightful doctor in Leesburg Florida, near where I live. He examined me, said that I was fine, and we talked for a while about my life, lifestyle, and concerns.

He said in response that, “Results always cause tension.” I asked whether he meant medical results and he said,”Any kind of result, anything you have to measure, has a negative effect on your heart rate, your heart, tension, stress, and eventually hypertension and potential heart attacks.” I thought: people who live to be a hundred and ten years old don’t seem to be concerned with results. They have been making baskets, art, music, or praying for rain. This insight is probably not good for business. While it may be both funny and true, it’s far outside the world as we know it, and will not be popular. As an executive coach, this insight may lead to nobody ever hiring me again.

In the moment, I was aware of so many peoples’ lives in companies, agencies, communities and families drowning in real and failed expectations of results. These are results that are not good enough, that have to be better next year, that we must have to survive, that promise you will get stronger, climb higher, look better, be thinner. Almost everybody is trying to produce results, thinking that they should, avoiding the stress of not doing it, or feeling bad if they don’t try.

The people who evaluate results rarely have anything to do with producing them. Investors, bosses, politicians, commentators, financial communities that don’t have to produce anything measure other people’s results and keep the game going by motivating others on an electrified treadmill in the name of the greater good. All of this is dangerous to your health. It’s no wonder people in easy-going cultures think we are crazy with all of our material success, too much anxiety, and so many heart attacks and strokes.

Leadership Dilemma: The American Leadership Paradox

Keith Miller — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 16:02:55 +0000

As coaches, we aim to support the development of our clients to meet strategic goals and to enhance overall quality of life. Coaching and Leadership intersect – In the organizational sense; Associates want value from their leaders, and desire to develop a co-relationship focused on achieving success. The current zeitgeist of Leadership is trending towards acquiring specific skills that is possessed by the coaching industry. As potential change agents, coaches must ask powerful questions about the psychological dynamics of our society at large.

•Are we at war with ourselves?

•Why are large bureaucratic organizations slow to act?

•How do we understand the complexities of the struggle?

Society demands a powerful altruistic Leader that makes quick decisions that benefit everyone while simultaneously providing security. However, America is a nation of individualists who strive to be the Leader, and are ashamed to be categorized in the role of follower. Simply, American culture frowns upon the follower and the omnipotent Leader is exaggeratedly admired.

•Who do you want to be?

The Leader of course! Well, the problem is that Leaders need followers. If everyone is the Leader and no-one follows, then there is a Leadership dilemma called The American Leadership Paradox.

1. Society wants community and togetherness, but explicitly yearns for a capitalist society with individualist freedom

2. Society values family, but relishes in the rebel persona

3. American culture is a paradox that attempts to indulge within both ends of the spectrum Leaders are unable to lead because society chooses to scoff at instead of follow. Cognitive dissonance is displayed towards Leaders, and society at large believes they are capable of producing better results. Trust and integrity have been squandered by previous leaders which disables pre-determined respect for future Leaders.

The Nature/Nurture debate – Is it inborn or due to the situation? Current research has determined the debate to be estimated at a 50/50 split. If there are wonderful Leaders and the situation is not conducive to leading, then the cold-hard truth is – Leaders will fail 50% of the time regardless of inborn or learned ability. Current Leadership is failing at an astounding rate (over 70%). What constitutes leadership failure? Short answer: Not meeting goals.

13 Steps to Communicating a Strategic Plan to Employees

Gary Cohen — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:04:35 +0000

Creating a strategic plan is quite an undertaking for a business. Not only are you often hiring outside firms for facilitating the process but you are using an enormous amount of internal resources for gathering data converting it to meaningful information and sorting that data over 3 to 5 days of meetings of your key players. What is fascinating is how often this effort fails not in determining the path forward for the business but in disseminating the information broadly and effectively to all the members of the organization that were not part of the decision making team.

A great strategy should have focus and clarity around vision, mission, objectives, strategies and actions. In order to elevate engagement and participation a communication plan needs to provide great simplicity, clarity focus without ambiguity in your communication strategy.

1) Call an all company meeting around the communicating the strategic plan. If you have any thoughts that information from your senior team will leak beforehand use email or text message to get out in front of your messaging.

2) Who’s coming to the party – Review in detail who will be present and what level of detail they will need to give to create comfort around any changes that will affect them. Think through the negative as well as positive aspects of the plan. When it has to do with change people will imagine the worst so get it all out at once.

3) Provide conceptual tools – During meeting describe the basic principles of strategic planning. Explain any new terms or definition of terms. For example if you discuss EBITDA (Earnings before interest tax and depreciation) don’t assume that all your employees will understand what you mean. If you use a Balance Scorecard model take employees through the basics so that they can understand the meaning behind what you are about to explain to them.

4) Tell and retell the history – Provide broader base around the history of the organization to create the context of how strategy plays a part in the growth of the company. You can provide the key elements of what has led to your growth and challenges in the past and how that has informed your future direction.