How Coaching Helped Me Achieve An Ironman (and How It Could Boost Your Career)

Coaching: how to boost your career

I’ve just finished the length, very pleased with myself.

– “So coach, my arms were nice and parallel”
– That’s better, but you’re not there yet. Exaggerate your movement more. The water distorts your perception, you’ve still got a lot of leeway. “

It was 2014, and I was preparing to fulfill a dream I’d had since I was 18.

Making an Ironman. 180 km cycling, 3.9 km swimming and a marathon to finish.

The problem?

I could barely swim the crawl.

The coach helped me see what I was doing, not what I thought I was doing.
And that’s what coaching can do to boost your career.

Finally, swimming was my favorite discipline on race day. 😀

And this is very true in our relationship with others.

A 15-year study shows the difference between what leaders and the people around them think they need to change to improve.

In most cases, it’s different.

In other words, we have “blind spots” that we can’t see but that others can.

4 reasons that don’t help us get feedback from our teams

It’s hard to give feedback to anyone.

But it’s even more so when it’s our boss.

So we usually don’t give it, or if we do, it’s at the wrong time.

1. In the grip of emotion.
   How often have you reacted well to feedback given you during an argument with your partner?
2. By complaining about the past.
   A leader seeks to change, transform and improve. It’s hard for him to hear what he thinks are the same old stories.
3. The pace of operations. The constant race, the priorities to manage, don’t leave much room for quality exchanges.
4. Annual review. Seriously! Do you think an employee will give sincere, constructive feedback when part of their remuneration depends on evaluation?

Uncommunicated feedback (often) becomes frustration

We keep it to ourselves, mull it over, talk about it with colleagues in the cafeteria.

We end up going to work without putting our whole heart into it. At the first opportunity, we leave.
The worst for the company.

How to involve others and boost our progress (and our careers)

So help your teams give you feedback and feedforward

Another way of doing things, that seems obvious in sport but is under-used in business…

In the water, my perception was distorted.

At work, without feedback, it’s the same case.

I don’t know what I don’t know.

If you’re lucky enough to be with a company that believes in you, ask them to have a coach using…

The “Stakeholder Centered Coaching” method.

This approach systematizes feedback and suggestions (Feedforward).

• The coach will confidentially interview 6 to 12 people of your choice.

• Come back with a summary of what you do well and what you can do better.

• Based on feedback from interviewees, you choose a development objective that’s interesting for your business, your team and yourself.

• Involve your stakeholders by sharing your objective and asking them to help.
  For example, at the end of a meeting,
  -Thierry, you know I try to understand before being understood. How did I act during the meeting? (feedback).
  -Please give me two suggestions for improvement. (Feedforward).
  You repeat the process with each of your stakeholders once a month.

• You’re changing, but the people around you need time to ensure.
  Working with your coach, you repeat the system for 6 to 12 months. It becomes automatic for you. You develop your new behavior muscle. Your stakeholders are beginning to realize this.

• Concrete results. “I would never have believed in such a change. I hear this from the leader and his colleagues after 6 months in the process. But it’s also what I see when I send out the mini-survey, which allows me to measure the quantitative progress results. 99% success rate is the track record of this method used by thousands of leaders worldwide.
  

This coaching experience will transform you.

By eliminating a habit hindering the team and replacing with one motivating them.

Your people will also transform. Together, you’ll be better equipped to face the constant business challenges.

The process is simple but not easy.

It will ask you:

• Courage to take the plunge.
• Humility to ask for feedback and suggestions.
• And discipline to put your improvement plan into practice.

Are you ready?

Contact me at dror@optionstogrow.com, and let’s assess whether this is the right time for you.

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