Posts in category: Zanimivo branje

Kot predstavniki slovenske izpostave ene največjih zvez za coaching  Mednarodne zveze za coaching (International Coachging Federation – ICF) smo dolžni podati komentar in pojasnila na objavljen prispevek v oddaji Inšpektor z naslovom Življenjski trenerji, ki je bila predvajana 21.8.2021.

Slovenska izpostava ICF je bila ustanovljena v začetku leta 2020 z namenom, da omogoči profesionalnim coachem stalen razvoj in delovanje znotraj strogo postavljenih profesionalnih coaching standardov in etičnega kodeksa, mednarodnim povezovanjem in nenazadnje tudi z namenom ozaveščanja javnosti, kaj coaching je in kdo so profesionalni coachi.

Zmeda, ki vlada na trgu glede tega, kaj coaching je in kdo je profesionalni coach, ni prisotna le v Sloveniji, temveč tudi v drugih državah. Sploh v državah, kjer je coaching, kot oblika profesionalne podpore, mlada disciplina. Iz tega razloga nas veseli, da ste se lotili tematike s poskusom osveščanja javnosti, kaj je profesionalni coaching in kdo je profesionalni coach. Na žalost pa oddaja ni objektivno, niti strokovno prikazala tematike.

Glede na to, da v oddaji omenjate obe največji organizaciji za razvoj coachinga – ICF in EMCC – bi pričakovali, da boste predstavnike teh zvez povabili k snovanju oddaje ter tako zagotovili strokovnejšo predstavitev tematike ter pomagali k zmanjšanju nejasnosti, kaj je coaching in kdo je profesionalni coach. Iz našega vidika je oddaja še povečala zmedo ter s tem ne le, da zelo pomanjkljivo predstavila coaching, temveč gledalcem ni omogočila jasnejše predstave, kako jih lahko coaching podpre v njihovem življenju. Kar verjamemo, da je bil vaš namen.

V nadaljevanju izpostavljamo nekaj ključnih sporočil oddaje, ki na napačen način predstavljajo profesionalni coaching ter podajamo pojasnila:

• Coaching NI trenerstvo, ni terapija, ni svetovanje, še najmanj je to stroka, ki producira “guruje”.

Izziv, s katerim se srečujemo pri ICF tako v Sloveniji kot tudi drugje je, da se različni trenerji, terapevti in drugi, samookličejo za coacha. V oddaji so bili predstavljeni različni “coachi”, ki pa to niso. Hipnoterapija ali fitness trenerstvo ne sodijo v profesijo coachinga. Ravno tako motivacijski govorci oz. kot je omenjeno v oddaji “guruji” niso profesionalni coachi.

Definicija coachinga po Mednarodni zvezi za coaching je: “partnerski odnos v miselno izzivalnem in kreativnem procesu, ki navdušuje klienta, da maksimira svoje osebne in profesionalne potenciale.”

Podajamo dodatno razlago definicije coachinga:

• coachi so partnerji klienta. Klient in coach sta enakovredna; ni odnosa “starš-otrok”, skupaj so-kreirata proces preko skupnih dogovorov in odprte povratne informacije in v coaching procesu sta oba odgovorna za kakovost tega partnerstva.
• coachi vodijo miselno izzivalen in kreativen proces. Coachi ne svetujejo klientu, kaj naj naredi. Svetovanje klientu ne bi bilo ne miselno izzivalno, ne kreativno. Namesto tega coachi sledijo agendi klienta in jih podpirajo, da vidijo preko svojih utečenih načinov razmišljanja. Ker tudi razmišljanje je navada. Coachi verjamejo, da klient želi biti odgovoren za svoje življenje in da ima vse potrebne kapacitete, da najde svojo lastno in zase najboljšo rešitev.
• Coaching proces navdušuje klienta, da maksimira svoje potenciale. Coachi podpirajo klienta, da najde svoje lastne rešitve, katere želi v svojem življenju. Ljudje si morajo najprej nekaj želeti, da so potem pripravljeni iti iz svoje cone udobja. Nemogoče je maksimirati svoje potenciale v zavetju cone udobja.

Vse to coach dela znotraj visokih Etičnih standardov, kateremu že osnovni (akreditirani) trening za poklic coacha, daje veliko pozornosti. Ena od etičnih dilem, ki jo coachi preko treninga in kasneje svojega dela naslavljajo je, ali so dovolj strokovno usposobljeni, da lahko podprejo klienta. V kolikor niso, so dolžni klienta napotiti k drugi vrsti podpore. Takšni, ki je za klienta najbolj primerna.

Vsak profesionalni coach, ki je član ene od strokovnih zvez za coaching in ki sledi vsem postavljenim standardom stroke ter zahtevanim izobraževanjem, je usposobljen, da zna presoditi, kdaj coaching ni primerna metoda za klienta. V kolikor se mu pri presoji pojavijo dvomi, se izziv naslovi preko coaching supervizije oz. intravizije (ki jo prav tako izvajajo za to usposobljeni coaching supervizorji in mentorji).

• Coaching ni “industrija upanja in sreče”.

Namen coachinga ni “biti lepši, boljši, uspešnejši”. Ravno tako coach ni nekdo, ki te “prime za roko in pelje čez proces”.

Coaching je oblika podpore, ki je z razlogom v porastu. V vedno hitrejšem in kompleksnejšem svetu ljudje potrebujemo podporo pri reševanju kompleksnih osebnih in profesionalnih izzivov. Prijateljska pomoč ali starševski nasvet žal pogosto niso dovolj, da bi lahko svoje izzive reševali uspešno.

Coaching podpre kliente, da globlje ozavestijo svoj izziv, razširijo polje možnosti, kako ga lahko uspešno rešijo na način, ki je za njih v danem trenutku najbolj smiseln ter delujejo v skladu s tem, kar verjamejo, da jih bo pripeljalo k želeni spremembi.

Coaching v svojem bistvu razvija pri klientih višje (samo)zavedanje, motivacijo ter prevzemanje odgovornosti za doseganje želenih sprememb preko kreiranja lastnih rešitev in delovanja. Iz tega vidika celo pripomore k “spontanosti”, saj podpre klienta, da ali najde rešitev iz situacije, ki se mu ni zdela rešljiva ali podpre klienta, da uresničuje svoje poklicne ali življenjske izzive.

Proces coachinga je za osebe, ki si želijo spremembe, proces osebne rasti ravno zato, ker preko iskanja rešitev in delovanja, krepi osebne kompetence klienta pri spopadanju z življenjskimi izzivi oz. doseganju želenih sprememb.

• Izobraževanje profesionalnega coacha je vseživljenjski proces nad katerim držijo roko Mednarodne zveze za coaching kot je na primer ICF

Biti del profesionalne mreže za coaching kot je ICF, ni le varovalka, da coach, ki je opravil osnovno izobraževanje za coacha, zadošča minimalnim standardom stroke. Mednarodna zveza za coaching zahteva vseživljenjsko izobraževanje za profesionalne coache, kar mora coach dokazovati preko strokovnih treningov. Vsi treningi, ki štejejo za profesionalne treninge, morajo biti akreditirani in certificirani pri Mednarodni zvezi za coaching – ICF.

Tako je profesionalni coach primoran, da se stalno izobražuje, če želi biti tudi individualno akreditiran (individualni proces, po zaključku certificiranega treninga  – »credentaling«) pri Mednarodni zvezi za coaching. To pomeni, da ko enkrat coach doseže določeno raven znanja in pridobi individualno akreditacijo, mu to NE zagotavlja vseživljenjske pravice do naziva profesionalni coach, temveč mora individualno akreditacijo periodično obnavljati.

Pri ICF to zagotavljamo preko profesionalne razvojne poti, ki razlikuje med tremi vrstami individualne akreditacije.

Za pridobitev individualne akreditacije mora posamezni coach opraviti potrebno št. učnih ur treninga, potrebno št. praktičnih ur od prvega dne certificiranega treninga in izvedenih realnih coaching srečanj (coaching log), izveden mentoring coaching (znotraj ali izven izobraževalnega programa) ter uspešno opravljen izpit Coach Knowledge Assesment.

• ACC (pridruženi certificirani coach ) – vsaj 100 ur coachinga, od tega 75 ur plačanega s strani vsaj 8 različnih klientov.
• PCC (profesionalni certificirani coach ) – vsaj 500 ur coachinga, od tega vsaj 450 plačanih s strani vsaj 25 različnih klientov.
• MCC (mojster certificirani coach ) – vsaj 2.500 ur coachinga, od tega vsaj 2.250 plačanih s strani vsaj 35 različnih klientov.

Če posameznik uspešno zaključi ta proces, prejme svojo individualno akreditacijo za obdobje treh let.

S tem je posameznik dokazal, da ustreza vsem standardom, in ima dovolj izkušenj, sledi etičnemu kodeksu, razume coaching proces ter zagotavlja standard izvajanja coaching veščin po merilih ICF. Gre za proces skozi katerega se posameznik izuri in hkrati zagotavlja klientom, da bo proces peljan varno, zaupno in v skladu s pravili in etiko mednarodne zveze za coaching.

Individualna akreditacija pa ni večna. Po obdobju treh let  jo mora & lahko obnovi ali po želji nadgradi. V tem obdobju mora zbrati potrebno število CCE točk (40 – 42) z dodatnimi izobraževanji Continuing Coach Education; glede na trenutne zahteve mednarodne zveze coachev.

Z namenom, da se coach lahko učinkovito spopade z izzivi, ki nastajajo tekom coaching procesov, se coach mora udeleževati tudi coaching supervizij in intravizij. Na ta način coach zagotavlja, da se dileme, kot je na primer dilema ali je klient primeren za coaching ali terapijo, uspešno rešujejo v prid klienta.

Etični vidik profesionalnega coacha je tudi sicer velik vidik coaching treninga od samega začetka, ko se oseba poda na strokovno pot razvoja za coacha. S tem namenom v slovenski izpostavi ICF letno izvedemo več izobraževanj na temo Etike coacha. Ravno tako ima ICF postavljen proces obravnave etičnih kršitev, kar lahko vodi v odvzem osebne akreditacije, v kolikor se ugotovi kršitev Etičnih standardov s strani profesionalnega coacha.

Naj še enkrat poudarimo, da nas veseli, da ste se v oddaji Inšpektor lotili tematike, kaj je coaching in kdo je profesionalni coach. Osveščanje javnosti je pomembno, saj le tako lahko zagotovimo, da bodo ljudje poiskali pravo pomoč zase ter s tem izboljševali svoje življenje.

Žal nam je, da nismo bili povabljeni k sodelovanju snovanja oddaje, saj bi lahko iz strokovnega vidika bistveno prispevali k osvetlitvi te tematike.

Da bi lahko zagotovili, da dobijo ljudje pravilnejše informacije glede stanja coachinga v Sloveniji in glede same profesije coachinga, vas vabimo, da se odzovete našemu komentarju preko:

1. Objave tega komentarja na vaših spletnih straneh
2. Povabila k sodelovanju pri snovanju nove oddaje o coachingu
3. Objavi povabila na brezplačni spletni dogodek, ki ga v ICF periodično izvajamo za širšo javnost z naslovom Kaj je coaching in kaj lahko stori zame, ki bo 5.10.2021. Povezava do dogodka: https://www.icfslovenia.org/dogodek/kaj-je-coaching-in-kaj-lahko-stori-zame-5/

Z željo, da skupaj pripomoremo k dvigu prepoznavnosti coachinga v Sloveniji ter tako zagotovimo, da ljudje razumejo, kakšne vrste strokovne podpore so jim na voljo pri njihovih osebnih in poklicnih izzivih, vas lepo pozdravljamo.

ICF Slovenia Charter Chapter,

slovenska izpostava Mednarodne zveze za coaching ICF 

– What tasks have you put off today?

– What important activities have you been postponing for ‘just after I finish with this’?

– How have the current coronavirus constraints, fears etc. affected your inclination to get things done?

– Have you referred to yourself as lazy recently? Or been called lazy by someone?

– Do you sometimes blame yourself and despair at not getting it all done?

Most of us struggle to get things done sometimes and procrastination is more common than we might believe. We endlessly attempt to fit in more and often curse our time management skills. Yet, studies haveclearly discovered that procrastination is more about managing emotions and mental states than about time management.

In my experience of coaching people for success over 14+ years, I’ve learnt that rocrastination is a subconsciously learned mind pattern which can be changed.

Our Brain & Procrastination

It all starts in our brain which naturally organizes all experiences and situations into two basic categories – reward or threat! Our brains also notice what could go wrong faster than prospective benefits. This gave us a distinct evolutionary advantage at a time when survival was dependent on our ability to predict danger. Today, this results in an innate negativity bias which comes in our way because it activates our subconscious threat response every time we perceive potential conflict, difficulty, uncertainty or even a possibly unpleasant task!!

A subconscious negative stimulus can take over valuable brain resources and lower our energy levels. It also triggers a strong need to balance out the negative by seeking gratification which we typically find in easier, familiar activities or temporarily in inertia.

The protection/avoidance mechanisms of our brain also activate much faster that our slower, deliberate, goal-oriented thinking. This can play havoc with our ability to initiate and sustain action! Before we know it, we are procrastinating again and soon we have a pattern that may develop into a habit! Fortunately, this can be reversed and adapted through practice and patient retraining.

What works, What doesn’t!

An important step before we can begin to work with procrastination is removing the associated blame or self-blame from getting things done. When we start from a place of blame we have already primed our Brain’s protection and avoidance mechanisms and triggered the vicious cycle of inaction. Historical approaches which considered procrastination as a ‘problem’ and aimed to “fix” people often backfire because they further aggravate the blame cycle. Coaching is one of the most powerful methods to create positive shifts in behaviour because it starts with believing that the client is whole, creative and

capable of finding their own solutions. Internationally acclaimed institutions such as ICF (International Coaching Federation) continually emphasize the importance of having positive regard for the client; strengthening the clients belief in their own abilities and helping them find their own solutions. The ICF competencies for coaches emphasize the importance of:

– Appreciating client autonomy, not imposing an “ideal” action plan onto the client.

– Supporting the client in reflection & reframing

– Using questions to elicit new insights and sharing observations to support new learning

– Sustaining a focus on the future goal

This helps coaches and clients create change that lasts by uncovering the root cause, the underlying

patterns and beliefs that stimulate procrastination!

Start with these!

Here are some brain friendly techniques that will help break the cycle. A Stockholm University study tested many of these strategies with positive results on a group of 150 self-reported “high procrastinators” over 10 weeks. Try out the ones that work for you.

1. Consciously draw your attention to the positives. Think about the potential benefits of completing the task and imagine how good it will feel to get it out of the way. This will help your brain focus on the potential rewards instead of the toil of executing the actions.
2. Reframe negative points as potential opportunities by beginning sentences with ‘How might I…’ or ‘What could be a way to…’ E.g. Instead of “This cannot be completed by Friday” think “What could be a way to complete this by Friday.” Reframing in this manner activates deliberate, goal-oriented thinking and bypasses the immediate mood repair focus of the brain.
3. Set the bar low for the first steps. Once we start, the chances of finishing increase significantly since the typical brain seeks closure and completion to feel at ease. Clearly define the first steps and make them easy. This motivates the brain to get started.
4. Meditate to change Brain structures. Research has clearly linked mindfulness meditation to strengthening of functional connections in the brain.
5. Set small high-focus deadlines with zero interruptions. Use a timer to plan a set period of high-focus with no interruptions or distracting notifications. The brain finds it easier to focus deeply for shorter periods ignoring distractions especially when it knows a break has been planned to deal with those. Try 25 high-focus minutes followed by a 5minute break and a longer break after 90 or 120 minutes.
6. Work with a coach. Going it alone is rarely a good idea. Since procrastination naturally comes in the way of getting things done, trying to resolve it without the necessary support can be a recipe for disaster!When looking for a coach make sure you pick one who is qualified with the right credentials and makes you feel comfortable.

Hope this helps you start your journey of getting things done on day one rather than one day.

Avtorica:

Shweta HandaGupta, MCC

– Works with CEOs and boards to measurably enhance strategic output and bottom-line impact of topleadership teams.

– Helps ambitious leaders significantly accelerate their professional success.

– Is co-founder and leader of QuadraBrain® Transformation Solutions which specializes in MakingComplex Change Simple!

QuadraBrain® helps deliver 100% success rates for business transformation using proprietary research (published).Shweta brings 20+ years of experience including a change specialist role in a Fortune50 organization andas CEO of a small business group. She has received numerous global honours including CEO Coach of the Year & ICF Young Leader award.

The second most important leadership skill in order to be promoted to the top is executive presence according to a recent survey from Gartner. A lot of Coaching assignments start out with the objective of improving executive presence. So, what exactly is executive presence and how do you get it and how on earth do you convey it in the digital environment? This is an interesting one, because what exactly great executive presence looks like depends on a lot of different factors, and lies in the eyes of the beholder, in short it is hard to define.

[1] According to Sylvia Ann Hewlett ’gravitas is at the core of executive presence: it’s the ability to exude integrity, courage and confidence in time of crisis.’

Integrity is only perceived when leadership is authentic and consistent. For this the leader needs to be in sync with his values and he needs to follow through on how he wants to live these values even in times of crisis. Leaders who act according to their values appear more grounded, which in itself leads to consistent leadership.

Knowing your values will help you identify what drives you: You will become conscious of what gives you energy and also what makes you angry or drains your energy. Understanding what values drive your decisions and making these accordingly will translate in confidence and will hopefully give you the courage to make tough decisions when the time comes. Decision making is definitely on the list of skills for executive presence.

The knowledge of what values are behind your decision should certainly help you standing by it, because it was made in compliance with your values. Even if you feel looking back you made a mistake or should have decided differently, you took that decision as an active choice, knowing it was according with the way you want to live your values, so hopefully you shouldn’t feel too much guilt. Which doesn’t mean you can’t learn from mistakes, on the contrary: draw your conclusions, re-examine how you want to live your values (often, we change in our lives) and be aware in this moment how you want to move forward with this learning.

Another part of this definition of executive presence is surely how you are received by people, which is not only external in the way you dress, your gestures, body language etc, but more importantly the internal quality of staying present in the moment, as the word presence suggests: Being present means you are focused on the here and now, while keeping your future vision in the back of your mind. Don’t get stuck on past solutions of problems, but be open to change. You focus on the situation, meeting, communication, problem solving etc at hand. A lot of that focus has to do with the ability to blend out your monkey brain and stop following these racing thoughts. You just bring back your focus on the situation or meeting, you listen actively when communicating and stop your inner dialogue based on defense, distractions or daydreaming. Right now this is even more of a challenge as many of us are working remotely and only see each other in video conferences.

Listening doesn’t just mean to focus on what is being said, but it is equally important to read the room. Being present and in the moment, so you perceive vibes from your audience and consequently are able to change your delivery, react to concerns or know different information is key. This is why empathy plays an important part in having great executive presence. It also is crucial to create rapport and connect to people. If empathy doesn’t come naturally you can use mentalizing skills to figure out what motivates them and understand on a cognitive level what they are thinking. The most essential skill behind creating these crucial connections is being able to inspire trust. In these times of virtual connecting it’s even more necessary to spend enough time connecting one to one and have meaningful conversations.

Yet another part of executive presence is how you communicate and drive followership. So there needs to be a good balance of being convincing and getting buy in for your vision, but also the need to communicate the latter.

Apart from the listening skills mentioned earlier, your communication needs to be straight forward, concise and inspiring. If you sat in all day video meetings during this pandemic, you know exactly what I mean. Think bullet points and try to engage with your communication partners interactively. 2 forward communication boils down to walking the talk and being up front about bad news as well as admitting when you don’t know something. Concise 3 communication is versant, to the point, easy to follow and well structured. A leader’s communication needs to be open, consistent and authentic in order to inspire trust and influence people. Being prepared is another important factor: anticipate questions as well as issues, find out where the audience stands on your topic, etc.

Part of leadership presence is also creating a vision plus getting the buy in for it. That in short is creating an elevator pitch that conveys what your future goals are and how you intend to reach them. This is a mix of strategic skills and transformative skills like innovation as well as communication: to not just derive and formulate that vision but getting people behind it. A great skill to have is political savviness: being able to not just understand, but drive corporate politics. Have a solid network and offer support to that network. Have a good think what you have to offer and how you can contribute before asking for something first. Define who your supporters are, who can mentor or sponsor and who you trust to give you feedback. Feedback is an integral part of your journey to the top. Only when you receive timely and honest feedback can you work on the change you need for your next career step. Make sure you communicate clearly how you want to receive that feedback.

So executive presence consists of a variety of skills that a leader needs to master. Coaching can help to achieve great executive presence by looking at a wider skillset in the coaching process like said values, decision making, confidence, presence, active listening, empathy, different aspects of communication, networking, being politically savvy and more.

Avtorica:

Julia Atkinson is an ICF PCC cerfified execufive coach and provided successful execufive coaching and leadership team development in various global Top 500 companies for over 12 years. Prior to starting an executive development firm, she gained first hand leadership and business experience both in Corporate and StartUps in IT and Telecommunicafions. Julia’s coaching process helps clients to uncover different perspectives and insights and synthesise them into a vision. This process unearths core values and triggers enabling desired behavioural change and clarity to form new habits. Together with each client she identifies resources and tools to ensure the change is lasting.

[1] Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success – Illustrated, 3 July 2014 by Sylvia Ann Hewlett

Over the past 9 months, we have been going through various phases of lockdown, re-entry, and Working From Home (WFH). The current pandemic has accelerated change to an unprecedented pace. Changes which would have been made down the road are happening now. Long-term plans lack visibility and we are learning (albeit often grudgingly) to live with it. This volatility and uncertainty involves no small

amount of anxiety and stress. In fact, anything short of « stressed out » would be considered abnormal given the current VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world we are living in.

But how can we navigate these constantly changing and ambiguous environments and channel the stress so we can move forward with grace and conviction?

Employees are at their best when they are energized, positive, and engaged. Attaining and maintaining optimal levels of these attributes requires the utmost attention. So, what would help us optimize energy in order to navigate this fog of uncertainty, build resilience and make better strategic decisions?

There are a few things….

1. Manage Digital Overload. Although WFM has accelerated digital communications, learning and innovations; with the mix of private and professional working spaces, it has become difficult for some people to switch off. Disciplining ourselves to set boundaries and disconnect at certain times – over lunch (45’ to 1h), earlier in the evenings, taking frequent breaks to stand up and stretch (5’), walk around and get fresh air (for example, 15-20’ 2x./day) helps to manage the mental stress associated with too much static time in front of the screen. These breaks don’t significantly eat into work  time and in fact  can boost productivity by recharging emotional batteries.

2. Plan for the long-term but focus on the short-term. Having a vision of where we want to go helps us target our goals. This said, in these current increasingly VUCA environments (to the 10^thpower!). plans can change frequently. Rather than lamenting over the worst-case scenarios which may or may not emerge, focusingon the things which are within your realm of controlis much more empowering. To help focus on what you can control, agilely chunk down your time into manageable blocks which you know you will be able to achieve in the short run. For many, this involves accepting what is and letting go of the things which lie outside our realm of influence. A time management workshop based on the Eisenhower or Covey’s Matrices http://www.gpsforprofessionals.com/time–management– workshop/can help with this. What do you need to let go of ?

3. Positive Self Reection. Empathy is not easy and it is particularly difficult when we try to apply it to ourselves. Our brains aren’t wired that way – they hold so many unfounded limiting beliefs. However, showing empathy towards ourselves is the first step in extending empathy to others. Exercise: Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself all the good things about yourself for 3 minutes (set the timer!). This could also simply be repeating 3 positive statements about yourself for 1-3 minutes. By the law of attraction, being happy with ourselves allows us to be at peace with others and more naturally accept situations as they are. As human beings, we have the power of choice. Choosinghow you will begin your day can make all the difference. Some people keep a daily success tracking chart in excel. List 3 things you are grateful for each day. You have done a lot of things right – give yourself credit!

4. Maintaining Personal Connections. Whatever the source, stress can drag you down. Social support is essential to avoiding the burnout associated with stress and allow us to sustain more optimal levels of performance. Sharingwith others on a daily basis can help to decompress before an explosion occurs. In like manner, ‘being present’ for our loved ones and colleagues when they need to share provides much needed space for reflection. A caring ear is what will be remembered and will truly count in the long run (which most of us will survive !). Personal presence can be felt in-person as well as virtually. A good friend or professional coach can help provide the presence and active listening to help provide support and clarity (ICF competencies 3, 4 and 5 at https://coachingfederation.org/credentialing/coaching-competencies/).

With the increase of remote work, we must also remember to enforce informal conversations people are able to build and maintain the relationships necessary to increase trust and creativity. In the current WFH environment, social networking is replacing group lunches, coffee breaks and happy hours.

Sharing your feelings with others in whatever manner you prefer (phone, SMS, virtual cafés and happy hours) helps reason through difficulties and release anxiety. Make a goal of connecting with someone 2 to discuss something other than work at least 1x/day.

Building ResilienceThere is a plethora of possibilities. Here are a few:

• Optimize your energy. Exercise regularly. Run, walk, practice yoga, meditate, etc. 3x/week, 1x/day, 3x/day … ? And make sure to eat right, drink enough water(1.5 liters/day), get enough sleep. What works best for you ? Choose your favorite mix, devise a plan – then activate it!
• Journalingis another way of uncovering inner thoughts and releasing the stress inside. Revealing what lies under the surface to the page helps raise awareness, allows us relativize and let go. If you write a few pages every day, it may just be enough to get you to the point where new ideas and innovations are revealed.
• Remember to Breath! Stress breathing gets shallow. Slowing breathing down to 8 breaths / minute helps send oxygen to the brain and muscles, and subsequently move into a state of inner peace. Taking a few deep breaths and counting to 10 can help regain composure and override Amygdala hijack. Generally somewhere between the second and third thing you think of is the right option. Practicebreathing and holding back your rst response long enough to think of a second. Then wait to think of a third before you choose which behaviour to pursue.
• Remain Positive to Manage your Energy. For every negative thought or communication, it takes at least 3-5 positive ones to compensate so that we can neutralize the associated negative emotion and operate at optimal levels. Compliments and positive dialogue generate a spiral upward into increasingly positive territory (as opposed to negative thoughts which cause spiraling down thru a negative vortex). Analyze your interactions with others. What is the ratio of positive to negative exchanges? If they are any less than 3:1, there are several options to improve your communication style. Here is one process which always works:

1. 1. Identify the 10% in your colleague’s argument that you liked
   2. Voice it outloud starting with “YES, what I liked about what you said is ….”
   3. Follow up with your suggestion “…AND that makes me think….” Or “…AND I would build on that by saying…” This is essentially a ‘Yes…and” brainstorming game (versus the ‘no…but’ argumentative routine) which elevates the conversation to a higher level of positivity which will drive collective results much further and faster.

How will you choose to come back stronger ?

O avtorici

Dana Lefeuvre is an ICF accredited Master Executive & Team coach working at the intersection of Leadership Coaching & Culture. With over 31 years of experience working in and with multinational teams, she helps senior executives and multicultural teams adapt, rapidly integrate and co-create new work environments. Values and Vision are at the heart of her work. Dana leverages the power of positivity, collective intelligence, fun and efficiency in all her interventions. She coaches, designs and delivers workshops in English and French. Having been based in the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Angola, she also speaks some Bahasa, Portuguese and Spanish.

The organization lies on a treasure: its managers and leaders interpersonal skills. When soft skills models are vanishing, performance is dropping,

the organization is collapsing,

and employees run away.

How is your soft skill asset being valued within your organization?

How many internal management skills transmission programs are being run to new promoted managers? Management positions are distributed over the years … ..thanks to seniority, or somewhat at random. Some managers will be noticed for their soft skills. They will then add real value to their company. Others will never know they don’t know, leaving behind them a less unforgettable footprint.

And… this is it.

Management impacts can be huge and do contribute to heavy results for the company: both positive or negative. Actually, the following performance of the entity lies in the motivation or demotivation of the people.

Motivation is directly linked to sense, purpose, common values, recognition, feedback, objectives settlement, support.

Demotivation will carry troubles, depression, overwork, boredom, burn-out, ….

How much does it cost your organization to make wrong recruitment when managers are not competent? How much does burn-out cost per year to your company? – Costs of poor management are disengagement, poor results, sick leave, replacements, resignations followed by new recruitments, loss of know-how. How many $ to be lost?

The benefits of performing management are productivity, creativity, innovation, empowerment, mutual enrichment, talent retention. How much $ to be gained?

By transmitting internal soft skills knowledge and allowing managers to benefit from each other, you may enrich the knowledge of the most efficient ones and create a cohort of best practices within your organization.

1. It takes time to become a “First in class manager”: why not saving some time? The art of managing a team is something which can hardly be acquired (only) at school: it is learned for the most part of the managers through learning by doing. It’s a human adventure with a big “H”, well… for those who see it as such. The organization relies on a wealth made of interpersonal skills of endless replacements of managers. However, few managerial mentoring (or transmission) programs carry out the learning of these soft skills which add so much value to your company. Some young managers may feel disempowered or abandoned by lacking of mentors. If so, they may tend to be more stressed, which may conduct to bad behaviors, which may lead to poor performances, psychological risks, and dismisses.

• How much does it take for your company to grow a “good” manager? Do you really have an idea? How is soft power shared between good practitioners and others?
• How are role models valued? What is undertaken with “not good practitioners” and how?
• How is the impact on the teams handled?

What is your “soft power operational model” to define optimal managers? What is the basis of manager selection (including external recruitment )?

2. It costs money to select the wrong managers: why not saving money?

A diploma does not make a good manager and a performing manager does not necessarily own a (good) diploma of management: Technical experts coming from the best schools or universities will not be necessary the best in class manager.

So how to identify them without considering educational background? What criteria should be taken into consideration? What is your selection process? What is really missing today?

In case it looks challenging to identify them, what does it make so? How to overcome this?

• What does this say about your organization?
• What direct and concrete benefits will you see in changing your process?
• What needs to be put in place to make these practices effective and efficient? How will they be valued?

Courage is a virtue in business: what about rewarding soft skills management for what they are, as results and technical achievements are rewarded? By promoting collective soft skills transmission, network, each other preoccupation and roles would allow understandings and sharings versus ego-individuals. Organizational sustainability could also benefit from the process.

What exactly does your organization want? What is missing to support the positive models? 3\. Valuable employees leave their company when the soft project asset collapses; why not retaining your employees?

How true soft power owners are being rewarded within your organization?

Two years before retiring, high skilled managers are sometimes moved to “high-challenging positions” (staff changes, welding of twisted teams, cross-functional projects, etc.), because, yes, they still are eager to do their best, and they are used by the organization to deliver with effectiveness.

Ok; is that it for your company? You are in a 2 years run, ready to lose their soft strengths at the end of the period?

Once the top managers have left, new generations will have to start from scratch, an experiment in turn. What a loss!

All this massive knowledge and practices are lost on the side of the crossroads of generations. How much does it exactly cost to the company?

These hidden diamonds boost your business: what are you going to do with it? What would you gain by identifying the referents of model attitudes, also called “servant leaders”, or mentor coaches?

Soft skills knowledge sharing within your organization is a real opportunity to grow networks and instill a contributing culture. It will consolidate what makes your company unique, the reason why your employees have joined, and why they will stay.

Never underestimate the price of leadership and management soft power. Never underestimate the adding value of cutting a diamond.

Avtorica članka: Armelle Stoltz, PCC

After 15 years of experience in HR (Insurance,  automotive industry), I run for a professional coaching program (CPC) in 2011 at Corporate Coach Academy (ACTP-ICF ) in Malaysia.

Expatriate for 6 years, Mentor Coach, Coach Teacher, External career coach, Intercultural coach, then Internal Coach in the Energy Industry with more than 25 nationalities, I have set my own company “Sens & Résonance” back to France 5 years ago.

My next step is to grow a higher helicopter view.