SMART


The Change Journey

In today’s guest post Phil Manington shares how he’s using his coaching knowledge and skills with a personal experience.

"The Change Journey" A guest post  by Phil Manington

The Change Journey

by Phil Manington

I recently returned from a month’s holiday in France and was keen and enthusiastic to get back to work. Imagine how frustrated I felt when I suffered a retinal detachment in my right eye. Now I’d had problems previously with my left eye but this was serious – I needed an emergency operation and there was a real risk of losing my sight.

After the initial shock, I realised that this was a great opportunity to practise what I preach – after all, my colleague Steve and I run coaching courses which are aimed as much at people who want to coach themselves as those who want to coach others.

The approach we use is very simple, based on the principle that coaches help people to change. We use the metaphor of a journey – a successful change journey will involve a start (understanding where we are), a goal (where we want to get to) and action, with monitoring and adjustment on the way before celebrating success.

Now recovering from an eye operation might seem a slightly unusual topic for coaching – usually we are coaching someone through a change they have chosen to make – but it is proving really useful through what is a difficult period of enforced change for me.

So, two weeks after the operation, how am I doing and what lessons have I learned that are helping me in my coaching practice?

Start: This seemed obvious at first sight (as it is with many clients) but it was actually quite complex. My physical state was clear but my emotional state much less so. I was filled with conflicting emotions – feeling simultaneously optimistic, shocked, scared, impatient and irritated at not being able to drive or work. I notice how often my clients are similarly mixed up and are often very uncomfortable about that. In extreme cases, mixed feelings can generate demoralising inner conflicts that are tough to resolve.

Goal: The answer to that favourite coaching question – what do you want – also seemed obvious but was it? I wanted full sight restored. But there was a significant risk that the operation would not be successful and I seemed to have limited ability to control that. This added to all those mixed feelings which created an almost overwhelming sense of doubt and uncertainty.

So what did I really, really want? I needed to think wider than the operation – what was really important to me? What did I want to be able to do whatever state my sight was in? What was possible even if the worst happened? How did I see my life in 5 years’ time? Exploring these questions helped me particularly with the fear and uncertainty and put me in a much more resourceful state.

Two key learning points for me are:

  • Many clients find it very difficult to define what they want. It always seems to help to link it to a bigger picture – helping them to imagine future possibilities and tying into their core values and life goals.
  • ‘SMART’ goals are often very useful but there are times when they can get in the way. Sometimes a client is better served by an intention which guides direction and can be used to inform intermediate goals.

Take action: I didn’t seem to have much choice – have the operation (or lose my sight), then follow recommendations for recovery. Normally, clients have some choices, but sometimes they feel as if they don’t and this can lead to a feeling of powerlessness. One of my favourite quotations offers help:

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Viktor E. Frankl

I couldn’t change what was happening to my eye but I could choose how I responded. For me, this is a key part of coaching – helping clients realise that only they can empower themselves. There are then two roles the coach can play:

  • helping clients be in the best emotional state to maximise their chances of success – for me, this included meditation, music and support from friends and family, but it is different for each person and worth spending time identifying what will help.
  • holding clients to account – some people will push too hard, be over-ambitious or unrealistic; others might lack confidence and hold back. A valuable role for the coach is to hold up a mirror, give good feedback, which is factual and objective.

Monitoring and adjustment: I thought I’d be well on way to recovery by now but complications mean I still have badly blurred vision, headaches and dizziness and I’m still not able to drive. So there’s not much progress to monitor, just lots of waiting and trusting in the healing magic of time.

The big lesson for my coaching is that it’s not just about monitoring progress towards any objective. It’s also monitoring emotional state, the impact on the rest of life, on relationships, etc.

Celebrating success: I’m not there yet on my own change journey but it’s useful to remember that it’s not just about waiting to finish before celebrating. Small successes on the way are hugely valuable, helping to build enthusiasm and confidence and maintain momentum. In my case, successes have included allowing others to help, resting even though I have a big backlog of work and getting round without a car. This might seem like small things for others but have been massive for me. It reminds me how important it is to put myself in the position of my client.

The overall learning for me is that, whilst there are lots of different approaches to coaching, the important principle that underpins it all centres on helping the client maintain an emotionally resourceful state throughout the whole change journey.

About Phil Manington

Phil Manington is co-founder of Suffolk Coaching Zone. He is a professional trainer, coach and management consultant, specialising in helping businesses and individuals to make successful change and achieve their full potential.

Phil currently offers training, workshops and one-to-one coaching for personal and business clients. Specialist areas include leadership skills, building self-confidence and self-esteem, and improving relationships. Follow Suffolk Coaching Zone on Facebook and Twitter.


Have a Great Year – Get The Basics Right and Succeed in 2013 1

In our first guest post of 2013, business coach Angus MacLennan shares some thoughts he reminds his clients about at this time of year.

Fotolia 47797440 XS with drop shadow

Have a Great Year – Get The Basics Right and Succeed in 2013

by Angus MacLennan

It’s a new year and it’s that time of year when people set their resolutions and think about their goals. As a Business Coach it’s the time of year I remind my clients to go back to the basics. If you don’t cover the basics in your business and personal life then you may find you tend to drift.

Do these basics activities and you will have more control over your business and personal life and have a successful 2013.

1. Set SMART Goals

Goals are critical to success. Make sure you set your goals so you know what you are aiming for and when you will have to achieve it. Having clear goals allows you to put in place the actions needed to achieve your objectives. I recommend SMART goals:

Specific – get very clear about what you want and how it will feel, look, sound, smell etc.

Measurable – make sure the goals can be measured in a meaningful way. You have to measure it to know its achieved.

Achievable – make your goals challenging and achievable. They should push you but should be manageable.

Realistic – goals should always be realistic. Give yourself a something that will challenge you but that you can actually achieve.

Timed – know exactly when you will have to achieve your goal so you have a clear point to aim for.

Goals need to be clear, you must know when they are achieved, they must be a push but achievable and realistic and you must know when you will complete them.

2. Plan you diary for the year

Put all your fixed appointments, meetings you know about, main events and important dates into your diary for the whole year. All those carved in stone and can’t be moved events should go into you diary – for the whole year. This gives you a structure to start with.

3. Create a Weekly Plan

Create a weekly plan so you know what you are doing each week. Use a paper diary or a software diary but make sure you do create a plan that covers when you will be doing what over your week. Once you get the hang of that create a plan that covers 2 weeks or the whole month. This helps you plan ahead and gives you control of your actions and plans.

4. Use a To Do List

Start a To Do List that includes all the things you need to do for the week (personal and business) and put them in a priority order with Complete by Dates. If you tend to have a lot to do each day then break it down into daily To Do lists. Always focus on achieving the top 2 or 3 activities each day and you will make progress.

If you want to have a great year then make sure you cover all the basics in your business and your personal life. Ensure you have the direction and control that will set you on the path to an amazing year.

Have a happy and prosperous 2013!

Take care

Angus

About the author

Angus MacLennanMy name is Angus MacLennan and I am a Coach delivering practical Business Support to Business Owners – specialising in small to medium size businesses.

My mission is to deliver a quality service to help every client develop their business and enable them to have the work/life balance they want.

Over the past 5 years I have had thousands of hours experience coaching and delivering workshops and have had my work incorporated in training programmes across four continents.

I am a Master Practitioner of NLP, a Master Results Coach, a Master Performance Consultant and have a Degree in Industrial Psychology and a Post Grad Dip in Personnel Management.

Blog: http://coachingentrepreneurs.wordpress.com/

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/angusmaclennan

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngusMacLennan


Coaches, what do you consider when setting goals? 1

Yes I know it’s the New Year and you have probably read loads of pieces about setting a goal or new years resolution. In fact Mondays self-improvement post was one all about new years resolutions and I very nearly didn’t write this coaching post on a similar topic.

However, some of the emails I received over the festive period asked specifically for some goal related articles. As coaches we deal a lot with goals, targets or whatever specific language you use to define what you are working towards with your client.

The conversation about what different people associate with the word goal is perhaps a post for a different occasion. For simplicity, in the remainder of this post feel free to substitute the terminology you use yourself and with your clients to define what you are both working towards.

If you have done a specific coaching training then it’s quite possible that you have come across the terminology of SMART goals – even if you haven’t done any training you’ve probably still heard mention of them. While there is debate about the definitive definition of each of the words the mnemonic stands for, as far as I can establish it is a term that has its first documented use in 1981 published in a management journal. (There are earlier accounts of the term being used but there does not appear to be any documentation to support this. If anyone knows of proof of an earlier use than do let me know.)

This (potentially) makes 2011 the 30th anniversary of the first publication of the term SMART goals. Since then it has become a term that is used outside of management as well as within.

But is SMART all there is to goal setting?  As coaches do you consider anything else?

There have always been extra things that I consider when, as a coach, I am questioning someone around what they want to achieve from our work together. I thought today I would mention two of these. The first is does this person actually genuinely want what they are asking for?

At first glance that may seem like a silly question, why would anyone seek out coaching for something they don’t actually want:

  • For some they may be asking for what appears to be the logical next step from where they are.
  • Others may be asking for something that they think will give them what they really want (i.e. Extra income will allow them to spend more time with their loved ones and improve those relationships.)
  • Then there are those who have “inherited” someone else’s goals for them and haven’t questioned if they actually want them.
  • Often individuals may think they have thought “big” but there is still something that would be “even better than that.”

As I see it, one of my roles as a coach is to challenge my clients to think bigger and brighter. So facilitating an awareness and connection with what someone actual wants is an important part of establishing what our potential aim is from working together.

Another aspect that I am conscious of when first establishing with a client what we are working together on is if they are prepared to commit to creating what they are asking for.

This isn’t about judging someone if they are not prepared to commit (and some can be surprised that they are not) but about discovering early on what they think will happen if they do commit.

This normally leads to either the end goal being redefined or some work around a perceived obstacle or how we will work together. For example, sometimes a reluctance to commit can be about being afraid that I, as a coach, will “make” someone take action they would hate doing. (For the record I may invite or challenge but not make someone do something. My work is about supporting someone and making the process easier not bullying them!)

As it is the New Year and the first coaching post of 2011 I invite you to consider as a coach:

What do you want to commit to creating?

Feel free to share your answers below to any of the above questions.