New E-Book Project
by admin
“Coaching in the Workplace, How Workplace Coaches are Changing Lives AND Earning Paychecks.”
As part of a series of complimentary ebooks, I’d like to ask your help collecting stories.
Part of the fantastic benefit of talking to so many of you one-on-one through emails and telephone each week, is being able to watch as trends start to surface.
One of the things that’s popped its head up is how many coaches are doing superb coaching work in the Workplace.
If you are new to this blog publication, welcome. You may wish to review the context for this in, ‘Coaching Day Jobs and MilqueToast,’ available here:
http://www.andreajlee.com/blog/tough2.html
For today, it’s my delight to share two stories…one of how Coach Karin Goldberg is making a difference using coaching at her day job and the other from a C-level executive who asked to remain anonymous, but talks about how he now ‘gets’ coaching to the extent that he looks for employees who have a coaching mindset and cultivates them.
Thanks to both of you for agreeing to share your stories, and providing the inspiration for this new compilation that will help light the path for others.
Scroll down now if you’d like to go directly to the two stories.
Or…if you have a similar story to share, it’s time to come out of the closet!
This ebook will be available as a free resource to the profession, and as a contributor, you can choose to be attributed (with website and photo) or remain anonymous.
To submit your story, just hit reply, or write an email to andrea@andreajlee.com and answer any or all of the following questions in the format of your preference. (Deadline is October 11, 2004.)
What is the official role you play in your Day Job?
What are the 2 main coaching skills or proficiencies you use most in your Day Job?
What is the most powerful coaching moment you’ve experienced so far in your workplace?
What is the biggest change that has occurred within the workplace that you can attribute to your coaching?
Are you working on a coaching practice outside of your day job, and why?
Why are you choosing to be a Workplace Coach, and what are the pros and cons you would share with your coaching colleagues who may be considering the same path?
No need to wax long or poetic, just raw bullet points is fine. And if you know of someone who has a story to share, I appreciate you passing the word.
Thanks in advance for participating. As a token of appreciation, all contributors of stories that get used will receive a complimentary subscription to 39 Lessons, an eCourse on the topic of ‘How To Create, Market and Manage a Super Profitable Online Business’ (value $97.)
If you aren’t interested in the ’39 Lessons’ personally, you are welcome to make the course a gift to someone who is.
I look forward to releasing the compiled stories later this fall!
In the meantime, if Internet Marketing with a Coaching Approach is of interest to you, check out the new laboratory-style 2-day training occurring in Vancouver, B.C. on November 19 and 20, 2004, at www.ecommerceforcoaches.com.
——————————————————
“Coaching in the Workplace | Sample Raw Stories ”
‘I Definitely Promote People With A Coaching Mindset’
I won’t go on long but I thought you’d like to know this about the Coaching Day Job piece. Since getting trained as a coach myself part-time over the last 3 years, I’ve definitely changed the way I look at employees.
What you talk about as a Coaching Approach or Coaching Mindset may seem hard to quantify to you or others, but when you’re in the workplace, it’s easy to see. It’s an out-of-the-box, independent, inquiring, evolving, team, and self-sufficient way of operating as an employee in the corporation. Aside from other skills and qualifications, this is what makes a company great, even though it’s not defined in this way very often. I like to think that this company (50+ employees and contractors) is made up of coaches in employees clothing.
I’m banking a lot on this differentiating us in our market, and would be interested in any programs you come up with that (1) train people to develop this OR (2) train my managers to understand it, develop it and hire for it. I’ve made it publicly known that I definitely promote people with a coaching mindset over others. [...]
– COO/CEO, 3-year old services company in California, USA
——————————————————
“I Am (a Workplace) Coach, hear me Roar!”
Here is a little essay about how I fit coaching into my day job. Or how I fit my day job into coaching.
I work at [Company Name] as a business office rep. My function is as intra-company person to help the technicians and other departments expedite orders for customers.
Even though the company is a communications company, we all seem to speak a different language. The techs need help in interpreting the orders that the call centre reps issue and other departments need help in making changes to the orders because they don’t meet their technical requirements. Another way that I like to describe my job is like a deer being caught in the headlights.
My main coaching function occurs because the call centre reps have the perception that techs are lazy and stupid and the techs perceive that the reps are lazy and stupid.
I think I use all 15 Coaching Proficiencies throughout my day.
Also, a tech will phone me and ask a question using language that I certainly don’t understand, but I’ll use some clarifiers and she’ll come up with the answer.
My direct colleagues (about 15 of them) know that I’m a coach (by vocation) and will come to me with their career questions. I enjoy this. And so far, I haven’t charged anyone.
My darling manager who is on a temporary assignment somewhere else often calls me up to go for coffee or breakfast and we just talk about life. I use my coaching tools, and I notice that our conversations are interesting, helpful for both of us, and lots and lots of fun.
I used to expect that going out for coffee was going to be about a performance review or about something job related, but I’ve gotten used to the idea that when he calls, 99% of the time it’s just to talk to his ‘coach’. He knows I’m a coach and the book that I’m writing. We had a great talk about depression in the workplace.
This is the first job in over 7 years where I’ve been giddily happy.
I decided that this was the opportunity that I had wanted all my life. It’s a job that pays me very well and also happens to allow me the opportunity to coach and write on and in between calls.
I also have permission from my bosses boss to develop a presentation for a roadshow to try and help the techs and reps get together and understand the intricacies of each others job. I thought twice about proposing this because it will take away from my writing time. However, I couldn’t pass it up, because as a coach I see so clearly what can be done. `
In conclusion, when I get up in the morning I am ME and when I go to work I am still ME. There is not the huge disconnect that I used to feel. It’s because I am using the skills that I love to use. I am (a Workplace) Coach, here me Roar.
I hope this epistle is helpful to others.
Best regards,
Karin Goldberg, Author ‘Talking a Blue Streak’
www.karingoldberg.com
www.talkingabluestreak.com
—————————————————————————-
Passive Revenue Is Real, and It Rocks!
Check out what one coach had to say about the recent Vancouver training below, then find out more about the ‘Ecommerce for Coaches’ 2-day Laboratory Style training being held in late November. I look forward to seeing you there!
“Hi Andrea, I wanted to say a very big thank you for your outstanding seminar in Vancouver. The information, knowledge and wisdom you brought to share was incredible and delivered in such an enjoyable way. It was much like having a conversation with you, very engaging.
You made what previously seemed to me as overwhelming, as very, very do-able, even for a technophobic. My mind is full of possibilities….enough to keep me awake for weeks! Thank you.”
Linda E. Oprica
Ascent Coaching
www.ascentcoaching.com
