March, 2003

Coaching Mastery News is a monthly newsletter for professionals committed to excellence in coaching. Each issue focuses on a theme that emerges in coaching relationships. What questions or issues would you like to see addressed in Coaching Mastery News? Email your suggestions to Lisa@livingwithintention.com. Your feedback and questions are greatly appreciated. If you wish to share this newsletter with your network, please pass it along! If you would like to unsubscribe, simply send me an email with unsubscribe CMN in the subject line.

 


-- Lisa Kramer

 

The Art of Brainstorming

Often times I hear coaches struggle with the distinction between coaching and consulting. They feel challenged to NOT be the expert with all the answers. After all, their clients or clients’ organizations are paying them good money to coach for results. Are they truly providing value if they refrain from advising the client about how to best handle a given situation? Clients will sometimes ask, “What do you think I should do?” Don’t they want the coach’s expertise on a particular matter? The answer to that question is YES…and NO.

Coaching provides clients with a mirror to reflect back their thoughts, feelings and behavior. It also provides them with a safe ‘playing ground’ to try on different perspectives. This is where the skill of brainstorming comes in. Brainstorming serves several purposes for the client: it helps the client to ‘think outside the box’ concerning a particular situation; it deepens the coaching partnership because the coach and client are working together on possible options rather than the coach giving the client the answers; it ‘lightens up’ the often serious tone of the situation being discussed; it is energizing and fun!

Here’s an example from my own coaching experience:

Debra is a free-lance writer who has a home office. She is also the parent of two young boys, ages two and five. Debra has a full-time caregiver who takes care of her sons during the week when they are not at school. Debra came to the coaching call recently feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Her editor had just called and informed her that the deadline for the book she was writing was moved up by two weeks. Already behind in her writing, Debra had no idea how she was going to find the time to get the book finished. In addition, her younger son was just getting over an illness and was throwing temper tantrums each time the caregiver arrived at the house. He only wanted to be with his mom, and Debra was feeling frustrated and guilty about her son’s behavior. As a result of her son’s illness, Debra had not had a moment by herself for a few weeks and was feeling the effects of a lack of self-care. “How can I best support you right now?” I asked curiously. “Tell me what to do”, she replied half-jokingly. I suggested that we brainstorm some different options for Debra to consider. She agreed to give it a try.

Here are some options that Debra and I came up with:

  • Take her laptop and write from another location such as the library, coffee shop or local park
  • Leave her family for a few days and go off to a remote island
  • Tell her editor that she would not complete the book by the new deadline
  • Take a hot bubble bath
  • Ask her caregiver to get her son out of the house for longer stretches of time
  • Go for a walk

After coming up with these options together, I asked Debra to ‘try on’ each one. In other words, Debra imagined herself exercising each option and then described how it felt. In doing this, Debra was able to experience the feeling of each one as if she was living it, and to know that she had choices. This was very powerful for her! After trying on each option, Debra then decided on the course of action that felt right to her. Her plan was to try an experiment for the next week. She would get up a half hour earlier and go for a brisk walk. Her husband would still be at home to take care of the boys. That would give her a chance to be alone and to get some exercise. During the afternoons when her younger son was not at school, Debra would take her laptop and go to the library. By the end of the coaching call, Debra felt energized and optimistic that she would finish the book on time and feel less stressed in the process.

Some key points for coaches to consider when brainstorming with clients:

  • Set up the brainstorm by telling the client that this is an opportunity to ‘play’, to have fun. Zany possibilities can help move the client to be more creative, to laugh, to ‘lighten up’
  • While the coach and client are both generating ideas, it is important that the coach remain unattached to any idea he proposes. It is up to the client to decide which option feels right for him/her.
  • Encourage the client to try on each idea and fully experience it in the moment. What do they notice as they stand in each perspective?
  • Once the client decides on a plan of action, help him/her to be specific about how the plan will be carried out.

 

COACHING MASTERY UPDATE

Coaching Mastery, facilitated by Lisa Kramer, an experienced coach and veteran coach training leader, provides coaches with a safe learning environment to further develop their coaching excellence. Coaches can choose between individual, duo or group Coaching Mastery, depending upon your learning preference.

Here’s what one participant had to say about her recent group experience:

“In only three sessions with my Coaching Mastery group, I have increased my “coaching confidence” 10-fold, and my clients have noticed the difference! The group, guided by Lisa Kramer’s masterful facilitation and spot-on questioning, is a forum in which I can develop and test my coaching approaches, flex my strengths, strategize with other coaches, and have my blind spots gently revealed to me through the coaching of my colleagues. I’ve made a huge leap into a being a more daring, creative, relaxed and genuine coach and because of that, my clients have made leaps too.”
Colleen Bracken, MCB & Associates www.mcbcoaching.com

Coaching Mastery Level I and Level II telegroups for April, 2003:

Level I: This group is best suited for professionals who have been coaching for a year or less. The group provides structure and support to assist you in gaining confidence and clarity in your coaching relationships.

The Level I group will meet on Monday April 7, 21, and 28 from 4 – 5 pm EST.

Level II: This group is best suited for more experienced coaches who are looking to raise the bar and take their coaching to the next level.

The Level II group will meet on Friday, April 4, 11, and 18 from 3 – 4 pm EST.

Investment - $99

Are you curious about Coaching Mastery? Interested in a complimentary individual Coaching Mastery session? Contact Lisa Kramer at (610) 527-4511 or lisa@livingwithintention.com

Upcoming Events in the Philadelphia metropolitan area:

Lisa Kramer will be leading a panel discussion at the Philadelphia Area Coaches Alliance (PACA) monthly dinner meeting on March 20, 2003. The program is “The Elephant in the Room: Recognizing and Addressing Therapeutic Issues in the Coaching Relationship”. For more information visit the PACA website at www.philadelphiacoaches.org

Richard Carson will be offering a Taming Your Gremlin® workshop on Saturday, May 17 and Sunday, May 18 in Warrington, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. To register or for more information, call (800) 253-9269 or visit the website at www.tamingyourgremlin.com

 

Copyright © 2002. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute the Coaching Mastery™ News as long as nothing is added, changed, or deleted, and this copyright notice is attached. The author is Lisa Kramer, Living with Intention Coaching, Training and Coaching Mastery™ www.livingwithintention.com