CoachingIntentionally™ site syndication http://www.coachingintentionally.com 2009-01-06T23:28:25+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png text/html 2007-10-03T18:02:14+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Topics/Being-Edgy-2.html I've been having an interesting conversation with a group of seasoned coaches here in Minneapolis. It is around the issue of transparency, or as we were calling it seeing the coach's humanity. We were all in agreement that unless we as clients saw the humanity in our coach it was a less than powerful coaching experience. This conversation had grown out of a much harder conversation about edgy coaches, or seeming lack there of, in the community. Edgy is about saying what needs to be said in a sharp simple clean manner. Sharp/hard - saying exactly what needs to be shared, aka sharing what is there. Simple - don't couch it, wrap it up nice and pretty, check w.a.i.t. (why am I talking). Clean - Zero baggage attached. Is this about the client or me, the coach. No (e)motional charge to it. all the while respecting the client's humanity. text/html 2007-10-03T17:32:41+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Topics/Is-age-a-limitation-to-coaching-2.html Is age a limitation to coaching? No and Yes. There are two sides to this answer. The first is from you = There is no limitation to coaching unless you create it. And from the recipient/potential client end the answer is a Maybe yes. It depends on several factors - internal sense of value received by being in relationship with you, cultural biases, ageism (a true ism that goes both ways), and stereotypes. Some will say you are too young/old while most it will never make a difference, and there will be even some that will seek you out because of your youth. text/html 2007-05-25T10:19:32+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Topics/InvestingInTheBusiness-2.html The following question came in response to my article about Before Marketing Comes Business. Q: What do you mean by money spend as investment in your business? A: Other than get rich quick schemes and gambling (including lottery tickets) all businesses must invest in the infrastructure and maintenance of their business as well as expansion efforts. Coaching is not a get rich quick despite what some disreputable adult ed classes might say. Coaching is in many respects like any other business, though because many coaches coach from home there are differences in overhead costs. text/html 2007-03-22T14:52:12+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Resources/BNI-Coaching-2.html I've been in BNI (Business Network International) (http://www.bni.com) for a year now after avoiding it for years (by mistake in my opinion). I've become a strong supporter of the BNI way of doing business and marketing for coaches.   I've even included it in my CoachingBusinessEssentials Ecourse  Here are my current thoughts on BNI Benefits for a coach: Focuses their marketing - too many coaches come in offering full services and not enough on tangible results and benefits. BNI training helps with that. Sharpens their marketing message - BNI trains you on how to be a good member and how to deliver your message so that people HEAR it. As a book I'm reading talks about It is not what you say, but what they hear that matters Become comfortable speaking to a group of people about what you do Become a better networker Become a better business person (for some this means acknowledging that they have a business and need to act like it) Provides a regular professional social engagement every week for you to get our of your office, which is important especially if you coach by phone. Expands your network - people need to know that you exist. People need to know what you do. People need to know how they feel about you before they refer to you or buy from you. text/html 2006-12-12T01:00:00+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Topics/Before-Marketing-Comes-Business-2.html In a discussion on the Co-Active Network (http://www.coactivenetwork.com) I wrote a commentary entitled Before Marketing Comes Busines. link to the discussion on the Co Active Network (http://tinyurl.com/yepcam) Hi All, I was responding to Lori's question about marketing a new coaching busines then I realized that my response really needed a topic of its own.  Lori was given some sound advice about marketing. That is great. AND for most coaches we've all heard these before and are still stuck without a full business and a marketing approach that works for us. Which brings me to my question to all of you: How strong are you in your basic business skills? In my opinion marketing is important, however understanding, embracing, and practicing the basics of business are paramount to success. Before Marketing Comes Business. To read the rest of the article click read more below text/html 2006-09-13T02:53:54+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Programs/Website-In-An-Hour-2.html You've wanted your own website for months   But, It's too hard It's too expensive I don't know what to write I haven't had the time. STOP!!!! It doesn't have to be that way. I know a way for you to get a great website that you are really happy with, that you have complete control over, AND you can create in 1 hour or less.  Let me show you. In this recorded class you will learn: How to create a super website at minimal cost and very little effort. If you can use a wordprocessing program like Microsoft Word or Write and can surf the web -YOU CAN DO THIS! To learn more check http://www.WebsitesInAnHour.com   text/html 2006-08-18T19:43:56+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Resources/Book-Review-The-Anatomy-of-Peace-2.html Book Review – The Anatomy of Peace What if conflicts in the world personal work life all source from the same root cause? What if we systematically blind ourselves to that cause? And what if, as a result, we are unwittingly perpetuating the very problems that we believe we are trying to solve? These are the questions that the Arbinger Institute answers in The Anatomy of Peace I have been a raving fan of the Arbinger Institute's work going on three three years now since I was shaken to the core by the work as I experienced my family, my brother in particular in a whole new light. A light I could no longer ignor. My work with the Arbinger material has been transformational for me, my clients, and their companies. So much so that Leadership Self Deception (L SD) became required reading for all of my clients. text/html 2006-08-18T18:24:57+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Topics/Intro-To-Spiral-Dynamics-2.html I’ve been picking up pieces Spiral Dyanamic for about five years now. These days I integrate it into my coaching and work with business owners and professional coaches. It is a powerfully model for understanding how and why cultures do what they do. And if you want to make a change, what must you be aware of. This can be critical in coaching change. One of the best teachings I had on the subject came at the ICF Coaching Conference in 2004. I take several examples from that teaching in sketching out SD for you here today. The program so clearly laid out the model and how it helps to explain the great rifts in our society and the world; Where people are at now what they are evolving into. The Spiral Dynamics model is a model of cultural evolution. The models have come from a scientific compilation of sociological and psychological theories and models of human behavior, cognitive development and even good ol’ Maslow. It is a progression of modes of culture. One of its fundamental principles lies in the fact that the problems of an era/cultural stage can not be solved using the same state of mind that created it. So when a culture reaches a saturation point and has to evolve to solve a problem that is when it moves forward collectively. Also one must progress through each of the levels and not skip any of them, for in order to be healthy you need to have completed the lower levels and the strength of the highest level comes from the solidity of the level below it. Anyway. Basics of Spiral Dynamics - Levels are described by color Tier 1 Beige - hunter gatherer, survival Purple - clans, age of story, myths, nomads, family Red - honor, warriors, gladiators, warlords, fiefdoms, chivalry, feudalism Blue - collective, common ideal, religion, democracy Orange - enlightenment, industry, harnessing power, hierarchy, corporations, militia (400? years ago) Green - “We’re All Together Now”, collective love, sharing, community, me generation, yuppy (150yrs ago) Tier 2 This is an integrated tier. It repeats tier 1 but in an integrated manner Yellow - integration, systems, flow, gaia (50-60yrs ago) Turquoise - interconnectivity, full integration of mind-body-spirit, wholistic (in the last 20-30yrs) Coral - unknown but starting to emerge (5-10yrs ago) Note: One is a not just one color or cultural level. You are the culmination of all the levels up to that level. Then there are maturity and balance issues in each level. You might notice the similarities of the first tier with child development. Some Interesting findings and thoughts with respect to Spiral Dynamics. 1) Most of the world is either in BLUE or RED. NAmerica, Europe, Japan run the spectrum up into YELLOW, TURQUOISE and CORAL. However most of the world is RED BLUE. What does this mean? 2) Take S Africa - Don Beck, one of the founders of Spiral Dynamics was called into S. Africa at the end of appartide to help them through the transition. The world wanted SA to become ORANGE right away. However in SA they were dealing with a predominantly PURPLE culture which had been oppressed. The PURPLE culture remember is one of stories. They need to be heard, they need to be told. Thus was born the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which allowed this PURPLE culture to heal and then move into RED, BLUE ORANGE. 3) Take Iraq. Here we have a RED culture - a feudal land with a RED dictator. We come in with a plan to “evolve” their country into a BLUE culture “democracy”, a belief in something greater than oneself. The “Allies” have taken an ORANGE approach to doing so - corporatization, military strength, hierarchy, command and control which has resulted in a regression of the culture to PURPLE (tribal, clans with mythology and story ~ what kind of stories do you think they are creating about “America” and “democracy”). The people against the war are predominantly GREEN culture where everyone should get along and we just need to sit down and talk, we shouldn’t get involved. As a result we have a ORANGE culture trying to remove a RED culture (2 level difference) without an appreciation for the fact that they need to bridge the gap between these two culture memes, now three given the regression to PURPLE. And the GREENs don’t see what all the fuss is about - because aren’t we all the same? 4) The Conference occurred days after the 2004 US Presidential Election. The presenters made some interesting observations. 51% v 49% largest voter turnout in history in the US. If you are a Bush Supporter take a look around and look at the model. If you were a Kerry Supporter, take a look around and at the model. What do you think is going on in the USA? OK, so if you want to persuade, evolve, converse, with those who have a worldview (culture) different from your own what do you have to do? Remember they do not perceive the world the same way as you do. We are going to be hearing more and more about Spiral Dynamics in the coming years. What level are the people who put together What the Bleep? (http://www.whatthebleep.com/)movie? Notice the approach to the movie. It works on several levels of the spiral to share elements of what is going on. text/html 2006-08-18T17:35:49+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Topics/Changing-Our-Language-2.html Let’s Change Our Language to People who hold a different worldview than my own I have been having several conversations lately with coaches, friends, colleagues, and others who angry, confused, frustrated, lost with respect to the results of the November Election. The Spiral Dynamics program at ICF (http://www.matthewrochte.com/2004/11/spiral-dynamics-at-icf.html)sparked something in me with respect to how to deal with the election fallout. Basically it said that if we keep approaching the issue the same way that we have been we are not going to get anywhere. What is the definition of crazy? - doing the same thing over and over again expecting it to be different. So what new paradigm do we need to adopt in order for us to stop, re-engage, learn, and move forward? Upon my return to the U.S. I realized that the discussion was framed in mono-syllabic labels - RED vs. BLUE. I actually had people coming up to me and asking if I knew any RED people. This same discussion was going on in reverse by the way since I seem to float between both camps in my life. Wait a minute~ You do not even see them as people. They are objects in your life that you need to convert to YOUR WAY OF THINKING. You do not see them as human beings with needs, wants, and desires in life just like yourself. Only as the enemy, the other, the democrats, the republicans, the reds or the blues. You prefer to dehumanize them in order for you not have to confront your own potential errors in thinking, because only people (people like us that is) have the right to do that. YIKES!!!! What if we change our language!? What if we address the humanity of the situation? These people who we want to understand, we have to first acknowledge and see as people before we get anywhere. Instead of saying RED or BLUE. What comes up for you when you say People who hold a different worldview than my own? YES, I know, 13 syllables, it is a mouthful, AND it is respectful of the person and acknowledges their right to hold and have a view different than my own. This does not say that one is better than the other. This does address that their can be another way of seeing things. This does acknowledge the gap and what the gap is between these two cultures. When you can identify the gap, you can start addressing what is going on - really! What is the conversation you really want to have? Overwhelmingly I hear people are confused and they want to understand. What about you? ~Matthew Rochte, MCA President Elect 2004 text/html 2006-08-18T17:33:43+01:00 http://www.coachingintentionally.com http://www.coachingintentionally.com/Topics/On-Recommending-A-Coach-2.html President’s Message for the April 2005 MCA Catalyst Reflections On February’s MCA Program with Richard Leider, Richard Leider came to speak to the MCA about claiming leadership.   During the question and answer period of the program was asked about how he would select someone to recommend as a coach. What credentials would he look for? After very deliberate reflection he responded with two key components and several other adjunct criterion. I loved his response. Show me you statement of ethics What is your anthropology of coaching? Organizational Grounding (to work in businesses, corporations or with executives) Belong to a coaching organization Credentialling Specialties (Niches) credentialing in those niches You must have a coach yourself It is on the first two and the last that hold the most juice for me right now and as such have been the topic of many conversations in the past three weeks.