Dumb question? We all know that if the client thinks there is progress, that’s good enough for us, right?
Well, maybe! When working with a client who is looking for measurement of results it is important to start with an exploration of what is important to measure. Only then can you begin to explore approaches to measurement that would be appropriate. If a client is concerned about individual performance begin with clarity about the lines of development involved and how …
If the executive you are working with has as a developmental objective to be able to recognize and engage effectively with others who may have different world views than her own, you can use a scenario approach. You can support them in recognizing other world views by learning about their own and then reframing perspective from the point of view of other developmental perspectives that they are likely to encounter. An integral framework would support this by having them examine
When working developmentally with an executive and one goal is to develop capabilities for working with change, innovation, ambiguity and surprise, this will involve attention to leadership. Try scenarios. The executive can participate fully in designing the scenario. For example, scenario questions might be, how would s/he respond if a competitor became more aggressive, if there were a significant change in the market, or if the company bought another business? Capture the executive’s response with text, on tape or video.
Clearly, our capacities for seeing and understanding different worldviewsand action logics, much less be able to strategize from those perspectives, is a function of our integral development. Cognitively, we can learn to recognize the signs and symbols (and symptoms?) of various levels of development along multiple streams. A challenge in coaching executives is to first, help them recognize streams and levels within themselves and then be able to translate that into comprehending others. But the capabilities and capacities for doing
The coaching conversations related to the use and design of scenarios can offer a useful way to open discussions of values, beliefs, assumptions, mental models, aspirations, etc., that the executive client holds, supports and defends. One of the most useful contributions the coaching process can make is testing and determining what is truly important to the executive, clarity about the existence of confirming evidence, identification of any conflicting evidence, and clarifying what action is required to address executive concerns. The
When coaching executives, look for openings to explore the relationship between interior-individual lines of development (intellectual, emotional, etc.) and organizational systems (vision and strategy, communications, etc.) An example of such an exploration would follow from the question, “What’s the link between your energy (belief, focus, etc.) and current organizational strategy?” Another might be, “What organizational systems are important for you to be effective in pursuing that strategy (solving that problem, etc.)?” Such questions can help generate insights and uncover blind
In leadership development through coaching we use a “what if” type of question to help leaders to tease out the implications of alternatives. That is a double-loop learning strategy– and a useful one. We can deepen the learning by moving to triple loop explorations. The use of scenarios as’what if” explorations also holds the possibility for exploring developmental levels according to different lines of development. Questions can be explored about knowledge, emotions, physical being and doing, relationships, spirit and so
When working with an executive or other leader in generating alternatives and playing out outcomes from alternatives we are engaging in a scenario exploration process. As a coach it is important to be able to recognize elements of such an analysis that relates to different levels of development and to developmental dynamics. If you use assessments such as MBTI II, the Emotional Competence Inventory or the Leadership development Profile, these offer frameworks for such analysis as well. The focus is
The sources of business tsunamis are manifold. Just in the last few days I have had executive clients bring their tsunami’s to our coaching conversations. One example is an individual who is purchasing an entertainment company that includes a radio station. The financing for this effort must be available within a two-business-day window following an FCC license approval. Just a week prior to this time, the bank said it would need an appraisal of the radio station, despite secured guarantees
It is obvious that when coaching leaders from an integral perspective it is important to surface relevant work that is related to the cognitive, emotional, values, relationships, health, moral and spiritual aspects of the individual. Keep in mind, however, it is their perspective on all of this that is the starting point, not the coach’s.
