Check the ‘Coachability Index’: Interview in People Matters, Nov 1, 2011

This article appreared in People Matters - November 1, 2011 issue. It carries my views on the field of coaching in India at present and the future trends which may be seen in the industry. Would be happy to recieve your comments.

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Check the ‘Coachability Index’

Nov 1st 2011
By Shalini Verma

How matured is the concept of ‘executive coaching’ in India?

I would say it is still in a very nascent stage. Though there has been substantial growth in the last 2 years and while there are no ready figures, my guess is that we have seen a growth of 30-40 percent. Culturally, given the family and social structure in India, a person naturally tends to fall back on family and friends for any advice or feedback in life. This non-judgmental and professional help and support has never been a trend in India. Further, at present, the number of coaches in India is far less – a few hundred to cater to a population of one billion. There are also no specializations in India as yet, unlike in Australia or the UK, where there are different categories of coaches for different requirements – parenting coaches, wealth management coaches, relationship coaches, weight loss coaches, etc. In India, everything is under the broad banner of ‘life/executive coaching’. Coaching in India is on the growing curve. The growing number of MNCs in India is redefining the work culture here and the change in the social fabric due to the emergence of nuclear families will propel the need for coaching.

What is the role of a coach? How does it contribute to business productivity? When is coaching useful/required?

Coaching is a dynamic, creative and systematic process, where the coach enables the coached to get useful insights by the power of asking high-gain questions. It enables the coached to become self-aware especially about his/her strengths and weaknesses, unhelpful patterns, aspirations and challenges. It is a highly valuable tool that can enhance employee engagement in the organization and build a culture of support and encouragement. The role of a coach is to bring coherence between the efforts of the individual and the company. This in turn will lead to increased productivity, reduced cost, lowered rate of attrition and higher motivation. Coaching can be applied at multiple occasions. At the organizational level, a coaching intervention may be especially useful during times of quantum change, for example, mergers, acquisitions, and significant changes in market conditions. At the executive level, it maybe useful in times of role transitions (change in role), in case of performance issues and even to fast track the high performers.

What is the ‘coaching style’ that you have adopted and why does it work best for you?

I use the ‘facilitative’ style of coaching where I take the ‘whole person approach’. While it is possible to focus on just one area, life cannot be put into water tight compartments. A change in any one area of one’s life is bound to have an impact on the other aspects of his/her life.

In the short run, at times, this approach may not seem to be impacting the business goals directly, but in the long run, I am very positive that it is bound to benefit the business.

We use the LEAP (Leadership Enhancing & Acceleration Program) framework, which works towards bringing coherence between individual and organizational goals.

What are the other methodologies in coaching? And how do organizations know which methodology will work best for their purpose?

Other methodologies could be more direct and at times, a combination of prescriptive and facilitative methods may be used. It usually depends on the organizational culture. In a free culture, which fosters growth and development and the focus is on the long run perspective, the facilitative method of coaching works best. However, it is important that the organization supports a safe learning environment to ensure its success. Whereas, in the case where there is restriction on time and the organization expects results or outcomes in a short run, the direct or prescriptive method may be adopted. Every organization has its process of studying the need and the philosophy before deciding or screening for the appropriate coach.

What are the challenges in ensuring success of a coaching exercise?

It is essential to ensure that the outcome expected by all three parties – coach, coached and the organization, is the same. One must also consider the willingness and keenness of the candidate. Often, sustaining the coaching journey becomes a challenge as the coaching exercise is quite demanding at times. There is also a need to check the Coachability Index to gauge the eligibility of the candidate as we are not coachable at all times. It is also crucial to gain the right support and endorsement from the stakeholders to ensure that coaching is effective. The organization must provide a safe learning platform to allow employees the time and space to grow and evolve. Coaching should never be remedial in nature or considered as a ‘fix-it’ exercise.

What is the future of coaching in India?

With the changing social fabric and the ever stressful work culture, I foresee the demand for coaching to go up exponentially in the coming years. From life coaching, spiritual coaching, career coaching to executive coaching, newer specializations will emerge. Also I expect that coaching in India will combine the eastern philosophy into the whole coaching concept and then it will emerge as a powerful tool for the growth and development of the human resource.

Shalini Verma is Founder & Director, The Sky Scrapers Academy

 

17 tips to double your productivity in 14 days : Robin Sharma

Robin Sharma, leadership expert, author and Life Coach, shares 17 of the tactics he has learned that will help us lean into our productive best in this age of dramatic distraction:

1. Turn off all technology for 60 minutes a day and focus on doing your most important work.

2. Work in 90 minute cycles (tons of science is now confirming that this is the optimal work to rest ratio).

3. Start your day with at least 30 minutes of exercise.

4. Don’t check your email first thing in the morning.

5. Turn all your electronic notifications off.

6. Take one day a week as a complete recovery day, to refuel and regenerate (that means no email, no phone calls and zero work). You need full recovery one day a week otherwise you’ll start depleting your capabilities.

7. The data says workers are interrupted every 11 minutes. Distractions destroy productivity. Learn to protect your time and say no to interruptions.

8. Schedule every day of your week every Sunday morning. A plan relieves you of the torment of choice (said novelist Saul Bellow). It restores focus and provides energy.

9. Work in blocks of time. Creative geniuses all had 2 things in common: when they worked they were fully engaged and when they worked, they worked with this deep concentration for long periods of time. Rare in this world of entrepreneurs who can’t sit still.

10. Drink a litre of water early every morning. We wake up dehydrated. The most precious asset of an entrepreneur isn’t time – it’s energy. Water restores it.

11. Don’t answer your phone every time it rings.

12. Invest in your professional development so you bring more value to the hours you work.

13. Avoid gossip and time vampires.

14. Touch paper just once.

15. Keep a “Stop Doing List”.

16. Get up at 5 am.

17. Have meetings standing up.

Source: http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/05/double-your-productivity/

A Coach Indeed

This article appreared in Outlook Business – April 2, 2011 issue. Written by Shruti Yadav, it carries my views on the field of coaching in India along with those of some of my peers in the industry.

Indians have a knack of building support systems

Extended families, a large circle of friends, friends of friends, etc., are there all the time to lend a sympathetic ear or to give advice. For business problems, there are consultants and for serious behavioural and emotional issues, there is a battery of psychologists and psychiatrists. But what do you do when you want help to introspect? It may seem a contradiction of sorts, but a life coach performs a similar function. He will listen to you, ask you questions and make you find the answers within yourself.

Life coaching and executive coaching are Western concepts, but they are fast gaining currency in India. As Shalini Verma, Founder of The Skyscrapers Academy, a leadership and executive coaching organisation, puts it, “Coaching is about unlocking potential—driving change inside out.” Executive coach Sunil Unny Guptan adds that a coach can point you in directions you haven’t explored before, so you can add value to yourself—in terms of acquiring new skills, new ideas, new perspectives, a new way of life, new thinking and even experimenting with things

Many people are now hiring coaches to achieve various life objectives, and the trend is especially strong among corporates, who want to help their employees make the maximum use of their capabilities.

Approach

So what exactly do coaches do? They listen, says Verma. According to her, there should be an 80:20 ratio between how much a client speaks and how much the coach speaks. And listening implies not just hearing the words, but the tone of voice, patterns and repetitions in the conversation. Quite Freudian, some would say. But the coach does not perform the passive role of putting you on a couch and letting you ramble. Nor is he a buddy or a confidant.

A good coach, in fact, says Simerjeet Singh, life coach and Co-founder, Cutting Edge Learning Systems, pushes the client out of his or her comfort zone. The job of a coach is to ask questions. Several questions, even uncomfortable ones. As a coach is supposed to refrain, as far as possible, from giving direct advice, questioning is the most potent tool with which he can help the client create a plan of action to enhance his life quality.

Like psychologists and counsellors, coaches also maintain absolute confidentiality, since trust is the most important factor in this relationship. And they have to remain neutral and non-judgemental at all times. At the same time, once a desired objective has been stated, the coach helps the client break a bigger goal into smaller, more easily achievable targets.

Yet human nature being what it is, don’t the clients play truant and make excuses? Of course they do, and that is why they need a coach to push them all the time. Singh says one of the most important aspects of a coach’s job is to hold the client accountable. It is important to define each target in terms of how often, by when, and how much, i.e., how often must a task be performed to achieve a certain part of the bigger goal, and to set a deadline for it.

Verma feels that when a client is unable to make progress it is up to the coach to assess whether the obstacle is real or imagined, and to help the client work his way around it.

Challenges

It may sound like a dream scenario, but trusting someone with your life is not a joke. Specially since this is a nascent field with no regulation. While there are organisations, like the International Coach Federation, which offer certification for coaches, in India there is no legal requirement for a coach to be certified or even formally trained.

And like any sensitive relationship, this one, too, is open to abuse. Emotional dependence is one of the pitfalls. Unny Guptan says this happens because “some coaches tend to become too directive, which does not allow the coachee to develop his own personality to solve his own problems over a period of time”. Other pitfalls may be transference of ambition to the client and possessiveness or another agenda on part of the coach, like seeking a relationship other than that of the coach-coachee.

Another problem, says Verma, is that some clients want to be spoon-fed. Or, organisations hire coaches to “fix” employee problems. “As coaching is not a quick fix solution, one does not hire a coach when a problem arises,” Verma says. Sometimes, people with deep-seated behavioural problems, like aggression, hostile relationships with employees or relationship issues may approach coaches for solutions too. But this not the domain of a coach. Dr Pavan Sonar, a psychiatric consultant and psychotherapist, says, “Coaching is not for people with behavioural or psychological problems. If the coach is unable to understand the pathology underlying certain behaviours, he could do a lot of harm.”

As coaching becomes more popular in India, an understanding of its applications and potential is growing, too. The International Coach Federation has an India Chapter now, and many have experienced the life-changing results of coaching.

Link to the article: http://business.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?271216

HOWZZAT

Can you pick tomorrow’s future leaders out of the bunch of kids? It’s not necessarily just the bossy ones should be picked. Think about the real leaders in your daily life, and what qualities they exhibit. Those that lead by example, encourage others to do better, and bring others together to work towards a common goal. Those may seem like lofty qualities to find in small children, but if you look closely, you will see some that do exhibit those very qualities.

28 boys of class XII from a Darjeeling school passed their board examinations in 2007, they were given a unique certificate of merit — that of “honesty”. The reason: they desisted from cheating, even in the face of temptation, for two whole years.

St Joseph’s, Darjeeling, better known as North Point, considered to be one of the elite residential schools in India, will continue giving the example of this class for years to come.

School principal, Father Kinley Tshering, had challenged senior students two years ago, asking if they could promise to write their exams without invigilation. If they accepted the challenge they would not talk or cheat in the examination hall, though they would not be monitored by the faculty. No class was allowed to take up the challenge, unless every boy had agreed to assume responsibility for himself and his class.

It took a long while for any class to come up to the principal and say it was ready for the test and for a while Tshering thought the idea, which was basically his way of teaching value education to kids, had fizzled out.

“Finally boys of class XI commerce section, who are now in class XII, came up to me and said they were ready. I asked them if every boy had agreed to the experiment, because even if a single boy had not been taken into confidence, he would be under no obligation to comply and that would defeat my purpose,” said Tshering.

Even the relatively weaker boys agreed and said they were ready. This was just ahead of the terminal examination and teachers were told not to invigilate any of the exams that class XI commerce boys wrote, he added.

Since then the class has been writing all their exams, including annual examinations, without any supervision from teachers. The boys themselves collect question papers from the staff room, distribute these among the examinees, take responsibility of finishing the paper on time, collect the scripts and give them back to teachers for assessment.

“It’s not that we have just left it to the boys and have not bothered to keep a vigil, but we have done it without the boys’ knowledge. Every time we found the boys seriously writing. We have even purposely given tricky papers at times just by way of a bait, but even then the boys did not talk or try to cheat.

“I was happy to see that while the bright ones, about six of them, scored beyond 90%, the marks of the average boys or the weaker ones did not change dramatically, which is proof enough of the boys’ honesty,” Tshering said.

The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations, Delhi, which conducts the ISC examinations, is aware of this experiment. “Though we will not be able to let the boys write their ISC examination without invigilators, it sure is a commendable effort,” said an official from Delhi. But what is better news is that the boys in general are so excited that now even class XI science and class X have met the principal and pledged that they are ready for the challenge.

Whoever said “Great leaders are made not born” was on the right track. Taking the initiative, making suggestions, providing direction, being sympathetic to the problems of others are all characteristics that can make great leaders. And fortunately, here is an example of behavior that can be encouraged in our children.

The Leadership Habitat

Leadership is the expertise to encourage the process of decision making through the capacity to listen and observe. Leadership is not the measure of a person’s skill of performance; rather it is the measure of a person’s capacity of leading the performance.

The most gifted athletes rarely make good coaches. The best violinist will not necessarily make the best conductor. Nor will the best teacher necessarily make the best head of the department.

The thrill of challenge makes a potential leader. A willingness to take responsibility will never intimidate a true leader, because the joy of accomplishment, the vicarious feeling of contributing to other people, is what leadership is all about.

A leader needs an environment to succeed. It is so important, particularly in the early days of someone’s leadership, that he or she be put into a congenial environment. An environment that threatens our sense of security or well-being splits our concentration from the cause.

Most qualities which define the characteristics of any individual begin at home. Leadership is no different. A natural leader begins the process of conscious decision making at home. It is his or her habitat which mirrors this skill of leadership.

Habitat is Latin for ‘It inhabits’. The type of environment in which any life form or a group normally lives is known as habitat. A leader contributes towards a process of building and improving his or her habitat through an involved engagement of the broader community through inclusive leadership and diverse partnerships which would nourish the habitat further

The sense of caring and sharing with one’s brethren and the sense of fellowship forms the core of a habitat. A leader has a very great role to play in acting as a catalyst for a synergetic relationship between individuals working in diverse habitat related areas and to maximise their total effectiveness.

Delhi, one of India’s richest cities faces an unparalleled water crisis. Poonam Bisht may be the best known resident of West End, an affluent neighbourhood in New Delhi. The housewife and mother of two is the suburb’s resident activist.

Ms. Bisht’s is responsible for building a rainwater harvesting system in the neighbourhood. The low tech system consists of a network of unassuming gutters in the ground that funnel rainwater to shallow pits lined with pebbles that act as a filter.

Thanks to this system, West End is able to draw on its own tubewells and no longer hires trucks to bring in water as is the norm in many Indian Cities where ground water has dried up.

This rare quality of leadership with a hands-on approach shown by Ms. Bisht is a shining example of how leadership can change the environment in which we live. She faced a number of hurdles along the way, but she had a never-say-die spirit which culminated in a better habitat for the residents of one colony of Delhi.

If every colony of Delhi takes a leaf out of her book, and has someone with the leadership shown at West End, the water problem of Delhi will be solved not by the state but by the leadership initiative of its residents.

In the words of the noted American aviation pioneer and author, Amelia Earhart “Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off! But if you don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.”

Believe in yourself

Micheal Jordan – An outstanding athlete –  a winning combination of finesse, speed, adroitness, focus, resilience and an ambitious attitude.

Jordan’s basketball beginnings were not promising. He was actually cut from his high school basketball team in Wilmington, North Carolina. At 5’11″ (1.80 m), he was deemed too short to play at that level.

Motivated to prove his worth, Jordan became the star of Laney’s junior varsity squad, and tallied several 40 point games. The following summer, he grew four inches (10 cm) and trained rigorously.

Today, his biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.”

Jordan won numerous awards and set many records during his career. The following are some of his achievements:

** Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2009

** 2 Olympic Gold Medals – 1984, 1992

** 6-time NBA Champion

** 6-time NBA Finals MVP

** 5-time NBA MVP

** 7-time The Sporting News MVP

** 10 NBA Scoring Titles

** 3-time steals leader

** 14 NBA All-Star Selections

** 3-time NBA All-Star Game MVP

** 11 All-NBA Selections

** 9 All-Defensive First Team Selections

** 2-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion – 1987, 1988

** NBA Rookie of the Year – 1984

** NBA Defensive Player of the Year – 1988

** ACC Freshman of the Year – 1982

** 2-time Consensus NCAA All-American First Team – 1983, 1984

** ACC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year – 1984

** USBWA College Player of the Year – 1984

** Naismith College Player of the Year – 1984

** John R. Wooden Award – 1984

** Adolph Rupp Trophy – 1984

** Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year – 1991

** Named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History in 1996

** Ranked #1 by SLAM Magazine’s Top 50 Players of All-Time

** Ranked #1 by ESPN Sportscentury’s Top 100 Athletes of the 20th century

One of the most marketed sports figures in history, his interviews  were splashed  all over the tabloids. In one such interview, just after the Bulls won their sixth Championship in eight years where the winning shot, once again, was scored by Michael Jordan, he said:

“The moment starts to become the moment, you know, for me. Once you get in the moment you know when you’re there, you just-things start to move slowly; you start to see the court very well. You start reading what the defense is trying to do, and I saw that. I saw that moment, and, you know, when I saw the moment, the opportunity to take advantage of it, when Russell reached, and I took advantage of that moment, and I never doubted myself, I never doubted the whole game.”

His life has inspired many people; the old, youth and children alike (Remember the “Like Mike” commercials in which a song was sung by children wishing to be like Jordan)

At this point, I would like to bring to your focus the following questions:

# What would have happened if, Jordon  had accepted the cut off from the school team as his destiny and gone ahead to pursue another career? Maybe become an accountant, or a bank clerk like his mom or joined the army like his brother?

# What would he have missed?

# What would the world, his fans and the sport of basketball have missed?

Micheal believed in himself and used this setback to drive himself to greater achievements, practicing hour after hour on the court.

“Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it,” Jordan said, “and that usually got me going again.”

He eventually made the team and led it to the state championship.

There are many times when we hold ourselves back just because the “friendly neighbour” – Doubt – pops up in our minds. At times this could play up internally in the form of limiting beliefs and on other occasions EXTERNAL forces are strong enough to sway a person to stay within the realm of his/her comfort zone. “You can’t possibly do this!” – a phrase often heard and usually powerful enough to turn lives around if one accepts it.

As a Coach, I’d like you to ponder upon…..

#  When was the last time to made a LEAP by crossing your doubts and limiting beliefs? / not listening to other people who tried to stop you?

# What happened NEXT?

# What would you have lost out on, had you believed them — not made the leap?

# What does that tell you about yourself ?

# How can you apply this learning to future life situations?

( Sources: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/sports/jan-june98/jordan_6-15a.html 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcYw7WPr4Xo&feature=related

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan)