Executive Coaching

Executive Coaching

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” – L P Hartley

Executive Coaching is often used by people who are already on the up, but want to be the best they can be. Usually, however, we find that there is something holding them back. This was never more the case than when I conducted one of my first coaching sessions, twenty years ago.

A young girl had spotted a job opportunity that interested her. She approached me for advice.

“I’m too young”, she said as an opener. True, if she got the job, she’d be the youngest in the team by about ten years. I asked what experience she could bring to the role.

“None” she replied. “I’ve no qualifications”. It turned out she had not gone to university as it wasn’t affordable and neither could she afford to take the exams required to get this job. “I’ve no money” she shrugged. I asked why not.

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Executive Coaching

Thought for the week: Everything that is achieved on earth is first conceived in the mind.

In March, my business partner Gavin sat down to watch TV, opened a beer and waited to be entertained by one of his all-time comedy heroes; Eddie Izzard. The programme, which was the first of 3 episodes which ran on BBC3, turned out to be a documentary, charting Eddie’s progress as he ran 43 marathons over 51 days. 5 weeks training and off he went. The programme reduced Gavin to tears. Bewildered, confused and utterly inspired. How could anyone achieve such an amazing feat? Especially a guy that is more at home in stilettos than running shoes?

So, it wasn’t exactly a surprise when Gavin announced a few weeks ago that he was going to train for his first ever triathlon, involving a 750m river swim, 20k bike ride and a 5k run to finish.

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Think Training & Development believe that the quality of your life depends upon the quality of the questions you ask yourself.

Don’t worry. They don’t actually want to know what colour your underwear is. Especially if it’s grey. The point is, when you saw the question you probably answered it in your head.

The brain is a very powerful thing. It’s like Google. Ask it a question and it will give you an answer. The answer will be based on whatever your brain holds in its database about that subject. more…

Executive Coaching

Santa Claus isn’t real. He’s a bloke called Keith.

I know. I was as surprised as you are. I would have mentioned it sooner but my sister has only just posted a picture of him on Facebook (she’s not that organised) so I’ve only just found out myself.

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Self Motivation

• No. of friends merrily wishing me Happy New Year on 31 December:   14

• No. of formerly merry friends now deeply depressed at having to return to work today: 14

Why is it that people are generally so much happier as Christmas approaches? Supermarket cashiers smile and stop making you feel like an evil planet destroyer for forgetting to bring your own carrier bags. Motorists give way on roads with a friendly wave. more…

This is the advice Gavin Aubrey of Think Training & Development gives to his trainees. Mooing like a cow can make you happier, increase motivation, and even make you live longer! This is just one of the practical approaches he and Wendie at Think Training & Development use to help demonstrate that people can control the way they think and therefore control their motivation, happiness and success.
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Podcast: Download (Duration: 16:33 — 11.4MB)

Being an effective coach can have an astonishing impact on the people you work with. Trust me, the personal rewards you get are out of this world and the business benefits can be far reaching.

Listen to the podcast for tips on:

• Questioning & listening techniques
• Types of coaching question to ask

You cannot hope to influence a change in someone’s behaviour until they understand:

• Where they are now
• Where they want or need to get to
• What is holding them back
• What choices and options they have to move forward

If you’d like to know more about how to influence staff behaviour, check out our Influencing Skills courses, Executive Coaching or Contact Us and tell us what you need.