A Brochure on Coaching?

Posted on July 13, 2011 by pdncoach

My last post was on the Cost of Change, and addressed an obstacle that keeps many people from getting the coaching they want and need. My friend, Julie Poland, addressed another obstacle, Choice of Venue, in her blog.  Today, I want to address a third obstacle to getting the coaching you need which digs deeper into the third element of cost – Commitment to Change.

http://pdncoach.com

Do you have a brochure?
I’m always a little bit shocked when someone finds out that I’m a coach and, having just met, very quickly asks the question, “How much does it cost?” or they ask me to send some information about how I would coach them.  Honestly, I don’t know the answer to either question at first. Any coach who does is merely selling a commodity and you are trusting good fortune that it will meet your needs.

Buying or selling coaching in this manner is something like going to a medical doctor and saying, “What can you prescribe for me, doc?”, without any discussion of symptoms, health goals, examination or diagnostics.

As a prospective consumer of career, business or “life” coaching, wouldn’t it make sense to know your Commitment to Change before you make a buying decision?  Wouldn’t it make sense to become clear about what you want and need as a result of a coaching relationship?

One way to determine your Commitment to Change is to seriously consider all the personal rewards such coaching would create for you, as well as all the personal consequences if you choose not to hire a professional coach.  These things determine perceived value, which should inform your decisions, and your coach’s decisions, about price and time investment.

Before a coach should describe how he or she would coach you, or the price, or how much time is involved, both of you should develop a shared, clear agreement on your Commitment to Change.  I do this through a brief, up-front discovery or diagnostic process. I help you gain clarity about your Commitment to Change, establish some specific goals for “why you are hiring me.”

These are the types of questions that you should be discussing before buying (or selling) into a coaching relationship:

  • What’s going on in my life, career, team or business right now that makes me want to consider hiring a coach?
  • What is the challenge I face, the obstacle I want to overcome, the gap I want to close, the opportunity I want to pursue, the problem I want to solve, the goal I want to achieve, the difference I want to make…?
  • How might my life be different if I successfully address these issues?
  • How would I want this “coaching relationship” to look like?
  • How am I stuck?
  • How might a coach be able to help me?  What kind of help do I want?
  • Am I prepared to allow myself to “open up” and make myself vulnerable enough to grow from this coaching relationship? Do my instincts tell me that I can trust this coach to make it safe for me to be honest about my dreams, doubts, desires, fears and failings?
  • What are the personal rewards for me if I achieve all I want from coaching?
  • What are the consequences and costs to me if I choose NOT to hire a coach?
The reason why I, and most good coaches, offer complimentary coaching sessions or diagnostics is to help you recognize the importance of these questions before you buy anything. Our basic ethic, our Purpose, is to help you buy what you need, based on your Commitment to Change, from someone who understands what you want.

I help people with dreams become leaders with vision. My Purpose as a coach is to help you discover, pursue and achieve what you want and need… to discover your Purpose… to help you arrive at The Intersection of Purpose and Now.  Feel free to contact me anytime to learn more about me, and about your Commitment to Change.  If you just want a brochure, feel free to check out http://pdncoach.com. 
Join me at the Intersection of Purpose & Now.
Posted in change, coaching, commitment, cost, free coaching, questions, three elements of cost | Leave a comment

How much does change cost?

Posted on July 11, 2011 by pdncoach

My good friend, colleague and bi-monthly peer coach Julie Poland wrote a wonderful article about one of the obstacles that keep people from engaging in a coaching relationship, The Summit Blog: Alternative venues for you and your coach.  Another obstacle that produces as much unwarranted fear as it does justified concern is the “cost” of coaching.

I believe there are Three Elements to the Cost (or value) of anything, including coaching.

  1. Financial Cost: the currency of this cost is, obviously, money – dollars and cents.  If you are like me, and most people I know, no matter how much money it costs it is more than you want to pay.
  2. Cost of Time: the currency of this cost is hours, days, weeks, months and sometimes years. If you are like me, and most people I know, no matter how much time it takes it is more than you want to spend.
  3. Cost of Change: the currency of this cost is commitment.  Would you agree, that until you get clear on your commitment to change it is difficult to make a decision about money or time?  In fact, your likely investment of money and time will be directly related to your commitment to change.
Changes – a photo by Ablow Rasheed on Flickr

What does it cost?

This one question must always be considered in a buying/selling decision, yet makes most buyers AND sellers extremely uncomfortable. Too many people think that price IS the decision, when it is only one relative aspect of a wise buying/selling relationship. Very few consumers and a surprisingly few sales professionals understand that all three Elements of Cost are always involved in buying decisions, and a shared understanding about the third element, Commitment to Change, should drive decision-making about the first two elements.
What do you want to be different as a result of coaching? 
Chances are, the greater your desired change, the greater your commitment needed, the more time and money you should plan to invest. (There is nearly always a correlation between time and price.) Based on your Commitment to Change you should be able to discern if the time you propose to invest and the price you are then asked to pay is too high for you.  A good coach, and a good sales professional, will help you through this decision-making process.
A good coach or sales professional does not want to sell you anything after all. The good coach or sales professional has a clear role and Purpose: to help You buy what You need, based on Your unique Commitment to Change, from someone who understands what You want.

Join me at the Intersection of Purpose & Now.
Posted in change, coaching, commitment, sales, three elements of cost, time management | Leave a comment

Leadership and the Hierarchy of Motivation

Posted on July 7, 2011 by pdncoach
Leaders must respond to lagging performance and complaints, sometimes daily. Following these three simple rules can make you more effective as a leader:
  1. All stress has at its core an unmet need.  
  2. If you want to optimize a person’s performance, you must somehow fulfill their unmet needs. 
  3. The most powerful questions you can ask someone are: How can I help? What can I do? (i.e. What do you need?)

Most people learn about Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs at some point in school or training, typically in a high school or college “Psychology 101” course. Most people study it, pass the test, forget about it, and perhaps never apply it.  I have found it to be a highly practical tool for any leader to apply on a daily basis.  When people complain, it is because a need is not being met. When people under-perform, at least a contributing factor is that a need is not being met.  When someone “goes postal” (I beg pardon from all my highly respected U.S. Postal Service workers), it is because a need is not being met.

In truth, you cannot motivate another person. You can provide an environment wherein an individual can become motivated. As a leader, it is your responsibility to both seek out and create such an environment. A manager’s job is to create the conditions (and to develop goals, plans, and procedures) in which all people have the potential for attaining satisfaction at every level of need.

A need is a gap or discrepancy between what the individual has and what he or she desires. The individual is driven or motivated to reduce or eliminate the discrepancy. If there is no discrepancy, there is no motivation.

Fear can be highly motivating, but not in conjunction with positive results for any length of time. Instead, people become stressed, callous, and develop a “thick-skinned” attitude resulting in defensiveness and loss of production. Anyone can learn to live with fear.

Rewards and incentives can be motivating, but not for sustained motivation. When a need is satisfied, it is no longer a motivator – “this year’s bonus will become next year’s entitlement.”

Striving, achieving, and accomplishing are needs in and of themselves. Goal setting and action planning provide both the means and the end results for our needs to strive and accomplish; they push us toward satisfying our needs and moving up Maslow’s Hierarchy.

The Hierarchy of Needs isn’t just for the confines of Psychology 101 class.  Maslow’s principles can simplify some of the most common complaints leaders hear from people.

Hierarchy of Needs at Work
Level 1 Physiological Well-Being: “I need a break for lunch.” You can help by:

  • Generally, make sure these needs are not a distraction.  Give ’em a break, boss!
Level 2 Safety, Security: “I need to know my job is secure.” You can help by:
  • Making sure individual capabilities match job demands
  • Determining that everyone knows exactly what is expected of them
  • Providing continuous, timely, constructive feedback
  • Equating job security to performance
  • Installing a fair and equitable compensation program based upon performance

Level 3 Social Acceptance, Belonging: “I need to feel ‘part of the gang’, asked for ideas.” You can help by:

  • Involving people in goal setting and planning, seeking their input and ideas as well as their commitment
  • Involving people in brainstorming an decision making
  • Involving people in their performance reviews and in frequent goal progress reviews
  • Involving people in teams and team development activities
Level 4 Self-Esteem, Recognition: “I need to know I’m doing a good job.” You can help by:

  • Implementing a recognition-based program that regularly recognizes those people who have done an exceptional job or achieved a goal
  • Treating everyone with dignity and respect
  • Making sure that everyone knows how their work contributes to the vision and values of the organization
  • Seeking ideas and opinions, and giving credit to the source when they are implemented
  • Transferring ownership for work to those who execute the work
  • Assigning projects based on interests, skills, past performance and stretch goals
Level 5 Self-Actualization, Fulfillment: “I need more challenges and the opportunity to grow.” You can help by:

  • Help people to realize their personal development goals
  • Provide opportunities for formal education, training and development
  • Provide opportunities for internal growth and advancement whenever possible
  • Exhibit a genuine interest in matching talents with opportunities
  • Meet with people regularly to determine how well they are doing and what they would like to do
  • Exercise value-based leadership with support, honesty and open communications, questions, and good listening
As a leader, are you recognizing your people’s needs?
Join me at the Intersection of Purpose & Now.
Posted in Abraham Maslow, Hierarchy of Needs, leadership, motivation, questions | Leave a comment