The Coaching Leader - by IntelliCoach

Please take 1 min to rate this podcast! It will mean a HUGE deal to me. https://www.ratethispodcast.com/intellicoach In this episode, I'm diving into the subtle but impactful 'yes trap' in management. Imagine you're a manager offering a simple suggestion, only to find it's taken as an order, complicating your relationship with your team.  Main Ideas: ●        The hidden psychology behind the "Yes Trap" and why it can cripple effective communication. ●        Practical strategies to offer multiple solutions, fostering critical thinking and ownership within your team. ●        How to create a safe space for healthy disagreement, leading to richer ideas and better decision-making. Discover how to empower your team, enhance communication, and build stronger relationships. You'll be surprised what comes out when it's safe for your team to say "no." HEAR you there! 

In this episode, I share how a simple observation during my daily commute opened my eyes to hidden details. I believe coaching works in a similar way, helping us break through mental loops and discover new perspectives. Embrace these small disturbances to unlock hidden potentials in your life and work.

Can you self-coach yourself to prioritize? I totally believe that. Here's a method that is simple and powerful.

In this episode, I discuss using closed questions in coaching. I see that they're as vital as open-ended ones. I share practical insights I've used from my experience in hiring and goal setting, enhancing team growth and clarity in conversations.

Problem-solving isn't just about fixing issues; it's about envisioning outcomes.

Let's coach better with 8 cool questions. From setting clear goals to celebrating experiments, these questions could be the key to coaching success.

In this episode, explore the impact of 'tell me more' and 'what else' in conversations, enhancing engagement, empowering discussions, and uncovering hidden insights. These phrases facilitate both in-depth exploration and broader discussions. Practical tips and insights on their effective use are also provided in the episode.

In this episode, we discuss the shift from manager to leader coach, highlighting benefits like holistic development and increased engagement. We explore the five key elements of becoming a leader coach and tackle common challenges. It's all about fostering a culture of learning and enhancing team engagement.

In this episode, I'll share my personal experience on the power of using a strength-based approach and The Personal SWOT Model to leadership. Learn to focus on strengths and mitigate weaknesses to help everyone in your team excel.

In this episode, we explore how to incorporate emotions in conversations using coaching techniques. By recognizing shifts in verbal and nonverbal behavior, sharing observations neutrally, and exploring the emotions further, we can deepen understanding and build trust. Improve your communication skills and create stronger relationships by listening now.

In this episode, we explore the fascinating world of professional coaching and consulting and compare the different mindsets and behaviors that each approach brings to client sessions. Learn how a coach prepares differently from a consultant and gain insights into how to cultivate a more coach-like mindset for more sustainable, long-term success in leadership.

In this episode we share why inviting disagreement is an essential skill every leader should master. Tune in to learn how to create a culture of open communication, access a wider range of perspectives and ideas, and become a more effective leader in today's complex and rapidly changing world.

Learn the three coaching questions that can improve every meeting in this episode. By making goals explicit and checking progress, you can create more effective and engaging conversations and meetings.

The episode makes a case why leaders should use coaching skills to help team members develop specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound goals. Enjoy!

"Stop the Stack Attack" is a podcast episode that explores the negative effects of asking multiple questions in one breath and provides strategies for change to make conversations more effective. Join us as we delve into the underlying motivations behind this habit and discover ways to improve communication skills.

Are you tired of feeling discouraged when you don't reach your outcome goals? In this podcast episode, we explore the power of progress goals and how they can help you stay motivated and on track towards achieving your ultimate objectives. Tune in to learn how focusing on the process can lead to long-term success.

How many people can you interact with at the same time without burning out? Turns out, there is a suggested answer for that and I will share about that in this episode! It's surprisingly low!

What is a SOFT skill? Something that's optional? Something you stop when you have to prioritise? Wrong. This is super outdated framing that prevents long-term growth.

Can you coach your own direct report? I am here to tell you that this question is much trickier to answer than you might think. There are a lot of pitfalls in this area!

Today's podcast episode is different. It is short and personal and about a tough lesson that I learned over the last weeks...about the value and impact of direct and caring feedback!

Imagine someone approaches you with an idea and before they even finished, your intuition says it's not workable or even dumb. Saying "This will never work. Forget it!" may be factually correct, but there are better ways to express this that are not such a smack in the face!

It's surprisingly simple and easy to shut productive dialogue down. Here are 5 common ways that are easy to recognise and that we all should get under control!

When Leaders say 'I have no time to coach', I ask back: 'Do you have time to manage the impacts of high turnover then?" In this episode, I share how a coach-like style impacts retention!

How do we know that coaching is actually worth it? After all, it's costly: there is time and often also financial investment. Today, I share a way how we can make measuring effects easier!

Here's a small riddle: What's the best use-case for professional-level coaching? Is it to help a person who performs poorly and is on their way out of the company? Or is it when you coach someone who already performs well and wants to take their performance to an even higher level? The answer might surprise you!

Imagine you had a bad 2 quarters at work where you struggled to make your numbers. You have your half-yearly review conversation with your boss and they say: "well, that did not go so well. We know you are far behind your numbers. I think we should get you some coaching support." When coaching is introduced THIS way, it contributes to a common stigma: Coaching is a tool fix someone who is 'broken'. Let's use this episode to clear up why that is mostly ineffective and even potentially harmful!

Coaching someone who pays for their own coaching is radically different to coaching someone who is sponsored, i.e. the company pays. At first sight, this seems to be just be about who foots the bill, but it's way more complicated. Suddenly there are many 'chefs in the kitchen'. In this episode, I share what's different when you move from coaching an individual to coaching a corporate client.

This is episode 2 as part of a 2-part series of 'coaching and failing'. In the last episode, I talked about that it means to fail in the 'practice' of coaching. In this episode, we are zooming our further and we will explore what it means to fail 'being' a coach. More precisely, I will explore what it means to fail (and succeed) in the profession of coaching! Curious? let's dive in!

Let's talk about FAILURE and COACHING. It's a tricky and uncomfortable topic. It's also so wide that I make this a 2-part episode and I will address 2 separate aspects: 'Failing at Coaching' and next week 'Failing as a Coach'. Sounds similar, but the first is about the practice of coaching, while the latter is about succeeding professionally. In this episode, I will share what it means to fail at the practice of coaching. What does it mean? What's the impact?

"Tell me a bit about yourself!" That's an interview question/prompter we all should be prepared for. Are you responding with a 10min story that starts at the big bang, potentially boring your interviewer and blowing the conversation right there? Or are you able to give a concise, memorable response? In this episode, I share a few powerful techniques from the toolkit of professional coaches that can help you give a concise, to-the-point response to this and most other open-ended questions!

Here's a very familiar challenge: You are in a conversation with someone. You ask them a question. Then the other person starts talking. And continues talking. Aaaaaaand continues talking even more! 5 min and no sign of stopping. You feel panic coming up inside. Will you ever get a chance to contribute? How can I even help a person who talks A LOT? In this episode, I share some techniques how we can use some coaching methods to respectfully work with someone who shows this behavior!

Are people knocking on your door all the time with questions that they should know the answer to? Is your intuitive response to answer them as quickly as possible, so you can get back to your work? Well, doing this likely leads to even MORE questions. Let's talk about a better way to handle this in this episode!

Here comes a question that I get asked in almost every coach training course after a while: 'Can I coach my friends and family members, too?' To this, I can answer with a qualified YES (that means it works, with certain conditions met!). In this episode, I will share with you what you need to get right when coaching families and friends. I will also share my own experience!

Can you be a Manager to someone and at the same time be their coach? This is tricky. Coaching relies on trust, on the success of establishing a partnership. However, when we coach, we are almost living two different roles at the same time. We are equal AND unequal. Let's dive in and explore what that means!

Professional-level coaching has some weird paradoxes. Here is one example: 1. A beginner's coach knows a LOT. 2. An experienced coach knows a LITTLE. 3. A masterful coach knows NOTHING. Is this not upside-down? Should the most masterful coaches not know the most? If you believe this, then you are thinking from the perspective of a consultant/problem-solver/advisor etc. This is not coaching. In this episode, I describe how masterful coaching means to mentally 'empty your cup' and be fully receptive and open to the other person's sharing.

Imagine someone approaches you with a very specific problem in their area. The person is an expert in their field, yet they ask YOU for some help. You actually have not worked that deeply in their area before and they definitely outclass you as an expert. Should you say 'sorry, I can't help you, I am not an expert'? Not so fast! In this episode, I share how you can absolutely provide a great level of support and help in this kind of situation. In fact, you can help almost any *anyone*, especially experts by using a coaching approach instead. In this episode, I share some counter-intuitive ideas, how we can all help, just by using the right process!

I often hear Leaders ask: "Should I delegate this or not"? I argue in this episode that there is a much more helpful question we can ask ourselves instead: "To what degree should I delegate this?" We are going to look at the delegation spectrum and how all this relates to coaching!

In this episode, we explore another question asked in a coaching conversation that will be very weird in a normal/casual conversation: "What progress have we made so far in our conversation?"

In this episode, we explore a very particular and slightly strange coaching competence: Coaching Presence. How can 'presence' be a competence? Well, it can be learned and it can be designed. In this episode, I share a few options how!

In our last of 3 episodes on the coaching agreement, I go down to concrete skill level: I share the exact 4 behavior markers that help coaches create a strong agreement, including examples! These can be useful in many contexts beyond coaching. Enjoy

"What would be a good outcome of our conversation today?" While this type of question is common in meetings to get an alignment of agendas, it feels less usual when we use it in a 'normal' conversation. Yet, it is one of the most essential and hardest things to pull off when we want to coach well: making a strong agreement! In this episode, we will talk about some reasons why new coaches find it so tough to get good at this!

What do you think is the hardest competency to master when you want to become great at coaching? Is it active listening? Powerful Questioning? You might be in for a surprise. Based on all I have seen it is 'Making Agreements'. What? If you are in disbelief, then this episode is for you :)

It's not difficult for any Leader to learn the very basics of coaching, i.e. to hold back your solutions and give the other person a chance to talk and develop something themselves. Yet, when all we do is to ask: 'What would YOU do?' or 'What is your idea?', things will get bland, predictable very quickly. This is just the very basics of coaching. In this episode I share what it means to take your coaching to an entirely different level.

We are diving into some very interesting aspects of how Leader Coaches can approach a culturally-diverse team. We are meeting with Leadership Expert Barbara Dalle Pezze in this special interview episode!

In this podcast, we get to the 'Question behind the question' (QBQ). It's obvious: very often, when people approach us, they don't actually share what they REALLY want to know. Let's explore how we can get to the QBQ!

In this episode, we showcase a coaching style that is highly effective, yet typically not mastered by a Leader Coach who has not undergone training. We discuss coaching the PERSON, vs coaching the PROBLEM. When people learn about the difference, it often creates a loud AHA moment, followed by ‘How can I accomplish it?' Let's have a first look at some examples in this episode.

Has this ever happened to you as a Leader Coach? Your team member approaches you with a problem, you ask them with good intent “What would be Your way to solve this?” and they get stuck with "I don't know" or "That's why I came to you for help"? In this episode, we explore the pitfalls of such a 'transactional' coaching style how it can be done better!

“I find coaching hard. I constantly feel I have to solve for my team members, when they go in the wrong direction in the conversation. What can I do?” In this podcast, we are looking into this frequent question and how it relates to the coaching mindset. Enjoy!

In this episode, I share my view on one of the most frequent questions I get: “What coaching model do you prefer? And which one do you teach?” I explain the hour-glass model and why I rely on it entirely until very far into my professional coaching course development program.

This is our third and last episode on ethical coaching. We are getting back to the core: When we agreed to coach, we should stay in our coaching role. That is often easier said than done. Enjoy the episode!

This is second episode on ethical practice in coaching. This time, we talk about how we stay in our expertise as coach and when we should refer our coachee to a different professional, such as a therapist.