Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Getting Started with Business Coaching and Mentoring 5
Chapter 1: Navigating the World of Coaching and Mentoring 7
Spotlighting the Business Benefits of Coaching and Mentoring 8
Defining Coaching and Mentoring 9
Coaching is the art of co-creation 9
Mentoring is the art of imparting wise counsel 11
Distinguishing coaching and mentoring from therapy 11
Distinguishing Business Coaching from Other Types of Coaching 14
Business coaching requires an understanding of business 14
Coaching leaders to be difference-makers 15
Equipping Yourself to Help Other People in the Business Context 18
Choosing a coach or mentor 20
Becoming a business coach or mentor 21
Being on the Other Side as Coachee or Mentee 22
Understanding Professional Requirements 23
Chapter 2: Making the Case for Coaching and Mentoring 27
Taking the Role of Educator 28
Valuing Third-Party Observation in Business 29
Showing that the coach's perspective matters 29
Knowing how perspective feeds into change 30
Understanding construal-level theory 30
Leading a client to the light-bulb moment 34
Identifying the Client's Return on Investment 34
Selling the benefits 35
Doing a cost-benefits analysis 36
Measuring and monetizing 38
Measuring the hidden benefits clients can't see 38
Investing now for a future return 40
Stretching the Budget 41
Adding Value by Training Leaders in Coaching and Mentoring Skills 42
Chapter 3: Developing the Skills and Knowledge Base of a Coach and Mentor 45
The Differences between Coaching and Mentoring 46
The coaching skillset 46
The mentoring mind-set 47
Coaching and Mentoring Skills 48
Being present for a session 48
Active listening 48
Why coaching is rarely about the first issue in the conversation 49
Doing your homework and developing relevant business knowledge 50
Structuring a Client Session 52
Getting into the right frame of mind 52
Contracting creates relationship clarity 52
The contracting session 53
Creating the right environment 54
Knowing your limitations 55
Using Models in Coaching and Mentoring 57
The CLEAR model 57
Solution-focused coaching model 60
A model for mentoring 61
Developing flexibility in utilizing models and tools 64
Working in Particular Circumstances 64
Coaching and mentoring via telephone, web, and email 64
Cross-cultural and multicultural work 67
Chapter 4: Assessing Clients' Needs before Coaching 69
Creating Programs to Deliver Coaching and Mentoring in Organizations 70
Figuring out what the organization wants and what the organization needs 70
Working with talent management and succession planning 76
Supporting coaches and mentors 77
Coaching Wannabe Business Owners and Startups 78
Helping startups see the value of coaching 78
Looking at areas for focus 79
Guiding the jack-of-all-trades and master of one 80
Helping the Family-Owned Business Survive and Thrive 82
Knowing where your support is most helpful 82
Evolving the legacy 83
Keeping business professional 84
Developing Intrapreneurs within Organizations 85
Creating the space to innovate 86
Turning the catalyst of an idea into reality 87
Working with the Socially Oriented Business 88
Knowing types and makeups 88
Identifying the challenges for the business 89
Part 2: Developing the Business Leader's Mind-Set 91
Chapter 5: Managing the Inner World of Thoughts and Emotions 93
Understanding How Humans Think 94
We are what we think 95
We become what we practice 96
Choosing the Most Appropriate State in the Moment 97
Noticing the effects of a negative emotional state 97
Looking at the State Behavioral Model 99
Working with the four F's of flight or fight 100
Knowing that breathing is a better choice than not 102
Looking downright depressed is a dismal choice 104
If things aren't looking up, looking up helps 105
Changing Internal Self-Talk 106
Understanding that it's not what you say, it's the way you say it 107
Making the ridiculous sound ridiculous 109
Being kinder and nicer matters 110
Making Mind Pictures That Matter 111
Getting distance from the situation 112
Focusing on this not that 114
Changing the Internal World by External Means 116
Identifying when therapy is the answer 116
Using mindfulness, meditation, and the mysterious to support business 118
Chapter 6: Helping Leaders Recognize Why I Did It My Way Isn't the Best Epitaph 121
Recognizing That Inflexibility Sometimes Leads to Extinction 122
Knowing that process and product innovation require adaptive leadership 123
Checking risk appetite to temper or grow ambition 124
Being Willing to Ask for Help When Out of Your Depth 126
Deploying the Right Thinking to the Right Problem 129
Thinking purposefully 130
Exercising your thinking 131
Seeking certainty when ambiguity may create something wonderful 133
Developing Alternative Perspectives 133
Considering leadership styles 133
Applying leadership gifts in business 135
Chapter 7: Coaching Clients through Their Blind Spots 139
Preframing the Coaching Conversation 140
Breaking Down Common Barriers 141
Working on willingness to learn 142
Pushing beyond the comfort zone 142
Identifying the enemies of learning 144
Dealing with Roles and Perceptions That Contribute to Blindness 146
Repositioning the ego state 146
Grounding eccentricity 149
Distancing empathy 150
Defusing Dramas That Impede Clear Vision 151
Moving beyond reactive thinking 152
Giving up the dramatic roles 153
Dealing with learned helplessness154
Finding the meaning in fear 156
Shining a Light on Incongruency 158
Part 3: Coaching and Mentoring to Get a Business on the Right Track 161
Chapter 8: Telling a Compelling Story in Business 163
Understanding the Value of the Business Story 164
Recognizing how a business conveys its story 164
Knowing which stories a business tells 166
Seeing who responds to stories 166
Helping the Client Create the Basic Story 169
Guiding the client through an exploratory exercise 169
Knowing that it's the way you tell it 170
Distinguishing Fact from Opinion 174
Thinking in terms of maps of reality 175
Asking good-quality questions 176
Weeding out deletions, distortions, and generalizations 178
Playing master sleuth to separate opinion and reality 182
Giving Feedback on the Business Story 184
Chapter 9: Helping Clients to Assess Their Own Businesses Objectively 187
Testing the Foundations of the Business 188
Applying Strategic Thinking 188
Making the Complicated Simple 192
Using a framework to walk around the business 192
Working in plain lens spectacles 193
Determining Where the Best Mentoring Work Begins and Ends 197
Developing Trust and Honest Appraisal through Feedback 198
Encouraging clients to be open to regular feedback 198
Using feedback to feed forward 199
Learning from the Spectacular Success of Others 199
Mentoring inside a Small Organization 200
Chapter 10: Developing Vision, Mission, and Values 203
Aligning Who You Are with the Business You're In 203
Revealing What's Really Important 204
Defining the how and why of your business 204
Stopping your history from holding you back 206
Checking your locus of control 206
Getting clear on what you value and what you want 208
Helping a Business Create Operating Values 211
Coaching business leaders to identify values 212
Fleshing out values statements 214
Designing an Inspiring Vision with the Logical Levels Model 216
Identifying the six levels 217
Using the Logical Levels model 219
Reverse engineering the future 221
Communicating the Vision 222
Examples of Mission and Vision Statements 222
International Federation of the Red Cross 222
Fusion Optix 223
JPMorgan Chase & Co 223
Chapter 11: Transforming Visions into Workable Plans 225
Creating a Plan Fit for Purpose 226
Planning mind-set rules 227
Exploring options 228
Revealing what may stop or derail the plan 234
Gaining honest commitment and buy-in 237
Pinpointing when now is the right time 238
Resourcing the Plan 238
Packing the luggage for the journey 239
Knowing the route and moving in the right direction 242
Scheduling when to rest and refuel 243
Actioning and Reviewing the Plan 244
Gathering feedback and feeding forward 244
Checking that the plan is on track 245
Knowing when quitting is good 245
Acknowledging a job well done 247
Chapter 12: Mentoring for Personal Success and Empowering Leadership 249
Being a Great Leadership Mentor 250
Challenging the Delusions of What It Means to Be Successful 251
Success and culture 252
Success isn't a destination 253
Exploring the True Nature of Success 253
Dealing with the I Should Traps of Success 255
Why look at limiting beliefs in mentoring? 256
Finding a strategy for examining and eliminating limiting beliefs 258
Identifying the Common Qualities of Great Leaders 261
Looking and behaving like a leader 262
Adapting your style to create followers 264
Allowing Others to Lead While You Follow 266
Enabling leadership across generations 266
Mentoring Millennial leaders 267
Part 4: Creating a Successful Business Identity with the Support of a Coach 269
Chapter 13: Developing the Brand of You 271
Enter Personal Branding 271
Defining How Brands Work When They Work Well 273
Building a Brand on Purpose 275
Defining your purpose 275
Keeping the business intact and your values on track 277
Looking in the Mirror of Self-Critique 279
Cultivating the qualities of brand excellence 280
Stepping into a brand-new you 281
Presenting Yourself with Style and Substance 282
Recognizing When Incongruence Strikes 283
Valuing What You Have to Offer 284
Realizing your value 284
Following a six-step model 286
Positioning your brand 287
Adjusting your financial thermostat 288
Promoting Yourself with Shameless Humility 290
Lighting Up the Room When You Walk In, Not When You Walk Out 291
Leaving a Legacy Footprint 292
Chapter 14: Developing Relationships at All Levels 295
Establishing a Successful Relationship with Yourself 295
Establishing the Baseline 296
Step 1: Gathering the personal map 296
Step 2: Identifying high points and low points 297
Step 3: Discovering desired improvement 298
Working on Yourself 298
Being authentic 299
Staying in the game 299
Starting strong and avoiding needy 300
Maintaining Client Relationships 302
Checking commitment and desire 303
Case example of how to check for commitment to goals 303
Managing Stakeholder and Sponsor Relationships 306
Managing stakeholder relationships 306
Communicating in triangular situations 309
Sponsoring a coaching intervention 310
Building Synergistic Collaboration 310
Creating synergy and serial entrepreneurship 311
Growing wiser and creating value 311
Networking Is a Deposit in the Karmic Bank 312
Building Trust and Rebuilding Broken Trust 315
Developing trust at the level of the organization 315
Resolving conflict and avoiding mutually assured destruction 317
Having the Courage to Let Go 318
Chapter 15: Coaching to Help Business Engage, Inform, and Influence 321
Understanding the Importance of Effective Communication 322
Communicating Quicker than the Speed of Conscious Thought 323
Understanding Why People Say Yes 325
If You Have the Need to Influence, You Get to Do All the Work 327
Navigating the Political Landscape 327
Ethically Influencing and Persuading for Results 330
It Takes Two to Influence 331
Paying attention 331
Listening actively 332
Building rapport 335
Choosing words that could, should, might make a difference 340
If You Aren't Getting the Desired Results, Change Your Communication 342
Part 5: The Part of Tens 347
Chapter 16: Ten Online Resources to Boost Coaching and Mentoring Effectiveness 349
Steve Crabb 349
Business Reading Lists 350
iTunes U 350
YouTube 351
Podcasts 352
Blogs 352
TED Talks 353
Twitter 353
Facebook 354
Videos Tied to This Book 355
Chapter 17: Ten Tips for Leaders Who Coach or Mentor People in Business 357
Develop Talent in Those You Lead 358
Sell More than Tell 359
Name the Elephant before Eating It 360
Get Good at Asking Questions 361
Speak in Specifics and Mind Your Language 361
Recognize the Value of Slowing Down or Shutting Up 363
Appreciate Differences to Be a Difference Maker 364
Create the Optimum Conditions to Coach at a Distance 364
Support Your People during Change 366
Educate Yourself about the Business 367
Chapter 18: Ten Tips for Business Leaders Hiring a Business Coach 369
Be Clear about Where You Want to End Up 370
Be Willing to Be Wrong 370
Seek Out a Different Point of View 371
Lay the Groundwork 371
Focus on Substance over Style 371
Find the Best Fit for Your Business 372
Get Stakeholder Participation 373
Avoid One-Size-Fits-All Coaching 373
Manage Your Expectations 374
Dot Your I's and Cross Your T's 374
Chapter 19: Ten Questions to Keep a Business on Track 375
What Would We Create If Anything Was Possible? 376
Why Are We Doing This? 377
What Would Richard Branson Do? 378
What's a Better Way? 378
Are We Still the Right People to Be Doing This? 379
Are We Busy Being Busy? 379
What Can We Do to Optimize or Streamline? 380
Are We Going in the Right Direction? 381
What Do We Need to Stop Doing? 381
Are We All Still on the Same Page? 382
Index 383
