Are you an active coach? Do you run a coaching business or coach as part of your job? If so, we need you…

We are conducting the largest survey on coaching that has ever been produced and we need your help. As an active coach you can assist us and your fellow coaches in understanding where the profession currently is and where it is heading in the future.

Be part of the future of coaching and take part in our survey by clicking the “International Coaching Survey” button below. Remember to pass on the message and link to others!

The word “Like” has a new meaning in the modern era. You can now virtually like things and show off your likeness to your friends via the world’s largest social networking site, Facebook. In case you haven’t done so already, please “Like” us on Facebook.

Yep, we’re here talking about the Facebook’s Recommend button that lets you “recommend” almost anything and everything on the web and share it with your friends with a single click.

We have rolled out this feature to ‘Recommend’ any post across The Coaching Academy Blog. You’ll find a Recommend button/box at the end of every individual post that lets you ‘Recommend’ that particular post and show it off on your Facebook Profile; all of it takes a single click! If you’re not logged in to Facebook, a pop-up window will prompt you to log in to your Facebook account. If you are already logged in to Facebook in a separate tab or window, you will not need to do anything but a single click!

But what you now see at the beginning and the end of every individual post is quite different. It lets you recommend that post to your Facebook Profile and at the time you click the like button, the link to the post along with a note that “you recommend it” will be shown on your Friends’ News Feed.

So, don’t forget to “Recommend” a post whenever you really like a post across The Coaching Academy Blog. You can also share your post on Facebook and ask your friends to “Like” it because the more likes you get, the more people read your post. And you do want to get read by as many people as possible, right?

How often do we say yes to things we really don’t want to do? We do it to please others, to be a good friend, colleague or partner. Many of us are afraid that we might be rejected if we say no. Unfortunately we can end up feeling resentful because our mouth said yes when really we desperately want to say no.

When asked to do something, take a moment to ask yourself ‘Is this ok with me?’ or ‘Am I feeling obligated to do this?’ If it feels right then go ahead, if it doesn’t try expressing that no.

Constantly saying yes to the demands of others doesn’t earn us respect. Sometimes we are more likely to gain respect if we say no. We won’t do everything and anything. There are areas in our own lives that are important to us and we have to set boundaries to protect them.

When you know you are going to be asked something and you really don’t want to do it prepare yourself. Think about what you might say before hand. Stand firm and be honest, an assertive no is not offensive or aggressive. Learning to say no can be tough and as you say it more often people will begin to know that you are changing and it will help you make that internal shift to feeling that you are able to refuse some things.

It is ok sometimes to simply say no I don’t want to do that. We don’t always have to justify our answer. This can be a real challenge as often we to want to give a reason why we can’t do something in order to rationalise and try to avoid hurting someone.

It can be very challenging to say no to a line manager at work. Rather than saying yes to an impossible request or deadline then working extra hours to achieve it or simply not completing the work, an honest no gives colleagues time to find an alternative solution and helps protect your reputation as a good and reliable co-worker.

To calm any fear about saying no, imagine what could be the worst that could happen. If you are polite and clear when saying no, the majority of people will understand. Occasionally, those people who are used to you always doing what they want might take time to become used to the more assertive you. At the same time you will be losing those bitter feelings of resentment. With practise it will become easier to say no to the things you don’t want to do. This will free valuable time for you to commit to those things you want to do. As well as resulting in the feeling that you are getting your life back in control.

by Beckie Whitehouse

Are you on LinkedIn? You are? Great!

Join The Coaching Academy’s LinkedIn discussion group. If not, what are you waiting for? Get your profile online – connect to like-minded people.

LinkedIn Groups have been growing rapidly since 2008.  While many have joined them few members have participated in them actively.  The Coaching Academy’s LinkedIn group is where we want to stimulate discussion and activity between ourselves and our members. Networking requires activity or no one benefits.

Listed below are three things you can do to increase your benefits:

1 – Communicate (“message”) easily with all members of the group you belong to even those people you do not know. Certainly there should be a compelling reason to communicate with strangers, but you do share group membership and likely common interests.

2 – Grow your network readily with those of affinity interest. You can browse the membership directory to discover new connections and re-establish old ones. You can also invite members of your group to connect without knowing their email address.

3 – Initiate and participate in coaching discussions. Get your questions answered and support those starting a discussion.

Debbie Robinson, The Coaching Academy graduate and former Sales and Marketing Director of a small independant IT Services company has put together this informative article about how to delegate and entrust tasks.

What is the role of a manager?

Frequently, many managers find themselves firefighting, struggling to get the job done. They are unable to devote sufficient time to long-term planning, creating a company or departmental vision, surveying alternatives, reviewing the competition, and developing new products. Most importantly, they are unable to devote enough time to developing their people.

Some managers are reluctant to delegate or entrust tasks because they fear someone else will do a better job and this could lose them credibility. Managers that do not delegate tend to stock pile their knowledge as a form of justification of their position and importance. They are poor at sharing skills as they have a need to feel indispensible. It is important to be aware that being successful does not mean having to be the best at everything but knowing when to involve the right peoples’ skills and knowledge.

Telling or dictating can be perceived as the quick and easy solution. It can give the manager a feeling of being in control. This is however, a misleading notion. The manager’s style may upset and de-motivate his staff but they don’t have the nerve to show it or offer feedback. The outcome is that they are compliant in his presence but may behave with resentment and poor performance when his back is turned. He is anything but in control!

There is another problem when managers tell or dictate and that is one of ‘recall’. Simply, we do not remember very well something we are told or do not experience firsthand. How often have you been a passenger in a car and not been able to recall the route when asked, simply because you were not actively involved in the options and decisions taken?

The manager has to repeatedly provide instructions simply because the employee has not been involved in identifying options, potential obstacles and the selection of the most appropriate course of action. This is a vicious circle that needs to be replaced if productivity and motivation is to be achieved.

Delegation should not be considered as avoiding responsibility by the manager but as giving a task the time and effort it deserves. Managers that adopt a coaching style know that entrusting clearly defined tasks to employees helps to build, not only skill levels but also motivation, commitment and pride. Having the responsibility to deliver a task with the correct and fitting level of support engenders a real sense of purpose in the person or team nominated to deliver. It is important to remember however, that delegation is not abdication; it is the managers’ responsibility to check periodically that all is well and to provide support as appropriate.

Delegation demonstrates to employees that the manager trusts and values the others abilities and helps build confidence and strengthens teams. It is important to establish clearly at the outset what is needed from the person or team, then step back and allow them to get with it.

It is an undeniable fact that growing people is enlightened self interest rather than some idealism that offers little added value. Empowering and enabling employees to take on interesting and challenging tasks not only ensures the manager can get on with his more strategic function but promotes job satisfaction and with that commitment and loyalty. This helps ensure that the skills base is maintained and developed reducing the exposure to the company of losing its life blood – committed, knowledgeable and skilled employees.

If a manager delegates using the principles of coaching, he will get the job done to a higher standard and develop his people simultaneously, that is the role we want managers to fulfill.