Leading Effectively e-Newsletter - April 2006 Issue

New Views on Coaching

A growing expectation in many organizations is that experienced leaders will be good coaches for their direct reports and colleagues. This new role - one that we call the Leader Coach - is taken on by many managers as a matter of course. For others, it's a stressful or unwanted addition to already demanding jobs. In either situation, developing a workable approach to coaching can be the difference between a difficult experience and an effective, energizing way to develop others.

This issue of Leading Effectively offers guidelines and specific techniques for coaching on the job. The articles are adapted from our new book, The CCL Handbook of Coaching: A Guide for the Leader Coach, edited by Sharon Ting and Pete Scisco.

View a video of Sharon Ting, co-editor of the new book, The CCL Handbook of Coaching: A Guide for the Leader Coach, speaking about executive coaching.

Articles

All in a Day's Work: The Role of the Leader Coach
Leadership coaching happens informally inside organizations all the time. Increasingly, however, informal coaching is giving way to the more structured - and accountable - role of the leader coach.  (more...)

Fear Not: Leader Coaches Are Not Therapists
Leader coaches are often concerned about crossing the line between coaching and counseling or therapy. If fear of getting in over your head is holding you back from stepping up to a coaching role, CCL's Sharon Ting suggests setting clear boundaries.  (more...)

Boss and Coach? Dealing with the Challenge of Dual Roles
Adding the coaching job to the role of boss has many advantages. Who better to understand the business and organizational factors that come into play? Who better to help someone identify and develop skills that will be needed in the future? But the dual role of coach leader has its challenges, too.  (more...)

Getting Started: Brief Solution-focused Coaching
Ready to coach, but don't know where to start? For most leader coaches, a set of coaching techniques called brief solution-focused coaching (BSFC) is a great beginning, according to CCL's Michael Wakefield. "The techniques are relatively simple, time efficient and effective," he says.  (more...)

Question It: Six Questions for Effective Coaching
"You can't get out of a problem with the same thinking that got you into it." That's the premise of one coaching technique - a set of six questions to help break old patterns of thinking and turn the focus to positive change.  (more...)

Adaptability Poll Results
In our March 2006 Leading Effectively e-newsletter, readers were asked to reflect on the importance of adaptability. More than 330 readers responded to the poll. CCL expert Joan Gurvis responds to the findings.  (more...)

Interested in republishing articles or excerpts from a CCL newsletter or CCL Press publication? Fill out our "Request to Republish" form, found at www.ccl.org/republish.

Further Your Development

New CCL Webinar: Do Less and Accomplish More

April 27, 1:00-2:00 ET
Duration: 1 hour
Price: $50

Make more of a difference. Work only on what truly matters. We invite you to learn more about how to stop the "time bandits" so you can compete, lead and work smarter. This Webinar is full of tips on figuring out what to do with "finite" time and attention and "infinite" information and choices. These easy-to-use ideas and tools will help you cut through the clutter and focus on what's important.

This interactive, live online discussion includes:

• Tools for conducting meetings, teleconferences, presentations, and change efforts
• Insights into the biggest time-wasters
• Tips on writing e-mails and managing the e-mail overload

Recent Topics

• Adaptability: A Leadership Imperative, March 2006
• Five Keys to Effective Leadership, February 2006
• Complex Challenges and the New Leadership, January 2006
• Too Much of a Good Thing: Beware of Your Strengths, December 2005
• From Giuliani to Gergen: Expert Lessons in Leadership, November 2005