Get the BEST from your Coach.

Do you want to get the best from your coaching engagement?

Do you believe that working with your coach will help you accomplish results better?

Do you believe that you coach can engage you by provoking your thoughts, feelings; which would lead to actions?

Well, if your answer to above is an YES to all the 3 questions, you might probably be doing well with your coach and their assistance.

If not, here is an approach just for you. Try it and you will be guaranteed results.

I call this approach as TPE model.

The process of coaching is about you ‘the person being coached’. Coaching is defined as a process wherein your coach partners with you in a thought provoking & meaningful engagement which helps you to maximize your personal & professional potentials.

So you see, it is about you, & helping you maximize your potential in the personal & professional world.

To maximize your gains from coaching, here is what you need to be doing;

Think – Let me ask you a few questions, which might probably put things in perspective for you

1. What is the primary purpose of engaging the coach?
2. What pressing issues are you experiencing in the current state?
3. Moving forward what personal challenges do you foresee? Or What personal challenges do you foresee in the near future to accomplish your goals?
4. What past experiences have you had with respect to this goal?, etc

Reflecting on the above questions can provide you vital insights into your thinking process besides ensuring you have a specific outcome, which you would like to explore with your coach?

Prepare: After having explored your thoughts, you would have probably established the purpose for coaching. However it is important for you to note that your coach is not an expert in your area of work, but he could be an effective ally, working with whom you could probably maximize your gains.

Here are some questions which would help you go prepared to the coach

1. What is that I wish to achieve in conversation with my coach?
2. Is my goal specific, measurable & review’able? (remember you goals have to be ‘Measurable, Manageable, & Motivational’ for you)
3. Does my goal motivate me?
4. Can I manage what I wish to accomplish with my other day to day work?
5. What resources are required?
6. Who could support me, in the event I require assistance?
7. Who could be delegated some of the tasks, either from the new goal or the current goal?
8. What am I currently engaged with?
9. What thoughts, feelings, emotions could possibly come in the way while engaging with the coach?
10. What am I willing to put up with?
11. What am I  willing to set aside during the 45 minutes with my coach?, etc

Engage: The T and P stages would have provided you with vital insights to engage with your coach. The T & P stages provide you the desired focus, commitment & accountability to pause, explore, focus and plan for action in a dialogue with your coach. Remember, your coach can only work with you when you are ready to receive and bring the collective unconscious into the conscious space for greater awareness and results.

Try it out and share your insights with us.

Best wishes for your success – Coach Sairamesh

Coach yourself to excellence

Should walking up to a coach and seeking him out give you jitters, here’s a simple 5 step process to coach yourself to excellence.

Identify a suitable place, which is free from disturbances and external intrusion. Sit calmly and be relaxed. Practice some deep breathing exercise with eyes closed and focus on what you want to achieve, keep all other trivial / unimportant, not urgent events out of focus. Identify one critical area that needs to be addressed. Be with yourself for the next 5 to 10 minutes, focus.  Once you break the event, decide on the focus area and be precise with your responses to the inquiries as follow the process to attain excellence.

Here we go.

Step 1 – Decide on what you want to coach yourself at the moment? What is that you want to accomplish by engaging with yourself? What outcome do you expect to achieve? What is the significance of the ‘to be’ state to you? – be explicit and precise. Write down the goals in ‘SMART’ terms – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time bound.

Step 2 – Think /Reflect and establish what the current situation is? Identify the gap between your ‘To be’ state Vs ‘As is’ state. Ask yourself, what’s holding me up from achieving what I want to accomplish? What are the stumbling blocks which is holding me up? In what ways am I out of control of the situation? – be explicit and precise.

Step 3 – Think and establish a set of alternatives, which could help you reach your desired ‘To be’ state or bridge the gap. What would help me be in control / What would help me get back to control? What initiatives should I take to attain the desired state? What would it feel like when I attain the desired state? What do I do in order to sustain the positive energy during the process of task execution?

Step 4 – Think and structure the alternatives into logical sequences of activities Or Develop a strategy of action.  Ask yourself ‘what resources are required to put the plan to action, what process checks & measures would I put in place, what are my abilities, does the task require different abilities, where can I source the abilities?’.

Step 5 – Execute the plan. Ensure you are in control. Measure at periodic intervals. Ask ‘am I in control, am I working as per plan, am I measuring the work outputs?’, keep a tight leash on yourself. Reward yourself when you find you have achieved a milestone. Celebrate. Give yourself permission to indulge.

Work this out and check, how you are doing?

Wishing you all the very best in your next task. Enjoy you ascendance to EXCELLENCE.