Coaching+Teams

http://www.constraintmanagement.co.uk/Coaching_Cycle.htm

My passion is working with people and helping them on their journey. To do so I have developed a Coaching Cycle of five steps which can be used for any coaching activity or change management exercise. The cycle is used at three levels; the first is that of the individual, the second that of the team, and finally the third is that of the organisation. At each of those levels the tools used to answer the five questions are the same, simply working at deeper levels of understanding and analysis. **Step One: what's holding us back?**

This is the starting point for understanding why we feel stuck in our journey. What is holding us back? Why are we not making more progress? Why is life so difficult? The first step in our analysis involves LISTENING. I take time to sit with people, to listen to them and capture the issues and problems they are facing, the hopes and desires they have, or perhaps once had, and from that to start to paint a picture of the environment in which they are living and working, and which is possibly hurting them.

**Step Two: why is this holding us back?**

This is not just a simple intuitive reaction; to answer this question, if we are really serious, we need to apply some real analytical tools. The reason for this level of rigour is that I have found, over the last twenty years or so, that in a complex situation, in an environment where there seems to be a very high level of complexity in everything, the need to find simplicity is paramount. I use the powerful analytical process rooted in the Theory of Constraints approach and which has been used in this field for many years with great success. This step asks a simple question: "what do we have to change in order to move forward?" When this step has been completed the key barriers to progress are known - but we are not done yet!

**Step Three: what is the compelling picture going forward?**

This is all about painting the picture of where we want to get to by answering the question "what to change to?" Looking at the description of the problems and issues involved we can now develop a structured picture of what the future might look like if we can break free from where we are. This picture is then submitted to scrutiny in order to have confidence that this is actually the future state we would really like to have in our possession.

**Step Four: how do we achieve the objectives set?**

So what is stopping us? There will always be obstacles to the achievement of the goal, so we need to surface them and deal with them. But we are not going to do this in an ad hoc manner, rather in a structured and logical manner that gives us confidence that when we start the journey we will arrive at the destination. We can also put in milestones thatenable us to see progress, which in itself gives confidence that we are on the right pathway.

**Step Five: review and reflect the journey**

This is a crucial step; we need to look back and reflect on the journey in order to consolidate what we have learned. Did we have any problems and issues that arose during the journey that we did not anticipate at the start? Have we changed our view on the goal, is it still the goal or perhaps we now feel there is a larger goal that now lies before us? I invite those I am working with to keep a simple journal in order to help with this review, and thus quickly identify any constraints that appeared on the journey, and also the good points that we achieved.

**This review process allows participants to analyse what they did and what they achieved in such a way that the experience really takes shape in their minds - so that they can use the process again and again going forward. In the words of one person who underwent the training: "The more I reflect, the better my decision making and the better I'm able to communicate what we're doing."** **The Coaching Quad** In addition to the Cycle I have also developed a Coaching Quad which contains four aspects key to any coaching process: Healing, Reconciling, Sustaining and Guiding.

There is no fixed starting point, that is determined through the use of the Coaching Cycle (see above). Therefore the starting point for any coaching assignment can be anywhere within the Quad. **Healing and Restoring**

This might seem an odd title for this aspect but many of my coaching projects in the past have centred on the need to restore broken relationships, between individuals and between teams, and even between departments or divisions! Clearly if relationships are broken to this extent then the first step is to seek out a map that restores these relationships and move to a situation where win-win is the dominant outcome of all negotiations and engagements throughout the organisation. This is also about addressing the issues that are causing discomfort for people within the organisation, the team, or sometimes within themselves. Change itself can cause trauma, and people often need help to cope with the demands that change can create.

**Reconciling and Mediating**

This aspect is very much where participants set out to address the conflicts and issues that cause all manner of disputes. These conflicts can be between people, between functions, and sometimes the conflict of subordinating to the changes being asked of the individual. Of course there is overlap with other aspects of the Quad, but dealing with conflicts is a major aspect of my work, reconciling differences and helping to create a win-win solution that restores a healthy balance within the organisation and/or the team.

**Sustaining and Nurturing**

This aspect is all about trying to help with the question "what happens next?" For many people the changes that take place are fully agreed, and any issues that arise as a result of the changes are overcome - but then there is a sense of "so what now?" The ability to sustain progress towards the goal is fundamental to any coaching activity. I have used this in both Rugby and Sailing where even the best know that there is a need to maintain the current level of expertise and excellence, and then to move to the next level. This doesn't just apply to Olympic Sailors and International Rugby players but also to any person working in any organisation!

**Guiding and Mentoring**

This aspect is concerned with helping people recognise the direction they are taking today and checking as to whether this is the right direction! Many times I find people are working hard, but when I ask them about the goal they are striving to achieve, it becomes clear that they are working hard in the //wrong// direction! They might even be putting in more and more hours in order to drive themselves in precisely the wrong direction, and perhaps also driving their team in the same manner. Guiding starts with discovering the goal, and the necessary conditions that must be achieved for the goal to be achieved. Then, through a simple approach, we can set out to determine if the current direction is the correct one. This is part of being able to paint a compelling picture of what the future might, or should, look like. This is where we ask, and try to help each person to answer, the questions "what?" and "why?".