Rigorous coaching research

There are still wide variations in coaching practice and whilst 70% of companies in the UK are using coaching in their organisations, the supply is fragmented and unmanaged with a lack of quality control in ensuring that only professional coaches are used. The profession is now providing a qualification route up to Masters degree level with accredited professional membership to ensure there is a check at the skills and capability level of the coach. The insurance companies are starting to ask questions about coaching, as regulation becomes nearer and claims for negligence are a possibility. Are the coaches you use qualified, skilled and insured and do they really add value to your business. What is their personal history in terms of a business career, specialist qualifications and roles and strategic understanding?

This month the CIPD launces a practical diagnostic instrument to help learning and development professionals better understand some improtant aspects of coaching in their business and show how coaching fits within the wider organisational context. They have also launched a major new research project entitled "Coaching at the sharp end". which focuses on the coaching experience of line managers. Coaching is about building organisational resilience and resources. In these challenging times it is absolutely critical to ensuring the effectiveness of your key people, protecting your investment and reducing stress levels whilst maximising creative responses. It is an essential tool in helping the economy bounce back from recession with the energy and vitality to compete in a new and changed world.

All the coaches at The Performance Solution are qualified in both coaching and an organisational specialism, are supervised and have held senior roles in industry. Both external and company employed coaches who are trained by The Performance Solution meet the robust accreditation standards of the Association for Coaching and Kingston University.

Self as Instrument

Self As Instrument (SAi) is the title of a skill set that the organization change profession commonly refers to. Skillful practitioners use these to organize a multitude of dynamics that can enhance change processes. The skill set is based on systems theory that asserts that the productive use of the self has the capacity to effectively influence the larger system. It is an especially important skill set for change practitioners to possess because they guide the client and the group through the unavoidable turbulence that organization change creates. Skillful use of the self can improve change processes in the design, implementation and sustaining processes of organization change. The specific skills that make up this concept, SAi, are vast. It includes both intra-personal and inter-personal skills as well as cognitive and affective skills.

SAi is a fundamental key to managing organization change

Within each person resides the sacred territory that they are unconsciously protecting. When changes occur externally their well guarded perceptions, habits or behaviors are impacted. It can be unsettling. With the great changes occuring in our culture and economy today almost everyone's comfort zone needs to be better managed.

Learning how to broaden the comfort zone is a fundamental SAi key skill for personally managing organization change. It took a lifetime to create this unconscious skill set, yet we don't even know exists. It takes gradual, incremental steps to consciously begin opening to new coping abilities. In other words, it takes continual practice and a regular rhythm of practice to begin making the changes. Eventually these new patterns become an unconscious mindset that is better equipped to deal with changes, whether personal or professional.

Models similar to SAi

There are many other models that are similar to SAi. Each unveils more understanding to either the intra personal or the inter personal skills use by the Self. To name just a few of these models a brief list follows:

1. Self Differentiation


2. SAI for Organization Diagnosis


3. Johari Window


4. Helping Skills


5. Emotional Intelligence
   

f you are interested in self as instrument coaching please contact Anna Gomez. She has worked with a wide range of professionals: from international executives to line staff; from global corporations to non profits; from social service agencies to military suppliers. Linking your most essential self to your greatest concerns can create dynamic progress. The cost of your first session is free. Dr. Anna Gomez Terra Firma: Grounded Change http://www.groundedchange.com/GroundedChange@gmail.com

Assessing how employees perform day in; day out.

Measuring typical performance will tell you how an employee will perform consistently, tather than measuring optimum performance. Motivational testing will measure what drives individuals on a daily basis and will give an individation of the language that line managers should use to get the best out of their people.


jobEQ provides online HR tools that help to improve Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in the workplace. jobEQ brings HRM to the next level by focusing on work attitude, motivation, values and skills for each part of the human resources process. Whether you are an HR consultant or an organization looking to improve its own HR, jobEQ can help you find and manage great employees. E mail here to discover how we can make sure the right people have the right jobs

Stay ahead of the game during the downturn!

In these intuiging times many people are wondering how they should be behaving at work. Our advice is to stay put, especially if you have been employed for more than a year as you then have employment protection. Think about your employers' strategy and work out how you can add most value and find a senior mentor to find opportunities for you on long term projects which are vital to your organisation and will build capability for the future. One of the most naive things you can do is ask for a pay rise at the current time, one of the best things is to keep developing yopurself and your talents, keep networking and become indispensible. This may be a time to study and gain further qualifications, demonstrate your committment and contribute to your future, become part of a virtual action learning set, gain credits for competence or work based learning and get a Masters degree. Whatever happens, keep yourself marketable. This so-called recession is hyped up by the media and while waiting on the bench we need to keep fit to play in a challenging and vibrant future.

Try a coach

Want to become a coach? Could you use a coach?

If you want to become a coach, it makes a lot of sense to experience coaching, right now.

And if you are a coach, this is the time to work with a coach for a month or more to move some big goals forward.

The Performance Solution is offering a 50% discount on coaching if you contact us by November 1st and take the sessions during December in London, the South East, Hampshire, Wiltshire or Somerset.

If you’ve been wanting to move something forward in your life, I encourage you to take advantage of this offer today, by contacting samantha.white@theperformancesolution.com

Who are we?

The Performance Solution is an international boutique consulting practice, established in 2000 and still headed up by founder Managing Director, Behavioural Technologist and much sought after executive coach; Sally Vanson. The management team includes Dr Allan Parker, Operations Director, executive coach and international business improvement facilitator, and Kevin McAlpine; Executive Coach and Director of Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism development services. Paul Stewart is our Customer Relationship Manager, Tracey McCulloch our Administration Manager and Lucy Vanson and Samantha White look after our clients' daily needs.

We are Behavioural Technology specialists, focused in the area of Performance Improvement in organisations, working with process and project management supported by the people performance skills required to achieve bottom line results. We are headquartered in the UK and work internationally across Europe, Australasia, the Middle East and parts of the USA, having native language speakers in most countries who are professionally qualified in their areas of expertise.

Our style and approach

At the core of our work is the concept of “freedom with responsibility, partnership and optimum performance”. We work with partners and clients to co-invent a bespoke range of consultancy and development interventions, including project management and co-ordination of other providers to ensure consistent, sustainable and measurable results, which challenge preconceptions and accelerate value to the bottom line.

The Performance Solution adopts a highly interactive style of facilitation, basing it on an approach which is fast, effective and fun, and involves principles from Neuro-Linguistic Programming, accelerated learning, emotional intelligence as well as the more traditional Kolb and Honey and Mumford models. A key philosophy is to use and build on the latest accelerated learning methods using visioning tools, multiple intelligences, making the learning sensory and meaningful for each unique individual on the programme.

Our approach is always to work closely with the client to co-invent realistic and pragmatic solutions that fit the organisation and business context. These solutions focus on leveraging both individual and organisational performance. We are keen to always establish how any assignment can be measured in both behavioural terms and in bottom line results.

Accredited and Professional International Coaching and Supervision

We are delighted to celebrate the 200th graduate of our Certificate in Advanced Coaching Skills. This programme is accredited through the Association for Coaching and gives 15 credits towards the MA in Coaching and NLP which we run in partnership with Kingston University. We have enough alumni now to run CPD courses in specialist topics which add value and process to their coaching skills. Make a note of this blog to stay up to date, and take advantage of exciting events planned for 2009 and beyond. Share your learning and insights by adding comments and become part of a vibrant and professional learning community who are working to enhance the profession by achieving consistent standards in their work. We plan to regularly feathure our international coaches and alumni, their successes and uniqueness as well as projects and opportunities.