Michael-Bungay-Stainer, author of The Coaching Habit, provided impactful knowledge and exercises to help our audience delegate, empower, and make each of us a better leader.
Confession: I started reading Michael-Bungay-Stainer - The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever, and even published a blog on a portion of its contents in How to Build A Habit. When I got past the first chapter on habits in the book and proceeded through the next several chapters, I thought, I know all this. I’ve been coaching for nearly 20 years. Been there done that.
What I failed to realize is how powerful the Five Questions Michael-Bungay-Stainer
Fundamental Behavior Change
Michael-Bungay-Stainer simple, yet difficult insight to follow for leading and managing (Coaching) is this:
These two simple behaviors, when followed, deliver more benefits than you can ever imagine.
Put these together with three coaching principles:
Simple right?
Most of us fail right out of the gate with #1. Indeed, most of us as managers and leaders often feel like we need to do something in order to fulfill our role, our “title.” The truth of course is unless you wish to stay in your role forever, you need to empower your people. Get them to make decisions, solve problems on their own, so you can do the more important and impact things you were hired to do.
FIVE QUESTIONS
What I and my partners at our table discovered when we went through the Five Questions is, “It’s Hard to not give feedback.”
It creates a sense of anxiety in you. You must recognize in your role to empower them, you’re in the land of the question, and they’re in the land of the answers. Give up your own power and empower them. (This my friends is exactly what servant leadership looks like.)
KEY: When’s the best time to give advice? The longer you can wait to give advice, the better! I’ll share why in a minute.
When your people come to you with a question, instead of answering, respond: “Great question, before I give you answers, and I will give you one, I’m going to ask you a few questions.”
What’s the real value of this?
When you do this exercise you learn to be a more effective leader.(I did these questions in a monthly coaching meeting with one of my customers. Even though we only had time for the first two, this leadership team immediately could sense and feel the impact. They quickly realized how frequently they wanted to jump in to offer advice and solve a problem.)
Why? Stainer shared this: We need to be more effective teachers:
People do not learn when you tell them stuff.
They don’t learn much when they do stuff.
People learn stuff when they have time to reflect!
WARNING: You won’t realize the full impact of these Five Questions until you practice them with someone else!
For coaching ideas and help like this, to Develop a Winning Habit, contact dwick@positioningsystems.com
NEXT BLOG – CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM
“First Who, Then What,” ~ Jim Collins in Good to Great
“The business of business is people, yesterday, today, tomorrow.” ~ Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines
Next blog: Raj Sisodia, co-author of Conscious Capitalism, shared why business needs to change. Why does the 16% consumer confidence in big business, cynicism, and distrust, have high business and societal costs?