When you contract with a coach, you typically have some desired outcome--an improvement you believe can be better made with some assistance.
     Along the way, however, your coach should be delivering a wide variety of support.  Take a look at "What Does Your Coach Deliver to You?" to see how much service your coach is providing.
     Dennis Hooper

     This week's article is more of a report on the Southeast Prism Award conference in Atlanta than my typical practical guidance on how to take action with your colleagues, boss, and direct reports.

     If you are not currently using a competent caring coach, personally or organizationally, perhaps this week’s article, “Of What Value is Coaching to an Organization?” will stimulate your considering it.

     Dennis

     Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee, on page 92 of their book Primal Leadership," write “Leaders have more trouble than anybody else when it comes to receiving candid feedback, particularly about how they're doing as leaders."

     But that shouldn't be such a devastating situation, right?  Don't leaders naturally have a pretty good idea of how they perform as leaders?

     Nope.  Not according to the same authors:  "The higher up the ladder a leader climbs, the less accurate his self-assessment is likely to be."

     Self-deception may be the biggest problem a leader faces.  How does one overcome this problem?  Feedback.

     But it's not as simple as saying the word.  Obtaining accurate, actionable feedback is not easy for leaders.  Enhancing you leadership skills starts with greater awareness of both what your skills actually are and what your skills could be.

     Take a look at today’s article, “Why You Don’t Find Out What You Need to Know.”

     Dennis