3D Juggling 419: Where are you?

February 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Claire writes: ‘Listening to people talking about their dreams, often for the first time, is a privilege. It amazes me how much thought some people have given to them. What’s more amazing is that these dreams often seem to happen in a cupboard with the door shut. So when I asked someone yesterday: What have you done so far to make this begin to happen, it was almost all in her head. 24/7. Whether it’s from creativity or a nagging question, a thought that becomes a constant screensaver in your head can actually stop you doing other things and can slow you down.

So if your dream is to start a business, start talking to people – even if only to find out what they do. If it’s to change jobs, then start finding out more about the jobs. Not just by staying in your cupboard and surfing www.monster.co.uk , but by beginning to have conversations. Even the inventor in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had been outside his cupboard before he produced his great flying car. He must have been – he had to find and bring in the resources he needed to make his dream come true!

Where are you? If you’re metaphorically sitting in a cupboard, is it time to get out more?’

© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: 2 Go Window Shopping, Career Change 8: Create your team Tagged With:

3D Juggling 418: Kick the Cat

February 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Claire writes: ‘How many times have you come out of a meeting and wanted to kick the cat? Or gone to the water cooler with a friend and said “$£&%£$*&*%%&£$% That ALWAYS happens…” Even organisations and groups that are involved in learning rarely reflect on how they work together because we are so caught up in what we are working on. And when reflection does happen, it’s because there has been a problem and something needs to be done.

What will be possible if, at the end of every meeting – even board meetings – the members take 5-10 minutes to notice what went well about how we worked together? And is there anything we need to do differently? Even better – imagine what it will then be like when people leave a meeting with a new insight which they haven’t had before?’

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who gets frustrated by meetings!

© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: working with people Tagged With:

3D Juggling 417: Stakeholders

February 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Claire writes: ‘I dream of a morning when I get up and don’t have to check that the road is clear and that the school is open. That’s because there are more people involved in this snow day thing than just the girls. Mike couldn’t get to work some days either, so we were all here. I was working in the office. He was in the dining room. Sue couldn’t come to work because her kids were off… and there was no room to fit her in here! It wasn’t exclusively about the school and the girls.

The danger in a 1-1 conversation in coaching or in a Action learning Set is that the conversation can become exclusively about the client or the presenter. Who are the other stakeholders in what that person is thinking about? Their team, colleagues, organisation, family, customers, parishioners, patients…?

The effective conversation takes account of all the stakeholders: So what will be a good outcome from today for you? What about your organisation? Or your team?

Until we work with the client in their world, we are only making a partial contract. This is the same in conversations with friends and colleagues. As John Donne said ‘No man is an island, entire of itself…”

© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: 2 Establishing The Coaching Agreement Tagged With:

3D Juggling 416: “…and, tell me, what do you do?”

February 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Jeremy writes: “I am sure in all the social and business gatherings of the past month you have been asked this question a few times! It is fascinating that many familiar, everyday questions are not answered in the words in which they are asked. The usual answer to this question is often more of a throwaway line:

‘Oh, I’m an accountant”I don’t work, I’m just a housewife’ (note the just!)’For my sins, I work at the council offices”I used to be a nurse but I’m a full-time mum (or dad) now”I’m not anything at the moment, I’ve been made redundant from the bank actually…’

The question uses a verb (do) and the answer is bundled up by an all embracing noun e.g. accountant or nurse. It is as if (in this shorthand) the questioner is supposed to know that because I am an accountant, you can work out for yourself what I do (i.e count ?).

The problem with this sort of exchange in the job market, a vitally important market for many at the moment, is that it is unhelpful and often misleading. Good accountants do much more than count. The recruitment consultant or prospective employer or networking contact actually wants to know what you do (use lots of flowing, active verbs), not your job title(s) and appointments (very dried-up, well-worn nouns). Most jobs contain a wide variety of tasks, relationships and ways of working which are inadequately described by “I am a nurse”.

Think about what you do now, and what you really want to do, and how you set about your work in general, and learn to describe it all concisely with lots of verbs describing your activities, character and modus operandi. That will lead to all sorts of questions and conversation.
The answer ‘I’m just an (anything)’ doesn’t lead anywhere!”

Love this? Do us a favour and send it to five people. Who thinks like you? You could send it to someone who is more than their job title.

Discuss this week’s juggling at http://www.3dcoaching.blogspot.com/

© 2009 3D Coaching Ltd May be distributed freely. Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Filed Under: Career Change: 1 Know what's in your toolbox Tagged With: