Month: June 2019

Invest in Time to Think

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'The Conversation' a statue in Havana Cuba of two people sitting and talking

Working people are stressed.  The modern workplace seems to be a place of long hours, with an ‘always on’ culture and an addiction to busyness, reacting and just ‘doing’ stuff.  So it’s more important than ever to take time out to reflect on what you’re doing, in order to take control, make adjustments, learn and improve, re-focus and plan ahead.

Many people think they don’t have enough time in their calendar to stop and reflect.  However, investing time and effort in reflecting can be time well spent and can actually save time in the long run. It can:

  • help you feel a sense of achievement as you remember and celebrate what you’ve accomplished
  • help you question your activities and behaviour and see if you can learn new or better ways to do things
  • allow you to think longer-term and plan or focus on how to spend your time best.
  • help you learn and improve over time

Self-reflection is good, but you need to be disciplined.  It’s easy to be pulled back into doing something ‘urgent’ again.  Reflecting alone might also keep you stuck in a certain way of thinking.

This is where having a coach can be helpful.  Coaching can be seen as reflecting with a partner – a thought partner.  This brings a number of benefits:

Scheduling in time

My coachees have commented that the logistics alone can be helpful in making progress.  Having a coaching session scheduled in the calendar commits you to taking the time and space you need to think.

Accountability partner

Having a coach means there is someone who will hold you accountable for any actions you decide to take forward.  Because you know your coach will ask you about the actions you’ve promised to do, you’ve committed to a deadline and this gives the impetus to move forward, and keeps you on track. 

So the discipline of putting time in the diary, and having someone to hold you accountable, can be helpful in itself.

The power of speaking your thoughts out loud

In addition, coachees have remarked on how powerful it is when you speak your thoughts out loud.  Somehow, the thoughts that have been mulling around in your mind suddenly become real when they are spoken to another person.  You hear yourself saying the words and consider how they sound.

This is where the skills of a coach can really add value.  The coach will listen intently and reflect back the words you’re saying.  They may also reflect what they notice from your emotions, body language, tone etc.  You know your coach will not judge you but rather may ask you questions to deepen your thinking.  And your coach won’t offer their own ‘solution’ or rush to give advice.

So however you decide to do it, if you want to make progress, invest in time to reflect.

“The quality of everything we do depends on the quality of the thinking we do first.” Nancy Kline

Training + coaching

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I was reminded recently of an advertising campaign I saw when I was a student in Edinburgh.  As you descended the steps into Waverley station, there was a huge banner that read “TRAINING BEATS COACHING” – a succinct way to persuade you that trains were a better way to get you from A to B than taking the coach. 

I’ve been thinking recently about the two elements of my work – training and coaching – and how they might work best together.

Attending the workshop is just the beginning…

How often have you been on a training course, been really enthusiastic and come back with best of intentions to use your new-found knowledge in your work, only to put away your notes and never look at them again.  Or more recently I’ve been on several workshops where I’ve been assured that “you don’t need to take notes; we’ll send you the slides” and after 3 weeks without receiving anything I’ve given up and moved on.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to a training session or workshop and had someone follow up 3 or 6 months later to find out if/how I was using the knowledge to improve my performance.  It amazes me that companies invest in sending their people on training courses and think that’s the end of it.  It takes a great deal of personal discipline, and often the support of other colleagues, to put that new knowledge into practise and change your way of working.

(One study found that managers who had been on ‘Manager as Coach’ training took on average three days to revert ‘back to normal’ after the training.)

Having someone who will check in with you, support you to make changes, and hold you accountable for doing something, will help you maintain motivation and embed the learning. 

Of course, ideally the person who checks in with you and ensures the company’s investment is bearing fruit would be your line manager.  But unfortunately we know that, at least currently, it rarely happens. 

This is where coaching can help.  Coaching or mentoring can help employees embed the learning in their work and improve their performance.  That’s why coaching is often part of a leadership development programme – because including coaching has been shown to be more effective than just the training alone.  Otherwise the learning is soon forgotten. 

So if you’ve had some learning (you’ve attended a workshop, enrolled on a MOOC, read a book etc.) and want to make changes to help your performance at work, make sure you schedule in review, reflection, and/or coaching or check-ins with a study buddy, to give yourself the best chance of success.

So no, training doesn’t beat coaching.  But perhaps the two in combination is the answer.