Leadership Coaching Tip

How many times have you had a situation at work, or at home, where you felt ‘knocked off-kilter’, ‘thrown for a loop’ or ‘disgruntled’?

Probably not often (wink). But for you who have experienced something like this, think about a particular situation. Did it come from a meeting, conversation or project that didn't go so well, some harsh feedback, a flub as a public speaker or something that you just didn't expect? It often feels like "failure."

It happens to us all, and as painful as it is, this is a place where there lies an abundance of opportunity for growth in effective leadership.

Looking back at your "event," what brought you back to center? Got you back on track? Helped you move forward? My guess is that you "recovered" - it may have been a quick or long and painful process – but you did it.

The act of "recovery" is a gift. It's an art - and it's much like a muscle. The more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. Recovery is the ability to "get back" or "regain activity." And for effective leadership, recovery is essential.

At a deeper level, the act of "recovery" also requires heart. Heart for yourself and heart for others. Compassion. Think about a time you goofed. What was necessary to "forgive" yourself? When someone else falls down, it's essential to engage the heart and truly give them the space, courage and compassion to get up and come back stronger.

I believe heart, and the desire to create a positive impact, is at the center of recovery.

We all have our special processes for recovery. We all have our ways of engaging the heart. What are yours? Here are three common examples I see in personal coaching work with others.

Leadership Coaching Scenario One: You're giving a big presentation and you make a mistake in the data. You feel yourself shuffle, perhaps flush, and so begins your inner dialogue: "I just totally messed up; oh, they're never going to ask me in again; I’m going to lose this account!" So notice, where is your attention? It's definitely not on the group. By now you've probably REALLY lost them.

Instead: Make your mistake, notice that you made it in the moment, correct it if necessary, and move on. Continue to be a fully engaged public speaker. Keep your attention on the presentation and the people in your audience.

Leadership Coaching Scenario Two: You've just completed a project that you think is really great. You send it out to your team and the feedback is scathing. (Maybe not "scathing", but disappointing.) Here's your chance: option one - you "shut down", start to focus on how you've failed, how no one gets you, how you shouldn't even be in this line of work, how YOU are a failure.

Instead: Get your feedback, put it all in your feedback "basket", try to remember it's not "personal" - it's about the "thing". Quickly remember that feedback is just feedback. What can you take from "this" feedback and use to move you forward? What systems might you put in place so this doesn't happen again? For example, you might design in a structure for feedback before completion. Finally, make any necessary shifts, put this incident in your "future learning resource file" and move on.

Leadership Coaching Scenario Three: You've been exercising and eating clean for one month! Things are moving along, energy is up, inches are disappearing. This whole self-care thing rocks! And zing! It's the holidays - parties, family, meals, and vacation all hit at once. Here's your chance: option one - let go of all that good work; it's a moot point anyway, why try? You've failed, so while you're at it, you beat yourself up a bit.

Instead: Give yourself a break! Enough with the self-bullying. Do what you can: move your workouts to the morning, substitute the gym for brisk walks with family, continue to eat clean AND give yourself permission to enjoy some celebratory cheer. Make it fun.

For the rest of the month, notice when you need to recover and exercise those "muscles"! These things are bound to happen and they can be really challenging when they do. And with a bit of recovery, you'll be right back on track moving forward to make the impact you want!

Why Could You Possibly Need a Coach?

When I was setting myself up as a coach after a great deal of training, one of my fellow gym members said “a coach, you mean like a rugby or rowing coach?”

Why is it acceptable to have coaches in sport to improve an athlete’s performance yet individuals and some companies find it difficult to accept a little coaching support can make a big difference to their lives or their businesses?

How many of you have set New Year resolutions? How many of these have already fallen by the wayside? Were they goals you did not really want to achieve or was it that the action plans you set were not clearly laid out?

There is no real difference between sports and business coaching. It is all to do with improving performance. With what is often called life coaching, instead of ‘performance’ substitute the word ‘enjoyment’. Often we do not have time to enjoy ourselves! How many of us plough through life accepting that this is our lot until something traumatic happens putting life into perspective?

It does not have to be like that!

I have used my coach to support me in a wide range of activities including:

• How to work better with my boss
• Setting a contingency plan for future work
• How to spend more quality time with my family
• Building a career plan that works for me in my fifties
• Removing the worrying barrier of reaching age 60!

Having come from a sales background originally, I like coaching because it is action centred and results orientated. Coaching does not have to be fluffy! As long as you are open to change it is most powerful. It is no good a spouse or a parent suggesting it for somebody else. The desire for change needs to come from the person themselves.

Coaching does not have to be for extended periods of time. It is normally for three months with specific challenges to tackle. A coach will ask you the questions you would not normally ask of yourself. They will engage the 97% of your brain (the unconscious mind - where you often have good ideas from in the shower in the morning!) you often do not normally access.

Coaching is all about looking ahead and going forward. If there are historical issues holding you back, a coach who is trained in NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) or something similar can help you to remove these limiting beliefs that may have been ingrained since childhood. It is important to assess a coach and ensure that person is going to fit you and be able to help you with your specific issue.

Coaching is not therapy, counselling or even mentoring. It is a skilled person who supports you in building your goals and helps put you on the path to achieve these. The process is totally confidential and as long as you build rapport with your coach it will be most thought provoking. More importantly it will enable action planned change.

“If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always got”. It is not a sign of weakness in macho-Britain to have a coach, it is a sign that you want to move your life forward.

Could you possibly need a coach?

Based Life-Coaching

Occupational Therapy Based Life-Coaching For A Meaningful Life!

Occupational therapy is an allied health profession. This term is used to refer to the wide range of professional groups that work in mainstream health care. Other examples of allied health professionals include physiotherapists, radiographers, speech and language therapists, and podiatrists. Occupational therapists are required to train at degree level and register with the Health Profession Council, which was set up by the government to ensure the safety of the public and continuing professional development of its members.

Occupational therapists are concerned with human occupation in its widest sense. They believe that people have an intrinsic drive to be active and express themselves via occupations and activities. Occupational therapists understand that occupations contribute to a person’s sense of identity and place in society. Take a moment to have a think about all the roles and occupations that make up your life, you may be a parent, or partner, you may be studying at college or working your way up the career ladder, you may be into exercising and keeping fit or you may be leading a hippy lifestyle!

Whatever, your life choices, it is likely that these roles and occupations give your life direction. For example, think about the range of activities that you do in any week, you will find that most of what you do, is related to your life roles and choice of occupations. This is because we do what is meaningful to us and what is necessary (ironing is likely to fall into the latter category!).

It is activity that keeps the mind and body functioning. Through what you do, you learn new skills and how to adapt, get to interact with other people and your environment, meet human needs and develop who you are. Activities are the things we do to work towards our goals. They are the framework of everyday life.

It is understood that if your routines are disrupted or you are deprived of occupation because of illness, stress or other problems your health and well-being will suffer. Occupational therapists help people whose usual and important routines are disrupted because of illness, stress or social problems. Their aim is to enable people to achieve as much as they can for themselves, so they get the most out of life. Occupational therapists work on any occupational difficulties and in this way are experienced life coaches. When people cannot do things which are important to them - such as getting dressed, giving a presentation at work, having a shower, working, socializing, feeling confident to go out into the community or undertaking a favorite hobby - an occupational therapist can help them in many ways, based on each individual person’s needs and lifestyle.

Occupational therapy can help you to maintain a personally satisfying routine of activities. Occupational therapy, life coaching is available privately in Edinburgh. I am an NHS experienced occupational therapist and have worked with people with mental-health and emotional difficulties of all types, using a range of psychological techniques. Occupational therapists are skilled at empowering individuals with depression, anxiety and stress to become re-engaged with life and to feel confident again. Life-coaching in Edinburgh will involve a combination of occupational therapy, NLP, hypnotherapy, and CBT techniques.

Coaching Tips Volleyball

Successful coaching in volleyball is like any other sport. It not only requires using your best players, with proper practice and game playing, but being prepared in other areas. For example, the diet and physical fitness of your volleyball team is critical to your team’s success. Motivation and teamwork plays a role in how well your team does.

First, the volleyball coach must have a plan and be organized. In addition, the coach must think of the best ways to implement their knowledge to the players. You can have the greatest coaching tips in the world, but if you can not pass on this knowledge to your team, it is worthless.

Volleyball practice is another example of using tips to improve the individual skills of your players. To get the most out of practice, the volleyball coach needs to make it fun. Most players would scrimmage instead of doing individual skills such as blocking or digging.

Warming up before practice should be thought out and made fun if possible. You can get input from the team on various ways to warm up. One tip is for the volleyball coach to include games with the warm-ups. Freeze Tag and Dodge ball are two examples of making volleyball warm-ups fun. Team members should give you input on the type of games / activities to make practice more exciting.

Practice should be used to work on skills, improve individual skills and team goals. Another way to make practice effective is to have the player’s list three skills they would like to improve on. Time does need to be spent on the basic skills such as setting, hitting, serving, blocking, digging and passing. Besides working on individual drills, team drills must be worked on also.

The key with volleyball success is to have communication with the player to let them know how they are doing. Praising for improving in an individual skill will do more good for your team than yelling at their mistakes. Giving players praise will make most players give extra effort during the practices and the games. However, many coaches are quick to be critical of their players and slow to praise.

Another tip for a volleyball coach is to get input from the team in many areas as possible. The coach will still have the final say, but you will be surprised at some of the excellent suggestions from your players. Besides, it makes it easier for them to accept your ideas.

Giving player’s information on proper dieting and fitness plays a huge role in a volleyball coach being successful. The volleyball players need to be in top shape to reach their potential.

One last coaching tip for volleyball is to work on teamwork. Having exercises that several teammate’s work together to become closer. A team of average players with teamwork will beat superior talent with no teamwork. The players will have some fantastic ideas to promote teamwork.

Volleyball coaching is more than improving your player’s individual skills. It requires teamwork, motivation, praise, proper training and fitness to reach these goals.

Career Coaching : Importance Of Work Values

It is crucial to know your work values if you want to find your ideal job. Your work values are those things in your work life that you consider to be important. When you design your career based on your values, your motivation will be greatly increased and your chances of success and fulfilment improve hugely. Otherwise you’re faced with spending 1/3 of your life doing something that doesn’t fulfill you.

Are you aware of your work values?

Taking the time to think about the things that really matter to you is a good starting point for finding your ideal job.

Find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. Relax your body and mind. Look at the values listed below. Make a note of the top ten values which are most like you and the five that are least like you. Take as much time as you need.

• Independence
• Helping others
• Risk taking
• Change and variety
• Stability
• Making a difference
• Prestige and the social status
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Advancement
• Material benefits
• Security
• Artistic creativity
• Work environment
• Self expression
• Adventure/excitement
• Working outdoors
• Recognition
• Competing with others
• Influencing others
• Work-life balance
• Sense of achievement
• Intellectual stimulation
• Challenge
• Structure and predictability
• Making decisions
• Supervision
• Public contact
• Working with… (children/data/machines/numbers/ideas/hands/tools, etc)
• Working alone
• Working for a good cause
• Physical work
• Traveling often
• Being an entrepreneur
• Working in a fast-paced environment
• Having regular work hours
• Setting your own hours/having flexibility
• Location
• Having fun at work

Now that you’ve discovered your values you should be starting to get a sense of what is important to you in terms of your career plan.

Write a few sentences describing or summarizing how your values translate into your ideal job.

Consider how each is reflected in the work you currently do. Don’t assume that to find your ideal job you have to change careers completely. If you like your job but you are not happy with long working hours, is there scope for you to negotiate fewer hours ? Maybe your job allows you to work from home a couple of days a week ? Be imaginative ! Changes don’t always have to be drastic to be effective.

If you are happy with your career but find yourself working for a company whose values are totally different from yours, you are in the wrong place. In this case, you might consider applying for another company whose values align with yours.

If work-life balance is very important to you but you spend 4 hours commuting each day, this will take valuable time away from your family and the ability to pursue other activities that you would normally enjoy. Start looking for a job close to your home.

If you are sure that changing careers is the only way you will be happy, then start preparing yourself for the transition.

Remember : Confucius said, "Find a job you enjoy, and you'll never work a day in your life."

Coaching types

Life coaching

Life coaching is a practice with the aim of helping clients determine and achieve personal goals. Life coaches use multiple methods that will help clients with the process of setting and reaching goals. Coaching is not targeted at psychological illness, and coaches are not therapists nor consultants.

Life coaching has roots in executive coaching, which itself drew on techniques developed in management consulting and leadership training. Life coaching also draws inspiration from disciplines including sociology, psychology, positive adult development, career counseling, mentoring, and other types of counseling. The coach may apply mentoring, values assessment, behavior modification, behavior modeling, goal-setting, and other techniques in helping their clients.

Government bodies have not found it necessary to provide a regulatory standard for life coaching, nor does any state body govern the education or training standard for the life coaching industry; the title of "coach" can be used by any service provider. Multiple coaching schools and training programs are available, allowing for many options (and sometimes causing confusion) when an individual decides to gain "certification" or a "credential" as they apply to the coaching industry. Multiple certificates and credential designations are available within the industry.

There are six self-appointed accreditation bodies for life coaching: the International Coaching Council (ICC), the International Coach Federation (ICF), the International Association of Coaching (IAC), the Certified Coaches Federation (CCF) and the European Coaching Institute (ECI)International Guild of Coaches (IGC). No independent supervisory board evaluates these programs, and they are all privately owned. These bodies all accredit various coaching schools as well as individual coaches, except the IAC and ECI which only accredits individuals.

Some assert that life coaching is akin to psychotherapy without restrictions, oversight, or regulation. The State legislatures of Colorado after holding a hearing on such concerns, disagreed that coaching is unlike therapy because it does not focus on examining nor diagnosing the past. Instead coaching focuses on effecting change in a client's current and future behavior. Additionally, life coaching does not delve into diagnosing mental illness or dysfunctions.

According to a survey of coaching clients, "sounding board" and "motivator" were the top roles selected for a coach. Clients are looking for a coach "to really listen to them and give honest feedback." The top three issues in which clients seek help are time management, career, and business.

Personal coaching

Personal Coaching is a relationship which is designed and defined in a relationship agreement between a client and a coach. It is based on the client's expressed interests, goals, and objectives.

Personal Coaching is a learning process. A Personal Coach may use inquiry, reflection, requests and discussion to help clients identify personal and/or business and/or relationship goals, develop strategies, relationships and action plans intended to achieve those goals. A coach provides a place for clients to be held accountable to themselves by monitoring the clients' progress towards implementation of their action plans. Together they evolve and modify the plan to best suit the client's needs and environmental relationships. A Personal Coach acts as a human mirror for clients by sharing an outside and unbiased perspective on what they are observing about their clients. A Personal Coach may teach specific insights and skills to empower the client toward their goals. Finally, a Personal Coach encourages the client to celebrate the achievement of milestones and goals.

Clients are responsible for their own achievements and success. The client takes action; and the coach may assist, but never leads or does more than the client. Therefore, a coach cannot and does not promise that a client will take any specific action or attain specific goals.

Personal Coaching is not counseling, therapy or consulting. These different skill sets and approaches to change may be adjunct skills and professions. The Personal Coach recognizes his/her limitations, and refers the client for other services as ethically required.

Business coaching

Business coaching is the practice of providing support and occasional advice to an individual or group in order to help them recognize ways in which they can improve the effectiveness of their business. Business coaches work to improve leadership, employee accountability, teamwork, sales, communication, goal setting, strategic planning and more. It can be provided in a number of ways, including one-on-one tuition, group coaching sessions and large scale seminars. Business coaches are often called in when a business is perceived to be performing badly, however many businesses recognize the benefits of business coaching even when the organization is successful. Business coaches often specialize in different practice areas such as Executive Coaching, Corporate Coaching, and Leadership Coaching.

At least two organizations, the International Coaching Council (ICC) and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC) provide a membership-based association for professionals involved in business coaching. The ICC and WABC also provide an accrediting system for business coach training programs. The ICC has currently over 1,500 members from over 50 countries. Business Coaches can also gain creditability by joining a franchise or firm.

Business coaching is not the same as mentoring. Mentoring involves a developmental relationship between a more experienced "mentor" and a less experienced partner, and typically involves sharing of advice. A business coach can act as a mentor given that he or she has adequate expertise and experience. However, mentoring is not a form of business coaching. A good business coach need not have specific business expertise and experience in the same field as the person receiving the coaching in order to provide quality business coaching services.

Business coaches often help businesses grow by creating and following a structured, strategic plan to achieve agreed upon goals. Multiple organizations train professionals to offer business coaching to business owners who may not be able to afford large coaching firm prices .

Health coaching

In the world of health and wellness, a health coach is an emerging new role. Health coaching is becoming recognized as a new way to help individuals "manage" their illnesses and conditions, especially those of a chronic nature. In both sports and health, a "coach" is a person who observes, gives objective feedback, teaches, helps to develop a plan of action, and holds another responsible for their actions and commitments. The coach will use special techniques, personal experience, expertise, and encouragement to assist the coachee in bringing his/her behavioral changes about. .

Coaching

Coaching -a definition: Zeus and Skiffington ('The Complete Guide to Coaching at Work' -McGraw-Hill) define coaching as “a structured process-driven relationship between a trained professional coach and an individual or team which includes: assessment, examining values and motivation, setting measurable goals, defining focused action plans and using validated behavioural change tools and techniques to assist them to develop competencies and remove blocks to achieve valuable and sustainable changes in their professional and personal life.” Training may include seminars, workshops, and supervised practice.

Why use a NLP Coach?

Top performers in every area from sports through arts to business have coaches to help them reach and maintain the highest levels of performance.

The benefits of coaching

Just imagine a combination of your best friend, your most cherished teacher, your most hard-nosed manager, and your most positive guru available and committed to your personal development.

How much more will you achieve when these resources are available to you?

A coach will provide you all of this and more.

Seems a bit like counselling or therapy?

There are superficial similarities between coaching and therapy but there are fundamental differences. Coaching essentially is about commitment and development in the present moment to achieve future goals and outcomes.

Many forms of therapy are about fixing problems from the past. In coaching you might discuss past issues but this is only in the context of future goals.

Are there different forms of coaching?

There are many different names for different forms of coaching. Lots of coaches and coach schools have marketing names for different types of coaching. In broad terms you can fit most forms of coaching into five categories.

Peak Performance Coaching

This is very common with sports where a coach is generally a specialist in a particular sport. Peak performance coaches also appear in business, a sales coach for example.

Often peak performance coaches will have specialist skills such as NLP or Hypnosis. Many coaches have benefited from a good NLP Training Course.

You will find coaches working in markets that they have credibility in. For example I get a lot of clients from the coaching, training and NLP community simply because they are circles I move in and I am known in them. As a result I have more experience and reference clients in these Coaching is usually about personal discovery, so coaches do not need skills and experience from the context they are coaching in. markets. But since coaching is more about the client's personal exploration and goals it is not necessary for coaches to have experience of the context.

Life Coaching

Life coaches cover a broader area and might be looking at different areas of a client's life and their relationship to each other.

Executive Coaching

Executives coaching is usually about the challenges and issues of leadership and can cover anything from personal style, stress reduction to finding your passion for the role. Lots of executive coaches will use a personality profiling tool as a vehicle for their client's to explore and develop their outcomes.

Special events Coaching

Some coaches will specialise in a niche area like presentations or writing and publishing books. Often they have specific experience, skills or qualifications in the area and they may not conform to traditional coaching models because of their 'insider' knowledge.

Accelerated Success BreakThrough Coaching Sessions

This is a highly specialised area of coaching involving leading edge psychological, NLP and Hypnosis tools to facilitate great changes very quickly. There are only a small number of coaches skilled in this area and also not all clients are suitable for this approach. Hence there is a lot of pre-qualification before using this form of coaching. For those it suits it has great impact very quickly.

What happens on coaching programmes?

Coaches are very individual in their approach. Also coaching is more about the relationship between client and coach so there is no set format or approach. Some coaches work just by telephone and / or email, whilst others stick exclusively to face to face interventions. A lot is dependant on how you set up the coaching programme from the initial consultation.

Any coaching programme should start with an initial consultation where the programme can be set up. This would include duration of the programme, the sessions and overall outcomes and a whole raft of other areas that your coach will take you through.

After this typically sessions will be about updating from the previous session, clarifying outcomes for the current sessions and then targeted discussions of the current issues. The session will finish with action plans for the client to take away and complete. That said each session can be as individual as the client and the coach want.

Finding a coach

Since coaching is such an individual context it is difficult to fix criteria for finding a coach. Although some general rules of thumb do apply.

Coaching is all about a relationship between the client and the coach. Therefore in the initial consultation if the client does not feel they have great rapport that will allow them to be open and comfortable then it probably is not worth continuing.

It is also worth talking to your prospective coach about previous clients, experience and approach. Often when picking a coach it would be worth talking to previous clients.

The right coach will give you great value for money and could take you further than you had ever achieved without their support. It makes sense to spend a little time to ensure you get the right coach for you. You can find more in depth articles on finding a great coach on my website.

My Coaching Site

Writing content for your web site can be a royal pain in the you-know-what. One part of the challenge is whether you should use "we" or "I" when writing content for your web site.

There are actually two problems within this issue:

1 - The obvious - whether to use "I" or "we"

2 - A bigger, deeper, hidden problem

Let's start with the first one.

Whether to use "I" or "we"

When might you want to use "we?"

If you are afraid of looking like a small fly-by-night one-person business you might use "we" to look bigger.

You might also use "we" because too much "I" can be seen as egocentric. It can give the impression that you do not understand or care about your clients.

But the problem of using "we" in these instances is that you are misrepresenting your business. It's dishonest.

Use "I" instead. Here's why:

As a coach, you need to connect with your clients and an ambiguous "we" doesn't do that as well as a specific, responsible, personal "I."

When your prospect finds out that the "we" is really an "I," you lose credibility and trust -you may lose the sale.

People hire coaches for their individual expertise and proven track record. They want to hire an "I."

It's easier to read web sites written in a conversational, one-to-one, personal format accomplished with an "I."

Honesty is the best policy when it comes to representing your business on your web site.

You may use "we" when:

You say "We will get back to you in 24-hours," referring to you and your administrative staff.

You are referring to you and your reader as in "We will tackle one main issue during each coaching session."

Overall, using and disclosing an "I" will help you communicate more effectively on your web site.

But there is a bigger, deeper, hidden problem lurking.

The bigger, deeper, hidden problem.

If you are worried about using "I" or "we" there's a good chance you may have a bigger problem of not enough "you."

By "you," I'm referring to your web site visitor or prospective client or target market.

If there isn't enough "you," then your web site isn't talking enough about the things the visitor cares about most - his or her problems, challenges, desires and goals.

And if you don't talk about those things, it's hard to get attention and convince prospects to take action like signing up for your newsletter or calling you for an appointment.

When you use a lot of "you":

Visitors will read more of your web site

You will earn trust because visitors will feel you understand them

It will get your visitor excited about your services

With a lot of "you," your web site will attract more clients.

With a lot of "you," the problem of "we" or "I" becomes much less important.

So what works?

Use "you" in most of your web site content to capture your visitor's interest. Mix in some "I" to connect you as the coach they should hire!

Listening to God

How often do we hear what's being said, and then proceed to forget what we heard? This happens to me often. I'm trying to do two or more things at once, what's commonly called multi-tasking. I grew up in a home of over-achievers. Thus, as an adult, I'm constantly putting pressure on myself to achieve more and more. The result - I don't listen to what's being said to me.

As a Life Coach, I've been trained to listen. I think I’m a pretty good listener to my clients and my peers – at least that’s what they tell me. Whenever I’m in a professional setting, I listen really, really well. I have to listen for the cues that lead me further and further into the process of coaching my clients.

But what happens when I’m in another setting? I’m trying to multi-task and the result is that I don’t hear half or most of what’s being said to me. Not good!

This happens to me when I pray, too. I run through my shopping list of things that I want from God, but I never slow down enough to listen to God’s answer. How can I even expect to know what God is saying to me – how God is answering my prayers – when I don’t take the time to listen?

If I expect an answer to prayer, maybe I’ll stop and listen. This is what I want to do, how I want to conduct my prayer life. Do I? Not yet. So how do I resolve this for myself?

Here’s my plan:

1. Set aside more time to pray. Add more time to my daily prayer time. Make a habit of getting up earlier so as not to feel rushed. I make time to prepare myself for each day. Why not add enough time to spend with God each day, too? What's more important?

2. Wait and listen for God's answers. After saying my prayers, get quiet. Empty my mind of all thoughts and ideas. Let them flow out as quickly as they flow in. Sweep away the dross.

3. Expect answers. Only when I'm empty of thought is my spirit ready to listen to God's voice. Sometimes it takes writing in my journal, starting in first person, then letting God take over and switching to third person. It's only when I have let go of my ego that God gets through to me. Sometimes the answers don't come right away. After all, I'm subject to God's timing, not mine. And God's timing has always been impeccable in my life.

It’s as simple as slowing down. Maybe that doesn’t sound very simple, with our busy, non-stop lives. However, we have the power to choose how to be in the world - busy and non-stop, or taking a few minutes every day to get quiet, breathe, and listen for God’s voice. God is always ready and waiting for us to listen.

Coaching Sports Needs Hands On Training

Since being a little girl, my daughter has always excelled in athletics. On the co-ed community baseball team, she was the first female to get to play on first base. Running track and field, she also competed in volleyball. With her history, it was no surprise that she decided after her first year in college to make coaching sports her career. Knowing she was naturally talented in sports, I felt her decision was a good one, but she had never worked with kids before which might present a problem.

To give her hands-on experience coaching kids, applying or a summer job with the parks and recreation department in our town seemed like the perfect idea. Since the programs are open to 10 through 16 year olds, she would be able to determine how well she would do in coaching sports with a different age groups. After applying and interviewing, she found the main positions were filled but she could serve as a helper to the full time coaches. In order to be prepared to fill in for any of the coaches, she had to work with all of the offered sports in all of the age groups.

As soon as the second week, she was asked to fill in for two different coaches. By the second day of that, she had decided coaching sports was not for her after all. Here is a great hobby related website http://www.hobbiesforfun.com. Apparently, the kids did not seem to listen to her or stick to the rules of the game. Although she had never quit anything before, she was seriously considering not even going back the next day. Wanting her to follow through with her commitment, I helped her research articles about coaching young teens. Finding a couple of new techniques, she decided she would try them the next day.

Anxiously waiting to hear her report, I found her coming home almost crying. Although she had tried the new techniques, the kids acted even worse. She had already determined that the summer job had been a good idea so that she didn’t waste going to college to learn to coach sports. Even though I encouraged her to try other age groups that might be easier for her to coach, she decided to stick to playing the sports and let someone else do the coaching.

ADD Coaching For Adults

WHAT IS ADD COACHING ALL ABOUT?

STRATEGIES ....SUPPORT .....ACCOUNTABILITY ....STRUCTURE... SUCCESS

ADD coaching is a non-judgmental, collaborative partnership focused on action, accountability and measurable results. It’s not about fixing what is wrong but rather finding what is right and building on it. Together we fashion straight forward solutions to complex problems and bridge the frustrating gap between ability and performance.

As coaches, we begin by identifying the real challenges and obstacles that are frustrating you and then determine where you are now, where you want to go and how you’re going to get there. Next we get really clear on the big picture as well as the individual things that are creating it so that we can design your vision for what success will look like. Once we do this we break it down into concrete goals and strategies for getting there; reducing each goal to manageable parts, to smallest possible action / next steps. After that we set up clearly defined ongoing systems for action, accountability, communication and results.

Curiously, it is counterintuitive and always astounding to my clients when they experience the process of breaking big overwhelming goals down to the smallest actionable step in order to build back up again. There is often resistance, incredulity and a feeling that this is ridiculous! I need to get this done now! However, if you are motivated to change and willing to suspend your disbelief and do the often frustrating and tedious work, you’ll be amazed by the results before you are even half way through

ADULT ADD

ADD is an “equal opportunity employer”. It doesn’t discriminate.

My clients have run the gamut from CEO’s of global companies, bankers who need communication strategies in order to succeed, underemployed writers, lawyers in prominent positions, stay at home Moms balancing massive schedules, unemployable MBA’s, Dean’s list college students dropping out, prominent doctors at famous hospitals and school principles. You get the idea. We are smart, successful people who have been plagued with chronic, textbook issues; universally seeking relief in order to have optimal functioning by installing external structures and timeframes.

ADD is a neurobiological disorder/disability. It is not a moral issue but rather about brain wiring and body chemistry. This is a critical distinction!

The diagnosis in adults is different than the stigma of kids in that the physical aggression gradually becomes more mental hyperactivity in adults. As adults, what we see is the that neurobiological differences in the brain are causing difficulties in the executive functions of planning, prioritizing, decision making, organizing and time management. Hyperactivity, on the go kids, might be observed as restlessness whereas it is observed in adults as lack of focus and constant fidgeting. Impulsivity, hurting themselves physically ( kids)might translate to saying the wrong things at the wrong time. Inattention, not completing homework translates to difficulty concentrating at work and finishing projects and tasks.

So many of us struggle with the notion that we “should” be able to do this or that.

We look around at what everybody else seemingly does so simply. We forget that we are physiologically different from our family, friends and colleagues who don’t have our challenges. Once we truly accept this fact, the paradox is that we begin to be able to do so many of the things that we couldn’t because we didn’t know how.

THE AMAZING SIDE

Many ADDers are creative, productive, energetic, highly intuitive people in all fields. It can be exasperating to listen to us talk sometimes. We are a frustrating lot as we often sound vague and ramble on. Curiously, it is because we have a “feel” for things, a way of seeing right into the heart of matters while others have to reason their way along methodically. This is the person who can’t explain how he thought of the solution or where the idea came from but all he can say is that he just knew it, he could feel it. We feel a LOT. These are the CEO’s, the inventors, the Einsteins of the world. In places where many are blind, we often see the light or at least feel the light and can produce answers apparently out of the dark.

SOME OF THE CHALLENGES ADD ADULTS ROUTINELY FACE

* Tendency to procrastinate and avoid that are beginning to cause real problems
* Perfectionism- always running from fears of inadequacy
* Consistent trouble following through on great ideas despite the best intentions
* Struggling to complete one thing before starting the next….or sometimes even get started at all
* Feeling restless and impatient, like you just can’t seem to relax
* Achieving below potential
* consistent inconsistency
* Financial disarray
* Thwarted relationships or careers
* Impulsivity: constant interrupting, going in a zillion directions simultaneously
* Low self esteem
* Serious organizational /time management issues; chronic clutter
* Chronic boredom
* Very bright, articulate, accomplished
* Anxiety /Depression
* Tendency to overreact and live in extremes

WHAT DOES COACHING PROVIDE FOR THE ADD ADULT?

Making a difference in people’s lives. Watching the lights come back on where there has been darkness and shame for so long. I often like to think of it as a treasure hunt; digging up the gifts that have been buried for so long. As objective observers, champions and guides, we non-judgmentally stretch our clients beyond their comfort zones always shining the light on places that have been in darkness for so long.

From a practical standpoint, coaching provides the external structure and support to change behavior, monitor progress and create accountability. We do this working in a non-judgmental partnership learning techniques of time management, planning, follow through and organizational systems for daily living and manageability. It might be bill paying, emptying the boxes that are cluttering your apartment, paying taxes that are seven years behind or getting the perfect job finally. Coaching gets you on track and keeps you there..

You will learn how to be kinder to yourself and move ahead into lives beyond your wildest dreams as you develop new habits for sustaining success.

It’s that simple: A ton of potential that’s taking you nowhere, transformed into focus, action and extraordinary results.

Different Styles Of Coaching

What Are The Different Styles Of Coaching And How Does It Helps You?

Using a coach to help you set and determine goals is a wonderful method to use to achieve them. There are different styles of coaching to use for different aspects of your life such as personal and professional coaching. Here is a list of the ones offered:

* Personal Coaching. A personal coach will help you realize just what you want out of life and the best way to go about achieving it. The goal is to empower you, to make you feel good about yourself and your life and help you on the road to happiness. If you sometimes get that feeling that life is just sliding by a personal coach can help you manage difficult situations and issues.

* Career Coaching. This is a great tool to use either when changing careers or if you promoted in your present situation. It is very helpful for you to become a better communicator and improve your management skills. How to understand your new responsibilities and better communicate with your staff members.

* Management Coaching. If you are in a new management position or already in a management position this particular, specialized coaching could greatly benefit you. It can give you the advantage on how to find new ways to handle employee relationships and find effective solutions for problems that will help you become a better manager. Managers need to be prepared to deal with and communicate with their staff for a better work environment and of course for the company to achieve their goals and profits. The goal is to achieve an increase in productivity and in becoming an influential and effective manager and sharpen ‘people skills’.

* Business Coaching. Business coaching has increasingly become more popular with large businesses and small businesses alike. It can be used as a very powerful tool in aiding businesses with improving there day to day performance,productivity, customer service and the overall bottom line profitability. Employees learn to become more confident and successful which leads to more and innovative ideas that leads to increased profits for the business. It can help with getting more done in the same amount of time period and teach how to work smarter instead of working harder.

* Leadership Coaching. Do you have the need to become a better leader? Is your team in need of a strong and influential leader? If the answer is yes then leadership coaching may be for you. It’s all about learning the dynamics of the people on your team and how you can teach them to work together to achieve the same goals. It can help you understand your strengths and how to use them.

Only you can decide which type of coaching is needed in your life. Whether it is personal or professional help that you are seeking, coaching can help you identify and reach your goals to help make you a happier and more successful person in your day to day life.

What Is Weight Loss Coaching

What is weight loss coaching?

Weight Loss Coaching is widely regarded an emerging industry. This results in a lot of confusion in the market concerning what coaching is. To find out how many weight loss coaches are around I did a Google search and typed in the key phrase 'Weight Loss Coaching'.

And here are The Results: Google said they found all 12.3 million results in just 0.27 seconds. How amazing is Google??

WOW!!!! So this really IS an expanding area of the market place. OK, so exactly what is weight loss coaching?

The dictionary definition of coaching is:

a) private tutoring

b) instructing or training.

Coaching may be associated with a wide range of performance-based activities such as singing, playing a musical instrument, acting, sports or even learning how to drive a car. Coaching is the instruction of performers in the fundamentals of a performance activity and directs on strategy to improve performance.

Professional Weight Loss Coaching may be viewed as an ongoing partnership that helps clients produce fulfilling results with regards to weight loss. Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and as a result, their quality of life is enhanced.

The Coaching Process:

Quite simply, coaching focuses on where clients are today, where they want to be tomorrow, and what they are willing to do to get there.

At Healthy Weight Loss Now the coaching philosophy Zelda Sheldon uses is one which honours the client as the expert in his/her personal life, and believes that every client is creative, resourceful, and aspiring to be whole. It is on this foundation that the coach's responsibility is to:

1. Encourage client’s self-discovery

2. Help clients discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve

3. Create client-generated solutions and strategies

4. Hold the client as responsible and accountable

The weight loss coaching sessions can be either face-to-face, phone, email or online at between 15 minutes to 60 minutes depending on individual preferences, budgetary and time constraints.

For the next weight loss coaching article go to ‘What Weight Loss Coaching Can Do for You’.

Enjoy life!

© Zelda Sheldon 2006 Healthy Weight Loss Now.

Visit www.healthyweightlossnow.com.au to learn more strategies for weight loss coaching for increased well being.

Somatic Coaching

One of the reasons coaching is so effective is that it supports the client to be guided by their own wisdom. An often overlooked source of wisdom is the sensations in the client's body. Somatic coaching is about noticing and utilizing this source of wisdom.

Bodies Don't Lie

Amazing repositories of memory and keen response, our bodies are always trying to tell us something, if only we will listen. After years of ignoring the messages, many of us experience this the hard way in the wake up call of illness. We can start now to tap into the every day messages. Somatic coaching is a valuable tool you can bring out with clients when the occasion is right.

A Different Kind of Feelings

When a client expresses a desire to make a change in thought or behavior, and strong feelings are causing resistance, help them to shift away from analytical thought and emotional feelings to body awareness. Here's an 8-step process:

1. Start by telling your client you'd like to try an experiment that involves tapping into body wisdom. Ask their permission to proceed.

Would you be willing to try an experiment right now that uses your body wisdom?

2. Then, ask them to describe the old behavior or thought.

How would you describe in one sentence the old behavior/thought?

3. Ask them to articulate how they'd like to think and behave from now on.

Well said. Now, how would you describe the new behavior/thought you want to have now?

4. Ask them to recall one recent and specific circumstance where they have had the habitual thought/behavior. (Usually, they've just described this to you in session which brought this exercise to mind for you.)

Think again about the circumstances you told me about earlier today. Do you have it fully in mind again?

5. Then, ask them to tune into their body as they recall the situation. Have them report any felt feelings in their body. Ask brief probing questions to encourage a thorough description of sensations such as temperature, tension, contraction and the specific locations in their body where they feel them. (You might hear something like "a tight, cold, contracted feeling in my solar plexus.")

Now with that situation in mind, tell me what you notice right now in your body -- what are the exact sensations? Where do you feel them? Is there anything else you notice?

6. Ask them to describe their posture.

As you notice these feelings, describe your posture -- how is your body holding these felt feelings?

7. Ask them to describe what their body wants to do to relieve that feeling.

What would your body like to do right now to relieve or release this?

8. Encourage them to allow their body to respond. As they make the physical transformation, ask them to call to mind the new thoughts/behaviors they want now. Have them take a few deep breaths.

When you're ready, go ahead and let your body do what you've just described. As you let your body do that, imagine yourself having the new thoughts/behaviors you want. Take a few deep breaths. How do you feel now?

A Few Cautions:

- If your client has little body awareness this exercise might be a hard sell or produce more subtle results. Let go of attachment if it doesn't seem to work well. Know when to let it go. Be sure you do not make the client wrong in any way.

- Keep the pace of your language slow and speak succinctly during this exercise. The focus is non-verbal.

- Check your own breathing and posture.

- Echo the client's words back to them. Classic descriptions of felt feelings attached to unwanted thoughts are things like: "contracting in my belly" or "my shoulders are rounded in around my heart". Those are tender and personal expressions that deserve reverance even if you've heard them before.

- It's very important that you support the client to see the contrast between habitual body feelings attached to habitual thoughts and new desirable & released body feelings attached to new thoughts. They are usually opposites like contracted/expanded, cool/warm, closed/open, bent/straight, stuck/flowing, etc.).

- Do not overuse this exercise. Bring this tool out now and then when you have an intuitive hit that it fits the client and circumstances. Always ask permission.

- Do not use this as trauma therapy! Bodies hold powerful information, much of which is not coaching territory. Keep the use of this exercise to current thoughts/behaviors to transform and not to unlock historical core issues. When in doubt, don't use it.

This process can be incredibly transformational in the moment, and if further exercised by the client, out of session, it can be a powerful manifestor of new, more integrated ways of being.

The astounding thing about somatic coaching is that you can do it on the telephone. This is because you are relying solely on the client's own ability to tune into their own body and report feelings. No analysis is required!

Basketball Coaching: Team Motivation

Some of us will come home from practices and wonder, “Why on earth did Johnny decide to come out for the basketball team if he doesn’t want to try?” We spend so much time and energy on the frustration and the struggle to get players to perform at their optimum level during games.

I think it can be summed up in one common sports phrase:

“The way you practice is the way you play the game.”

Too many of our players don’t take practices seriously and they are joking around and not focusing on the task at hand. They don’t pay attention in practice and it is reflected in the way they play on the field, court, or arena. What makes the problem even worse is the fact that these players often have a detrimental effect on the attitude and coachability of others.

So, how do you motivate all of the players on the basketball team to start practicing hard? First, accept that you will always have at least one bad apple. The key is limiting the amount of influence that player can have on the rest of his or her basketball teammates.

Here are some of the other methods you can use to get your basketball team motivated to practice hard and play hard:

• Reward the basketball team for ‘basketball team’ efforts – Often times peers are the best motivators. You don’t need to crack the whip on any particular player, singling that player out more than the rest. You simply need to motivate the majority of the basketball team by rewarding them when the entire basketball team comes out to work hard during practices and games.

If their basketball teammates don’t want to work and the rest of the basketball team misses out on rewards, or worse yet have to do more work at practice, you can bet that person is going to hear it from the players. I would suggest that will often be motivation enough to get most players in line with practicing hard.

• Set a goal with the basketball team before each game – In hockey, you could set a goal of each basketball team member making a good pass in each period. If the basketball team achieves that goal then they are rewarded.

The goal can be as simple as winning a game, or doing a number of different basketball team skills effectively – even in a loss. As the coach, you can find any number of goals that a basketball team can try to reach during a game or even a practice, in order to motivate the players.

• Explain to them the importance of practice – You can use all sorts of coaching tactics for this one. Start with the fact that other basketball teams are preparing for them, so they need to prepare hard and well for the other basketball teams. You can tell them that improving skills is crucial in raising the basketball team to the next level.

There are literally dozens of different motivational tactics that can be used by coaches to get their basketball team up by showing them the importance of practice. The only thing that you shouldn’t do is be negative. Always be positive with the approach that you are taking. Players don’t often respond to negative remarks.

• Have fun at practice – Set the example early that practices are going to be work, but they are also going to be fun. That way a player knows that they are going to be able to have fun during the practice, but they will also be able to have fun.

This is especially important for the younger players. At that level, you are trying to maintain excitement and enjoyment for players that are probably just learning a game. If they see and hear a coach that is negative and yelling and the practices aren’t fun, then you probably aren’t going to see them for much longer. If they stay, you likely aren’t going to get much out of them.

• Simple encouragement – You wouldn’t believe how far positive encouragement and telling a player when they are doing well goes. It is unbelievable. Just think back to when you were a player in your sport and you heard your coach say, “That was a great steal Joe,” or “how to get the ball out quick Jenny.”

All of those comments help. They help a heck of a lot more than degrading or getting angry at players. No one wants to work hard for a coach that yells at his or her players during a practice or during a game. Players like coaches that lead them to victory through positive reinforcement, good coaching and setting a good example.

It isn’t always easy getting a basketball team motivated for practices, but that is the place to start – especially if you also want to get them motivated for games. Helping to build that motivation by giving players and the basketball team some positive goals to work for – with a positive coaching mentality is the best way to get the most motivation out of your basketball team.

The Benefits of Free Life Coaching

Life Coaching is an effective means of establishing where you are in your life, where you going, and how you will get there by focusing on specific areas- from self confidence, to enjoying your work, creating time for yourself or living your dreams. Some people find it difficult to comprehend what life coaching is about or why you would need to pay someone to guide you in this way. What you need to ask yourself is, if you were to carry on doing things as you have been doing them, are you going to achieve your goals and will your life be fulfilled?

“If what you're doing isn't working, do something different.”

Life coaching is not about changing yourself but becoming yourself. Being successful can take much more than accepting the life that you have, it can mean that you adapt your model of the world to suit you, to make life work for you. The more you know about who you are, the easier it will be to achieve what you want and to find what fulfils you.

Would you like one free taster life-coaching session with one of our qualified NLP practitioners?

Perhaps, you have completed the life questionnaire in the 'Try it you might like it section” or our website and have realized it may be time to set some goals in various areas of your life?

If this is the case, make your first step to a more satisfying life and contact us now for your free life-coaching session.

And whilst we're on the subject of freebies, did you know that it's also completely free to sign up for our fortnightly newsletter, which contains articles on NLP and Hypnotherapy as well as hints, tips and motivational quotes. We also publish the date of our free NLP and Hypnotherapy events on our newsletter. Plus if you visit our website, you'll also find on the “freebies” page, an offer of a free CD, if you refer a friend to our website.

Life Coaching vs Therapy

As Life Coaching becomes a more popular method of navigating life’s complex paths, there are a lot of questions about whether or not it is traditional therapy, how it may relate to therapy, or if they are interchangeable.

In therapy, the focus is on dealing with the past. Therapists lead their clients through the healing process, helping them develop coping skills that they can eventually use on their own, once they have achieved wholeness. A skilled therapist can help clients reach the source of their fears – the obstacles that typically prevent us from achieving our highest potential.

In Life Coaching, the focus is on the present and the future. Coaching clients may have already experienced therapy and will therefore expect the same type of experience. However, as a Co-Active Coach®, I work hand-in-hand with my clients as they lead the way. A skilled Life Coach helps clients manage their fears, minimizing them so that they can live a healthy life and achieve even higher goals. The Life Coach also helps clients uncover hidden passions, resulting in a more fulfilled life that is focused on values-based decisions.

Traditional therapy and Life Coaching can complement each other. However, if a therapist is using coaching techniques, it is best if the client knows that a coaching technique is being applied. The client is empowered in a much more holistic way whenever coaching techniques are used to enhance the client’s therapy experience.

As a Life Coach, I am trained to listen for cues and to use my training, intuition, curiosity, experience, and resources. With all these “tools,” I guide my clients down the paths that they themselves choose. In most cases, my clients are not even aware of the paths that they have already unconsciously chosen. That’s where my expertise as a Coach comes into play. We walk these paths together, discovering new dreams, goals, and opportunities. The result is a more fulfilled, balanced life for each of my clients, and, in many cases, a new direction toward a dream previously unrealized.

Coaching for Success

Coaching is perhaps the most effective method of increasing performance available to managers, team leaders, and colleagues. This article defines coaching and outlines a process for effective coaching.

Coaching Defined

Coaching is perhaps the most effective method of increasing performance available to managers, team leaders, and colleagues.

If you wish to improve the skills of your employees, you must plan to observe them and provide them with feedback. If you’re like most supervisors or managers, you have limited time and are looking for employees to become proficient – and independent – faster.

Entelechy’s Coaching Model is designed to help you do just that!

The Coaching Model is appropriate for developing the skills of employees if the employee is willing to improve. Coaching should not be used as a softer, gentler version of corrective action; if a performance problem occurs, you will want to use the Problem Solving model.

The Coaching Model is based on several important principles:

1. There are two primary goals to coaching:

• To improve performance.

• To help employees gain the ability to self-assess.

2. It is important that the coaching sessions follow a predictable process. This will help the coachees feel more comfortable and relaxed, which will help to ensure they actively participate in these sessions. It is for this reason that we suggest that you share the coaching model with your employees prior to coaching.

3. Coaching is a planned development process and should not be a surprise.

4. The way you open the conversation sets the tone for what will follow.

5. After we open the conversation using our initial probe, we discuss positives first and areas for improvement last. Beginning with positives first is motivational and accomplishes the following:

• The goal is to have employees increase their performance. If they are not in a positive frame of mind, they will not be open to this change.

• Reinforces good behavior and ease into the coaching session.

• Builds self-esteem.

6. Ending the coaching session with a discussion of areas for development ensures that they are focusing on those areas.

7. Always give the coachee a chance to self-assess before you offer your insights. Encouraging self-assessment is positive for several reasons:

• It encourages improvement even when you are not coaching.

• It allows you to determine why the employee may not be performing as desired; they may not know that they’re doing something incorrectly.

• It builds self-esteem.

• It increases the chances that behavior will change.

8. Reinforce correct self-assessment.

9. Defer or redirect inappropriate or incorrect self-assessment.

10. We focus coaching on only two strengths and two areas for development. Limiting the discussion is important and accomplishes the following:

• Increases the coachee’s ability to reach proficiency.

• Focuses on the most important issues.

• Other issues can be addressed after some progress has been made on the most important issues first.

11. If an employee is not identifying areas that you identified (or has identified them incorrectly), use increasingly specific questions to allow the employee to self-assess if possible. This allows you to determine if the employee doesn’t know what’s expected, doesn’t have the skill, or simply chooses not to demonstrate the skill.

The Coaching Model at Work

Now let's turn our attention to Entelechy's Coaching Model in practice.

Step 1: Open the Conversation

The coach opens the conversation with a general question; this helps the coach get a sense for the accuracy of the coachee’s self-assessment. If the coachee responds with, “that was the best call ever” and you thought that the call was poor, you know that you’ll have to adjust your coaching conversation.

Step 2: Probe for What Went Well

The coach asks the coachee what went particularly well and listens for the responses. By identifying what went well first, a positive tone for the coaching session is set. We want to make sure that the coachee continues doing these things. This also forces the coachee — NOT THE COACH — to identify superior performance.

Step 2a: Redirect or Defer

Sometimes the coachee will bring up a negative when you’re discussing positives. You will want to defer that discussion until later in the coaching conversation by saying, “I’d like to talk about that more later. What else went particularly well?”

Other times, the coachee will claim something as a positive that — in your opinion — was an area that needs development. You will want to redirect their perception by pointing out what you saw that helped you conclude that it was less than desirable. “Oh, really? Did you happen to see John’s face when you discussed the product’s features? That’s right, he seemed to lose interest when you started talking about us rather than about him....”

Step 2b: Support and Build

When the coachee correctly assesses his performance — both strengths and areas for development — support the assessment by saying, “I agree.” Build from their conclusions to reinforce the accuracy of their self-assessment. In this way, you are reinforcing one of the most valuable skills anyone can acquire: the ability to assess and improve their own performance.

Step 3: Probe for Areas for Development

The third step is to ask the coachee what he would change if he could do it again. Obviously, if the coachee knows what could be improved and knows how to improve it, he won’t benefit from YOU telling him! And by mentally rehearsing what he will do differently, the likelihood of him actually carrying out the improvement is increased.

Most experts agree that two or three areas for development are enough for anyone to work on. Working on a laundry list of things to change is frustrating and futile. Focus on the areas of greatest need.

When identifying areas for development, the coachee may not have identified the one that you thought was most important. Again, you can redirect their perception by identifying what you saw that they might not have that allowed you to come to your conclusion. “I agree that the two areas that you identified would definitely had made the call go better. What do you think the effect of your product feature presentation was on the customer? Why? What might you do differently the next time...?”

Step 4: Summarize and Support

Even though you may have limited the coaching to a few strengths and a couple areas for development, you will want to briefly summarize the discussion, especially what the coachee will do differently the next time. This recap will cause the most important things to remain fresh in memory. You will also want to support the changes by saying something like, “I think those changes will make your next call go even better.”

Follow these four steps to help your employees and colleagues increase their performance. In the next issue we discuss how to give feedback within the coaching framework.

(This information comes from Coaching for Performance, a module in Entelechy’s High Performance Management program. Check out this module as well as our 40 other modules, training tools, and eGuides at www.unlockit.com.)

I have a diagram jpg or Word drawing of the coaching model that would illustrate the process better than words. I also have this available in Word format.

The Coaching Soccer Ball

The Coaching Ball Revolutionizes the Way Young Soccer Players Learn to Kick a Soccer Ball

Now there is a soccer ball that will guarantee that you will strike a soccer ball low and on target and that will show you where to kick a soccer ball to swerve it or loft it. The Coaching Ball IS soccer's new training revolution! The Coaching Ball is the soccer ball to improve YOUR technique. Youth Soccer will benefit from the strong training experience that the Coaching Ball provides.

The Coaching Ball guarantees to:

•Help soccer players improve their passing and shooting.
•Ideal for all ages.
•Helps improve accuracy.
•Simple to use.

Dual use as it can be used as a regular soccer ball as well.

The coaching ball is the latest and most effective training aid for soccer players of all ages. Prepare for the next tournament or season with the latest soccer training aid with the Coaching Ball. Developed by a fully qualified British coach, the Coaching Ball helps soccer players to visualize where to make contact with the ball. Used by professional coaches, PE teachers, grass roots soccer clubs, soccer academies and parents and grandparents across Europe, the simple patented design allows immediate results to be seen.

Improve Soccer Skills

Developed by a fully qualified British coach, the Coaching Ball helps soccer players to visualize where to make contact with the soccer ball. This simple but highly effective technique lays a solid foundation that gives all children an equal chance of realizing their soccer potential. The "Coaching Ball" has been developed to give budding soccer stars a head start. A unique product, the Coaching Ball enables young soccer players to sharpen their skills from the moment they can walk!

The Coaching Ball is made with a new 2 tone advanced hi-tech PU outer layer with a 4 layer backing (65% Polyester and 35% cotton). The bladder is made of latex with a butyl valve. It is hand sewn in a child labor free environment. The Coaching Ball has brightly colored patches (2 component durable ink printed) labeled with simple directions, such as "Strike", "Loft", and "Swerve". The ball is placed on the floor and the relevant panel kicked according to the shot you require.

The Designer explains

The colored patches allow learners to identify the exact area of the football to strike in order to make the desired pass and is ideal for even the very young beginner".

With pressure on parents to provide expensive training for their future soccer stars, the Coaching Ball is an inexpensive and effective tool to encourage children to develop their soccer ability. The Coaching Ball is proving successful with professional clubs, with Premiership clubs undertaking field trials of the ball.

Why wait? Give your young soccer player the competitive advantage he or she deserves. The Coaching ball is a perfect gift for soccer players of all ages!

How to use the Coaching Ball:

1. Place the ball onto the ground (valve at the top)
2. Ensure you can see all of the panels.
3. Kick the ball on the correct zone for the pass you wish to achieve.
4. It's as simple as that!

Applications

You don’t need to be a professional coach to achieve immediate results.

•Strike
-The Drilled Pass
- Direct passes
- Shooting
- Penalty kicks
- Swerve
( Can be used with the inside and outside of the foot)
- Passing Corners
- Free Kicks
- Passing around obstacles

* Loft
- Passing
- Goal Kicks
- Defensive clearances
- Chipping the ball