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The Power of Personalised Coaching

Like most things, a one-size-fits-all approach to coaching no longer suffices. You and your fellow leaders today face very diverse challenges, and the demand for personalised coaching has never been more critical.

Generic coaching may have once been the norm, but it limits your leadership potential and growth. In this article, we explore why generic coaching falls short, why coaching must be personalised, how to achieve such personalisation, and the practical steps to implement personalised coaching effectively.

Why generic coaching limits you as a leader

Generic coaching often treats leaders as if you are cut from the same cloth, sometimes ignoring your unique strengths, weaknesses, and developmental needs.

Every leader brings distinct experiences, skills, and goals to the table. Failing to acknowledge this individuality can hinder growth and limit the leader’s ability to reach their full potential.

Further, leadership is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. The challenges you face as a leader can vary greatly depending on your industry, organisation size and set-up, and even your team dynamics.

Generic coaching fails to consider these contextual differences, leaving you ill-equipped to navigate your specific challenges effectively.

Leadership coaching is not just about imparting knowledge or skills; it’s about helping you and your leaders to apply those insights to solve real-world challenges.

Generic coaching lacks the specificity required to address the unique issues that you encounter in your roles, rendering you less effective in driving meaningful change.

Why your coaching must be personalised

Personalised coaching allows you to identify and leverage your unique strengths while addressing your key weaknesses. When coaching is tailored to your specific needs, you can unlock your full potential and excel in your role.

As a leader today, you must be adaptable. Personalised coaching equips you with the skills and mindset needed to adapt to changing circumstances, making you more effective in your decision-making and problem-solving.

When you receive personalised coaching, you are also more likely to take ownership of your own development. This sense of ownership encourages you to actively engage in the coaching process, leading to more meaningful and sustainable growth.

How can coaching be personalised?

To personalise coaching, start by conducting a self-assessment. These assessments can include 360-degree feedback, personality assessments, and skills assessments. The data collected helps you and your coach identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.

Coaches will work with you to establish clear and specific goals that align with your personal and professional aspirations. These goals should be challenging yet achievable, providing direction and motivation for the coaching journey.

Based on the assessments and goals, your coach should create customised development plans for you. These plans could include a combination of skill-building exercises, leadership workshops, mentoring, and feedback sessions.

Personalised coaching is an ongoing process. Your coach should regularly provide feedback to you and adjust the coaching plan as needed. This ensures that coaching remains relevant and effective as you progress in your leadership development journey.

How to implement personalised coaching?

One of the key factors in implementing personalised coaching successfully is selecting competent coaches who have the skills and experience working effectively with leaders. Coaches should be able to adapt their approach to the unique needs of each leader.

Set clear objectives for the coaching program. Define what success looks like and how it will be measured. This clarity helps align coaching efforts with organisational goals and ensures that the coaching you receive is purposeful.

Frequent progress reviews are essential. Check in with your coach regularly: Are you making measurable progress toward your goals? Are the coaching sessions effective in addressing your specific needs?

Ensure open and honest communication between you and your coach. Be willing to provide feedback on your coach and your experiences to share insights and observations. This feedback loop is vital for continuous improvement – for both you and your coach.

Leadership development is an evolving process. As you grow and circumstances change, your coaching needs may shift. Be prepared to adapt the coaching program to meet these changing needs effectively.

Get personalised leadership coaching today

Generic coaching no longer serves the needs of leaders. To maximise leadership potential and drive meaningful growth, coaching must be personalised.

Investing in personalised coaching is an investment in the future success of you, your leaders, and your organisation as a whole.

If you’re looking to go beyond generic coaching and want to take a personalised approach to coaching, find out more now and reach out to us today.

Want to add coaching to your leadership journey? Call us at 6346 1455 or find out more about our Certified Career Coach workshop here.

©Published by Lifeskills Institute Pte Ltd

 

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Want to Make an Impact in Your Leadership? Add Coaching to Your Skillset.

The pursuit of extraordinary leadership is an ongoing journey that requires a diverse set of skills and attributes.

In this pursuit, one of the often-overlooked yet transformative aspects is adding coaching into your skillset.

The Evolution of Leadership

Leadership has come a long way from the traditional top-down approach, where one might have primarily directed and controlled teams. Leadership today is marked by collaboration, adaptability, and a focus on nurturing people’s potential as individuals and as a team. The transition from mere management to true leadership involves understanding the nuances of human behavior, communication, and motivation.

At Lifeskills Institute, our philosophy centers around three essential principles — Character, Competence, and Connectedness. We believe an extraordinary leader should embody these principles as well, and extend them to the realm of coaching. Let’s look at how adding coaching skills can enhance each of these aspects.

Character: Authentic leadership

Character is the foundation of effective leadership. Authentic leaders understand their strengths, weaknesses, values, and motivations. You lead with integrity and transparency.

Integrating coaching into leadership allows you to not only be self-aware but also empower others in their own journey of self-discovery. A coaching leader encourages open conversations that lead to a deeper understanding of their team members’ aspirations and challenges. This fosters an environment of trust and authenticity, where everyone feels valued and supported.

Competence: Developing potential

Competence in leadership involves a deep understanding of the skills required to drive success. As leaders embrace coaching, you tap into your ability to develop the potential of your team members.

Coaching helps you identify strengths and areas for growth in individuals and tailor development plans accordingly. This approach nurtures a growth mindset and a culture of continuous learning. By becoming adept at coaching, you enable your teams to reach new heights too.

“Coaching is unlocking a person’s potential to maximize their own performance.
It’s helping them to learn rather than teaching them.”
– Timothy Gallwey, author and coach

Connectedness: Connecting with your team

Connectedness forms the heart of meaningful leadership. Leaders who coach understand that strong relationships are built on effective communication, emotional intelligence, and active listening.

When leaders add coaching to their skillset, they create an avenue for genuine conversations that go beyond work-related tasks. These conversations touch on personal aspirations, challenges, and growth opportunities. Through coaching, leaders connect on a deeper level with their team members, fostering a sense of belonging and shared purpose.

The Power of Coaching in Leadership

Coaching is not a one-size-fits-all approach but rather a dynamic tool that adapts to various leadership scenarios. Here’s how you can harness the power of coaching in your journey toward becoming an extraordinary leader:

  • Empowering through questions: Coaching involves asking powerful questions that prompt reflection and insight. By mastering the art of questioning, you can inspire your team members to think critically, solve problems, and make informed decisions. This approach encourages greater autonomy and ownership.
  • Active listening: Effective coaching relies on active listening. By listening empathetically, you can create an environment where your team feels valued and heard, fostering a culture of openness and collaboration.
  • Goal setting and accountability: Coaching encourages setting clear goals and holding individuals accountable for their progress. As a coaching leader, you can help your team members define their objectives, create actionable plans, and provide guidance along the way. This leads to measurable growth and achievement.
  • Feedback and growth: Constructive feedback is a cornerstone of coaching. You need to provide feedback in a supportive and constructive manner to empower your team members to learn from their experiences and continuously improve their performance.

In your pursuit of becoming an extraordinary leader, integrating coaching skills sets the stage for unparalleled growth, collaboration, and impact.

Our emphasis on Character, Competence, and Connectedness perfectly aligns with the principles that underlie effective coaching.

By embracing coaching, you not only enhance your own leadership abilities, but also empower your team members to reach their full potential.

Want to create a coaching culture in your organisation’s leadership? Find here to find out more about our ‘The Extraordinary Coach’ programme.

©Published by Lifeskills Institute Pte Ltd

 

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5 Must-dos for Leaders to Foster a Culture of Feedback

Leaders play a critical role in fostering a culture of feedback that enables their teams to excel in today’s workplace. Constructive criticism not only improves individual and group performance, but it also generates a pleasant and collaborative environment conducive to growth and development.

Here are 5 must-dos for existing and aspiring leaders to transform feedback into a powerful tool for organisational success.

1. Lead by example

Setting a good example lays the groundwork for a culture of feedback. Leaders that openly welcome and actively seek feedback create a safe space for their people to do the same. Generating trust and open communication throughout the organisation can be achieved through genuinely valuing and considering the viewpoints of your team members.

As a leader, it is important to develop a collaborative style in which everyone’s viewpoint is heard and appreciated, rather than taking an authoritative style. This openness generates a sense of psychological safety, allowing team members to express themselves without fear of repercussions.

By actively collecting feedback yourself, you can foster a culture that values multiple perspectives, fostering a sense of ownership and accountability within your team.

2. Establish transparent communication

Developing clear and accessible communication channels is critical for fostering a feedback culture in your team. Creating opportunities for both formal and informal feedback allows your team members to express their thoughts, ideas, and concerns. Transparent and open communication helps leaders and their teams break down barriers, promoting greater trust and understanding.

You can use technology solutions that provide anonymous feedback or suggestion boxes, in addition to the more conventional face-to-face encounters. This serves to demonstrate your commitment to fostering such a culture of feedback, as such platforms cater to those who might prefer to share their opinions privately and even anonymously.

“Feedback is a gift. Ideas are the currency of our next success.
Let people see you value both feedback and ideas.”
– Jim Trinka and Les Wallace

3. Give constructive feedback

Constructive feedback promotes growth and development. Leaders must emphasise the value of delivering specific, practical, and actionable feedback in a supportive manner. We should offer feedback that identifies areas for improvement while also recognising achievements, instead of focusing on criticisms.

When providing feedback, leaders should have a coaching mindset. Rather than looking to correct wrongs, we are to prioritise empowering and encouraging our team. It is imperative to foster an environment where feedback is viewed as an opportunity for professional, and even personal, growth. We should accompany our constructive feedback with guidance and support, thus allowing our people to develop themselves and reach their fullest potential.

“(After attending The Extraordinary Leader with Lifeskills Institute) I have a better understanding of what kind of leader I am and where I should improve. The 360 feedback is the most valuable part which really helped me to better understand strengths and weaknesses. 

The FUEL module helped me to frame and give feedback (especially redirecting feedback) to others, and I have gained insights from this workshop. Zenger Folkman (offers) one of best organisations to build your further success.”
— Monica Ai, Operations VP, Antolin (China) Investment Co., Ltd

4. Foster a growth mindset

A culture of feedback thrives in an environment that promotes a growth mindset. By encouraging team members to view feedback as a way to grow themselves professionally, leaders can help their team to not take any feedback personally.

Promoting continuous learning and development initiatives, such as workshops, training sessions, or knowledge-sharing platforms, lets team members know that their professional development is a top priority. Lead by example by sharing your own experiences, whether failures or critical feedback, and the lessons you gained from such situations.

With a growth mindset, we can instil the belief that skills and expertise can be developed through hard work and a growth mindset. Such a mindset encourages resilience and a willingness to embrace feedback as a means of personal and professional growth.

5. Recognize and acknowledge feedback 

This is one of the most effective ways to promote the importance of feedback within our organisations. We should openly recognise and praise those who offer good ideas and suggestions. This allows us to foster a culture in which everyone is willing to actively participate in the feedback process.

How to recognise and celebrate feedback? This can be as simple as a saying thanks to more notable gestures like written commendations or even team celebrations. By emphasising the importance of their opinions, and that their contributions make a difference to the organisation, it will generate a sense of pride and ownership in your team . Such recognition can also serve as a powerful motivator, encouraging others to provide feedback as well, ultimately fostering a culture of feedback.

Leaders are key to fostering a feedback culture that promotes growth and success within their teams and wider organisation. As you gradually foster a culture of feedback, your team then becomes more engaged, empowered, and motivated to succeed.

“I attended a 2-day Elevating Feedback Workshop with Lifeskills Institute. The presenters Bryan & Ian made it interactive, practical & I came away with tools that I know I will be able to use with my organisation in an effective way. They provided a safe, trusting learning environment where we could ask questions, learn from each other & have fun at the same time.”
— Averyl Aeria, Life & Leadership Coach

Want to foster a culture of feedback? Join us at the Elevating Feedback Workshop. Contact us at 6346 1455 for more information today.

©Published by Lifeskills Institute Pte Ltd

 

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An E-Book: Stories of Lifeskills | Celebrating 26 Years Of Lifeskills Institute

DOWNLOAD THE E-BOOK “STORIES OF LIFESKILLS” HERE.

In celebrating the 26th Anniversary of Lifeskills Institute, we reflect on the importance of constantly growing and gaining essential life skills, even in the midst of unexpected events. In this e-book, ‘Stories of Lifeskills”, we share inspiring stories of people who have overcome challenges in life to encourage others on their own journeys.

A Message from Ian, Chief Enabling Officer

“Lifeskills are an essential part of life. In this tumultuous, ever-changing world, we can never fully know what happens tomorrow. Will life throw us a sudden curveball? Or will we be found in the mundaneness of life? Regardless of the season, there is always something new to discover about ourselves, others, and to gain critical life skills that help us grow to be better versions of ourselves.

As we celebrate the 26th Anniversary of Lifeskills Institute, much has changed for us all in the last 2 years as we grapple with many unexpected events that has stretched us in many ways, even for us here at Lifeskills Institute. Yet, I see the good that comes out from it as we stretch ourselves in areas of re-discovering our story, re-aligning as a team, and re-positioning ourselves in the digital world.

There is always much to grow. Just as WIlliam Burroughs said, “when you stop growing you start dying.” It was during this season that I felt within me to do a collection of stories of people who crossed paths with us at Lifeskills Institute. To name a few, these are their stories of resilience, self-awareness, and love. We celebrate them for having overcome the challenges in life! May these stories inspire you today, wherever you might be on life’s journey. I leave with us this quote “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success” (Ecclesiastes 10:10).

May we all arise beyond our circumstances, to be sharpened with valuable life skills, to be conquerors from within, and a blessing to those around us.”

Make a greater impact!

Call us at 6346 1455 to find out more about our Programmes and Professional DISC Certification Courses.

©Published by Lifeskills Institute Pte Ltd

 

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