The Tailor

My father was a shoe tailor. I have always preferred to call him that way, because shoemaker did not really give the right impression when it came to describe what he was able to do, to design, to create. Just by putting together leather, glue, cord, beads of sweat and his mastery, he was capable of crafting the perfect shoe.

He had his models, he had his tools, his hands, and his materials. Those things were always the same. But the final results was always different, for two reasons: because the client was different, and because he was different.

Each client had her/his own peculiarities, interests, availabilities, requirements, needs, expectations, tastes, mood, feelings. My father was a real person with a huge heart and a huge pride. With his own peculiarities, interests, availabilities, requirements, needs, expectations, tastes, mood, feelings. How to pretend that this scenario would turn into replicated products?

I have enjoyed observing him while working millions of times. The most interesting ones were when he had to craft two identical pairs of shoes for the same client. Amazing how he would have achieved the same results – the two identical pairs of shoes – by working in completely different ways on the two pairs. Likewise, he was able to create two completely different pairs of shoes by following the same process and using the same tools and materials.

I have learnt from him that there is no one way. If you aim for the good, you can find one solution fitting all, and stick with it. If you aim for the best, it simply does not work. When the best means giving your clients the service or the product which is the closest to what they are really expecting to receive, you have to put yourself into it. And when I say “yourself” I mean your mastery, your sweat, your creativity, your thoughts, your energy. Mind, body, heart and soul.

 

Have your say on these:

How could an off-the-shelf solution perfectly address your clients’ challenges?

Credibility (established programs with very little configuration) vs adaptability (programs that are highly customized hence with less case history). If you had to choose, what would you?

What is the most important lesson that you have learnt from your father’s work?

What is a common tool that you use you feel you are able to customize at the utmost for your clients?

And let’s finish with a metaphor… If you were a tailor, what would you choose to produce: suits, shoes, ties or shirts? What would your product represent to you?

Rise and fall of Brainstorming (and rise again)

I am definitely an eighties’ boy. And I was barely 15 back in 1987 when I first danced to Duran Duran’s “Skin Trade” tunes and heard about Brainstorming. Not that the two things are related, apart from the facts that both were, let’s use a Brit expression, very fancy back then.

Now, if I had put “Skin Trade” on my player 10 years ago, it would have sounded lovely but surely old fashioned. But if I did it now, it would be just amazing (actually I did it few days ago, and confirm it is amazing!). Opinions and impressions do change over time.

Pretty much the same with Brainstorming, then, although with a different timeline.

Brainstorming. Literally is “a group or individual creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its member(s)” (from Wikipedia). Born in 1953 for marketing and advertising campaigns, Brainstorming has been used for many years across diverse practices, areas, topics. It has been declared effective as many times as it has been criticized as being just another name of “putting ideas together” or “let’s think about it the four of us”. And at a certain point of its history, around mid-2000s, the latter opinions started to overcome the former ones. Why? I have some thoughts around it:

First thought, challenges that can make brainstorming less effective are many and strong, here a few:

·         Blocking: since only one may give an idea at any one time, other participants might forget what they were going to say or not share it because they see it as no longer important or relevant

·         Collaborative fixation: Exchanging ideas in a group may reduce creativity, hence novelty or variety of ideas

·         Evaluation apprehension: fear to be somehow evaluated by the team if the idea is too disruptive or apparently meaningless

·         Free-riding: some members within the group choose not to keep an active participation, actually affecting the team performance negatively

·         Personality characteristics: introverts may give a lower contribute due to their intrinsic personality when brainstorming is done in person

·         Social matching: participants may unconsciously tend to lower their rate of creativity to match others in the group, especially when leaders and followers work together

Second thought, other decision making tools has arisen, especially those tech savvy (I leave this to you IT guys who read, it’s not my business…).

Third thought, real effectiveness could be proven better that it has been so far: what comes out of a typical Italian messy noisy meeting is actually less creative and fruitful than a typical American structured brainstorming session? Just kidding…

Fourth thought, Brainstorming has taken new, different, more intriguing shapes such as (but not limited to):

·         Nominal group technique: Team members write their ideas anonymously, then a facilitator collects the ideas and the group votes on each idea

·         Team idea mapping method: Each participant brainstorms individually, then all the ideas are merged onto a large idea map to be shared among participants and make new ideas emerge by the association, and then to be added to the map as well

·         Question brainstorming: This involves brainstorming the questions, instead of coming up with answers and immediate solutions. The answers are then used as a framework for future action plans

Fifth thought (just listening to some folks here and there), “What the hell is brainstorming? We have been doing that forever every time we had to decide where to go dining!”: Starving – Food – Meat – No please I ate a steak for lunch – Then fish – I know a great place but it’s far – Taxi – Too expensive – Subway – No sandwich! Fish! – Car – Ok, let’s go

 

It is just few months that Brainstorming has regained its popularity, basically because now teams apply few improvements without bringing out the main lesson of brainstorming: working as a unique brain while bringing own ideas on the table. Just the essence of it.

Now criticism is accepted among team members, since it is proven enhancing creativity and productivity. As well as break-through associations during the flow of ideas, which are traditionally seen by Brainstorming orthodoxy as capable of interrupting the legitimate process. As a matter of fact, unpredictable associations (if I say “blue”, then “green” is predictable, “jazz” is little predictable, “shield” or “NYPD” are highly unpredictable) foster originality and imagination and increase speed of thought and outcomes.

Briefly, brainstorming has passed from a streamlined process to a lateral one. From continuity to dissent. From order to surprise. From rain to storm.

You know what? Actually I have always thought about the word “brainstorming” as something lateral, surprising, dissenting, breaking-through, and storming. Since I was barely 15. That’s why I have been, I am and will always be a sincere Brainstorming fan.

 

Your friendly brainstormed and Duran Duran lover,

 

Federico

 

PS by the way, and please apologize me if I tend to repeat myself but, coaching is the best way to ignite brainstorming… ;-)

Coaching culture in organizations

Organizations’ interest around coaching is a movement which is rapidly growing and more companies are now focused on developing such a strong culture after having realized the advantages of that strategy. According to the ICF 2014 research, 43% of organizations report employing internal coaches to work with all employees, and 60% say coaching is available to their high-potential employees. Moreover, an extensive coaching program is often associated with positive business outcomes, including higher employee satisfaction and performance.

Managers and leaders are now requiring to adopt coaching skills to positively have an impact and influence on their employees using those news skills that are able to both improve teams’ performance and engage people effectively.

Although some organizations report hiring internal coaches who have a variety of coaching qualifications and accreditations, there is no single, industry-wide standard or benchmark. Some companies reported that their coaches do not have any formal qualifications or accreditation; certain companies even reported employing coaches with as little as a few hours worth of training. The importance of structured approaches to deliver consistent coaching training to internal managers and leaders will definitely set the difference between those organizations who tell themselves they want to establish a coaching culture, and those who firmly believe in it and do the right steps to implement.

Without necessarily being involved in an ACTP training path to become ICF accredited coaches, leaders and managers can take advantage of working alongside accredited coaches on training and mentoring programs and bring huge benefits to people and organizations through playing thorough coaching skills consistently and successfully.

Concurrent perspectives in corporations

One thing that has always been fascinating to me, not to say fancy, is how to intend standpoints. From every single angle, in each and every topic, under every lens you look, you can give an interpretation of facts based on a different standpoint. I still remember, back in 1978: it was me, my brother, my mother and our friend and neighbor Lina, sitting in a cinema watching the first Star Wars movie. “Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view…”.

A real revelation, to such a point that from that moment on, I have been thinking that there is no absolute truth. Everything is based on own impressions, on ways of interpreting things, on points of view, better still on perspectives.

My convincement has been reinforces throughout all my life, even further by studying Business Administration, Management and Organizational Development.

You can actually give your interpretation of how to lead, manage and organize a company depending on what perspective you are strategically keen to observe.

What would you add to the following list?

Engagement – the life and success of a company largely depends upon the level of engagement of its employees. Most of the time it works, but it is scientifically impossible to determine a direct cause-effect relation between the two, just a strong positive correlation has been reported. And how explain those successful companies where people are intentionally kept strongly disengaged?

Performance – it is all about performance when it comes to discerning what the real essence of corporation success is. Performance means almost everything and can be related to any entity working in a business, from people, to financials, to operations. But isn’t it too much of a broad standpoint? And if we try to narrow it down to one or a few of the multiple fields where “performance” has a connotation, such as just finance, or just people, or just production, or just anything else, doesn’t it easily become too narrow? How many times in business history people performance has not turned into corporate performance?

Leadership – corporations are leaders’ job. Influence, thrive, inspire and succeed. Very linked to both engagement and performance. Oh I forgot, when things go well. Right, because when things doesn’t go well, leadership and leaders are the first to blame. When a football team fails, the coach is the first to be fired. And, actually, what could the first and easy choice other than this be?

Total Reward – give and take, just that. Whatever I give you in terms of development, growth, training, exposure, prestige, joy, fun, and of course money, I expect you revert to me. Raise your hand if you have seen this working in more than 3 corporations in your life…

Organization structure – dear Mr. Mintzberg, you really seduced me when I studied your essays at the University. Everything was so clear, every single aspect in its proper place, all towels in order, tidy desks and easy minds. First day of work, a mess. Henry, now I understand. Your idea is what you tend towards, not what you find in the real corporate world.

Potential – corporate blood shed for potential… what experience do you have to share? Maybe less if you are young, but as an early practitioner I have seen the last companies failing in applying the potential based approach. Beautiful on paper, intriguing in theory, engaging at the beginning of the implementation, it would turn to hell once the best potentials came out as underperforming gurus and self-conceived primadonnas. Sad but true.

Competency-based – same as above, just less tasty and more pragmatic, but with similar results. You may have as many potentials and competences as you want, but if it all does not come up with something productive, it is just useless.

Budgeting – a different perspective that, if played in conjunction with others, is able to give great value and thoroughly improve sustainability, business focus and financial results. As usual, if you think you can completely rely upon a budget, figures may be initially happy but people aren’t really.

Financial outcome – it’s air and water for all businesses. Almost all businesses. In many cultures, striving just for the moneys is impolite, sometimes rude, short-term orientated indeed and very western. Sustainability, progress and social responsibilities lie elsewhere. You tell me whether is good or bad.

Growth and development – the flipside of financial outcome. Beautiful for some eastern marketplaces like Japan, definitely more in line with the idea of a corporation which pays a lot of attention to its employees, their wellness and social life. In some European countries it still represent a fascinating experiment that some companies love to flaunt, sometimes because they truly believe in that, more frequently just to show off or as mean to an end (taking out as much as possible from people making money). Usually those companies are also successful in terms of financial outcomes, way too easy to speak about growth, then!

Celebrating freedom and hope by honoring a great man

2015: More is the new black

For 2015, just expect more.

More time and relax

More work and money

More enjoyable things to do

More gratitude, praise and appreciation

More love and friendship

More kindness, fairness and respect

More how can I help you

More accept my apologies

More apologies accepted

More good weather

More good music

More smiles

More meditation

More leadership

More justice

More openness and flexibility

More workout

More good food

More tea

More let me try this bend faster

More dos

More kudos

More feelings in your heart

More experiences in your backpack

More fulfillment in your soul

More mindfulness

More I live in the present

More I do care

More from you

 

What are you going to do to attract this?

 

Antonella & Federico

 

PS add you mores if you feel like. Happy new year J

The lesson of the Blue Star to the Green Bird

Last Sunday I was just watching the Sunday Night Football, the match between the Eagles and the Cowboys played in Philadelphia.

Very briefly: up to less than one month ago Dallas was playing fine in the season but on Thanksgiving the game between the two teams resolved in a bad loss for the Cowboys and in an easy walk on the pitch for the Eagles. The green defense set the difference and the blue and silver offense did not have any chance to express its potential.
Now, many people know that Dallas hardly wins on Decembers, that it is pretty weak on a psychological standpoint, and that Philadelphia this year is very strong, determined and conscious of their means. This would have probably led to another defeat for Dallas. But…

What did happen that turned Dallas into a strong team concentrated on winning the game and on avoiding any single mistake made in the previous game?

Probably just few things:

·         Confidence in its own strengths
·         Keenness to be successful
·         Ability to analyze its previous performance and its opponent’s one
·         Focus throughout the whole match
·         No fear to win
·         Getting the most out of its best players – Romo and his capability of staying in the moment even under a huge pressure from the defense, Murray and his eagerness to be the best ever, Bryant and his hunger as a young man who has strived for his entire life being born and raised in a poor environment

This is what had to be done, this is what the Cowboys did, and the results are in front of everybody. A thorough win, in spite of everything.

How could this simple recipe be useful also for business teams and organizations? How could we shift this to a corporate environment?

What could be the takeaways for you?

What would you think if I said that there is a lot to learn from what has happened between the first minute after the Thanksgiving game and the last minute of last Sunday’s game?

Who are the Romos, Murrays and Bryants in your company? And in your life?

These are very good questions… what are your answers?

My personal takeaway is that if you have a second chance, do whatever possible not to miss it! And work it the hardest possible, without making your competitor understand what a surprise you are cooking.

Sure there is a lot to learn, one thing above all: do not give anything for granted, because people can really go far beyond expectations when properly motivated – and engaged.

You’d like to know my own Romo, Murray and Bryant, wouldn’t you? Sorry, this is very much personal!

Your friendly OD guy,

Federico

PS Hope Frank Amoroso and Maria Fiore, my wife’s uncle and aunt, and big fans of the Eagles, won’t take it personally…

What does Kolbe have to do with entrepreneurship?

Since I began my own journey as an entrepreneur, I have spent a lot of time and effort considering what I had to do in order to achieve the goals I defined for my business.

As a Coach and Consultant, I have clear what I am capable of doing, I am confident in my ability to drive results and add value to my clients, however the skills required to be a successful business owner are much broader than the mere delivery skills.

In my old life in Europe I was an employee. Although I had to know very well the different departments and functions of the business because of my role within the executive team, my strategic support to the organization was focused just on a specific component, that is the people within the business. Surely my responsibilities were broad and various, anyhow they were all related to HR and OD: hiring, onboarding and developing the right talents, coaching and developing leaders, developing the most efficient and effective organizational structure to support the business goals, maintaining and improving employee engagement, promoting and maintaining an high-performing culture, managing the admin and legal side of the employment relation in compliance with legislations and acts, effectively and punctually managing the payroll process, the HR and OD budget, and so on.

It was a clear slice of the entire pie, and I was confident of my ability to effectively take care of it.

Now that I have my own business, I have to look after every single slice of the pie. Having a business partner is a great asset because at least we can leverage on each other strengths, however we are still both directly involved with every aspects of the business. And, as new entrepreneurs, we are both still learning. Not that I have ever believed that in life one can become “the Expert” of something and just stop learning new things – and by the way how boring if it was like that!

Despite the strains required, undertaking the entrepreneurial journey is a unique opportunity that an individual can give to herself. No matter what the destination will be in the end, it is the journey itself that is really worth it. There are days of doubts, moments of discouragement, and there are days of excitement and positive thrill. All these emotions come and go, sometimes you feel like you are constantly on a roller-coaster, or like you are a pendulum, oscillating from one edge to the other. Your mind is always spinning around ideas, you can never really rest.

Lately I come to the conclusion that, at least for me, this journey is a sort of extreme representation of Kolbe’s learning cycle: first of all you experience something new every single day, especially at the beginning of the adventure, when you try for the very first time to establish your enterprise, and throughout the business development phase which takes a long time, many months and more; thereafter, you review and reflect on each new learning experience on a daily basis, because it is so very true that every day you come across something new, sometimes unexpected, or even if it was expected, your reactions are not what you would have imagined! The third step, the abstract conceptualization – that is the actual learning from the experience in Kolbe’s model – is an ongoing process, deeply connected to the reflection phase, intrinsically embedded in the entire learning process. As a new entrepreneur – and I bet also when you are a seasoned one! – you cannot stop actively experimenting new ways, strategizing, planning and trying out ideas, things you learned, tools you discovered along the way.

But first and foremost for me it has been amazing not as much learning the different components needed to create an effective and sustainable business, and neither as much all the things I have to master (admin, marketing, sales, operations, etc. – things which were known by me, but not enough at a deep level, and for sure not as I had to look after all of them myself!) but rather it has been incredible what I have been discovering about myself, at a profound level. Building a business from scratch for me has been so far a self-discovery, an amazing opportunity to deepen and expand my self-awareness, to understand even better my strengths and weakness, who I am and from where I came, what it is really important to achieve for me in my life, who I want to be.

I still don’t know what the destination is, lying behind the last bend at the top of the hill, and every day I have to make an effort to make peace with that (being a control-freak, I must know exactly where I am at any given moment!)

I am glad that each day I have the privilege to learn new things also inward, as well as outward; I am lucky that I can take the time to observe and reflect, I strive to find the way to conceptualize what I have been learning, even when it is not so immediate to do so, because then from there I can experiment new ways, I can chose a new direction or course of action, I decide whether to commit to implement new behaviors that better serve my goals.

In conclusion, the never-ending learning process of this journey is making me a more rounded person in any case, which is an invaluable result no matter what. It may happen that the business won’t ever flourish as much as I would like, but surely I am becoming a better version of myself. Priceless!

 

Antonella Capizzi

 

 

 

The art of Performance

What do you think about Performance Management?

I was asked this question recently, at the event joining GMSHRM (the Greater Miami SHRM association) and HRABC (the Broward SHRM association) in Dania Beach, end of August if I well recall. The guy is a practice SVP of very important consulting firm in South Florida, a well-respected organization which leads the local marketplace.

First and foremost I replied “It is mainly a process, not a single moment throughout the year or at every quarter. It is about setting SMART goals, observing behaviors in multiple and diverse business situations, assessing performance and eventually competencies, communicating and giving feedback, coaching and mentoring, and of course many other things because actually for me, Performance Management is really everything.”

The guy looked at me and smiled like he was thinking “ok, we are on the same page”. Then I added “I do not care about the scorecard, I have developed many but still believe that it could easily be a white paper sheet.” End of the smile. The guy started looking at me as I was from another planet.

What did I say wrong? Maybe he does not like paper? Empty sheets remind him of early days at school when bullied by a big bad mate?

It took me a while to understand, but then I got it. Only few months before I was an employee, VP of HR with a long and strong OD background and experience. Now I am a consultant talking with another consultant. And this, believe me, changes perspectives dramatically.

Consultants (I am one of them now so please do not get me wrong) would love to customize any single piece of their services to better fit the client’s needs, but for many reasons (lack of time, efforts, established procedures, and sometimes fear to fail or to be misunderstood or not understood at all) off-the-shelves solutions are their preference. Easier to market, easier to explain, easier to apply, and often satisfactory as well as fully customized services.

Well, a white sheet can hardly be sold as an off-the-shelf solution. Really. So, probably he turned his expression not because I replied in a bad way, but because I replied in a non-consulting way.

When I was an employee, VP of OD and Reward, I always thought that the appraisal form was the death of Performance Management. This, because when you launch a new PM system, straight away the form becomes the PM system. WRONG! The form is a little and useful tool of the entire PM system, which also encompasses meetings, communications, behaviors to observe, many other things to say or do, and first of all culture, a Performance Management Culture.

I am still there, by the way. Performance Management is just culture. The way you apply it, the timeframe, whether linked to reward or not, how the scorecard looks like, if it is a 90’, 180’ or 360’ degrees, who is involved in the process, how many steps, how many half-time reviews, if it encompasses also competencies / qualitative goals… all these things have just to be other representations of the company culture, which is expressed through the PM system. PM is culture, and everything else.

But of course it is easier to explain how to fill in an evaluation form rather than explain what the PM culture is. And it is easier to sell, too. Which is ok for consultants, because if it does not work (that is, the company does not turn the wonderful performance of its employees into money) the consultant is allowed to say that it was due to the client which was unable to apply the system in the correct manner. But it is sad for an internal OD guy when she/he does not get the sense of what PM is, and is just keen on applying the form to all the target population within a given time. Hurry up!

Someone could argue that off-the-shelf solutions often fail because they are not able to actually catch and match the client’s needs, but I leave this further discussion with you.

What I want to underpin here is that I would love, I would cherish any PM system which could really be both customizable (in terms of being fully capable of detecting client’s needs) and somehow relying on an established structured and process-driven solution. All off-the-shelf systems pretend to be like that, but when I was sitting on the other side of the table, I have hardly seen something similar.

Ready to be contradicted, you are all mostly welcome.

 

Your friendly OD guy,

Federico

 

PS: it is extremely probable that the SVP of the consulting firm never got bullied by anyone, the guy is pretty big and tall and if I had been one of his schoolmate, I would have never challenged or annoyed him, never!

PPS: big, tall, cute, smart, nice, fit, successful. Whatta hell?!?

PPPS: I recently met a PM system which really tastes as being like something I would cherish… let’s speak soon!

Coaching – dogma and scams

I started getting interested in coaching back in 2008. I was reading an HR online mag and an article reported that, out of all leadership and talent development tools, coaching was the most effective in terms of return on investment, client satisfaction, performance improvement and sustainability.

Wow, that did sound great! Ok then, but what is coaching? Good question after the newly realized acknowledgment…

It took me several weeks to really understand what it was all about. At the very beginning every single source I found was referring either to sport or to mentoring or to consulting. After a while I got in contact with an organization and one of their coaches, Guido Faraggiana (thanks Guido!) patiently explained to my lazy grey cells what the real coaching is.

My first reaction was a mixture of surprise, curiosity and skepticism. Surprised, because I had never heard of such a thing. Curious, because I was missing how coaching in that way would have been successful and useful for coachees. Skeptic, because this is the way I am when I meet something new and different.

Let’s then go straight to the point and make crystal clear what coaching is, and why it will always be worth repeating what it is.

We can use the International Coach Federation (ICF) definition, just to make sure not to be misunderstood in any case. Word for word: “ICF defines coaching as partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential, which is particularly important in today’s uncertain and complex environment. Coaches honor the client as the expert in his or her life and work and believe every client is creative, resourceful and whole. Standing on this foundation, the coach's responsibility is to discover, clarify, and align with what the client wants to achieve; encourage client self-discovery; elicit client-generated solutions and strategies; hold the client responsible and accountable.”

Really in a nutshell: 95% of a coach job is to ask powerful, thoughts-provoking questions to help the coachee (or client, or coaching partner or whatever you want to call it) achieve her/his goals by leveraging on inner strengths, capabilities and skills. The foundation of coaching is that everyone has a potential to achieve even beyond her/his own expectations.

Believe me: this approach is definitely the best way to help people reach their desired results while holding them accountable. What a big difference it makes if I sort my challenges out with just my personal means, abilities, competences, know-how and will!

Now we know what coaching is, and be sure, this is dogma (yes, the word ‘dogma’ is often associated to something negative but in this case it makes real sense and it must sound completely positive at your ears). It is dogma because there is only one real Coaching, whether you agree or not with this statement.

And as for every dogma, there are heretics. People who call themselves coaches but with a completely different idea of what coaching is, pretty often with no idea at all, with no methodology, no training. If it comes to explain what, usually these people talk about what we “dogmatic” coaches would call “Mentoring”, or “Consulting”, or “giving some tips and then please pay the bill, Jack!”

Let’s be straightforward: this is scam. A good, effective, successful, easygoing scam. Like if I opened a haircut shop and called it Wells Fargo. People start bringing money and I pay them off by cutting their hair. Which is good, but it is not exactly like being a banker.

Ok but why should I be called coach and someone else shouldn’t? Well, there are several reasons why.

First – I have been trained

The dogma requires to be trained by an official coaching school for a minimum amount of hours. This ensures a common methodology, tools, a common mindset and, of course, discipline and attitude. Everything that may protect the client by any form of “unfairness” and “heresy”.

Second – I follow a serious international organization called ICF

ICF is serious. It is a place where you can find a structured method, a straightforward approach to coaching, common definitions, resources to share, tool, people you are alike and to network with, and most of all a lot of good sense. There are also other very serious organizations similar to ICF (which is by the way the biggest Coaching institution on earth) which have a similar approach and level of professionalism. Congrats. I chose ICF but many others are fine as well.

Third – I have a code of ethics to abide with

This is at the third step of the podium but could really be at top. It is so fundamental that best for you would be to go there and check it yourself: http://coachfederation.org/ethics/

Fourth – I belong to a network of professional coaches

We may be right, we may be wrong, but all the coaches belonging to ICF (and to other coaching recognized organizations) are somehow connected to each other. This is definitely another proof of credibility and reliability, indeed.

Fifth – after a pre-defined path, I got certified

After being trained, after having practiced coaching for a proper time, your proficiency is tested and certified by an official body. Is there anything better to confirm that you are a real coach?

Sixth – because words count

You can use the words “Coaching” and “Coach” the way you want, but when it comes to being professional, please stick to these old words of wisdom: words do count!

Is it enough for you to distinguish between the real coaching (the dogma) and the fake one (the scam)? If not, sorry for that, do not take it personally! If yes, welcome on board! In both cases, your comments are mostly appreciated and feel free to have your say here.

 

Your friendly coach,

Federico

 

PS the author did not mean in any way to mix up religion with profession. Better still, the author’s ideas on religion are pretty much confused then please do not take him seriously.

Are you Hunt or Lauda?

After having spent another night watching “Rush” on HBO, I have just started thinking about how the fight between James Hunt and Niki Lauda for the F1 1976 championship could be a sort of metaphor of what almost everybody has lived at least once in a lifetime: the fear to win.

That is kind of a sensation which brings you in particular moment of your life, your work, it is unpredictable and most of all it is unexpected and very hard to understand. But it is true, all of us have experienced that.

Ok but, why?

It is not only coming from the opposite, the fear to lose. The fear to win may have many causes but all result in just one effect.

First, when you win, you change, and change is something which is really scary for most of the people. Uncertainty, unknown, short sight, call is the way you want, but it is just the fact that you doubt yourself when you win, especially when that is not something you are used to.

Then, you feel under the spotlight when you win. And this is often uncomfortable, because it requires you to win again, and put even more effort, more strength, more energy. Yes, winning is difficult indeed and winning twice is three times difficult. Why not cutting it off from the very beginning?

Your foes (external or internal, real or fictitious, weak or strong) when they you win, become even more aggressive. And, will you be prepared to fight them again in the future? Maybe your win was due to luck, circumstances, and their mistakes. But the next time it will be different because they will have no mercy, and you will have nothing and nobody to rely upon but yourself.

Last but not least, a wonderful excuse. What Niki (who, by the way, has been my childhood hero) chose was read as an easy escape, an excuse not to admit that Hunt was the best and he was simply the second.

But as a matter of fact, against all odds he decided to loose, which is actually a step beyond not to win. It implies courage instead of fear, bravery instead of cowardice, vision instead of short sight. And self-confidence, because when you throw a victory away you become a looser, unless you win afterwards.

Winning or losing may mean many things and may depend on many more. To me, it does not really matter if you win or lose. What matters the most is making up your mind with pride, courage, both instinct and reason, following that decision thoroughly and actively but being ready to change when something occurs and the new context modifies the rules of engagement.

 

At the end of the story James Hunt (r.i.p.) was the real looser. After the ’76 final GP in Japan he decided to exit the competition, destroy himself and become a lazy drunk ex-pilot. I was just a kid when all the people around me were hoping to have him driving for Ferrari and replace Lauda. It was just my dad and me who thought differently.

I am often still scarred by the chance to win. Then I think of James and Niki, and the sky gets a little bit clearer.

The Leader Coach in action - 13 powerful thought-provoking questions for your team

Are you a Leader? Do you see your leadership style as a coaching one? Do you like to empower your team, delegate tasks and engage them effectively and consistently?
Instead of telling them what, how, when and why to do what is needed to accomplish, just set overall goal and timeframe, and help them design their way to achieve the best result.
Act as a Coach when leading your team, and ask for powerful, thought-provoking questions that support people in opening their minds, feeling more involved and performing at their utmost.

Here you find 13 questions that every Leader Coach should use with her/his team. Do you want to add some?

•What is the first step to achieve the goal?

•What are the subtasks you could split the goal into?

•What is the timeline for accomplishing that task?

•If I told you that it is too late, how would you respond?

•What would the impact of this delay be on the final outcome?

•What are the resources you need to accomplish this?

•Where and from whom could you find additional resources?

•How could your additional resources help you achieve the goal faster/set a different timeframe?

•What obstacles do you envisage?

•How can you overcome those obstacles?

•What happens if you do not achieve the task in that timeframe?

•What would the impact be on others and other activities if you achieved / did not achieve the goal?

•How will you understand that you have reached the goal? How do you measure your success?