Techniques, models, exercises, checklists, how-to guides
Many teams and organizations operate on the boundary between complexity and chaos. Managing the dance between those states can be time consuming, yet without devoting sufficient time to manage this boundary, they default – consciously or unconsciously – to the habit of multiple quick fixes. The more quick fixes they apply, the greater the propensity...
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There is a severe lack of both empirical research and theoretical models relating to the concept of teams of teams. Google Scholar lists just one publication – an autobiographical account of the concept at work in the theatre of war (McChrystal et al, 2015). So, it is hardly surprising that coaches struggle to know where...
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Teams are a special form of group, where shared purpose and interdependencies replace common purpose and individual activity. The distinction between a group and a team is often blurred. A group may exhibit some of the behaviours associated with teaming, but not all. Groups in the workplace often describe themselves as teams, because they feel...
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I’m hearing the word “coachability” a lot more recently in my supervision groups. For example, “I should have gone with my instinct and turned the client down – he’s not coachable.” There are two schools of thought around this. One is that no-one is uncoachable. The issue is whether this coach is the right coach...
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Human beings initiate change when they feel discomfort or dissatisfaction. So, in principle, a coaching or mentoring conversation that doesn’t involve some level of discomfort is likely to lead to less significant change than one that does. However, we also tend to avoid discomfort, especially if it is elevated to become pain. We also tend...
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Questions about questions If there is a question a coach can ask that qualifies as the most irritating to clients, it would surely be: “If you did have the answer, what would it be?” It’s probably ingrained, like the writing in a stick of rock, in the bones of robotic coaches. Of course, there are...
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One of the key supports for mentoring programmes is having a cadre of highly experienced mentors, who new mentors can lean on and learn from. In some programmes, these mentors take on much of the burden of new mentor development, shifting the balance from classroom learning towards ad hoc, situationally based learning. So what makes...
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In coming to virtual group supervision, people tend to have two main aims: Typically, a session would involve: Presenting an issue In presenting within the virtual environment, it is important to be succinct, to the point and open. Try to keep your explanation and scene-setting down to less than three minutes. In preparation, you should (more…)
No, it’s not a typographical error – it’s the latest neologism from the Clutterbuck word factory! I talk a lot about stakeholders (people and entities affected by what we do) and influencers (people or entities that enable or constrain us in what we do). Mistakeholders are a special subgroup of stakeholders – people, who suffer...
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The three-way conversation between coach, client and the client’s boss, is commonplace in coaching. Sometimes also involving HR, it provides a valuable opportunity to clarify agendas, establish the support needed from the boss, and improve the direct report-boss relationship. Yet in the context of mentoring, this conversation is typically seen as one to be avoided...
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Read More The three-way conversation in coaching and mentoring
