Wednesday, September 21, 2011

We have moved!

You will now find our blog in the 3D Website www.3dcoaching.com

See you there!

Monday, June 27, 2011

3D Juggling 532: What They Don’t Tell You

Claire writes: 'It must be the season for job applications because we have been doing plenty of interview coaching lately. You may have seen the article in last week’s Church Times about just one of the courses we ran this month.

By the time you get to interview, all the candidates will meet the person profile, more or less.  The job of the application form/ CV is to give enough evidence of how you meet the job spec, why you want to work for them and why they want to appoint you – so that you get on the short list.  I am looking over a form this morning which gives great data about ‘why I would like to do a job like that in any organisation’ but fails to address the question – why I want THIS job with YOU.

What the interviewers want to know on the day is whether their hunch that you fit the profile is correct and then what else you bring? What will you bring to the role that the other candidates don’t?  You need to know your added value and to be able to clearly communicate it – even if – or especially when – you are an internal candidate.  What’s your added value? Think about it...'

© 2011 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely.  Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Top Interview Tips

1 Give evidence
2 Give evidence
3 Give evidence

Eg This is how I do that. Here is an example and this was the outcome...

Evidence means there is no spin.  And it can be easier to talk about something that has happened than simply to talk about yourself.  Being interviewed well has no spin.  But it means that the interviewers will know why you are the right person to appoint.  Or why not!

You only get one chance at an interview.  Talk to us about interview coaching if you would value some good preparation.   

Friday, June 17, 2011

3D Juggling 531: The importance of context

Claire writes: "After a recent coaching supervision where we had been exploring the power of saying very little, I said to the coach: 'Less is More'.  She responded: 'Even less is even more.'

I was so struck by the powerfulness of her comment that I put it on Twitter.  And received many strange responses including: I was puzzled because the logical extension was that nothing is everything. Either very profound or... :)

I still think 'Even less is even more' is profound in one to one conversations which are so often full of noise.  And it's also a great lesson of the importance of context! Think about it..."

© 2011 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely.  Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

Less is More

In 'Techniques for Coaching and Mentoring ', Megginson and Clutterbuck suggest that "It takes approximately 4.5 seconds of silence on the car radio for the average person in western society to change channels.  Silence is a phenomenon we are ill equipped to handle; we attempt to fill it as quickly as possible.  Yet silence truly can be golden"

If you are a coach, and you know that you talk too much, contract with your client at the beginning of the conversation that you won't break the silence - it's up to your client to tell you when they are ready to speak again.

Monday, June 13, 2011

3D Juggling 530: Thinking and Crying

Jane writes: "I read an article recently called ‘It is a crying shame we don’t weep more’.  It referred to research by Professor Gail Kinman who stated ‘Many people feel cleansed after a good cry’. 

According to a Tears Factsheet published by the College of Optometrists the tears brought about by emotion contain a different chemical make-up than other tears; they have more protein.  It has been suggested that by excreting these hormones in the form of tears, your body helps you feel calmer and less emotional afterwards.

So if someone you’re with needs to cry – let it happen.  Don’t judge them by their ability to ‘hold themselves together’, allow them to connect with and respond to their grief, anger, happiness or pain, and potentially benefit from doing so.

Nancy Kline understands this.  Read Chapter 9 in her book ‘Time to Think’ where she talks about how crying can make you smarter.

Kinman says ‘We cannot sustain strong emotions for very long and have to dampen them somehow.  A good cry is a great way of doing that.’

What can you do when someone needs to cry at work? Think about it..."

© 2011 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely.  Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

 

Monday, June 06, 2011

3D Juggling 529: Exploration

Claire writes:  “We took the team away last week for our annual 3D Residential where we benchmark our coaches’ skills, look at development for the year ahead and have fun together.  For the third year in a row, we went to Little Gidding which is the subject of a TS Elliot poem.  It has so much to teach us about what makes a powerful conversation:

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”

That’s what happens when we give people we listen to, space and time to think and be curious and understand differently.  So next time you are talking and wonder whether you’re going round in circles, consider what exploring would be like? Think about it...


© 2011 3D Coaching Ltd
May be distributed freely.  Please retain contact details: www.3dcoaching.com and send a copy/ link to info@3dcoaching.com

In the News

The Government’s “listening exercise” on its NHS reforms were meant to finish last week. There’s a big difference between listening with an agenda and really listening.  Real listening takes exploration, time and attention.  I’m wondering what this felt like to those involved – and not involved?

Call us to talk about how we can help you are your team develop listening skills. Simply.