Catie Paterson - Blue Kite’s Post

Leader as coach Leading as a coach requires balancing guidance with empowering others to develop their own skills and insights. Here are key principles on how to lead effectively in this capacity: ### 1. **Active Listening** - Pay close attention to what others are saying without interrupting. - Reflect on the underlying concerns, motivations, and emotions of your team or individuals. - Ask open-ended questions that encourage deeper reflection. ### 2. **Empowerment over Direction** - Instead of giving direct solutions, ask guiding questions that help individuals arrive at their own conclusions. - Create opportunities for team members to take ownership of their decisions and growth. ### 3. **Build Trust** - Be transparent, consistent, and reliable in your communication and actions. - Cultivate an environment where individuals feel safe to express their ideas, challenges, and aspirations without fear of judgment. ### 4. **Provide Constructive Feedback** - Offer feedback that is specific, actionable, and supportive. Focus on growth areas while acknowledging strengths. - Frame feedback in a way that encourages improvement and self-reflection rather than defensiveness. ### 5. **Model Behavior** - Exhibit the qualities you expect from your team—resilience, humility, continuous learning, and accountability. - Demonstrate self-awareness and a willingness to adapt and grow. ### 6. **Facilitate Self-Discovery** - Use coaching methods to help individuals uncover their own strengths, weaknesses, and solutions. - Encourage self-assessment and reflection through exercises, discussions, or journaling. ### 7. **Encourage Growth Mindset** - Promote the belief that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. - Challenge team members to step outside their comfort zones and embrace learning from failures. ### 8. **Tailor Your Approach** - Recognize that each person is unique and requires a different coaching style. Some may need more support, while others may thrive with more autonomy. - Adapt your leadership based on the individual's personality, needs, and level of experience. ### 9. **Set Clear Goals and Expectations** - Collaborate with individuals to set realistic, challenging goals that align with both personal and organizational objectives. - Ensure expectations are well-defined, and regularly check in to track progress. ### 10. **Celebrate Successes** - Acknowledge and celebrate both small and large achievements. - Reinforce positive behavior and progress, motivating team members to continue growing. Leading as a coach means focusing on long-term development, encouraging autonomy, and fostering a collaborative environment where people feel empowered to reach their potential.

Executive coaching is for the individual that wants to develop into a well-rounded executive.

A Sunday Message … The Power of Continuous Positive Coaching. As you look into 2025, consider the transformative power of feedback—both giving it and receiving it. Reflecting on my experiences over the past several decades spent transforming sales organizations within the global electrical distribution industry, I recall how critical feedback is. Often when I received feedback from a supervisor, I felt a sense of annoyance or confusion within the first 30 seconds of the conversation. Every person's leadership style is unique, but imagine the impact if –  when providing feedback –  you begin by acknowledging three things the person is doing right. This initial positive recognition sets a supportive tone for the conversation and reinforces the individual's strengths. And in my experience, the message you’re trying to convey with the constructive feedback loop is much more effective when the person you’re coaching is in that positive mindset. Next, ask them what they need to continue improving in these areas. This not only empowers the person to take ownership of their development, but also shows that you value their input and perspective. It creates a collaborative atmosphere where feedback is seen as a tool for growth rather than criticism. After this discussion, ask the employee what areas they believe they need to improve on. Listen attentively to their self-assessment, and then inquire how you can help them enhance these areas or set up a development plan. This approach not only identifies opportunities for improvement, but also fosters a sense of partnership and mutual respect. I call this method Continuous Positive Coaching. Whether in sports, business, or family, coaching is an art that is continuous—it is not just a one-time annual review. Regular, constructive feedback helps build a culture of continuous improvement and trust. Try this approach next time and observe the difference in engagement and motivation. Both you and the person you’re coaching will benefit from this method. Of course, there are times when you may need to deviate from this approach, particularly if it involves safety concerns or ethical violations. However, for all other feedback, try Continuous Positive Coaching. In 2025, let's commit to enhancing our feedback processes. By incorporating this coaching methodology and paying our gratitude forward, we can create a more supportive and productive environment, which has an immeasurable impact on any sales organization’s growth potential. The winner will be all of us, as we foster a culture of kindness, growth, and mutual respect. Think of this image the next time you coach and please leave a comment if you have any questions or need help. I’d love to hear from you!

🧠 Sunday Insights: The Future of Leadership in Performance Coaching – A Sneak Peek! 🔮 Leadership in performance coaching is evolving – Are you ready to explore what’s on the horizon? As GMs and leaders in the performance coaching community, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the curve, constantly learning and pushing the boundaries of how we develop talent and lead teams. With the year coming to an end and the new year just around the corner, now is the perfect time to reflect on how we lead, learn, and innovate in the world of performance coaching. What better way to start the new year than by revisiting important trends and emerging fields that will shape the future of coaching? This Sunday’s post kicks off an exciting series, where we’ll dive into cutting-edge concepts that are shaping the future of coaching and leadership in performance. Over the next few weeks, we’ll cover topics that will challenge your thinking, inspire you to innovate, and equip you with tools to drive success in your teams. 🌟 Here’s a quick preview of what’s coming: Data-Driven Leadership 📊 – How technology and real-time data are changing the way we make decisions and track performance. Collaborative Leadership 🤝 – Why empathy, trust, and psychological safety are now essential for effective leadership in high-performance environments. Neuroplasticity and Mental Performance 🧠 – Understanding how mental resilience and cognitive recovery play a pivotal role in performance optimization. Genetic Profiling 🧬 – The future of personalized performance: How genetic data can inform training, recovery, and injury prevention strategies. Cross-Disciplinary Knowledge 🌐 – Integrating insights from psychology, neuroscience, nutrition, and bioengineering to build a holistic approach to coaching. 💡 Why this matters: The landscape of performance coaching is evolving rapidly. As leaders, we must revisit and stay informed about these emerging fields in order to make smarter, data-driven decisions, create stronger relationships with our teams, and stay at the forefront of performance development. In the coming posts, we'll break down each of these areas, sharing key articles, case studies, and insights that you can apply in your coaching practice. Whether you’re already familiar with these concepts or just beginning to explore them, this series will provide valuable takeaways that can transform how you approach leadership and performance coaching. 👉 As we close out the year and prepare for a new one, let’s embrace these concepts and set the stage for a year of growth and innovation in performance coaching. Stay tuned, and let’s keep learning and pushing the frontiers of performance coaching together!

FEEDBACK. Where and who do you source feedback from? How do you use the feedback you’ve been given? Do these feedback speak to your personal brand? In a coaching partnership, providing feedback to your coach is important. It helps inform your coach what is useful for you to be equipped with in order to accelerate your growth journey. This can allow your coach to bring along what you need to your sessions and better support you towards your goals. As a life and leadership coach supporting corporate professionals globally working in a complex environment to be effective leaders where they have to manage others to deliver ambitious goals whilst not losing sight of their own professional and personal aspirations, I always ask my clients these questions at the start and end of their sessions: - What would be/was useful for your session today?  - What are your taking away from your session today? Most of my clients come through amazing coaching platforms such as ExecOnline, Torch, CoachHub - The digital coaching platform, EZRA Coaching, Growthspace that send out voluntary anonymous feedback surveys either after each session or periodically through the course of the client’s coaching program. Just as how I know that my personal brand is established - friendly, great communicator and organized yet adaptable - based on the numerous feedback I’ve received from my friends, family and colleagues as well as Airbnb hosts, I was curious to learn what makes me such a great coach for my clients to deserve a consistent average rating of 4.9 out of 5 in the last 6 months. So, I decided to capture all the written feedback I’ve received and bucketted them into themes. It turned out to be an eye-opening and humbling exercise! I discovered that resoundingly across the board, my clients valued these 5 aspects about me as their coach (+1 very kind bonus): - INSIGHTFUL - PRAGMATIC - GREAT IDEAS & TOOLS - SUPPORTIVE - SAFE SPACE - INSPIRING It was useful to know what I bring to the coaching engagement as well as what about my coaching style and approaches have worked well for my clients. To all my clients who have provided these feedback, thank you for your candid and gracious words. These are exactly the attributes I had hope to bring to the table as your coach. Hence, I’m relieved and pleased to see that they came through in our partnership. If you’re looking for a life and leadership coach with these qualities to help you live and lead authentically, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by scheduling a time with me using the link in the first comment below. Alternatively, if your organization is engaged in partnership with any of the amazing coaching platforms I mentioned above, please feel free to look me up there. #coaching #personaldevelopment #selfhelp #bestadvice #inspiration #MondayMotivation

Executive Coaching (EC) has been the 'flavor of the decade'. Executive Coaching is expensive. Executive Coaching takes too long to yield results. Answer: Executive Embedding (EB) - this is one of our 'breakthrough' services What is EB? How does it differ from EC? EB is a more 'surgical' version of EC EB is far shorter than traditional EC and thus less expensive EB focuses on observable real time, short term rather than long term effects EB is designed around enhancing critical micro-behaviors EB is organized around 'embedding events', not coaching sessions EB provides an opportunity for an on-the-spot observation of improvement How does it work? Let us suppose that we have identified or 'earmarked' a specific behavior of a team leader that poses a barrier to enhanced team member performance. Let us assume that the micro-behavior is 'feels uncomfortable when giving unfavorable feedback'. EB enables the design of an embedding event (EE), dedicated to that specific micro-behavior. How is it designed? The EE is delivered in three parts (usually within a week), each lasting one hour. Part 1 - Theory (provides theoretical elements on feedback, importance, types, barriers etc.) - 1 hour Part 2 - Observed Practice (this is a simulated or actual session where the manager is called upon to provide negative feedback to a member of his/her team). We observe the session and take notes. 1 hour Part 3 - Feedback (we provide feedback to the manager on the observed session - what went right/wrong). 1 hour If we conclude that the observed session did not go very well and the manager needs more knowledge or practice time, then a second EE is organized focusing on the same theme. If the desirable behavior has been achieved and observed during the practice session, then another EE is organized, focused on another deficient micro-behavior. For example, a 9-hour executive embedding program can run for 3 weeks (one EE per week), as it is focused on three specific observable micro-behaviors i.e. (a) 'feels uncomfortable when giving unfavorable feedback' (1+1+1) / 3 hrs (b) 'is not confident to motivate a poor performer' (1+1+1) / 3 hrs (c) 'finds it difficult to influence his/her boss' (1+1+1) / 3 hrs Executive Embedding can be designed around needs identified via the formal Performance Management System, critical competencies associated with a special assignment or project or unproductive micro-behaviors that operationally hinder team and organizational performance. Thus a series of ad-hoc, interconnected embedding events can be designed on a need-basis, throughout the year. Executive Embedding is a short, cost effective development intervention focusing on real time, observable improvements and measurable results.

Bill Gates once said, "We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve." Working with other leaders as an executive coach requires frequent feedback too, as this is how I improve as an executive coach. This is why surveys play a pivotal role in my executive coaching practice. They provide critical insights into the effectiveness of my coaching methods and highlight areas for improvement based on my clients’ opinions. Surveys serve as a structured feedback mechanism, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of client experiences, outcomes, and satisfaction levels. I systematically gather and analyze this data. Today, I know that 100% of my clients would recommend me as an executive coach to other leaders, with a Clean Coaching efficiency rate of 98.06%. I also realize what needs to be improved, even among these high marks. These are the 12 most important conclusions of this report from the last 10 coaching sessions (out of my total of 1500): 1. While 93% of my clients achieve their coaching targets, surveys help identify specific barriers preventing the remaining 7% from reaching their goals. 2. Surveys reveal that 78% of clients find my coaching very valuable, and 22% find it extremely valuable. 3. The feedback indicates that most clients value the new reflections gained from my powerful questions. 4. With 90% of clients gaining significant awareness of their leadership mission, surveys help pinpoint the factors that elevate awareness for the remaining 10%. 5. Surveys show a 56% increase in leaders’ effectiveness and significant improvement in their ability to influence others. 6. There is a 45% improvement in delegation and strengthening others. 7. Six in ten clients improved significantly in understanding others' points of view, with room for growth for the remaining clients. 8. With a 97.88% proficiency in focusing on client outcomes, surveys help identify subtle areas for further improvement to achieve near-perfect alignment with client needs. 9. Although highly rated, surveys highlight slight gaps in my active listening and clean coaching techniques. 10. Surveys indicate a need for improvement in time and session structure management. 11. Surveys confirm that 98.89% of clients feel I create a safe learning environment, crucial for effective coaching. 12. I know how I could specifically improve my coaching process thanks to a separate question devoted to this matter only. By systematically collecting and analyzing client insights, I can refine my coaching methods, enhance client outcomes, and maintain a client-centered approach that respects and responds to their unique needs and goals. This commitment to leveraging survey data helps me ensure that my coaching practice remains effective, and aligned with the highest standards of professional excellence in executive coaching. The report below demonstartes all details of my research. Enjoy reading! #executivecoaching #leadershipdevelopment

Certainly coaching isn’t an easy job, but it is very important for the development of people. It’s key to understand their background, to consider their personality and what moves them. The key is to undestand every one’s engine to move, drive and consolidate performance.

**Performance Coaching: The Key to Operational Excellence** We've all heard the phrase "coach them to get results" thrown around in organizational settings. While encouraging, this expression often assumes that team leaders know how to deliver and follow through on an effective coaching session. The truth is, that coaching people is indeed the key to achieving desired results. No peak performer succeeds without coaching, whether in sports, corporations, politics, or any other field. However, there are many variations and approaches to coaching. As I delved deeper into this topic, I realized that certain premises need to be established for a session to be considered true coaching, rather than just a feedback conversation or a 1:1 with a leader. Here's what I concluded: The Delivery Method - The way coaching is delivered varies across different practices. A basketball coach operates differently from an operations team leader in the tech industry. For organizational team management, there are two major components: a) The Questioning Process: Effective coaching relies heavily on asking the right questions to uncover insights and promote self-discovery. b) Active Listening: Truly listening to the coachee's responses and reading between the lines is crucial for a productive coaching session. The Substance - While the delivery method may vary, the substance of any coaching process remains unchanged, consisting of three essential factors: a) Behaviors Required: Identifying the specific behaviors associated with the activity or goal. b) Root Cause Analysis: Exploring the underlying reasons (skill, knowledge, or willingness) behind the coachee's current behavior. c) Action Plan: Developing a tailored action plan that addresses the identified root cause. The Coach's Expertise - The expertise level of the coach lies in their advanced understanding of the universe of behaviors associated with the activity or goal they are coaching. A deep knowledge of the required behaviors and their nuances is critical for effective coaching. Performance coaching is not just a buzzword; it's a powerful tool for unlocking individual and team potential. By mastering the art of coaching, leaders can drive operational excellence and foster a culture of continuous improvement within their organizations. I invite you to share your thoughts and experiences with performance coaching in the comments below. Let's engage in a constructive dialogue and learn from one another's perspectives. If you've made it this far, I appreciate your attention and interest in this crucial topic.

The book club reviewed Coaching the Team at Work by David Clutterbuck. David Clutterbuck's Coaching the Team at Work is a foundational text for those interested in team coaching. It offers a comprehensive and pragmatic guide to the art of working with teams to improve performance, collaboration, and self-sustainability. Written by one of the pioneers in the coaching field, this book explores the nuances of coaching within the team context, providing both theoretical frameworks and practical tools for professionals aiming to cultivate effective, resilient teams.   Team Coaching vs. Individual Coaching Clutterbuck distinguishes between individual coaching and the complexities of coaching a whole team. He argues that coaching a team requires more than the sum of individual coaching skills—it demands a focus on the team's collective intelligence, relationships, and dynamics. The book emphasises the shift from traditional coaching methods toward an approach that nurtures the team's collective capability to self-coach. Systemic Approach A notable strength of the book is its systemic approach. Clutterbuck views teams as systems embedded within larger systems, such as the organisation and its culture. He stresses the importance of understanding these wider contexts to support sustainable change. This systems thinking approach adds depth to his coaching methodology, encouraging coaches to be mindful of how external factors impact team behaviour and performance. Developing the Self-Sustaining Team One of the central ideas in Coaching the Team at Work is the notion of creating self-sustaining teams. Rather than fostering dependence on the coach, Clutterbuck advocates for empowering teams to develop the skills and processes necessary to coach themselves. This shift in mindset aligns with contemporary leadership trends that value autonomy, distributed leadership, and peer learning. Practical Tools and Frameworks The book provides a range of practical tools and models, such as the "TEAM" model (Task, Engagement, Accountability, and Metrics) and strategies for managing common team dysfunctions. These frameworks are particularly useful for coaches and leaders looking to apply team coaching in real-world settings. Clutterbuck's focus on measurable outcomes and structured processes also helps to align team coaching with business goals. Navigating Team Dynamics Clutterbuck delves into the complexities of team dynamics, including trust-building, conflict resolution, and managing diversity of thought. His exploration of how to coach through these challenges is insightful, highlighting the coach's role as a facilitator of dialogue and collaboration rather than as an expert with all the answers. Strengths Deep Expertise: Clutterbuck’s wealth of experience in coaching is evident throughout the book, which is rich with case studies and examples that illustrate his concepts in action.