Sunday 1 April 2018

My favourite coaching tools: Open Question How

I've been reflecting on a multitude of interactions over a number of years trying to improve my speech metaphors, better questions, less leading and less inference.

Along the way, learning about the simple Open Questions / Closed Questions model used a great deal by Business Analysts, as well as facilitators of new ideas and group consensus.

Open Questions are divergent - they cause the person asked to provide new insights from their own subjective experience or beliefs. Typically these are the Where, What, When, Who, How. And not the Why as it is too aggressive for the recipient.

Closed Questions are convergent - they cause the person asked to move forward with their ideas or their decisions. Typically these are the Yes or No, This or That.

Along the way I noticed is that most/all "Why?" questions can (and should) be reframed with the other Where, What, When, Who and How questions.

Further along the way I noticed that with a bit more effort most/all Where, What, When, and Who questions can be rephrased with How. And based on some stakeholders feedback, that's a very good idea as it seemed to unlock many more options and more possibilities in people's minds.

For Example:

  • Why did you do that? Becomes
    • What did you hope to achieve by doing that? Becomes
      • How did you think it would turn out, and how did it turn out?

  • Why do you think we should speak to xyz? Becomes
    • What do you think we could learn from speaking to xyz? Becomes
      • How does speaking to xyz help us?

There are 2 books which have been particularly useful to me, and I am sure there are multitudes others. "Metaphors We Live By" by George Lackoff and Mark Johnson, and "Steps to an Ecology of Mind" by Gregory Bateson - but more on these later! 


Sunday 25 March 2018

My latest saying - You Are The Subject Of Your Life Story

You are the subject of your life story.

It's been inspired by Roger Evans' recently published "5DL - Five Dimensions of Leadership", available from Creative Leadership Consultants.

The actual piece that Roger describes this one-liner in is on page 93 in the chapter "1DL: The Ability to Self-Reflect"

"So as we consciously stop and reflect so we begin to realise that we are actually the subject of our thoughts and feelings rather than being the victim or object of whats out there’. This is for many such a powerful insight!


Consequently, if we are the subject of these thoughts feelings/emotions and behaviours, then the possibility exists that we can consciously control and potentially change them if we choose to do so. It means that we can begin to control our thoughts feelings and behaviours.22" 

Every sentence, thought, image, piece of music, feeling, etc that occurs to you or appears to you in your mind's eye - it is all about you. Pay attention, grow your self-awareness, take control over your mindsets and from there control your life!

Sunday 18 March 2018

Book Crossing Is Cool

Towards the end of 2016 I was at a course and 1 of the attendees mentioned "Book Crossing" and explained it as leaving and retrieving books people have placed in all kinds of places.

Finally I got around to actually researching what I had heard around September 2017. Since then I have have placed 46 books out there and am hopeful that eventually people will begin to enter reviews, or at least little comments of some kind on my bookshelf (http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/agilecoachrob).

http://www.bookcrossing.com/about does a pretty good job of explaining what this is all about really. I think one of the most fascinating things that will emerge from this social experiment running since 2001, is the way the membership (http://www.bookcrossing.com/findmembers) will change, and some kinds of insight that will emerge of where and when books are released, and then where, when and how will those books travel to their next release point. Maybe even luckier some kind of "pure" trend about which books are more popular really / unbiased by reviewers, publishers, book sellers, prizes or any other kind of "public persuasion".

Who knows - but I am still hoping that people will pickup one of those 46 and update the locations, leave their own reviews, etc and continue this fantastic social experiment! Thankyou for supporting!

A smarter SMART for even better collaborative Objectives (including OKRs)

My favourite coaching tools: SMART Acronym Another Update