We follow a very simple three steps process that is illustrated by the following chart:
The purpose of the first step is to help the client better understand his thinking process, set of main beliefs/perceptions, and also managerial style. Following an active inquiry by the coach, we will be defining together the main goal of our engagement. We will also discuss how to define a successful outcome.Using a variety of validated and reliable assessments (competences and behavioral), the client will gain insights about his impact as well as about his thinking styles, natural behavioral traits, and where he might have to adapt in order to match his desired intent with an impact that gets results and maintains strong relationships.Leaders need to become aware of:
Their own sense of purpose and ways they can contribute to the well-being of others Who they are:
What their strengths are
What they enjoy doing
The professional and personal context they need in order to be successful How they are part of a larger system How they depend on others for their own success and the success of their business What responsibility they have toward their workforce and external communities What responsibility they have toward the natural environment (e.g., the impact of their business upon the depletion of particular natural resources) What responsibility they have toward future generations
The second step consists of defining the coaching plan with the client. The purpose of the coaching plan is to access your blind spots and see opportunities for self-growth. We will be coaching you to define this coaching plan. So, you will need to actively challenge your self-perceptions and biases. Maybe the client has a behavioral blind spot that is holding back or even derailing their career. For instance, he exhibits a pattern of behaviors that show up as arrogance. Alternatively, perhaps he avoids conflict in ways that hurt productivity.The coach is assisting the client to become more aware of the process of taking an action, from initial cues and triggers to automatic and sometimes unproductive and accurate thoughts, to choices about action, and finally, effective behaviors.By combining perceptual coaching with behavioral coaching, the client can provide tangible evidence that the new ways of thinking are taking root.The coaching is about helping clients reframe a belief that might be holding them back. The coach helps the client to choose an alternative perception and make it a habit. In the case of perceptual coaching, the coach works with the client on new ways of perceiving as well as on new behaviors that reflect the changed view.Perceptual coaching can lead to improvements in any leadership competency in which the client might have struggled. Examples include: Influencing others and communicating powerfully, Engaging employees, Building one’s powerbase/managing up, Leading teams, Leading change, Creating a high-performing culture, One-page career plan (finding a new career/role), etc.
The third step will focus on framing, measuring, and monitoring results. We will implement a proven behavioral coaching process to enable the client to choose simple behaviors that will have maximum impact.This includes receiving monthly feedback, both subjective and quantitative, about how frequently others are observing new behaviors. Coaching sessions will focus on making new skills and behaviors habitual, while also preplanning upcoming meetings and interactions and preparing and role-playing for optimal results.We will conduct a midcourse review with the sponsors of this coaching engagement, as well as a second 360-degree verbal assessment to gain insights about progress and any midcourse corrections that are needed in the coaching plan. However, the monthly feedback and our regular check-ins (as needed) should confirm that the client’s improvements are showing up in his performance at work. This process always goes with perceptual coaching because the client will identify new behaviors that some reframed belief supports, and work to make them a habit. Perceptual coaching usually fits within an existing behavioral coaching engagement and enriches it.