Posts Tagged ‘Coaching’ Blog Index

The other night, while everyone in the office was at The Roots concert, I was busy with my new puppy, Buddha. We had puppy class! The first few classes were introductions and simple lessons, but last night we got down to the hard stuff: sit, stay, wait, come, lie down. Turns out Buddha can’t lie down, so we’ll just have to forget about roll over for now! All in all the class was great. The main message vocalized by the instructor? Dogs need constant feedback.

I started thinking about feedback and everything I’ve learned working here at Rypple – it all relates to dogs as well. Here’s what I learned from an hour and a half of puppy class:

• Feedback, feedback, feedback. I need to give my puppy constant feedback if I want to teach her new tricks. If I want Buddha to do something better, I need to give her constant feedback. It is the same for humans! If a manager wants his employees to do something differently or improve, he or she should give them feedback.
• Treats = kudos. Giving a dog treats lets them know that they are doing something well. Giving a person public recognition with something like kudos lets them know that they are doing something right. Dogs always want treats so they will continue to try and impress you to get more. Give people public recognition and hopefully they will want more!
• Coaching 1:1 is effective. Letting dogs play together is always good, but my dog needs to know who her master  is. If I want her to keep improving, I need to spend some 1:1 time with her outside the class room. It’s easier for her to give me her undivided attention when 6 other dogs aren’t barking and peeing on the floor beside her! Coaching and mentoring is a huge part of the business world as well. People can learn in big groups, but 1:1 meeting are always more effective.

It’s funny how I can learn so much about the business world from puppy class! It just proves the point even more strongly: people (and dogs!) need feedback constantly if you want them to learn new tricks and listen to you.

Tags: Coaching, coaching and mentoring, constant feedback, dogs, Feedback, Kudos, teaching new dogs old tricks

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We recently conducted a webinar with Stephen Miles, the Vice Chairman of Heidrick & Struggle, where he revealed how you can become a high performance manager by using a few simple techniques daily. Stephen is a coach to approximately 10 CEO/COOs around the world. He has built the practice’s coaching expertise by focusing on high-performance leadership competencies with a heavy emphasis on the business and cultural context.

Your Career is a Game

According to Stephen, your career is a game. There is a defined field of play, specific players that affect the play and rules that may need to be followed.  The field of play should be obvious – your workplace. We then need to ask ourselves: “Who are the players?” The players are your immediate supervisor, peers and subordinates. Once we figure out who the important players are, take time to understand what their motives and moves could be.

There are four main types of moves:

• Incidental moves really have no meaning to your career.
• Instrumental moves are the ones that change your trajectory. Could be a moderate change or a drastic change.
• Uniquely qualified moves are okay to make in or outside of your company. It is safe to do so because you are an expert for the job you are taking, wherever it may be.
• Uniquely unqualified moves are more challenging.  Making a uniquely unqualified move is safe to do inside of your organization, but not outside. This occurs when someone changes a position into a role where it becomes 20% old and 80% new information to learn. It is safe to make this move intracompany because you have already created strong relationships with those who want you to develop new skills.

The 4 Critical Moves to Make

1. What is your competitive advantage?

• Become known for something early in your career.
• Try not to jump to new roles all of the time, but not to get pigeon holed, where you become irreplaceable.
• Become the executive that does more than just the job.

2. Make moves that matter

• Build you capability and transform your career.

3. Strengthen your weak ties

• Get involved with other social networks, not just your “regular” ones.
• If you strengthen you weak ties outside of your norm., you can be noticed by broader companies and get on their radar.

4. Manage your mentoring

• You need to have mentors also! This is important if you want to be successful.

3 Different Types of Mentors

Yoda is somebody who understands the success factor of the company. This person is very valuable to you because he or she can show you the ropes of the organization when you first come in. Find Yoda!

Rising Star once you are ready for another mentor, don’t choose someone who is one or two positions above you, aim for someone four or five positions above you. You don’t want to choose someone who you could be competing against within a year.

The Truth Teller is what you make it, they are usually someone on the outside of the company who has no bias. This person wants you to succeed in and outside of your job, but there is no prejudice because he or she doesn’t work with you.

Observed Qualities of Highly Successful Leaders

• Micro-leadership is the most important, he says, the very best leaders lead with detail. They differentiate themselves from micro-managers– they are on top of the detail, they understand their business or organization and don’t need and entourage to explain it. Stephen tell us to ask ourselves; “Who in your career have you learned the most from?”
• Socratic approach. He states that women have an advantage at this already (power to the women out there!). This is very helpful in a work environment, asking the fourth, fifth and sixth questions – not just the easy ones.
• Prioritizing is essential – failure happens because people try to do too much too fast. It may seem obvious but establish the three or four things that you are going to focus on before the rest.
• Take a formal management process, delegate and assign work to someone but assure you follow up and inspect their work. Most people don’t know how to formally lead – take minutes of meetings, write goals and important information – don’t just have continuous meetings on meetings.
• Team leadership allows you to be a good leader, form your team with the right people; meaning, a few people who are masters of their roles and some who have potential to develop in a new field.
• Listening! Finally, Stephen tells us, nine and a half out of ten people don’t listen. Listening makes you a better leader and respected by others.

He finishes by explaining that being a good leader is not as complicated as it is made to be, its all about the simple things and doing them in a very disciplined, organized way.

Tags: career, Coaching, game theory, heidrick, high performance, Leadership, management, manager, stephen miles, struggles, techniques, tools

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I often read books, articles, and posts from companies that I admire; companies like Apple, Google, BMW, IDEO. My goal is understand what makes them succeed, so I can apply some of these strategies at our company, Rypple. Some of the reasons for their success are more obvious: a great product line, great marketing, great people. The question is, “why do these companies have great people, products, and marketing, leading to outstanding results?” The answer, the root of their success, may shock you: Their employee’s find meaning in their work.

The leaders of these companies make this happen through three key actions:

Clarity of vision and purpose:
Every employee in the company understands the mission and vision of the business, and how their weekly activities will impact company goals. The DNA of the company then guides day to day activities.

Ongoing coaching:
The leaders (managers) of these companies provide continuous coaching and mentoring to their teams. As opposed to providing their teams with guidance only once or twice a year through a formalized process, they meet regularly. These quick conversations ensure their teams are focused on the right actions, get feedback they can put into action immediately, and are learning all the time. This constant communication fosters a collaborative and inspiring environment.

Recognition for achievement:
Leaders of great organizations understand that their people aren’t solely motivated by money, but instead, derive a lot of meaning from recognition. Whether publicly or privately, being recognized for a job well done makes us all feel validated, appreciated, and more engaged in our work. We all like to receive Kudos, and great companies ensure that accomplishments are recognized. We believe that meaning leads to engagement, and engagement leads to amazing results!

With these answers in hand, I’m working hard to ensure that our team finds meaning in the work they do everyday.

What are you doing at your organization to find meaning and achieve extraordinary results?

Tags: achievement, Coaching, david stein, engagement, Feedback, Leadership, motivation, recognition, Rypple

David Stein is a co-CEO of Rypple. David was one of the founders and the Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer of Workbrain. He is a recognized HCM strategist and has helped some of the biggest companies in the world to get the most out of their people.

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My father taught me how to ride a bike. He showed me the basics and provided the setting for success – he held on to the back of my seat to prevent me from falling but let me steer. He let me take on the challenge and subsequent glory. I learned how all on my own – or so I thought – and, more importantly, my dad taught me to trust my skills and believe in myself.

Marshall J. Cook talks about the same pattern in Effective Coaching. Cook’s book focuses on workplace coaching and managers as the target audience but the lessons he shares can be applied elsewhere – in schools by teachers, in sports by coaches, and at home by parents. Cook emphasizes understanding people through asking them the right questions, listening to their answers, and then by extracting the essence to ensure the common understanding and agreement on a course of action. Most importantly, after instructing and empowering their employees, Cook instructs managers to step aside and let their subordinates execute and eventually bask in the glory of a job well done.

Read the rest of my post, and learn how to be an effective coach on my blog

Tags: bike riding, Coaching, Effective Coaching, interview, learning, lesson, Marshall J. Cook, onebookaweek.com, Rypple

Development, author of onebookaweek.com

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In my previous post, Evaluative and Developmental Feedback, I mentioned Marshall Goldsmith’s philosophy of FeedForward. The FeedForward exercise has two goals, learn as much as you can, and help as much as you can. It’s about the future, not the past. Here’s a quick video of Marshall explaining the FeedForward exercise. Enjoy!

Tags: Coaching, Evaluative and Developmental feedback, feedforward, marshall goldsmith, Rypple

Community Marketing

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People ask me, “what’s the easiest way for me to get started with Rypple?”.

Here are four super-easy tips to help get you going:

1. Get insights from YOUR Crowd
2. Give insights
3. Get feedback on “one thing”
4. Take action!

1. Get insights from YOUR Crowd

We all work with colleagues, clients, mentors, and friends who have insights on how we can take our game to the next level. The problem is, we rarely ask these people to share their thoughts so these helpful insights remain hidden. As John Foster from IDEO discusses in a recent blog, tapping into those insights and making yourself open to them is the best way to get started down the road to continuous improvement.

Action: login to Rypple and create a group of advisers (left hand side of screen). Rypple will periodically remind them to share their insights on how you’re doing, resulting in a continuous stream of great ideas designed especially for you!

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2. Give insights

You probably have lots of thoughts on how the people and processes you deal with every day can be improved. Don’t keep them bottled up! Use Rypple to share them with a friend, colleague, or manager quickly and anonymously right from your email account.

Action: Send an email to give@rypple.com. Put the recipients’ email addresses in the subject line and your feedback in the body of the message. Hit send and your anonymous feedback will be on it way! Learn more about give@rypple.com. (Tip: give feedback anytime by trying this from your mobile device)

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3. Get feedback on “one thing”

The best way to learn fast and get ahead quicker is to reach out and ask the people around you for feedback. The trick is uncovering your personal blind-spots and asking super-focused questions that expose them and yield actionable insights. That’s why using the “one thing” technique is so powerful!

Action: In Rypple, click on the group you create in step 1 and ask them a question starting with the phrase, “What’s one thing….” (e.g. “What’s one thing I can do to be a more effective manager?” or “What’s one thing we can do to improve the value of our weekly meetings?”).

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4. Take Action!

Want to know a secret? The most helpful feedback is the world is totally useless unless you use it to take action and drive yourself forward! In fact, the key is not only taking action, but letting the people around you know about it. In one of his studies (pgs 6-7), leadership coach/guru Marshall Goldsmith talks about the importance of follow-up to drive engagement. Think about it. If people see you’re using their feedback to improve, not only will your stock increase in value, but they’ll be more likely to provide it again!

Action: Once you’ve received feedback from step 3, click the “Take Action” button below the results and let your crowd know what action you plan on taking. Rypple will send a notification back to your advisers, demonstrating the value of their help!

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Tags: Coaching, Feedback, honest, insights, learning, professional development

Product & Community

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New and improved this week:

• To keep up with our good friends on the GWT team at Google, we’ve upgraded from GWT 1.5 to 1.7. This will improve the performance of Rypple and give us greater cross-browser support.
• We’ve improved the load time of the non-logged in adviser and public URL response pages. When we say FAST, honest, feedback, we really mean it. This means the people answering your Rypples will have a really snappy experience.
• The types of feedback you can give are now clearer than ever:
  • Freeform: the old Advice box has now become a free-for-all of feedback. It’s completely up to you: say what’s on your mind in whatever format you’d like to use.
  • Like/Improve: the previously-ambiguously-named Feedback tab gives you the structured to tell your advisers what you liked and what you thought needed improvement.
  • Start/Stop/Continue: the ex-Coaching tab, which made a very recent appearance in Rypple gives you three fields to tell your advisers what they should start, stop, and continue doing.

• The Leaderboard is a great tool to help you decide who to ask. Check out who has asked the most questions, and who has been the most helpful in all of Rypple, at your company, and now by your domain. You’ll find the Leaderboard in the sidebar of your Home page.

• If you’re stuck thinking of a question to ask, the Suggested Questions community is the place to be. Search through questions added by other people with the same domain as you, vote the best ones up to the top, and ask any of the questions with a single click. Check out what your teammates are asking!

• Tag your TouchBase objectives with skills. This will help you know what type of questions to ask so you can get the proper feedback to complete your objectives.

Stay tuned for next weeks notes! Same time, same place.

Tags: Coaching, community, customer outreach, decision support, Feedback, feedback is fundamental, freeform, GWT, leaderboard, like/improve, peer review, performance, personal review, professional development, quick polls, Release Notes, Rypple, speed, start/stop/continue, suggested questions, team review, touchbase

Community Marketing

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