Coaching Archives - Page 8 of 25

The importance of probing questions.

As leaders, we always want to ask open-ended questions that inspire dialogue and eliminate tension. Here are some strategies to use when asking probing questions. The bridge before the question: "Help me understand." "I'm curious; please share with me...." "Could you tell me more?" The questions designed for the current situation: "What are all the possible solutions you can think of?" "What is stopping you from reaching that?" "What resources could you tap into to help you?" "Who may be affected by this decision?" The questions designed for the past: "Give me some background; how did you arrive at that?" "What have you tried?" (not have you tried A, B, or C) "What do you think went wrong or happened?" The questions designed [...]

By Bob Fashano|2023-03-08T01:49:23+00:00January 31st, 2022|Coaching, Development|0 Comments

Look for opportunities to lead from the front.

There are three types of leaders: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who scratch their heads, stare out the window, and wonder, “ What Happened?” Hopefully, we are leaders who make it happen. As a reminder, we must engage with our people often. I am not referring to anything that resembles micro-managing. However, I recommend you keep your finger on the pulse of the needs and wants of your people. That is where you will find the opportunities to lead them. As you may know, a constant awareness of what needs to do, and the energy to make it happen is essential for every leader. Remember, you cannot maintain or build a healthy culture [...]

By Bob Fashano|2022-01-25T21:03:57+00:00January 26th, 2022|Coaching, Leadership|0 Comments

What is influence?

Most people think influence comes with power, authority, experience, and position. It is true that these factors may affect your influence, but I have found they are not the most relevant. INFLUENCE IS ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION. Communication is the very foundation of influence. However, when discussing the subject of communication the topic of influence rarely comes up. The impact of communication on influence becomes even more significant when one considers we can not communicate. Virtually everything we do professionally and personally communicates a message and therefore IMPACTS (positively or negatively) our ability to INFLUENCE others. Authors Boone and Kurtz in Contemporary Business estimate that leaders, “spend about 80% of their time (6 hours and 24 minutes) of every eight-hour day in direct [...]

By Bob Fashano|2022-01-22T15:56:40+00:00December 22nd, 2021|Coaching|0 Comments

Is it the message or the delivery?

What I know to be true is people are influenced by what you say, and how you make them feel. If your message and delivery are in sync, others will perceive you as trustworthy, credible, sincere and authentic. When your words match the way you behave, how you look and how you sound, your communication is the total package. What your listeners hear, see and feel is in harmony, consistency builds trust, which in turn builds influence. In reading Professor Albert Mehrabian’s work on communication, he states the following “When communication is unclear, when the message and the delivery are inconsistent, we pay more attention to nonverbal cues to interpret the meaning.” Here are two examples: when a customer service [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-12-21T20:53:25+00:00December 15th, 2021|Coaching|0 Comments

Mining for gold.

Andrew Carnegie was an excellent businessman, leader, and coach. He came to America from his native Scotland as a small boy. He did a variety of small jobs, and eventually ended up at the largest steel manufacturer in the United States. At one time he was the wealthiest man in America, and he became a great philanthropist. At one point during his career, he had 43 millionaires working for him. In the late 1800s, a millionaire was a rare breed. A reporter once asked Carnegie how he managed to hire 43 millionaires, with which Carnegie replied, “They were not millionaires when I hired them.” The reporter’s follow-up question was a simple, yet provoking one, “How did you develop them to be [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-11-23T19:10:51+00:00November 24th, 2021|Coaching, Development, Leadership|0 Comments