Laser Provision
This week we share the story of a LifeTrek client who experienced the energy
and love that often results from a coaching relationship. By viewing clients as
creative, resourceful and whole, coaching clears away distractions in order to
champion clients and encourage their infinite possibility.
In This Issue
1. On The Web: Earthquake IQ Go There
2. Provision: Coaching as Noise Reduction Go There
3. Bulletin Board Highlights: Amazon Kindle Go There
4. Book Recommendation: How Coaching Works by O'Connor & Lages Go There
5. Subscribe / Unsubscribe Instructions Go There
1. On The Web:
Earthquake IQ by Bob Tschannen-Moran
Would you know what to do in an
earthquake? I thank my sister-in-law for sending along this fun ten-question
quiz. Enjoy! (PS -- I only got four right the first time through.)
www.nwcn.com/sharedcontent/features/flash/quake/during.html
We invite you
Email Us
or to use our
Contact Form
to arrange for a complimentary coaching conversation with your own LifeTrek
coach.
2. Provision #564: Coaching as Noise
Reduction by Erika Jackson
Sometimes, to be the best we can possibly
be, all we have to do is to get out of our own way. Coaches are often in the
position of crafting a relationship, through conversation and a way of being,
where that can happen. It is as though we become a friend with no agenda of our
own so clients can hear and act upon the agenda of their own true self.
"Your friend is your needs answered. She is your field which you sow with love
and reap with thanksgiving and she is your board and fireside, for you come to
her with your hunger, and you seek her for peace. In the sweetness of friendship
let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things
the heart finds its morning and is refreshed." -- Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
This week we interview a former LifeTrek client who found her full voice through
the safety of a coaching relationship. Participating in a relationship in which
every word was respected, every dream celebrated, and every thought accepted,
enabled this client to identify the relationships in her life where such freedom
did not exist.
The intense and revealing process of claiming her values assisted her to turn
down the volume of all the background noise in her life. She put stakes in the
ground, no longer tolerating jobs or relationships that sapped her of energy and
joy. Instead, she found the strength to jettison those "tolerations," to set
boundaries, and to make courageous, life-changing decisions.
She left a secure but unfulfilling position in the banking industry in order to
take short-term assignments with the military. Although her military assignments
were never a sure thing, and although they frequently involved being uprooted to
a different military base, this client came to experience the travel and new
experiences with a sense of wonder and adventure.
She also worked to clean up her relationships until they were all healthy and
supportive. Now she has gone back into private industry, while developing a
life-coaching practice on the side. This story of transition and triumph is
encouragement for us all.
Q: When you contacted LifeTrek Coaching, what was your original goal?
A: It was very specific. I wanted to figure out an exit strategy from my
position at the bank and I wanted to work on deciphering my options. I also
wanted to balance my professional goals with the desires of the little girl in
me who believed she could do anything. I can look back at my first 7 goals and
see where I've done exactly that. For example, now I don't tolerate anything
less than a true a friendship.
Q. In what ways did your goals evolve through the coaching process?
A: It was the process itself, with specific questions and deadlines, which
helped me the most. I'm such a free-thinker that I usually hop from one thing to
the next. So, the homework added a lot of value. It was not just a waste of
time. And, it was helpful that there was no hidden agenda from you.
Q: What was the impact that coaching had on your life?
A: Recently, I interviewed for a position and was able to develop the questions
that I wanted to have answered based on the tolerations and foundations work
that we did together. I've been using the foundations and tolerations with all
my friends, coaching them to use them as well.
In our conversations, for the first time, I identified my strengths and
weaknesses without being shy about them. I was able to be proud of them and know
how to use them. Coaching gave me the direction I was looking for as well as a
criterion for making decisions. I now use those standards in my business,
personal, and spiritual life. It makes it easy to say, "That's a toleration and
I don't need it." It makes everything more clear cut.
Q: What shifts have you experienced as a result of coaching?
A: I have experienced shifts in my friendships and other relationships. My life
is so less cluttered with people who just want small talk. I have the
relationships that I want with people I can grow with and enjoy. It became so
easy say, "I'm just not getting anything out of this relationship," and to move
on.
The tolerations work helped me to do that, as well as the foundations and goals.
When I had those on paper, and they were staring back at me, I didn't have time
for interference. You said, "We want to assist you to get where you want to go,
avoiding as many speed bumps as we can along the way." And that is exactly what
you did.
It has been a long journey, but I have been steadier and have followed a
straighter path than I otherwise might have. You helped me see my skills as a
coach and apply that to my life as well.
Q: What are the behavioral changes you have experienced?
A: I am no longer such a worrier. I know that things will work out they way they
should. I can let things go more easily. I've learned how not to displace my
anger, pouring it on someone else. The puzzles have been put together; I've rid
myself of the things I was tolerating and the things that don't add value.
And here's the best one: for the first time since I was a little girl, I don't
have fake smiles anymore. They are big 'ole genuine smiles. My mom said I look
just so happy right now.
Q: How were you stretched by the process of coaching?
A: With you I was first able to say that I was a coach. I recognized new roles,
how I act those roles out, and what those roles mean. I stepped out and
developed my own company. I was able to see my ideas come to fruition the way I
wanted them to be. My website, for example, is nothing less than I wanted it to
be. It helped define who I was as a professional coach.
One huge stretch was giving up my house and moving my belongings into a storage
unit. I had to trust in something more than a stable, full-time job for my
income and not live paycheck to paycheck. What a great adventure! I lived on 12
military bases in 2 years, in different parts of the country with different
people and different missions. Instead of filling me with anxiety, the travel
became my theme song. I developed my strengths and learned how to use them to
effect the situation and influence the people.
Q: What recommendations do you have for others who are considering working
with a coach?
A: Coaching is like having a guidance counselor, a best friend, and a
cheerleader who consistently asks, "What is your goal? Why don't you work on
that?" Great coaches don't work their agenda; they work their clients' agendas.
So be prepared to clear out a lot of brush and see a lot of things you may have
long suspected but never been able to focus on.
It's important, therefore, to go into coaching with an open mind. You may know
where you want to go but you need to be flexible about the path. I never thought
I'd end up working for a new company, for example, in another state.
Look for a coach who will meet you where you are. Look for someone who is
congenial over the phone and with whom you want to work. Go into the
relationship with a trustful nature and make the coach earn your distrust. If
you do it the other way, you could waste a lot of time building trust instead of
working on the real issues.
Put your issues first and let go. You can be fully open and honest and your
coach won't use it against you. How great is that? With all the noise in the
world and in our lives, we can all use assistance like that to hear our own true
voice.
Coaching Inquiries: What are you tolerating? What and who is sapping your
energy? Where does your heart "find its morning and is refreshed"?
To reply to this Provision, use our
Feedback Form. To
talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization,
Email Us
or use our
Contact Form
to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs,
Click Here.
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3. Bulletin Board
-- Amazon Kindle. My latest "find" is an
electronic library that enables me to take hundreds of books with me, where ever
I go, in a device that's about the size of a small, paperback book. The device
is called a Kindle and I encourage you to check it out. With a connection to the
Internet that comes free of charge, many are finding that the Kindle can also be
used for email and conventional browsing. For more information, visit
Amazon
Kindle.
-- LifeTrek
Coaching In The News. Bob Tschannen-Moran, the President of LifeTrek
Coaching International, was recently featured in the news. Read the
Full Story Online today!
-- CelebrateEmpathy.com.
To learn more about the process of honest expression and empathic reception,
visit out latest Celebrate! website, CelebrateEmpathy.com.
The site features resources and training opportunities in Nonviolent
Communication (NVC).
-- CelebrateSchools.com. Building on the school leadership work of
LifeTrek Vice-President, Megan Tschannen-Moran, Associate Professor of
Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership at the College of William and Mary,
LifeTrek offers a dynamic process for school improvement utilizing Appreciative
Inquiry, training, and professional coaching. To learn and to contact us for a
possible consultation, visit CelebrateSchools.com.
-- CelebrateCongregations.com. If you are involved with a church or
congregation in need of transformation and renewal, Appreciative Inquiry and
professional coaching provides a powerful combination for making things
different. To learn more and to contact us for a possible consultation, visit
CelebrateCongregations.com.
-- Discount on Athletic Apparel. To receive a 10% discount on athletic
shoes, apparel, and accessories, contact Dan Distelhorst of Second Soul
Delaware. Just be sure to mention that you are a reader of LifeTrek Provisions!
To learn more, visit their store
online, sign up for their
electronic newsletter, write Dan an
email,
or give him a call at (740) 369-0622.
-- Visit our Blog. Want to catch interim thoughts, between Provisions?
Just visit our web log Click.
You'll find links to relevant articles on topics of interest to LifeTrek
Readers. You can even add your own comments and replies.
-- LifeTrek Coaching Programs. LifeTrek offers a full range of individual
and group coaching programs. In addition to what you read every week in
Provisions concerning your personal and professional development, did you know
that LifeTrek also does a wide range of organizational development work and
leadership coaching? The various aspects of our program are clearly described at
our Website,
Click. Visit our site
today to learn how LifeTrek can assist you or your organization.
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4. Bookstore
Click
You can
purchase all of the books mentioned in LifeTrek Provisions as well as a whole
lot more from
Amazon.com.
These great books will move you forward in your own life trek. Here are links to
a few recently mentioned books:
-- How Coaching Works by Joseph O'Connor & Andrea Lages
Amazon
-- Blink by Malcom Gladwell
Amazon
-- The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Amazon
-- Brain Rules by John Medina
Amazon
-- Appreciative Coaching by Orem, Binkert, & Clancy
Amazon
-- The Cure Within by Anne Harrington
Amazon
-- Change or Die by Alan Deutschman
Amazon
-- The Inner Game of Work by W. Timothy Gallwey
Amazon
-- Coaching Conversations for Transformational Change by Hall & Duvall
Amazon
-- Coaching for Performance: Growing People, Performance, and Purpose by John Whitmore
Amazon
E-Books by Bob Tschannen-Moran
Old Provisions never die;
they just keep on providing inspiration for life. You can purchase
some of your favorite Provisions' series, for a nominal fee, bundled and
formatted either for Palm Pilot document readers or as Adobe Acrobat PDF files.
Here are the titles currently available with a link to purchase:
-- Listening e-Book and Audio Series. Bob Tschannen-Moran's series of
Provisions on Listening has been turned into a 41-page e-Book together with an
audio series that he recorded along with Margaret Moore from the Wellcoaches
Corporation. In addition to learning the "10 Keys to Better Listening," this
e-Book and Audio Series will enable you to appreciate the humor and insight of
Bob's perspective and voice. If you're not ready to start work with a LifeTrek
coach, this series on Listening is the next best thing. Working through the 10
Keys, and listening to the audio recording, will assist you to reap the personal
and professional benefits of better listening. Order your copy today for $10
U.S.
Click.
We also have a variety of other resources for as little as $1.50. Check out
these titles:
-- Mastering Your Money: Road to Financial Independence,
PDF or
Palm DOC
-- Ten Strategies for Success: Culled from America's Greatest Sports Coaches,
PDF or
Palm DOC
-- Get Motivated For Life: How To Give Your Best Every Day,
PDF or
Palm DOC
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5. Subscribe/Unsubscribe Instructions
LifeTrek Provisions goes to more than 50,000 subscribers in 152 countries,
including 35,480 subscribers on handheld
devices as of the end of March 2008. To view
the list of countries, Click Here.
Let us know if we should add your country to the list:
Click.
To subscribe or unsubscribe from LifeTrek Provisions, visit our Subscriber Services' page:
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Submit your request, and you will be promptly added or removed from our
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May you be filled with goodness, peace, and joy.
Bob Tschannen-Moran, President
LifeTrek Coaching International
121 Will Scarlet Lane
Williamsburg, VA 23185-5043
Email: Click
Phone: (757) 345-3452
Fax: (772) 382-3258
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