webplanners, Author at Coaching Focus

Beware of the Monkey

Written by webplanners on August 9, 2023. Posted in Other. Leave a Comment

As part of the Elevating Leadership Program, in Module 2, Managing Conflict, there is a segment called Beware of the Monkey. The ‘monkey’ is an analogy for a task and we talk about how the slippery ‘monkey’ can so quickly jump from someone else’s back to yours before you have even noticed.

The term ‘monkey on your back’ was coined back in 1974. Back then other terms we often used such as ‘manager’ and ‘subordinate’. Thankfully we use those terms less now, however, the concept of the ‘monkey’ remains true.

It happens so easily.

It happens so easily. Your team member comes to you to share a problem with you as the team leader, and before you realize you’ve said it, the golden words have been spoken by you. You say….“Leave it with me”. There it is. Job done. The monkey has made the jump from your team member’s back to yours in the blink of an eye. You have successfully just given yourself an extra task to do and your team member now has one less. Congratulations, every time you do this your task list gets bigger and theirs get smaller. Hardly a win-win.

You may have done this for many reasons; not having the answer right away, not feeling your team member can handle the task, perhaps time is running out and you are thinking it is quicker if you just get it done yourself. Whatever the reason, it is worth considering why your task list is growing and those of your teams are not. Your ‘monkeys’ are multiplying. You need to take control of the ‘monkeys’.

Your role as a leader.

Our role as leaders is to lead by influence, to inspire and to empower. The greatest leader you can be is one who builds capacity in others. Taking tasks aka ‘monkeys’ from your team members doesn’t grow capacity or empower. Every time you do a task that one of your team has passed to you, you are depriving them of the opportunity to tackle something new and to grow. So instead, the leader we need you to be is one who sits with the team members and explores the problem together, uses open questions in a coaching style to explore the problem and how the team member can manage through the problem, but keeping it as their problem to solve. They keep the ‘monkey’ and from your conversation, you are empowering them with the tools and resources to manage it. Their capacity is built through the conversation and through completing the task. You have inspired them, helped them to see capabilities they may not have seen before, identified resources and strategies they may not have considered before. In the process, you haven’t added to your task list. Finally, a win-win.

I was recently in Sydney working with the leaders at Masada College, and I shared with them a small set of coaching questions that will help to support the person who has come to you with their ‘monkey’. The questions show your support and willingness to collaborate on the problem, while empowering them to continue to stay with the problem and work through it. The Masada College workshop was about conflict management, and you are probably wondering how this relates to managing conflict, so, allow me to explain. Some leaders feel that because they have the title of leader, they should have all the answers, be the so-called ‘font of all knowledge’ and be able to solve all the problems. This is especially true of younger leaders and those who are keen to prove their worth, perhaps in a new role. There is this internal pressure to be ready with the answers and when they don’t have the answer, to address their sense of responsibility or inadequacy, they quickly take on the problem themselves. They collect ‘monkeys’. The same feeling of anxiety comes up in this situation for them as when they are in a difficult conversation and the quickest way to relieve their discomfort is to take on the task.

Using a coaching approach.

The questions below are a useful resource to use in those moments when someone comes to you with a problem or task. You can work through the problem with them, supporting them through the thinking involved and assist them in finding their next step. They will be empowered and you have helped to build their capacity in the process. They leave the conversation still with the ‘monkey’. Job done. No more ‘monkeys’!

Try the questions below and see how effective they are for you.

What can I help you with?
What have you done so far? or What have you considered so far?
What are your options from here?
What support do you need?
Where can you source that support?
What specifically can I do to support you?
When would you like to meet again to continue this conversation?

By Janine Stratford – Leadership Coach, Coach-Trainer, Career Strategist at Coaching Focus. August 2023 5-minute read, 806 words

Will you give yourself permission?

Written by webplanners on March 7, 2023. Posted in Leadership Development. Leave a Comment

Being a leader is so rewarding, from the influence you can have on the way the team works together, what it achieves and the direction it takes, to developing the capacity and expertise in each member of your team.

It is definitely a busy role. People are constantly asking things of you – complete this, decide that, attend this meeting, write this communication piece, I could go on.

It is decisions and the pace of them that I want to think about today. Decisions are a normal part of leadership. Leaders need to make decisions. In fact, not making a decision is, in effect, making a decision.

In my programs, I talk about your rights as an individual and therefore also as a leader. Here is the list of rights we discuss, and they come up as part of the Elevating Leadership Program that I provide to leaders in schools across Australia and New Zealand.

You have the right to:

Decide for yourself
Make mistakes and learn from them
Refuse requests
Say ‘no’ without feeling guilty ( to things beyond your role responsibilities)
Be yourself
Say “ I don’t know”
Refuse to make a decision NOW

The thing about rights is that you don’t have them if you don’t enact them. I mean, if you don’t live by them, or you don’t exercise them.

In the list above, there are two important points about decisions. One of these is the right to decide for yourself and the other is the right to refuse to make a decision NOW.

Let’s break each one down.

The right to decide for yourself – this right is about not being forced into a particular decision by others. Many leaders, and this is especially true of first-time leaders and leaders new to a role, or new to an organisation, feel they need to take the decision path that is being given to them by others around them. This might be because they think the other person is more experienced, perhaps knows more about the organisation, or its people, or its history, or they don’t want to offend or disappoint. So they go with the decision that is being thrust towards them.

Does that sit well with you? Are you happy to go with a decision made by others for which you are actually responsible? Have you blindly accepted someone else’s opinion? Have you given in to the decision of another?

You have the right to decide for yourself. If you are responsible for the outcome, it needs to be a decision that you are comfortable with, and have wholeheartedly agreed to. If you are going to ask others to come with you on a direction, once a decision has been made, you have to believe in it, you need to know why you took that direction, or made that decision, because it is up to you to convince others to join you on the journey. You can’t do that if you don’t support or believe in the decision that was made.

The right to refuse to make a decision NOW – this right is about not being forced into a quick decision. Leaders are often faced with the situation where someone approaches them and immediately presents them with a challenge that requires sorting out and they demand, albeit often politely, a decision to be made now, on the spot, pronto, so they can leave the conversation, or your office, ready to take their next step. Let’s just slow it down here.

Have you heard the situation from other angles or perspectives?
Have you looked at the facts of the situation rationally, removing the heightened emotions that might come with urgency?
Have you looked at the possible choices for the decision, beyond the one that has been presented to you just now?
Have you considered the available options and the consequences of the decision, on the team, organisation, or course of events?

These things require time. Sometimes not too much time, but they still need time, and as a leader you have the right to take the time to think through all of these things. Remember what I mentioned before, if you don’t support or believe in the decision made, you can’t convince others to join you on the journey.

On the other hand, do you want to be the sort of leader that makes a decision in haste, regrets it, and then changes your decision when already your team may have started taking action based on your previous decision? This is so annoying, and a quick and easy way for you to lose respect from your team.

Take the time to consider facts, choices and consequences before you make the decision. Then you can back up your decision with the reasons why you made it. The evidence behind a decision is what will help you convince others to join you on the journey. Give yourself permission to think, because you already have that right. The right becomes yours when you enact it. So, enact it by giving yourself time to think.

What do you do about those people who are eager, and often impatient, for a quick decision or come to you with their decision already made and want you to rubber-stamp it? These people are fast, they want to maintain their momentum and keep moving things forward. Putting the brakes on these people is quite demotivating for them so we don’t want to do that. We want to keep them energised, and positive, but as the leader, you need to explain to them that you need some time to consider, some time to think, to look at the facts, choices and consequences.

The best way to do this is to negotiate some time to do this and decide on a date/time when you can meet again and come to a decision. Know first in your mind the time you need to look at the facts, choices and consequences. The negotiation is about when, after that time – the time you need to think – you will come back together and come to a decision or perhaps discuss it further. The worst thing you can do is leave things hanging in the air, and your team member or colleague leaves the conversation with uncertainty about when they can continue to move forward. Set a date so they know, and you know.

Permission to think allows decisions to be backed-up, so you have the evidence, the reasoning behind why you made it. This aspect of leadership is vital. As educators, one of the things we pride ourselves on is evidence-based outcomes, so the same goes for your decisions.

I will say it again, you can’t convince others to join you in a course of action, or on a journey, if you don’t believe in it yourself. You will believe in it when you can explain the reason why the decision was made. So have the evidence. Allow yourself time to think. Give yourself permission to think. You have that right.

I am giving you permission to take time to think. Will you give yourself the same permission to think, to take the time you need to make a considered decision? Will you give yourself permission?

By Janine Stratford – Leadership Coach, Coach-Trainer, Career Strategist at Coaching Focus.

March 2023 7-minute read, 1200 words

Determination – happens one step at a time.

Written by webplanners on January 13, 2022. Posted in Leadership. Leave a Comment

I have always been determined. I remember as a teenager, I would take on some big jobs, like painting the old metal outdoor setting that had rusted and the paint had become all crusty. That job took weeks across a school holiday. Another; while a single mum raising two boys, was painting my entire house inside. That job took years. There have been many others. Each one I took step by step, piece by piece, with a consistent effort until its done. You would think raising two boys on my own would also be a big challenge. Yes, that was tough. They are now young adults making their own way in the world. What I am doing now, I think, is actually my biggest challenge.

At the end of 2014, I decided to step away from a secure, well-paying job as a Deputy Principal of a private girls’ school in Melbourne to start my own business. I wanted to give my attention to supporting the leaders of our schools to do their job well. I didn’t have a plan or a starting contract. I was beginning from an idea and with a dream. Many would say I was crazy, even stupid.

I took some time off in 2015, as I hadn’t ever taken long service leave in my career in school leadership, travelled, got married after 20 years of being on my own, and put some plans together. In 2016, the business was born. Now in 2022, I am embarking on year 7 in business. I work at the business every day, some days all day, others just some reading, emails and planning and each day and each year the business grows.

I mentioned earlier that I have a dream. My dream is for school leaders to be great, so great that they can be role models for the people around them, particularly students, but also staff and the parents in our communities who so need people to look to and guide them. I believe that ‘you cannot be what you cannot see’ and that if we do not have great leaders in our schools to show us how to lead well, how to behave and how to build healthy relationships, we will take much longer to work it out and make many mistakes along the way. I have seen too many of those mistakes, resulting in poor decisions, lack of collaboration, aggression, silos, wide voids between the school leadership and staff, and the worst being toxic cultures. A great leader, one that is a role model to others, I have found has four traits and they have worked hard to master them. They are being clear, confident, consistent and considered. I have developed leadership programs, conferences and workshops that provide the training and support for leaders to develop these traits.

I now work with schools right across Australia and New Zealand supporting leaders to do their job well as role model leaders. My dream is becoming a reality and last calendar year the business grew by 57%. I am looking forward to my 7th year in business. I will continue to work at my current challenge every day, tackling each aspect piece by piece, step by step, consistently, and I look forward to one day working with you and your school too.

Keep moving forward – one step at a time.

Don’t ask that question

Written by webplanners on June 4, 2021. Posted in Career Strategy, Culture, Leadership. Leave a Comment

The other day I was talking with a colleague. She had been interviewing recently, knowing my work, she shared with me the applicant’s question near the end of their interview. We all know that you need to have a question, or two, ready for when at the end of the interview they ask, “Do you have any questions?” She was not only surprised by the question but also that two applicants had asked the same question in the same day. The question didn’t sit well with me and I do a lot of career coaching and preparing applicants for interview. She recalled that she responded positively to the question. The interesting thing is that after our discussion, she agreed that the only way anyone could have responded would have been in a positive manner. So was it a good question? Do you want to know the question?

The question didn’t sit well with me. I provide career support and guidance, critique people’s resumes and application documents and prepare them for interview. Interview preparation involves 2 hours of intensive interview questions, crafting clear and concise answers, defining strengths and challenges, ensuring each applicant presents themselves in the strongest light. If I don’t like what I hear, I will have them start again, re-phrase, use a different tone, and possibly choose a different story to share.

At the end of the interview when the panel ask, “Is there anything that you would like to know?” or “Do you have any questions?”, you need to be ready as they are expecting you to ask at least one question, sometimes they will give you time for two. Not having a question to ask may give the impression that you haven’t researched the organization, or role, well or given enough thought to what you don’t know, or should know, in order to help you decide if you actually want the job. The questions shouldn’t be too intense either or make the panel work too hard, as they may have several other interviews, either before or after yours.

Back to the question that was asked. It was;

“Is there anything in my application documents or in my interview that might prevent me from securing this role?”

I’ve come across a fair few questions in the years that I’ve been preparing people for interviews and on interview panels, but I have never come across that question.

You might think, well, that’s a fair question to ask. We say in schools that we are all about feedback and that’s exactly what this question is about. After an interview, so often the feedback doesn’t arrive. But is it appropriate to ask for feedback in the middle of the process? Additionally, how likely is the interview panel to give anything other than a positive, politically correct, superficial response, filled with pleasantries and possibilities.

Realistically, the panel can’t give you anything but that and here’s why.

They may not have seen all the candidates and therefore cannot evaluate your level of success yet.
They may not have been in contact with your referees to substantiate your claims and experience.
If they told you something that was a negative and you ended up getting the job, you would never forget what they said and be constantly working towards improving that aspect, or worse, hold a grudge.
Most people are not good with conflict. 55% of the population are uncomfortable having challenging conversations because they don’t want to damage the relationship and that means, there is a high chance that your panel members fall into this group.
Half the population cannot evaluate on the spot. They need time to process their answer. If you want an answer immediately, you will only get a superficial, overview response that really isn’t quality feedback at all.
A good interview panel should make every candidate feel comfortable and at ease, so they can present themselves confidently and calmly. This question will quickly break any good rapport that may have developed, because it is putting the interview panel on the spot, demanding an indication of success level immediately.
Finally, and this is a big one, the candidate is presenting with a ‘me-me’ attitude and not considering cultural fit for them and the organization, or the behavioural dynamics across the team to which they may eventually join.

I asked my colleague whether either of the candidates, who asked this question, ended up getting the job.

The answer was no.

Why, because they felt they didn’t fit the team!

It wasn’t about their application or their qualifications. The panel sensed there was an urgency to them, a directness, or perhaps a focus on self when they really were looking for a contributor, a team player and someone who would join them on the journey.

And from where do you think they got that impression ….. from the question that was asked at the end of the interview.

The interview is not over until you have left the building, or in the case of schools, the school gates; so I encourage you to give some thought to what you ask at the end of your next interview. It often cements their impression of you.

I can help you with your next interview. How that might work can be found here.

Perception is powerful. Have you got it under control?

Written by webplanners on March 4, 2021. Posted in Career Strategy, Coaching, Culture, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership. Leave a Comment

Leadership is defined as ‘a process of social influence which maximizes the efforts of others toward the achievement of a greater good’.

Notice the key elements of this definition: Leadership stems from social influence, not authority or power. Gone are the days of leadership being about power and control. Those leaders are thankfully, retiring, or realising the new way and making the shift.

So if leadership is about influence, is the way you influence others working for you or against you?

The challenge of leadership is to know the impact of your influence. This insight comes from perception – how you are perceived. How you are perceived colours the thinking of everyone around you and remember perception is reality and it is their reality not yours.

Fortunately, you have the ability to ensure that how you are perceived, is actually how you want to be perceived. If you know how you want to be perceived, you can make the necessary changes in the way you communicate, and behave, to shift perception in the minds of those around you. If we loosely play with McTighe and Wiggins’ model of Understanding by Design; if you know how you want to be perceived, you can design your leadership model to suit.

But you have to know first how you want to be perceived.

You need to know what sort of a leader you want to be, how you want to relate to others and work with them, the types of relationships you want around you and the communication you want in order to achieve that.

It is from here that it is incredibly helpful to know how are you currently perceived as your starting point. So how do you find out?

Well you could conduct a survey. Pick 10 people that you work with, not all your favourites because that would be too biased. The 10 people are mixed up between people you get along well with, as well as those where things are not so great. Design some questions and try your luck with them telling you honestly how they perceive you.

Or, given that surveys are not everyone’s favourite thing to do and your 10 selected people are unlikely to give you an honest response, mainly because your survey wasn’t anonymous, you could get smarter and look at psychology; behavioural psychology.

In the world of leadership development, we have tools that allow us to evaluate your style. The tool reports back to us, clearly mapping how you behave, how you communicate and how you are perceived all from a 15 minute questionnaire, and it is incredibly accurate. I haven’t had one person say they have been evaluated inaccurately yet!

Now you know, you can move forward.

So armed with this knowledge, you can now move forward. You have the information you need to look at how you are perceived and you can ask yourself: “Do I like it?” You have the information that reports on how you behave, how you communicate, and again, if it is impacting how you are perceived, you can work on identifying the changes that need to be made, to change the way you operate, and ultimately change how you are perceived in the minds of those around you. It puts you back in control.

It is only once you are here, in the driver’s seat of how you are perceived, that you can move your leadership forward. Perception matters. Don’t think it doesn’t. Leadership comes from good relationships and if you are perceived as not caring about others, this will negatively impact any chance of good working relationships. If you are thinking relationships are not important, then you are back to the old ‘command and control’ style and I mentioned earlier, those days have gone.

Knowing how you behave and communicate and how you are perceived allows you to find your true leadership style. I call this having clarity, being clear about your leadership and who are as a leader. From here, your authentic leadership begins to shine. It is from here that you can progress, not only in your leadership but in your career.

Now you have clarity! From here you can progress in your leadership and in your career.

Module 1: Clear of the Elevating Leadership Program is a full day workshop focused on being clear about who you are, your leadership style and how you behave and communicate. We use the psychometric profile, the DISC which is backed up with research, is easy to understand, and is incredibly accurate. At the end of the workshop, you will know how you behave and communicate, and how you are perceived. With this knowledge, you can now identify what you want to work on to improve the way you interact with others to improve relationships, communication and ultimately team functioning.

This program is being held every term – Leadership and the DISC. It’s Module 1 of the Elevating Leadership Program.

More details can be found here: https://coachingfocus.com.au/elevatingleadership

____________________________________

Janine Stratford, is a Leadership Coach and Career Strategist, working with teachers and leaders in schools across Australia and New Zealand. A former teacher and school leader, she is passionate about developing great leaders as role models for their schools and their students. You can find out more about Janine at www.coachingfocus.com.au

Dates for the Elevating Leadership Program across 2023

Module 1: Clear

Define your leadership style

Term 2 2023: Wednesday 3 May 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 3 2023: Monday 31 July 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 4 2023: Friday 27 October 9.00am – 3.30pm AEDT online

Module 2: Confident

Managing Conflict – developing conversational resilience

Term 2 2023: Wednesday 24 May 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 3 2023: Friday 11 August 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 4 2023: Monday 13 November 9.00am – 3.30pm AEDT online

Module 3: Consistent

Coach Certification Program ( 2 day program)

Term 2 2023: Day 1- Wed 10 May, Day 2-Mon 5 June 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 3 2023: Day 1- Fri 4 August, Day 2- Mon 28 August 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 4 2023: Day 1- Mon 30 October, Day 2-Wed 29 November 9.00am – 3.30pm AEDT online

Module 4: Considered

The Strategic Leader – defining your focus and managing change

Term 2 2023: Friday 2 June 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 3 2023: Wednesday 23 August 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 4 2023: Wednesday 22 November 9.00am – 3.30pm AEDT online

To book individual modules – use the hyperlinks above

To register for the full program and receive the discount – use this link

So whose problem is it really?

Written by webplanners on February 4, 2021. Posted in Career Strategy, Coaching, Culture, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership. Leave a Comment

“Leave it with me. I’ll deal with it.”

And there it is. The fatal mistake. Plus you’ve done it in record time. Well done. The transfer was clean and effortless.

You have just taken on someone else’s problem.

This is perfect, to escalate, or even just maintain, your hero status. Or perhaps you felt they were already busy and you didn’t want them to be taking on more. Maybe you were unsure of whether that area was in their job description. Or, you thought you would do it quicker, or better, or whatever.

The bottom line result is:

You have taken on another matter to deal with, adding more to your load.
You have removed the opportunity for someone else to be challenged, to learn and to grow.

Congratulations, but it’s hardly a win-win.

As a leader it is so easy to take on someone else’s problem. Any member of your team can come to you with a problem and, because you’re the leader, you feel compelled to be there to solve the problem for them. And so after they explain to you the problem you say ‘Leave it with me. I’ll deal with it’. How often have you said those words? They can sneak out so quickly! And you might be thinking you are being so helpful. Perhaps not.

So there is one side of your brain saying I’m the hero here I’m going to fix the problem for them. I’m making their life easier. They’re busy I don’t really want to overload them, and after all, I’m the leader, so maybe I should be the one solving the problem, it’s my responsibility.

It may be your responsibility in the long run, but that doesn’t mean you are leading well by dealing with it yourself.

But what you’ve done is taken the problem away from them, leaving them without the opportunity to either utilise their skills or learn new skills to solve that problem.

Your leadership might have been more focused on the immediate situation and not the long-term plan of developing each member in your team. Yes you might be right, that it’s quicker to do it yourself. But that is short-sighted thinking.

Then there is the perspective of your team member to consider, and also what they are telling the rest of the team, as a result of your action. Some may respond to your approach with a viewpoint that, you’re not helping them by taking the problem from them and that you are, in effect, controlling the situation and ensuring that you remain holding the power, not allowing them to have the opportunity to step up and solve the problem and learn and grow in the process. They will feel disempowered, not valued, and definitely feel they are not trusted enough to be left with these problems. There are others in the team who have strategically come to you with a problem, knowing full well that they could solve it, but also knowing that it’s your style to take the problem on, make it your own, and that you do this to ensure your hero status continues. They are the clever ones here, not you. They have worked you out.

We shouldn’t be thinking that any problem is a ‘yours’ or ‘mine’ dichotomy. This is not how a great leader operates. A great leader is consistent. This is key. They have a particular mindset that regards every member of their team as being full of potential and capable and just need the resources necessary for the solution. The great leader’s role then is simply, to help them identify the resources they need and help make those resources more accessible. The problem remains with the team member, but they know they have your support to help find the way forward.

This is coaching and it happens through following a framework and asking great questions. It’s not about advice-giving. It’s not about having all the answers. It’s supportive, collaborative and it’s empowering. According to Deloitte, “organisations with senior leaders who coach effectively improve their business results by 21%.” Add to this, Google undertook an important piece of research and found that the “single most important managerial competency that separates highly effective managers from average ones was coaching.” Coaching is consistent and it’s was great leaders do every day.

The coaching mindset is one where you hold great belief in the individual and their ability and your role is to help them realise that ability and grow. A coaching leader is constantly growing the people around them, not taking things from them from which they could grow, but allowing them to sit with the problems, explore, ruminate, find options, and work through a resulting choice of solution.

So whose problem is it really? If your team member comes to you with a problem, it is incumbent on you, as the leader, to help them deal with that problem, but not for you to solve it, not for you to take it on as yours. Instead provide the support, be a partner, a solution-facilitator, and work with them to find a way through this problem and the resulting solution choice. A great leader will make sure they remain accessible if more discussion and support is needed as the team member moves further through the process. They provide the safe space to explore, be the sounding board to unpack thinking, be the provocateur, challenge thinking with great questions that explore the benefits and obstacles of each option.

By being the support person, you are helping a solution to be found but you’re not taking it on yourself, you’re not adding to your own workload and in the process de-skilling and disempowering the members of your team. You will be providing them a safe space to stay with a problem and pull it apart. You’re setting them up for a better level of success in the future, because you’re teaching them thinking frameworks to work through decisions and to work through challenges. The time initially might be a bit longer but that time invested is worth it. During this time together not only will it upskill them, not only will it expand their thinking, not only will it empower them to be more in control of the situation, not only will it ensure they are accountable for the result, but you are also ensuring a far stronger, more collaborative, more trusting relationship develops in the process.

Now you have a true win-win!

If I have convinced you that coaching is something you need in order to improve the way you lead, please explore Module 3 of the Elevating Leadership Program. We hold the program once a term. It’s a 20 hour program that involves 2 workshop days, some professional reading and a written self-reflection, plus feedback about your coaching style and progress.

Dates for the Elevating Leadership Program across 2023

Module 1: Clear

Define your leadership style

Term 2 2023: Wednesday 3 May 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 3 2023: Monday 31 July 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 4 2023: Friday 27 October 9.00am – 3.30pm AEDT online

Module 2: Confident

Managing Conflict – developing conversational resilience

Term 2 2023: Wednesday 24 May 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 3 2023: Friday 11 August 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 4 2023: Monday 13 November 9.00am – 3.30pm AEDT online

Module 3: Consistent

Coach Certification Program ( 2 day program)

Term 2 2023: Day 1- Wed 10 May, Day 2-Mon 5 June 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 3 2023: Day 1- Fri 4 August, Day 2- Mon 28 August 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 4 2023: Day 1- Mon 30 October, Day 2-Wed 29 November 9.00am – 3.30pm AEDT online

Module 4: Considered

The Strategic Leader – defining your focus and managing change

Term 2 2023: Friday 2 June 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 3 2023: Wednesday 23 August 9.00am – 3.30pm AEST online

Term 4 2023: Wednesday 22 November 9.00am – 3.30pm AEDT online

To book individual modules – use the hyperlinks above

To register for the full program and receive the discount – use this link

Osmosis learning takes too long. It’s time to get more active.

Written by webplanners on January 22, 2021. Posted in Career Strategy, Leadership. Leave a Comment

As a Science teacher, I understand ‘osmosis’. It is an important concept taught not only as part of the science syllabus but also finds its way into Biology and Chemistry too. If science is not your thing let me explain what it is in simple terms. It is a chemical process that uses differences in concentrations across a semi-permeable membrane to move liquid, or solvent, from the high concentration side to the low concentration side to even out the two sides. It’s the same process that makes your fingers go wrinkly when you have been in water for too long; the liquid in the skin cells of your fingers loses fluid to the surrounding water.

This is not an article about science, but I can’t help but apply the concept of osmosis to leadership development. Many people learn about leadership from reading about it. Some are fortunate to do some formal study. Most learn how to lead whether that leadership is good or bad, by observing others and working alongside or under other leaders. In other words, by osmosis. Osmosis, defined in terms of leadership development, is the gradual process of unconscious assimilation of ideas and knowledge. It just seeps in, both the good and the bad examples of leadership; and they somehow become part of what we understand our leadership to be. We all have an idea of what we think is good leadership, but if we don’t have great role models around us, how would we really know?

If they are a good leader, we can learn a great deal about what makes strong leadership. If they are a poor leader, we still learn a lot about leadership, but this time in terms of what not to do and that is only if we can recognize it as what we shouldn’t be doing. Leadership development by osmosis takes too long and is so often inaccurate.

In my career in school leadership, sadly, I came across only a few good leaders. It is therefore not surprising, to me, that I have dedicated my business to helping leaders in schools be the leaders we need them to be, role models for their communities; so that students, staff and parents can experience quality leadership and from there, craft better working relationships in collaborative communities.

Let me introduce you to another science concept, that of ‘active transport’. This is the process whereby it supports the transport of the solute, or the particles floating in the liquid, to move across a semi-permeable membrane. So instead of volumes of fluid moving across the membrane to even up the concentrations, enzymes on the membrane wall attach to the particles and actively help the particles move across the membrane, hence the name ‘active transport’.

I began Coaching Focus in 2016, after leaving the role of Deputy Principal in one of Melbourne’s leading independent girls’ schools. I now work with staff in schools right across Australia and New Zealand providing quality leadership development. In our programs everyone gets a Coaching Focus bent pen and a notebook for a specific purpose. It’s not to take notes throughout the program, they get a full workbook for that. Instead they are to use the concept of active transport to learn from others about leadership. I encourage them to identify specific leaders to watch and learn from, and to do it actively and I share with them a specific framework to pull apart what they see.

I encourage them to write down what they observed and learned in each example or incident or meeting; wherever the examples of leadership show up, both the good and the bad. Then I ask them to put themselves in that leader’s shoes and rewrite part of the story in terms of how they would have managed the situation.

The framework we use is the STAR Technique. This is the same framework used in behavioural interviewing, when you retell a story succinctly to the interview panel. It’s a great method to use to get your story told in about 2 to 3 minutes before the interview panel becomes bored and you see their eyes glaze over.

Here is the framework.

S- Situation – What was the situation?

T- Task – What was the problem that needed to be addressed? or What was the leader attempting to achieve?

A – Action – What actions were taken?

R – Result – What was the result of those actions?

The important part from here is to rewrite the A and R sections, placing yourself in the shoes of the leader. You need to decide what actions you would have taken and the result that you would then expect.

Like this:

A – Alternative action – What might you have said or done instead or differently?

R – Result – Why would the alternative action have been more effective or produced different results?

You can use this same process to analyse your own actions as a leader, to reflect on your own practice and leadership.

Observing and analysing the actions of other leaders helps you to define the type of leader you want to be. My leadership development programs focus on developing leaders who are clear, confident, consistent and considered and being self-reflective is vital to developing these traits.

So your next step is to get yourself and pen and a notebook so you are ready for the start of the school year, ready to begin observing leaders around you and crafting your own style of leadership or alternatively come to one of my programs and I will give them to you.

Happy observing!

You can find out more about these programs at:

The Leading Edge: Women in Education Conference

Leading by Example – 2 day Intensive Leadership Development Program

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For aspirant women leaders;

In 2016, we launched The Leading Edge: Women in Education Conference; a conference for aspiring women leaders in independent schools, across 2 days designed for a smaller group setting and deeper personal exploration. The conference has now been held 5 times with rave reviews.

The two days provide deep learning about leadership, with clear actions to become the role models we need in schools. As a former school leader, leadership coach and behavioural analyst, I have designed the conference to address the barriers for women and leadership and help them move their leadership and career forward with purpose and direction- no more osmosis learning.

A key feature of the conference is that each delegate receives a psychometric profile, the DISC, to help better understand themselves and make use of the model to improve their understanding of others. The 40-page report accurately describes strengths, challenges, time wasters and areas for improvement – detailed and accurate data to support realistic leadership growth. Each delegate also has the opportunity to have an individual coaching session with me, the Private Accelerator Session, in the weeks following the conference, to further unpack the report and develop an action plan for leadership and career growth. Another feature of the conference is hearing from Principals and senior leaders, all female, across a range of independent schools, both in a panel setting and in small discussion groups with the opportunity to have each delegate’s questions answered to help unlock barriers and overcome hurdles and propel their leadership and careers forward.

All the details can be found at https://coachingfocus.com.au/leadingedge/

Make the decision

Written by webplanners on February 7, 2019. Posted in Career Strategy, Coaching, Leadership. Leave a Comment

This is my son. He is an outdoor recreation instructor. Rock climbing for most of us, is not easy. It requires concentration, skill, physical strength and agility. Most of all it needs a great deal of determination. There is no point going rock climbing unless your goal is to get to the top; half way doesn’t cut it. At that point you haven’t achieved anything – it’s either all the way or stay on the ground. Climbing a rock face is tough. Every step takes focus. You are constantly problem solving to find the next firm foothold to move yourself one step closer to your goal, the top.

I am sure there have been many times when my son has got himself to a point where he doesn’t think he can go any further. There would be countless reasons not to continue, fatigue, injury, the weather, can’t see a way up, are just a few. But he comes back to give it a second go. He has a goal and he steadily works towards it.

The opposite situation I call ‘wheel spinning’. You might be familiar with the term. It’s when you don’t know which way to go and you seem to be going nowhere. A lot of time and energy is lost vacillating; you are not sure what you should do, so you do nothing. Not making a decision to go in any particular direction is in fact a decision and the decision is to do nothing. There is no goal here. There are often possibilities, but which one to follow is the unanswered question.

Where would you put yourself; are you striving forward or spinning your wheels?

It’s still really the start of the year. The school term has only just got under way. You might still be in the euphoria of the school break, slowing working your way out of holiday mode towards your weekly routine. Beyond this, have you worked out your next step? There is time for you to work out where you are heading, to set a goal and to make a plan.

What do you want to do? What’s your next step?

As a Career Strategist and Leadership Coach, I assist people to forge their career path, fill the gaps in their skill set and experience so they can be an attractive candidate for their next application. But you have to make the decision that you want to take the next step?

Gavin Freeman, Senior Psychologist at the Australian Institute of Sport, believes that we fall into one of two categories: those motivated to succeed and those motivated to avoid failure. Which type we are has a profound effect on our approach to challenges and our chances of success. The individual whose motivated to succeed will see any setback as a stepping stone to success. By contrast, those motivated to avoid failure, either won’t try hard, and they’ll have a built-in excuse, or they’ll put themselves in non-challenging situations where they are guaranteed success, happy to achieve mediocrity but not their full potential. Fear of failure can drive us to success, but it won’t sustain us in the long term. Fear is not a sustainable motivation.

If you are not sure what that next step for you is, that’s okay. You might have options, possibilities, choices. The important thing is to make the decision that there is a next step for you and get started on searching for it? Without that decision, you are back at wheel spinning. Once you made the decision that there is a next step, you can kick yourself out of wheel spinning and set yourself into ‘drive’ mode and start making a plan to move yourself closer to your goal.

My son, the rock climber, is determined to be a world class rock climber. That’s his goal. He works at that goal every week, taking one small step closer to his target. He knows what he wants and has a clear focus of the end goal.

Nothing worth doing is easy. I’m sure you have heard that before. We all want the quick fix, we are a society spoilt by instant gratification. However, careers aren’t based on a quick fix. Careers are built, over time and through following a strategic path. Careers don’t come by being ‘tapped on the shoulder’. They come from being strategic; making a plan and working steadily towards the end goal. You need to be in it for the long haul, constantly taking steps towards your goal, every month, every week, sometimes even daily.

The important thing is to make the decision that there is a next step and then get on with it. Set your wheels in motion and get moving forward. Just make the decision that there is a next step, whatever that step may be. Is there a next step for you?

Nothing worth doing is easy. Just make the decision and get on with it.

I’m here to help, when you’re ready.

Start how you intend to continue

Written by webplanners on January 25, 2019. Posted in Culture, Leadership. Leave a Comment

After returning from the break, however long or short it was for you, it’s amazing how your head space seems to be clearer and your outlook on the world seems so much better.

It’s after a return to work that you feel more positive about others and what they can do and this makes it a perfect time to work on improving relationships at work. With a more positive approach towards others and with a more open and relaxed mindset the action of considering your colleagues and the relationships you have with them will be so much easier.

Relationships with your team are not just nice to have. Let’s be realistic here. Success in your role is defined by the quality of your relationships with your team, your leadership peers and your colleagues. Too many of us think that these relationships just magically happen because we walk the same corridors or share the same tea or coffee station.

You know that with your friendships, they take time and they take effort and they require knowing each other. Relationships at work also need time and effort and they rely on having a better understanding of each other.

Success in your role is defined by the quality of your relationships with your team, your leadership peers and you’re your colleagues.

The beginning of a year is a good time to give some thought to the people you work with and which of these relationships need a lift. It is from the foundation of a relationship that trust is developed and leaders need to be developing trust across their teams. We know trust is needed to allow the psychological safety for people to feel comfortable to try new things, to be creative, to be innovative. If you have not created trust between you and them, they will not be in the safe space to come to you with their ideas, to admit to not knowing something and seek help, or be confident that when they need to tell you about your own behaviour or something that is not working well, they will fear criticism, reprimand or concerned that the relationship between the two of you will take a dive.

As the leader, start the year the way you intend to continue. With the realisation that relationships are key to your success as the leader of your team, investing time in those relationships is vital and needs to happen NOW.

Start the year the way you intend to continue.

Recently I was reading a Harvard Business Review article by Gary Pisano. The Hard Truth About Innovative Cultures. Thank you to Allan Shaw, Principal of The Knox School, Victoria, for sharing it on LinkedIn. (you can access the article here). It reinforced in my mind that the leader must demonstrate the behaviours that he or she wants to see in their team.

The article gave an account of a medical research group conducting research on novel minimally invasive surgical technology for cardiac teams and found that those teams who felt safe speaking up about problems mastered the new technology faster. They felt safe to ask questions, admit they didn’t understand something and seek help and felt comfortable to voice their concerns and provide critical feedback about the working of the technology. Pisano states that if people are afraid to criticise, openly challenge superior’s views, debate the ideas of others and raise counter-perspectives, innovation can be crushed.

This comes back to culture and while in your role you may not be able to change the culture across your entire organisation, you can change it with your team. It is up to you and how you live out the behaviours you want to see in others. It’s all about role modelling what you want for your team. Be the role model your team needs.

Two quotes resonate strongly with me, they are:

Treat people like they make a difference and they will. Jim Goodnight

People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Maya Angelou

Janine Stratford, is a leadership coach, working with teachers and leaders in schools across Australia and New Zealand. A former teacher, (Chemistry and H&HD actually) and school leader, she is passionate about developing great leaders as role models for their schools and their students. You can find out more about Janine at www.coachingfocus.com.au

Author: webplanners

Beware of the Monkey

It happens so easily.

Your role as a leader.

Using a coaching approach.

Will you give yourself permission?

Determination – happens one step at a time.

Don’t ask that question

Perception is powerful. Have you got it under control?

Dates for the Elevating Leadership Program across 2023

So whose problem is it really?

Dates for the Elevating Leadership Program across 2023

Osmosis learning takes too long. It’s time to get more active.

Make the decision

Start how you intend to continue

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