Hi there 👋
Who’s ready for some light, warmth, and summer days after the past few months of lockdown (at least in the Northern Hemisphere)?☀️ It’s been tough! Our users have been sharing their thoughts and feelings on how they will start shifting from a forced home office to a working hybrid model. This next phase is going to be even more of a challenge as we work to find the right balance to continue supporting our employees!
BTW, the two areas where organizations are still failing the most are:
🧘🏾♂️Wellbeing
🚀Personal Development (opportunities to learn and grow)
Recently I spoke to a Product Manager at a fast-growing tech company about this hybrid model, and the new release of bestselfy 1.0. Managing a team of four people, she shared her thoughts on bestselfy’s newest coaching models. She was telling me that the coaching session “Master physical energy” has greatly helped her this week to start focusing on critical elements tied to her performance - understanding her bio-clock, sleep and break patterns, mindfulness to get into deep work, etc. Our conversation quickly moved to how she can better support her team because each of them is struggling in their own way and there seems to be little coming from her company on how to help her. She’s concerned with the expectations of going hybrid in a few weeks and what this means.
I asked her, “Do you see yourself more as a coach or as a manager?” She replied that she really doesn’t know what a coach does. I pointed her to the coaching plan “Coach my team” and explored if her company even has a coaching culture. She’s seeking an answer to this, but first, she’s committed to working on becoming a coaching manager.
6 Steps to Create a Coaching Culture for Hybrid Work
❶ Growth Mindset - be curious, open, vulnerable to share mistakes, learn and adapt quickly. Focus on opportunity, not wallow in failures.
❷ Use GROW - GROW is a coaching model originally developed in the 1980s by business coaches Graham Alexander, Alan Fine, and Sir John Whitmore. This is a way to help individuals plan their performance journey. Example in the bestselfy app and learn more how to use this model via the curated media below.
❸ Seek to understand - acknowledge, celebrate and reward questions rather than answers. Use those fabulous “W” questions, “Why, What, When, Who?” and of course, through in a “How?” often.
❹ Create a coaching routine - 1x per week - yes, speak (try not to do this electronically) - ideally, in-person or via video to check in on that person’s GROW, ask questions such as when were they at their best, or what might be blocking them. Focus on which strengths they can use more of in their tasks and towards their goals. Use your hybrid days in-office to connect with people
❺ Celebrate differences - truly being open to different perspectives, cultures, and ideas makes each of us, and our companies even stronger (Yes, this should also be part of your DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging) agenda. Keep educating yourself, ask more questions, and ensure people feel like they belong to a meaningful workplace.
❻ Promote continuous learning - this value and our North Star at bestselfy is to focus on spending a few minutes a day to level up ourselves and support each other in learning. Start by simply sharing some things you’ve learned, start a book/podcast/article list where people can add, ask others what they would like to learn and develop. Of course, you can always offer bestselfy as a fully digital tool for self-directed coaching to help with reflection, exercises, feedback, focus on wellbeing, and the best in-demand curated media - all in less than 10 minutes a day. See the special offer below!
Want more? 🎦 Watch this week's GROW video as featured in bestselfy (2 min).
Reflection question of the week 🤔
“What’s one element of a coaching culture you will commit to today?” (Yes, I will check in with you in our next newsletter!)
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Keep coaching!
Best,
Hilary