What Impact Will You Make on Others?

In my Coaching for Excellence class, we start with an "enlightening" activity.
 
Participants are asked to recall a person who acted as a coach to them, sometime during their lifetime. It could be a workplace coach, a teacher, mentor, or sports coach. I ask them to tell their colleagues (in the room) about who that person was and what made them special. Then, they are instructed to develop a list of the behaviors that made these people so "coach-like," and the impact these people had ON THEM.
 
Participants list behaviors like these:

• Believed in their abilities
• Listened
• Helped them visualize their own success
• Led by example
• Held them accountable
   

I loved this list! I hope (and strive) to be that kind of leader!
 
I also ask participants to recall and discuss the impact that these coaches had on them (and/or on their teams). They responded that their coaches fostered:

• The feeling of being valued
• Growth in self-confidence
• Personal motivation
• A sense of loyalty
• The value of holding each other accountable

If you are a leader of any kind -- a supervisor, manager, executive, or influencer -- think about the impact that you have on others.

• Would your team say that you make them feel valued?
• Would your team say that you help them be more self-confident?
• That they feel a sense of loyalty and motivation?

If this is the impact you hope to have, and the way you intend to lead, then think about how to align your actions today.
 
Remember that the time and attention you give to others makes a big difference.

Make it count!

About the Author:  Claire Laughlin is a highly regarded training expert who has dedicated her career to studying and improving patterns of communication in organizations. Claire works across various industries, coaching individuals and creating large-scale, global-reaching training programs designed to uplift and support excellence across functions and cultural divides. Claire shares her expertise by offering training solutions for all levels of professional development.