Today we re-read Chapter 5 of Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond. Coaching and conversations are highly intertwined activities. I am at a loss as to how I would coach without actively interacting with people. I think the idea of a conversation arc is something I naturally understood or perhaps the concept percolated in my mind from sales training (haven’t I strongly suggested sales training?). The idea of an arc to a coaching conversation makes perfect sense.
Consciously having an arc to your conversation steers the discussion away from random interactions; the authors suggest that the conversation needs to have “a conscious rhyme or reason.” Thinking about the coaching arc is planning for a coaching event. The arc is composed of a beginning, middle, and end: the coach enters the conversion, the middle is the execution and the end is where things are wrapped up and accountability is set.
For me, the real aha moment in this chapter is the discussion of situational and context-based coaching combined with Shu-Ha-Ri. Situational coaching occurs “in” the moment and rarely allows for planning a coaching arc. Context-based coaching begins as a planned event (the two scenarios are often intertwined – stay flexible). In planning a coaching event you need to begin with the context of the people and the organization. Applying the concept of Shu-Ha-Ri: If you are coaching a new learner, Shu, delivering prescriptive guidance is a common stance. Coachees in the state of Ha (no longer beginners but not masters) need more mentoring and less prescriptive guidance. Coachees at the RI level are those that have mastered the theory and practice and can synthesize ideas. They need the right questions to help them build the right answer. Each level requires a different approach, a conscious approach, to achieve the goal of the coaching event. Consciously thinking through where the person or people are in their journey needs to be incorporated into your coaching plan/arc.
I recently had a conversation with another coach who is also reading Extraordinary Badass Agile Coaching. They pointed out that being a coach, at least being an Extraordinary Badass Agile Coach, requires a ton of work. A coach needs to strike agreements with those they are coaching, plan their interactions and then change their stance depending on the situation and need. All of this is on top of the expectations that the coach is constantly in action – like sharks they are supposed to be constantly in coaching (none of this planning and reflection stuff). If I could, I would have virtually put my arm around their shoulders. Coaching is not for the faint of heart.
Have you bought your copy of Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching: The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond?
Previous Entries in Our Re-read:
Week 1: Logistics and Forewords – https://bit.ly/3zoAYlx
Week 2: Introduction to Badassery in Agile Coaching – https://bit.ly/3hcEPMs
Week 3: The Mindset of the Badass Agile Coach – http://bit.ly/3Eu0qJu
Week 4: Agile Coaching Frameworks – http://bit.ly/3Ok60S7
Week 5: Badass Agile Coaching Agreements – https://bit.ly/3iylnKM
