Solutions Mine
  • Home
  • Meet Me
  • Coaching
  • Process
  • Super-vision
  • Mentor Coaching
  • Managing Upset
  • Blog
  • Contact

Permission to Vent

8/26/2018

0 Comments

 

How to process feelings without burning out your colleagues

PictureIs that toxic?
​To deal with heavy thoughts and strong feelings, my preferred approach is “better out than in.” The down side of holding in emotions is well-documented: over time, they eat you up, causing a variety of stress-related symptoms, physical illnesses, and mental health challenges. However, rampant venting also has risks. Numerous studies show that this practice does not support long-term happiness or well-being, increasing cortisol production and creating an extended state of stress response (i.e. survival mode). Another unintended consequence of unfiltered complaining is audience burnout, depleting your support system at a critical time.


Read More
0 Comments

Why Every Coach Needs Supervision

3/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Three days before I embarked on a five-day, 50-hour training in coaching supervision, a friend and fellow coach questioned my plans, stating that to him, the value proposition seemed dubious. Having paid in advance, I attended the training anyway, and discovered that coaching supervision is so valuable that every coach who is serious about their work will seek it.

Coaching Supervision Defined

Not to be confused with coaching (partnering with clients to develop awareness toward achieving a desired outcome) or mentor coaching (observing a coach’s work and providing feedback to help develop that coach’s practice of the ICF Core Competencies), coaching supervision (CS), according to the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), involves supporting a coach “to engage in reflective dialogue and collaborative learning for the development and benefit of the coach, their clients and their organizations.” CS involves developing a coach’s competence, providing a supportive space for coaches to process experiences with clients, and enhancing the quality, standards and ethics of a coach’s professional practice. As positive as this sounds, many coaches still do not understand CS or feel active resistance to using it. Why?

Read More
0 Comments

Cutting Down on Oreos: The Subtle, Negative Impact of Persuasion in Coaching

10/11/2016

0 Comments

 
PictureThese suckers add up (photo courtesy of Minato)
If you believe in the ICF approach to coaching, then you probably also agree that client empowerment is a top priority. Coaches may empower clients in many ways, including using a style of speech that is inviting rather than persuasive or directive. Invitation is inherently empowering because it makes no attempt to think or act for another person, and instead projects trust in another’s competence. Coaches who use invitation are consistently sending their clients the message, “You are in charge, and I trust you to find your own best awareness and answers.”

Persuasion, by contrast, is disempowering because it involves leading others to a belief, decision or action that is not of their design. If a coach persuades a client to take a course of action, even a helpful one, it’s hard to imagine that client feeling a greater sense of personal power as a result of that experience.



Read More
0 Comments

Digging for Gems

10/11/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Finding the most valuable nuggets requires more than persistence
As a mentor coach, I have the privilege of observing brilliant work from ICF student coaches. Some are tireless in prompting clients to identify a meaningful goal, others persistently explore their clients’ deeper motivations, and some perform both phases well. Although they may help people find a productive location to excavate—and to dig up large quantities of soil—they don’t always devote enough time to sifting through that pile to extract the most valuable gems.

Read More
0 Comments

More Than an Action Plan

8/7/2016

0 Comments

 
PictureWho could resist taking care of this pooch? Nobody, if there's money on the table.
Some time ago during basic ICF coaching training, I volunteered for a turn as the coachee in a practice session. The problem was, I had no goal. I was on a hot streak of personal and professional  success, and could not think of anything worthwhile to explore or develop. At the moment the session began, it came to me: I would create a plan for arranging care for my dog during my upcoming vacation in Hawaii!


Read More
0 Comments

Don't Be a Hamster

1/19/2016

0 Comments

 
PictureEven though I'm cute, don’t be like me! (Photo by Sandra Donoso, https://flic.kr/p/5so3Fg)
Thanks to a text autocorrect fail, a colleague of mine affectionately calls me “Hamsta.” I hate this nickname, because it’s too close to hamster, a creature with three highly undesirable habits:
​
1. running endlessly on treadmills, burning energy and getting nowhere
2. constantly seeking food, and when not eating, believing it’s starving
3. scanning for threats every waking moment, making it a nervous wreck

They have a fourth undesirable habit that cannot be described in words, but must be seen (click 
here).


Hamsters have evolved these traits to stay alive, but humans do not require such behaviors for survival, and if we mimic hamsters, we lose. We need anti-hamster qualities to thrive.


Read More
0 Comments

A Consultant in Coach's Clothing

12/14/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureWhich one is the coach?
In a coaching social media group, a member recently posted the following:

“If you have the perfect expertise for your client’s challenges and see an easy solution, do you share that solution with your client?”

Nice trap, I thought. She’s baiting the consultants—masquerading in coach’s clothing—to reveal themselves, and reveal they did.

“It would be okay to discuss a solution, as long as it was effective.”
“In the spirit of direct communication, it can be done.”
“Yes, a coach can definitely share resources if they are helpful.”
​
Doesn’t taking this direction make you a consultant, not a coach? Consultants share expert knowledge. They are paid to provide answers, whereas coaches challenge clients to find their own solutions, using artful facilitation and empowerment. Coaching is founded on the belief that clients have the answers they need and the ability to find them without having them handed over on a silver platter. Discovering solutions is empowering. Hand-delivered solutions are efficient, and often desired, but not empowering.



Read More
0 Comments

Lessons from Costco Shopping

9/15/2015

3 Comments

 
PictureCurse you, fresh sockeye salmon--you are the root of my Costco-related stress
I have a love-hate relationship with Costco. I love the high quality and low prices of goods, especially the fresh sockeye salmon. Unfortunately, its nightmarish parking, dense crowds, and high concentration of carefree customers can drive me to the brink of insanity. Not everyone has this negative relationship with Costco, and perhaps the level of frustration it creates is unique to me—but that frustration is intense.  Why I continue to patronize Costco is not the point. Assuming I will inevitably return, how can I preserve my sanity and avoid shortening my lifespan?


Read More
3 Comments

Get Rid of Doubt... or Should You?

9/8/2015

0 Comments

 
PicturePossibly the most confidently doubtful expression of all time (photo courtesy of Viewminder)
Doubt has one purpose: to weaken belief in yourself. Unlike an inner voice that keeps you safe or an analytical mindset that weighs options and looks for improvements, doubt offers no advantages and destroys confidence. So yes, flushing away doubt will preserve your happiness and belief in yourself. Read on for three ideas to accomplish this.


Read More
0 Comments

Loss Can Be Lucky

9/2/2015

0 Comments

 
PictureTurtle, shot mid-day with Fuji camera before it broke
We spend too much time worrying about loss, anticipating it, and sometimes taking active steps to prevent it. This costs substantial energy, or worse, may lead to suffering and diminished health, all related to an event that has not actually happened. Even if a dreaded loss did occur, how could you be certain that, over time, it would turn out for the worse?


Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous

    The Solutions Mine Blog

    All articles written by Jason Sackett, PCC, LCSW, CEAP.

    Archives

    August 2018
    March 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All

Services

Coaching
Super-vision
Mentor Coaching
​Managing Upset

Call

310.251.2885

  • Home
  • Meet Me
  • Coaching
  • Process
  • Super-vision
  • Mentor Coaching
  • Managing Upset
  • Blog
  • Contact