Center For Expert Performance

“IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF THE REST OF YOUR PEOPLE PERFORMED LIKE YOUR BEST PEOPLE”

We use an appreciative coaching approach with our clients, a highly positive, action oriented approach which assumes that no one is broken nor needs repair. Clients examine and change self perceived limiting beliefs that prevent them from reaching their goals and dreams. It has four phases:

		Discovery- During this phase, the clients uncover and identify peak experiences that give them joy and energy in their work. They focus on their personal strengths.

		Dream- The clients create a compelling dream of their future which is often a destination for their future career. During this phase, we introduce clients to models of expertise that high performers have shown work for people in similar fields. In this way clients can incorporate expert activities to reach high levels of performance. We encourage clients to think big, beyond any current thinking limitations. This dream creates a compelling future for clients and draws them towards making their dream a reality.

		Design - While in this stage, clients create plans to reach their compelling dreams and futures. We assure that the clients identify actions that can be completed quickly enhancing feelings of achievement and success. Clients also identify the longer-term activities that will assure that the dreams are reached.

		Destiny – In this final stage, clients are helped to connect their powerful dreams to a level of certainty that their actions will assure that dreams are reached.

A large organization referred a financial manager for coaching. HR had fielded several complaints concerning his communication style and thought he would improve his future opportunities by receiving outside help. We first asked him to explain what gave him great joy in his work. He relished opportunities to think strategically and to offer business guidance to his organization, a motivation singularly attuned to leadership.

We provided examples from expert communicators to help him to improve his interpersonal communication skills. He readily and easily adopted these capabilities. But what came next was even more fascinating.

Upon asking him about his dream, he replied that he wanted to be a "mini CFO" even though his capabilities and experience would enable him to do much more. This apparent incongruity between capabilities and experience and his dream prompted us to probe for more explanation and understanding. Underlying his incongruity was a limiting belief that he could only undertake a new job if he was already experienced in that position. When asked if he had ever taken a position he had yet to experience, he replied that there was never any position for which he was singularly prepared. We challenged his limiting belief emphasizing that he need not experience a position to accept it since he knew how to successfully learn new positions. As a result of this coaching intervention, not only did he dramatically improve communication, he became recognized as a high potential in the organization. He now wants to become a CFO or beyond.