I’m excited to introduce the Flash Point Program, an in-depth exploration and evaluation of your change initiative in which you and I will co-design your next steps toward successful implementation.

What do you mean, “co-design?”

Fact: you know your organization better than I ever will. Chances are, you know what stands in the way of successful implementation, but perhaps you haven’t set aside the time to focus on discovering it, or no one has asked the right questions. It’s my job to ask the questions and keep you focused. If you don’t have the answers, we’ll figure out how to get them. And then together we’ll design what to do next.

It’s also a co-design because this is your job. You are not delegating your responsibilities to me. I’m not going to swoop in and do it for you. The equation looks something like this:

How does it work?

The Flash Point Program includes six (6) 1-hour intensive conversations between you (the change agent) and me (the coach), roughly scheduled as follows:

• 1 online change readiness assessment and debrief;
• 3 hours of in depth exploration of the requirements to achieve your change initiative, and your organization’s capacity to perform them; and
• 2 personal coaching sessions for you, to discover your unique strengths and challenges as a change agent.

The sessions occur in 1-hour phone calls, once a week, for 6 weeks. This is flexible depending on how quickly you want your Flash Point to occur!

What do I get?

First of all, here’s an idea of what you will discover and learn:

• Clarity about what you are trying to accomplish;
• Greater understanding of how change works and how best to fulfill the role of change agent;
• An assessment of the factors present in your organization that will help or hinder your change initiative; and
• What to do about it.

What you physically (or digitally, really) get to take with you are:

• The results from the change readiness assessment
• Recordings of our phone conversations (for reference)
• A report of the next steps we co-design.

Prerequisites:

There are a couple of things I need you to do before you sign up:

• Review the Is This You page and make sure it sounds like you.
• Download and complete the Change Starts Here workbook. It’s free when you subscribe to my newsletter, or if you really don’t want to subscribe, you can purchase the workbook here.

Program Fee:

The total investment for The Flash Point Program is $1,540.

The deposit for the first session is $295. If for any reason, after completing the change readiness assessment and attending the first session, you do not want to continue The Flash Point Program, you can end the process there with just your change readiness assessment results. To continue the program, the remainder of the fee will be due prior to the second session.

Ready get started?

Next Steps:

1. Complete the prerequisites (Is This You and Change Starts Here).
2. Click the button at the bottom to pay the $295 deposit so we can get started on the change readiness assessment.
3. I’ll send you an e-mail with links to the change readiness assessment and Flash Point registration form to tell me a little bit about yourself, your organization, and your change initiative.
4. We’ll set up a quick call to schedule our sessions, and answer any questions you may have.
5. We’ll start The Flash Point Program!
   

By clicking the button below, you affirm that you have completed the prerequisites. You agree to begin the Flash Point Program by completing the change readiness assessment and the registration form. Your credit card will be charged a $295 deposit.

Have additional questions? Please contact me. I’ll be happy answer them.

Many people, including myself, raised their hands sheepishly, but were willing to play along. The professor asked a few of us to say where we would rather be. (I said home in bed.  I did not have kids yet, and sleeping in was still an option.)  He went around the room and collected responses on the whiteboard.

Then he told us we were all wrong! That if we would rather be somewhere else, then that is where we would be.  Our priorities, preferences and motivations were reflected in our choice to get up and go to class that morning.  If I would really rather be sleeping in, then I would still be in bed.  But instead, my priority of learning how to negotiate, or my motivation to get a good grade in the class made me choose to set the alarm in the morning and drive an hour to get to the class in downtown Chicago.  The fact that I was there proved that I would rather be in class than in bed sleeping.  Whoa!

Ultimately, what we choose to do is a reflection of our real priorities, our actual preferences, and our true motivations.  It’s not what we would rather do, or what is on our to-do list, or what we say we want.

Obviously, this lesson struck a chord, since I remember it 7 years later.  Every now and then I remember that morning and ask myself:   What does my current activity say about my priorities?  Why is it that I choose to do this and not something else that might better reflect my values and goals?  As you can imagine, this thought usually arises when I’m procrastinating or avoiding taking action or making a decision.  Taking a look at how you spend your time through this lens can be eye-opening and push you toward taking a step in the right direction.

Taking this lesson to its logical conclusion then, there is nothing that you would rather be doing than reading this blog post.  If there were something that better fit with your true priorities, preferences and motivations in this moment, you would be doing that instead.

So, now that you’re done reading, let me ask this:

What will you do next?

In coaching, an Inquiry is a powerful, open-ended question that is given as “homework” for the client to think about between coaching conversations.  The aim is discovery and personal learning.  The best use is to set aside some quiet time to journal a response to the question, and to follow all the roads down which your mind travels.  As part of the coaching toolkit, the inquiry is usually specific to your personal situation stemming from the immediate conversation; however, I believe that a somewhat random question can be equally enlightening if you choose to make the best of it.  At any rate, setting some time aside to use your brain differently is a worthwhile investment.

During the course of my days, I frequently have an experience that later I try to link back to organizational change and leadership – although most of the time the link is not obvious.  In the spirit of creativity, I write about the possible implications and then pose an inquiry to the readers to take the learning further for themselves.  For examples, please see these posts.

So, when you see me post an inquiry, I invite you to step away from your task list and spend 5-10 minutes pondering or journaling about how you might answer the question.  Many new ideas come by looking at things from a whole new perspective.  I hope one of my questions might provide that breakthrough for you.

The Coaches Training Institute has created these “Assessment Wheels,” which measure your level of satisfaction with different aspects of your life.  So often, we focus on one or two aspects of our lives while ignoring others.  The Assessment Wheels give you the opportunity to evaluate whether other parts of your life need attention.

In coaching, the wheels are often used as a starting point for the conversation.  They are not meant to be a comprehensive evaluation of your life, but are designed to give you food for thought for how you might use a coach to improve your life, personally or professionally.

Personal Assessment Wheel

Professional Assessment Wheel

These assessments are posted with permission from The Coaches Training Institute.

In the Toyota Production System (think lean manufacturing) and Six Sigma, the “5 Whys” method is used to determine the root cause of a problem. My car won’t start. Why1? Because the battery is dead. Why2? Because I left my headlights on last night. Why3? Because I didn’t hear it buzzing when I got out of the car. Why4? Because my toddler was screaming. Why5? Because he didn’t take his nap. So the root cause of the problem “my car won’t start today” is “my toddler didn’t take his nap yesterday.” Eliminate the root cause and you are less likely to have the same problem in the future.

In coaching, we’re taught not to ask Why, at least not very often. The reason? It is often perceived as an accusation. Even in the benign example above, why didn’t the car start? Because I was a dummy and forgot to turn the headlights off. If someone is feeling at all defensive about something, asking Why can be a conversation-stopper. Why is also such a wide-open question that it doesn’t focus the person’s thinking.

Any of the other question starters can be used as an alternative. Especially useful are What and How, although Who Where and When can be used when applicable.

“What drained the battery?”
“What stopped you from turning the lights off?”
“How were you distracted?”
“How was your normal car routine interrupted?”
“When you turned off the car, what happened next?”

Asking Why is easy – even my three-year-old can do it. Instead, be creative and curious, and find an alternative to Why.

Hiring a coach will help you evaluate your current situation, identify where you want to go and who you want to be, and then help you get there. A coach partners with you to reach your full potential, to achieve results while upholding your values and strengths.

Your coach will keep you on task while exploring the fine points of what needs to be done, primarily by asking questions. At times, your coach may challenge you, make requests or help brainstorm. Since coaching is a client-driven format, the solutions, and the success, are always your own.
Since obtaining help may not be the first thing on a successful person’s mind, here are four indicators that you should consider hiring a coach.

#1: A New Opportunity Requires a Different Approach.
You have just taken on a complicated project, or been assigned the difficult customer, or become the leader of a new team, or decided to go out on your own… the list of opportunities goes on and on. One thing is certain: you need to perform at a new level in order to continue to succeed. The person you have been is different from the person you need to become.

A coach will help you define who you are now and who you need to become to fit into your new role. She will help you identify new behaviors, attitudes and skills that will be required, and then help you achieve and attain them. With your coach, you will set a new course for results and then follow it.

#2: You Have Imaginary Conversations With Colleagues.
You lay awake at night rehearsing a conversation that will not happen tomorrow. Or, in the car on your way home from work you repeat an encounter the way it should have happened. The conversations you have with others in your head but not out loud are indicators that your relationships may need some work.

Being viewed as a leader relies on the relationships you have with your colleagues. After all, a leader does not exist without followers. As an objective observer, a coach will help you build strong relationships by helping you see the world from different points of view. She will build up your courage to have the conversations that need to happen, and reduce the amount of time spent thinking about what might have been.

#3: You Avoid Making A Decision.
You are stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Any path you choose will be a difficult one. Alternatively, you have so many opportunities available to you that you worry you won’t make the right decision. Either way, you are paralyzed and avoiding making a decision.

A coach will help you analyze the situation objectively and put things in perspective. She works through the doubts that keep you from moving forward without letting you become stuck in analysis paralysis. A coach will ensure you make tough decisions in a timely manner with confidence.

#4: You Don’t Keep Promises to Yourself.
You put things on your to-do list that you know you need to finish, but everything else seems to get in the way. Or, you told yourself a year ago that if you didn’t get promoted in six months you would leave – but you still work there. You may be good at keeping your deadlines and following through for others, but when you make yourself a promise to act, you fall short. You may even be aware that you procrastinate in this fashion but feel unable or unmotivated to change.

Accountability to yourself can be difficult because it is easy to believe your own excuses. The promise you make to a coach is a promise to yourself that your coach will help you keep. A coach will expose your excuses and help you move beyond obstacles, so you can take action in the direction you desire.

The benefits of becoming a coaching client are many. You will be thoughtful and deliberate in the choices you make on your path to success. You will improve relationships and make timely decisions with confidence. And, you will learn to keep the promises you make to yourself. Your coach is an objective partner who is always in your corner, looking out for your own best interests.