Executive Coaching with
Backbone and Heart

A Systems Approach to Engaging Leaders with Their Challenges

Excerpt from
CHAPTER SEVEN
Phase 3 -- Live Action Coaching: Strike When the Iron Is Hot

Live action-coaching means you are present when your client conducts their business activities and interactions in real time. Live action coaching is not choreographed but is more like jazz improvisation. You intervene at unexpected yet critical times to help your client achieve his goal.

The challenge you face in live action sessions is being prepared to be very active at any time, while also prepared to do nothing if that is what is called for. This is the ultimate challenge of the Client Responsibility Model of coaching. After all, it is the leader's session. "Doing nothing" yet staying attentive and engaged takes a lot of energy. You observe to what extent your client is accomplishing what she set out to do.

Turning your observations and your judgments into action can be tricky. I said earlier that I have a bias for action in these live action settings. Remember the motto from the Client Responsibility Model: "stay active AND stay out of the way." You want to act in the moment to increase the leader's possible learning. You can err in a number of ways, however, that actually block the leader's full learning potential. One way is to pseudo manage, that is, fill in during all the pauses, missteps, and hesitations of the leader in such a way that you take away her leadership. You need to stay out of the way of her management of agenda and her meeting.

Chapter Seven explores the steps you can take to ensure that your "jazz improv" is successful in helping your clients dramatically increase their effectiveness.

 

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