The Power of Team Coaching – Part 1

In the fast-paced and ever-evolving world of business, effective teamwork has become a cornerstone of success. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the value of nurturing collaboration, communication, and synergy among their teams. Team coaching, a specialized form of coaching, has emerged as a powerful tool to help teams reach their full potential. The next three articles explores the concept of team coaching, its benefits, and how it can transform teams and organizations.

Understanding Team Coaching

Team coaching is a structured and systematic process aimed at enhancing the performance, productivity, and overall effectiveness of a team. It goes beyond individual coaching and focuses on the dynamics, relationships, and collective behaviors within a group of individuals working towards a common goal.

The primary objective of team coaching is to foster an environment where team members can collaborate, innovate, and achieve their shared objectives.

Leadership When It Matters Most: Should Mentoring Be a Part of the Equation? – Part 2

As written in the last post leadership is a critical component of any organization’s success, and it is never more apparent than in times of crisis or when important decisions need to be made. 

Examples of Effective Leadership and Mentoring

Several real-world examples illustrate the positive impact of mentoring in leadership during critical moments:

  1. Nelson Mandela: Mandela’s leadership during South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy is often lauded. He leaned on the wisdom of his mentors, including Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, who helped shape his leadership style and approach to reconciliation.
  2. Steve Jobs: While leading Apple through periods of innovation and turbulence, Jobs provided mentorship to key executives like Tim Cook, shaping the future of the company even in his absence.
  3. Winston Churchill: Churchill’s mentorship of key figures in his wartime government, such as Anthony Eden, played a pivotal role in the United Kingdom’s success during World War II.

In times of crisis and when important decisions loom, effective leadership is crucial for an organization’s survival and success. However, leadership is not a solitary endeavor; it is enriched by the inclusion of mentoring. Mentoring can provide invaluable support, knowledge transfer, and skill development for leaders when they need it most.

Leaders who prioritize mentoring during critical moments not only benefit themselves but also contribute to the growth and development of future leaders. As the saying goes, «Leadership is not about being in charge. It is about taking care of those in your charge.» By incorporating mentoring into their leadership practices, leaders can better fulfill this essential role, ensuring that they and their teams successfully navigate the challenges that come their way.

Leadership When It Matters Most: Should Mentoring Be a Part of the Equation? – Part 1

Leadership is a critical component of any organization’s success, and it is never more apparent than in times of crisis or when important decisions need to be made. Whether it’s navigating a global pandemic, facing financial hardships, or dealing with a major industry disruption, effective leadership can make all the difference. But what role does mentoring play in leadership when it matters most? Should leaders prioritize mentorship during challenging times? This article explores the intersection of leadership and mentoring and highlights the benefits of incorporating mentoring into leadership practices during crucial moments.

The Importance of Leadership During Critical Times

Leadership is not just about guiding a team during smooth sailing; it’s about steering the ship through turbulent waters. When an organization faces a crisis or is confronted with a significant decision, strong and visionary leadership becomes paramount. Effective leaders must inspire confidence, provide direction, and offer solutions when the going gets tough. They must also maintain morale, communicate transparently, and adapt swiftly to changing circumstances.

Leadership, however, is not solely about the person in charge but extends to the team as a whole. Leaders are tasked with developing the skills and capabilities of their team members to ensure the organization can overcome challenges collectively.

The Role of Mentoring in Leadership

Mentoring is a practice that involves an experienced individual (the mentor) guiding and supporting a less-experienced person (the mentee) in their personal or professional development. While mentoring is often associated with career growth and skill-building, it also plays a crucial role in leadership development, particularly during times of crisis or important decision-making.

Here are some reasons why mentoring should be a part of leadership when it matters most:

  1. Knowledge Transfer: Mentoring allows experienced leaders to share their wisdom, knowledge, and expertise with emerging leaders. During critical moments, this knowledge transfer can be invaluable in making informed decisions and navigating complex situations.
  2. Emotional Support: Leadership during challenging times can be emotionally taxing. Mentoring provides a safe space for leaders to discuss their concerns, fears, and uncertainties with a trusted mentor, which can help alleviate stress and improve decision-making.
  3. Skill Development: Effective leaders possess a wide range of skills, including communication, adaptability, and problem-solving. Mentoring provides an opportunity for mentees to develop these skills under the guidance of experienced leaders.
  4. Accountability: Mentoring relationships often involve setting goals and tracking progress. This accountability can be particularly beneficial during high-stress periods, ensuring that leaders stay focused on their objectives.
  5. Perspective and Feedback: Mentors can offer valuable outside perspectives and honest feedback, helping leaders make more informed decisions and avoid potential pitfalls.

Read my next blogpost where I write more about this theme.

Do the Work by Steven Pressfield

Michael Hyatt recommend the book Do the work, http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1936719010/fwis-20

And he says that If you are a writer—or a creative of any time—this book is must reading. It is not that different from the War of Art, but he found it more focused and helpful.
If you are having a hard time getting started on that really important project or if you are stuck, this book is for you!

I know that this is on my reading list, thank you Michael Hyatt, http://michaelhyatt.com/

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The Four Types of CEOs

Every year, Booz & Company takes an intensive look at CEO turnover among the world’s top 2,500 public companies. Their research now reaches back to 2000, giving us over a decade of perspective on the tenure and job functions of these global business leaders. Annually, it´s consider a new dimension of transition and change, looking deeply into such topics as the evolution of corporate governance practices, the special pressures on new CEOs, or the role of the corporate core and its effect on tenure and turnover.

They are doing a very good job and therefor I give you the link to this pdf file: http://www.booz.com/media/file/BoozCo-CEO-Succession-2010-Four-Types.pdf?cm_ven=ExactTarget&cm_cat=Booz+News+Alert+-+CEO+Succession+(Multi-List)+-+June+2&cm_pla=Function+-+Enterprise+Strategy+(Public)&cm_ite=http%3a%2f%2fwww.booz.com%2fmedia%2ffile%2fBoozCo-CEO-Succession-2010-Four-Types.pdf&cm_lm=teg@trainifique.com&cm_ainfo=&att1=%%__AdditionalEmailAttribute1%%&att2=%%__AdditionalEmailAttribute2%%&att3=%%__

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Leadership is an art

Leadership is an art form. To become a good leader, you have to begin working on improving yourself.
Filled with enlightening anecdotes that illustrate the qualities of the world’s greatest leaders, this must-read for any entrepreneur, manager, or executive will bring valuable lessons to push you in the right direction towards the fulfillment of your leadership roles.
And we are of course talking about John C. Maxwell and his «The 21 indispensable qualities of a leader». I will post them one by one here on my blog. He describes leadership as an art and I agree, we need more people who look at it that way.

The 21 Day Leadership Challenge – What now?

My favorite law, the umbrella under which all of the other laws fall, is the Law of Process. Leadership can’t be developed in a day or a week. Instead, it grows and becomes refined through a lifetime of self-management, skills acquisition, and relationships:

If you continually invest in your leadership development, letting your ‘assets’ compound, the inevitable result is growth over time. What can you see when you look at a person’s daily agenda? Priorities, passion, abilities, relationships, attitude, personal disciplines, vision, and influence. See what a person is doing every day, day after day, and you’ll know who that person is and what he or she is becoming.

Often, when I speak to people about leadership development, someone in the group will ask why a new graduate or a employee in the first few years should be concerned with leadership development, since they’re at the bottom of the totem pole. My answer is three-fold.

First, it’s critical to lead oneself and develop a strong foundation in self-management. Second, usually even «bottom of the totem pole» employees soon have an opportunity to lead something, whether it’s a small project or a intern meeting. And third, as Maxwell writes, «champions don’t become champions in the ring – they are merely recognized there.» If a employee waits until a leadership position is on the horizon to begin developing good leadership skills, the position may never present itself, or if it does, the employee will lack the necessary skills to thrive in that position. (Incidentally, point 3 is well illustrated in Maxwell’s first law, the Law of the Lid.).

Good luck everyone to become a better leader AND Thank you Maxwell for giving us The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

The law of legacy

A Leader’s Lasting Value Is Measured by Succession


(DAY 21 – The 21 Day Leadership Challenge)

Eventually, someone else will do what you’re doing right now. More than building other leaders, more than being a mentor, you have to build the leader that can take care of and do everything you can do. Start building a leader you can pass the baton to.

Dig into it:

  • What do you want people to say at your funeral? If you want your leadership to have real meaning, you need to take into account the Law of Legacy. A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.
  • If you desire to make an impact as a leader on a future generation, then become highly intentional about your legacy. We have a choice about what legacy we will leave, and we must work and be intentional to leave the legacy we want. Here’s how:

a) Know the Legacy You Want to Leave – most people simply accept their lives – they don’t lead them. I believe that people need to be proactive about how they live, and I believe that is especially true for leaders. Someday people will summarize your life in a single sentence. My advice: pick it now!

b) Live the Legacy You Want to Leave – I believe that to have any credibility as a leader, you must live what you say you believe. If you want to create a legacy, you need to live it first.

c) Choose Who Will Carry on Your Legacy – A legacy lives on in people, not things. Too often leaders put their energy into organizations, buildings or other lifeless objects. But only people live on after we are gone. Everything else is temporary.

d) Make Sure You Pass the Baton – No matter how well you lead, if you don’t make sure you pass the baton, you will not leave the legacy you desire.

  • Our ability as leaders will not be measured by the buildings we build, or institutions we established. We will be judged by how well the people we invested in carried on after we are gone.
  • Jackie Robinson observed, “A life isn’t significant except for its impact on other lives.” In the end we will be judged according to the Law of Legacy. A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.

The law of explosive growth

To Add Growth, Lead Followers – To Multiply, Lead Leaders


(DAY 20 – The 21 Day Leadership Challenge)

To grow, you need to lead everyone in the right direction. To create explosive growth, you need to lead other leaders in the right direction. Reach out and start leading other leaders today.

Dig into it:

  • You can grow by leading followers. But if you want to maximize your leadership and help your organization reach its potential, you need to develop leaders. There is no other way to experience explosive growth.
  • Leaders who attract followers but never develop leaders get tired. Being able to impact only those people you can touch personally is very limiting.
  • In contrast, leaders who develop leaders impact people far beyond their personal reach. Every time you develop leaders and help them increase their leadership ability, you make them capable of influencing an even greater number of people.

The law of timing

– When to Lead Is As Important As What to Do and Where to Go


(DAY 19 – The 21 Day Leadership Challenge)

Opportunities are everywhere. One of the big things that makes something a good opportunity is timing. Recognize an opportunity and pounce on it right away.

Dig into it:

  • Timing is often the difference between success and failure in an endeavor. Every time a leader makes a move, there are really only four outcomes:

1. The Wrong Action at the Wrong Time Leads to Disaster – If you take the wrong action at the wrong time, your people suffer and so will your leadership.

2. The Right Action at the Wrong Time Brings Resistance – Having a vision for the right direction and knowing how to get there is not enough. If you take the right action but do it at the wrong time, you may still be unsuccessful because the people you lead can become resistant. Good leadership timing requires many things:

a) Understanding – leaders must have a firm grasp on the situation.

b) Maturity – if leader’s motives aren’t right, their timing will be off.

c) Confidence – people follow leaders who know what must be done.

d) Decisiveness – wishy-washy leaders create wishy-washy followers.

e) Experience – if leaders don’t possess experience, then they need to gain wisdom from others who do possess it.

f) Intuition – timing often depends on intangibles, such as momentum and morale.

g) Preparation – if the conditions aren’t right, leaders must create those conditions.

3. The Wrong Action at the Right Time is a Mistake – the greatest mistake made by entrepreneurs is knowing when to cut their losses or when to increase their investment to maximize gains. Their mistakes come from taking the wrong action at the right time.

4. The Right Action at the Right Time Results in Success – When the right leader and the right timing come together an organization achieves its goals and reaps incredible rewards.

  • Reading the right situation and knowing what to do are not enough to make you succeed in leadership. If you want your company to move forward, you must pay attention to timing. Only the right action at the right time will bring success. No leader can escape the Law of Timing.