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Sam discovered that the hero in his new story was assertive where
he had been passive.
The hero in the third-person version of the story rallied the troops.
The hero in his first-person reality spent a high percentage of
his time in his office making excuses and blaming others.
The hero in his new story produced a strategic marketing plan while
in the story he was living, he operated in a reactive mode to his
manager's demands. From that point on, coaching focused on how Sam
could re?write his story. His own gifts or core competencies became
The Provocative Proposition for his story.
As Sam and his coach examined Sam's story, Sam was able to perceive
that it was a story. He had no difficulty recognizing his talents
and abilities and was able to discern how he was a different version
of himself when he struggled. By adapting, he stopped relying on
old, understandable - but dysfunctional - habits.
The Provocative Proposition is a universal phenomenon that involves
reclaiming one's strengths and developing strategies to discover
how to apply them in the present tense.
In Sam's case, he discovered that he had stopped leading. He needed
to generate a leadership agenda and then enlist others to follow
him. For Sam, crafting that agenda became his Provocative Proposition.
He also discovered that, in order to fully implement his agenda,
he would need to supplement his capabilities with some new skills.
In that manner, coaching was the springboard for Sam to be in development,
to embark on his own personal quest for mastery, to improve and
expand his capacities, to become even more heroic and to continually
edit and update his story.
Coaching Executive Teams
The same basic dynamics apply in working with executive teams.
Each executive brings his or her gifts and stories to the team.
Executive team development involves a blend of individual coaching
consultations with real?time team interventions. The coach's role
is to work with the executive team to ensure that each story is
respected and that each executive is able to contribute his or her
gifts to the overall well-being of the enterprise.
A straightforward way to understand the relationship between executive
coaching and executive team development is to realize that when
groups of heroes congregate, the room tends to get crowded very
quickly. The coach's challenge is to help each member of the executive
team appreciate that there are stories other than his or her own,
and that in weaving together several heroic tales, epics are created.
In coaching at the team level, the coach helps the team members
coordinate with one another and create a story line that best utilizes
each team member's individual gifts in achieving organizational
goals. The coach works with team members on how to work together,
so that each member can bring his or her story to team meetings
in a way that reduces confusion, appreciates others' strengths and
helps move the organizational story forward.
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