Are you getting what you want or what you think you can get?

Recently a client of mine had asked his head of HR to put a contract in place for Shadow Coaching so the entire organization could draw off of one contract rather than put in place small ones here. Her answer was “Why not use who we have?  They might not be coaches, and definitely not a Shadow Coach(TM) but we would get some of what we want”.  I was blown away.  Thankfully, so was he. 

I looked at her and used the analogy of medicine, stating “If you need a procedure done by a surgeon who specializes in a specific field, do you have an exploratory done by one person, diagnostics done by another, an intervention done a little bit because that doctor doesn’t specialize in the right field and then hope for the best?”

Enter the realm of damage control.

What are the implications?  How much more expensive does it ultimately become in money, energy, morale and engagement because you don’t have the right people in the right place?  Ultimately, how much does damage control cost?

These are the individuals who then sight all the statistics they can find to justify this decision and to show a high failure rate. No wonder people are skeptical of certain kinds of interventions.  It’s not the right one for the right reason or result.  And statistics re negative impact are shouted to the masses, tainting other’s impressions of how great interventions can make a huge difference.

How often does this happen in your world?

Do you have the right people doing the right things so you get the results you need or are you using who and what you think you can get?  It’s almost better not bringing anyone in at all if it’s not going to be done right and you have to fix things later.

We are not fragmented human beings who take who we are and what we do and separate them into task-like pieces.  Talents and strengths don’t work that way.

Meaning  

A coach is someone who is dynamic in their inquiry, to be able to move with their client as the client’s role shifts and changes within the organization.  People are not separate and distinct from the organization within which they work.  No matter what each person does, they need to find some personal meaning in what they’re doing in order to succeed.  They might be successful according to you but if what they’re doing has no personal meaning then they disengage.  The right people in the right positions allows you to put structure around what their meaning making system is so you can evolve the organization and the people within it.  Using the wrong people in the wrong jobs might get you some of what you want but will get you a heck of a lot of what you don’t want.  That goes for consultants, employees and people in leadership.  Bottom line is, don’t settle!

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive, and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” -  Patanjali (c. 1st to 3rd century BC)

Last but not least… As always this newsletter will be posted here.  If you like it, please forward the web link to others though, pricing specials are only available to subscribers.Summer is when we finish all sorts of interesting virtual programs.  Remember, the launch of these programs are first announced to newsletter subscribers and price breaks are for subscribers only.

Our blog can be found at http://betterperspective.blogspot.com   If you want deeper insight into human behavior, yours and others, then sign up for the self-coaching program It’s All About You…and Others, at: http://www.itsallaboutyouandothers.com/intro.htm I’ll leave you with this: