So I'm having this discussion with another, more experienced connected coach in the PLP network. We were talking about the Olympics and what that had to demonstrate about trust and relationship building in terms of high performing teams, essentially. And out of that, came more wonderings that I have around connected coaching that I think might be worth bookmarking here.
As I'm trying to assess where my own strengths lie and what new ones I need to develop, what I'm finding on a very practical level is that I have this
impulse to "tell" and to share my own experiences. It's so much trickier
to put all that aside (well, as much as anyone can ever really
put their experiences aside...I mean it's part of who you are) and ask
some good questions that allow the other person to reflect on their own
experiences, needs, wants, desires in terms of their learning journey.
Lani is teaching the course I'm taking, and she and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach (who attended our
class last week) are both so masterful at the art of appreciative
inquiry. It's a little daunting, but I'm determined to get better at it.
Maybe I need to design
a little graphic to keep on my computer screen...something that reminds
me to ? not !
Marsha brought forward the notion of repacking and transferring former experiences and expertise I've gained to a new medium...the thing is, I've lived in this
medium for a lot of years. I'm really comfortable with the affordances
and constraints of technology, and I engaged in appreciative inquiry
with my students when I was in the classroom, but now that I'm working
with adult learners it's almost as if I've forgotten everything I ever
knew about strength-based learning! It may be because I know that adults
are very solution-focused...or maybe that's just an excuse?
I guess my biggest wonders right now are, in terms of connected
coaching, if there's a place for modelling self-reflection and
sharing experiences or is it critically important to keep the focus on
the other learners? Isn't part of being a learner first and being
co-learners sharing? And how important is it for a connected coach to
maintain the stance of a coach more than a co-learner? I do know what my own opinion is about these things at the moment, but as I learn more will I change my thinking?
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2 comments:
Janne,
Hi. You say that you wonder if there is a place to model self-reflection. You are doing it right here! You are discovering and sharing your strengths and weakness all the while connecting them to how you wish to improve your own practice as a coach.
Isn't it interesting that all the things we know are valuable in teaching children we don't automatically bring to working with adults--as if somehow it is no longer teaching/coaching because those being coached or taught have reached a certain age? You have reminded me to keep all those "best practices" in mind no matter my audience.
Janne,
Hi. You say that you wonder if there is a place to model self-reflection. You are doing it right here! You are discovering and sharing your strengths and weakness all the while connecting them to how you wish to improve your own practice as a coach.
Isn't it interesting that all the things we know are valuable in teaching children we don't automatically bring to working with adults--as if somehow it is no longer teaching/coaching because those being coached or taught have reached a certain age? You have reminded me to keep all those "best practices" in mind no matter my audience.
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