3-2-1 Bluebells!

One of Spring’s greatest sights will soon be upon us – carpets of brilliantly coloured Bluebells appearing in our woodlands!  Their glory is short-lived, as they must make the most of the sunlight, which falls on the soil before the trees above them burst into leaf and block their source of light.  They seize their moment and come into bloom from mid-April onwards.  And over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend you can go out and find them in local woodlands.

So how well do we prepare ourselves for our opportunity to shine?  Are you setting time aside now to understand yourself better, reflect on your achievements and think about what your next steps may be?  If the opportunity you’ve always dreamed of appeared tomorrow, how well would you present yourself and your skills?  Are you ready to seize your moment?

These Bluebell bulbs have put in plenty of preparation ahead of their grand display.  Seeds, which were produced the previous June, have scattered and germinated and developed into flower bulbs.  Dormant from July onwards, the bulbs have soaked up nutrition from the soil around them for months and began to grow underground in January.  Depending on weather conditions, their first shoots appeared in February and developed leaves in March.

Making time to build up your skills and knowledge is time well spent.  It’s important to step back from your day-to-day commitments and consider what you would like to do next and how you will prepare for your next challenge.  It is common today to find ourselves facing significant challenges, which we may not have foreseen.  It happens in our work life, our home life, as business leaders and as human beings who care about each other.  We need to assess our strengths, and our level of resilience in the face of new circumstances.  We need to look carefully at our skill sets and often develop new ones fast.

Regular coaching sessions will help you to:

• Put time aside to reflect
• Consider your next steps
• Understand yourself better
• Set yourself achievable goals
• Get help and support in achieving your goals

At Blue Pebble Coaching we work with employees of large and small organisations, charities and business leaders and owners, supporting them to understand themselves and what drives them and to become more adaptable and resilient.  

So when you go out and about looking for Bluebells at the weekend, spare a thought for your own personal development and take your first step investing time in yourself.

Izzy Ixer, Blue Pebble Coaching, www.bluepebblecoaching.co.uk

You can discover great places to go Bluebell-hunting on the Wildlife Trust’s website http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/dazzled-by-bluebells

The Bluebell Railway Walks website has detailed information about how Bluebells grow http://www.bluebellrailwaywalks.co.uk/bluebells.php

Face your business challenges head-on with coaching!

What do you do when your organisation is facing major challenges and you don't have a budget to develop your people?  How do you get people to step up to new roles without sending them on expensive training courses?  The answer to these questions may lie closer to home than you think.  

I've been speaking with a number of small businesses lately and this is exactly the situation in which they find themselves.  Pressure to manage changes in legislation, develop new markets and anticipate the impact of Brexit on their current markets is eating up their energy.  And with many people fearful of change and not always sure how they will cope it's a testing time for organisations of all types and sizes.  Have you ever wondered how some businesses survive?

Learning by example, developing new skills on the job and asking for advice and guidance have been traditional ways of getting to grips with a new role. Experienced business owners and managers sharing their knowledge and encouraging less experienced employees to step up to new challenges is nothing new.  These approaches are all forms of mentoring. And if you've ever asked someone how to do something and got a sense that they are drawing the answers from you rather than telling you what to do, then you've experienced coaching too. 

The companies I spoke to work very much along these lines.  Sharing knowledge, working together on problems, supporting each other and accepting a level of challenge from each other are the norm if they are to survive and thrive with little help.

However, once an organisation grows it may become more structured, less informal, more target driven and the Finance Director will have a keen eye on the bottom line.  As structures become more rigid, some of the knowledge sharing, which the organisation previously benefitted from, can fall by the wayside.  The "coaching culture" or mutual support, which was once so strong, can become less apparent as people compete with each other to succeed and improve their position.

So what is a coaching culture?  How can it help your business?  And how can you create it?

“Coaching is a predominant style of managing and working together, and where a commitment to grow the organisation is embedded in a parallel commitment to grow the people in the organisation”.   These are the words of Clutterbuck and Megginson, in their book 'Making coaching work: creating a coaching culture'.  

Here are some real life examples of situations in a business where there is resistance to change and where coaching and mentoring can help to grow people as well as growing the organisation:

The culture of an organisation

Where an organisation is generally resistant to change and does not see the value of it, sponsoring and committing to a coaching and mentoring programme will help to promote and encourage people to stretch and challenge themselves

Individuals feeling threatened by the need to change

This sometimes happens when those who are leading the change have not engaged people’s energies.  These leaders are focussed on making things happen and can benefit from coaching and time to think about how they raise the energy of the colleagues and employees they depend on to make it happen.

Lack of understanding about why a change needs to happen

The nature of the change may be an issue or the process of change may be an issue.  Employees may not understand the benefits and need to be engagedthrough coaching conversations and encouraging feedback.  They probably have ideas which will help.

Lack of communication or trust

People inside and beyond the business aren’t seeing the benefits of making the changes, so confidence in the need for change falters.  It's important to celebrate achievements and share success and get everyone involved.

Employees fearing the unknown

If successes go unrecognised it may reinforce a culture of being risk averse.  Businesses take risks in order to evolve and grow and a well supported coaching and mentoring approach can help to raise skills and confidence in the ability of the organisation to adapt.

If any of these scenarios look familiar to you, perhaps you should consider encouraging and building a culture of coaching in your business?  And maybe you can identify some people who are natural mentors in your organisation – those with influence and a way of supporting others and introducing them to new challenges? 

At Blue Pebble Coaching we have experience of running workshops to help you get started on introducing a coaching culture into your workplace.  A series of interactive, practical activities highlight the value of coaching and how it can get results, giving you the tools you need to get started. 

During our workshop you will:

• Discover what motivates different generations of your employees and why some people seem less engaged than others
• Learn how the coaching process supports setting and achieving goals
• Recognise the difference between coaching and mentoring and how to use them effectively in your business to get results
• Understand how to lead a successful coaching session and follow it up

Investing a few hours to discover how a culture of coaching could help your business may be one of the best investments you make.

Contact info@bluepebblecoaching.co.uk to find out more or call 01473 625115 and we’ll be happy to visit you and talk about how we can help.

Izzy Ixer

Director and Principal Consultant, Blue Pebble Coaching Ltd

March 2017

5 ways to keep calm

Yoga is hugely popular today.  There are many different styles and there is a great choice for anyone looking to take up the practice of Yoga.

When I started to practise Yoga I was in my early teens.  I was at the stage where I was curious and wanted to find out about things which were different or unusual.  I had a wonderful Aunt who lived in London and was in touch with cool people who went to India and visited ashrams.  There were books in her flat and she lent me some of them.  My inspiration was “A Search in Secret India” by Paul Brunton.

In my late teens I started teaching Yoga and over the years practising Yoga has become so much a part of my life I don’t even think about how to fit it in.  It’s like cleaning my teeth or putting the wash on.  It’s there in my daily routine.

Alongside my Yoga teaching, I have spent much of my time encouraging people to adapt to new circumstances.  I have worked on writing software, implementing new systems, transforming services and developing strategy.  Most of these functions involve finding ways of encouraging people to do things differently.  And customers or the people who work for you are not always enthusiastic about it!  Many are fearful of change and can become upset, argumentative and angry.  In the workplace today we find ourselves on the receiving end of these emotions as the pressure on us all increases.

I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on my own way of managing pressure in the workplace.  I believe that I know what my own state of quietness is.  This has been developed over the years through my regular Yoga practice.  I can therefore assess how far away from that state of quietness I have moved at a given time.  Armed with this awareness, the decision I have to make is this - how do I return to my quiet state?  What do I have to do?  What do I have to stop doing?  Where can I save some energy and effort so that I can create space for quietness?  How do I bring my life into balance again? These are tough questions and the answers depend on making clear decisions about what’s important to me.

And here’s the thing.  We sometimes blame work, home or relationships for causing us to feel pressured.  We are inclined to think that by ditching some of our commitments or getting out of the workplace these things will disappear.  And that life will become lovely.  For some people, eliminating some of these sources of stress and anxiety can work well.  Though not everyone is free to walk away from work or relationships.  The bottom line is that if you are the kind of person who is inclined to feel pressured, then placing yourself in a different situation may simply lead you to feel pressured about different things in your new world.  And you may still not feel calm and quiet!

I believe that you need to understand what your own sense of quietness is.  What does it feel like to be calm and still, to discipline yourself, to put aside the flurry of thoughts in your head and to be truly focussed?  You might find you can achieve this through a Yoga practice or it could be by going for a walk, baking, playing a game of golf, reading a book or working in the garden.  Take stock of how you feel when you have truly absorbed yourself in an activity you find calming.  Now you know what your state of quietness is.  It is the baseline you need in order to compare your state at any given time.  It is this quiet state that you will strive to find again and again when you most need it.

Tension manifests in our bodies as well as our minds. Raised shoulders, a stiff neck, an inflexible spine can be signs of tension building up.  Your breath can become short and sit high in the chest when you are stressed.  Releasing physical tension and working on slowing your breath can help.

So how can you carry your state of quietness around with you?  And get back to it when it slips away?

Here are 5 techniques to help you:

• Master some simple stretches to relieve tension from your neck, shoulders and back
• Discover what your state of quietness is
• Get to know your breath and recognise when it’s changing
• Practise simple breath control techniques to slow your breath
• Identify opportunities in your day to check in with your state of quietness – how far away from quiet are you?

Here are some Yoga techniques which you may find helpful for releasing tension http://www.yogajournal.com/article/practice-section/six-stretches-to-do-at-work/

These simple steps will help you to become more aware of yourself and how you react to situations.  And armed with this awareness you become empowered to make the changes you need to make to stay calm, whatever life throws at you!

To learn more about managing pressure in your life contact info@bluepebblecoaching.co.uk

Izzy Ixer, Blue Pebble Coaching
January 2017

5 ways to survive a training course

New year, new you – and maybe you will be going on a training course or attending a workshop?  This could either be for work or for your own interest and whichever it is you may find yourself feeling slightly apprehensive! 

A couple of months ago I overheard two people talking about a training course they were traveling to.  They were clearly both anxious about it and felt concerned about the course and what would be expected of them.  They were worried about being on time and already nervous about introducing themselves at the beginning of the course, which is something many people fear.

If you only attend training courses occasionally, then there are some easy steps you can take to build your confidence by planning ahead. 

Here are a 5 things you can do:

Dress correctly

The way you dress for training courses matters.  We all know that first impressions count, so it’s worth getting it right so that you feel confident from the start.  If the dress code isn’t stated, you can contact the organiser beforehand and find out what’s expected.  Smart/casual dress is popular, but you may feel awkward dressed like this if everyone else arrives in suits or dresses down. 

Plan your travel

Allow plenty of time for traveling.  It’s better to arrive early and go for a short walk or have a coffee than to arrive late.  Information about travel times is available from apps and websites and it’s worth checking if there are any events on which may impact these times.  Allow plenty of time for finding somewhere to park and if you’re traveling by public transport check and re-check your journey times.  Traveling with a friend is a great way to feel more confident.  And if you are really uncertain about where you are going, it’s worth doing a practice run!

Find out more about the course facilitator or presenter

Learning works best when the group shares knowledge and interacts well.  Your joining instructions may provide more information about the course content and the course facilitator.  Go online and see what else you can discover.  This gives you a chance to check on any technical terms or professional “jargon” and work out beforehand what it means.  You can learn something interesting about the subject and maybe even prepare a question, so if you find you are on the spot you have something prepared which you can say or ask.

Decide what you want from the course

We all have different reasons for attending courses.  Apart from learning new skills and gaining knowledge, there are opportunities for networking, friendship, professional development and a host of other benefits.  You may find it helpful to think about what you would like from the course or workshop yourself.  This could be specific information, clarification on something you’d like to understand better, an opportunity to study further or a desire to connect with others in order to gain support.  Thinking about your own aims will help to shape the way you interact in the sessions and will keep you engaged during the course.  And you may be asked at the beginning of the course what your own personal objectives are, so it’s another bit of preparation which will help you to feel in control and confident on the day!

Prepare your introduction

Sometimes known as the “creeping death” the start of most group sessions includes the opportunity to introduce yourself.  Some course facilitators are kind and pair people up then ask them to introduce each other.  But whichever way it goes, you’ll need to have a few things to say by way of introduction.  You may not have too much difficulty with your name, but a job title and role can be a little trickier, especially in a mixed group where your words and descriptions may not help others to understand what you do.  Think about this beforehand and decide how you want to be known and practise a clear way of describing what you do.  And you can always add in something interesting like an unusual hobby to spice things up!

And finally

Confidence can be a fragile thing.  When life is going well and we feel on top of our game, then we achieve the things we want and this builds our confidence for the next challenge.  It’s a good feeling.  However, if a few things start to slip, if we run out of time, if we don’t prepare adequately then we can get caught out and this make a dent in our confidence.  Stay positive!  It happens to us all.  The question is what to do about it? 

My clients tell me that setting aside time to reflect and prioritise what is really important in their lives is one of the most rewarding things that they can do.  Clarity comes from giving yourself space in your busy life.  We believe that “doing” is important.  And it is.  But "not doing" for short periods of time is even more valuable.  So maybe one of the small changes you can  make for 2017 is sometimes to do a little less.   Now there’s something to reflect on.

Izzy Ixer MCMI. Blue Pebble Coaching Ltd

Coaching and Mentoring in Woodbridge, Ipswich, Saxmundham in Suffolk

It's National Mentorng day – think before you jump in!

As today is National Mentoring Day, so it’s a great time to look at what mentoring is and to consider some of the factors, which can make for a great mentoring relationship.

Finding yourself a mentor isn’t always easy.  You need to feel confident that the person you are working with understands you and the challenges you are facing.  You need to know that they can strike the right balance between sharing information, knowledge and opportunities with you and also leaving you the space to absorb what has been shared during the mentoring session.

A skilled mentor recognises the importance of a reflective learning practice.  This means allowing time to assimilate information, making it your own and understanding how new skills and information can be put to good use.  These are the keys to a successful mentoring relationship.  When you find yourself a mentor, then you may find it helpful to keep a diary and to capture ideas and self-observations – this will be a great resource to reflect on your journey.

Demonstration of block printing

There are 6 commonly recognised factors which, when well managed, contribute to the success of the mentoring relationship.  They are well worth bearing in mind before, during and after the mentoring relationship has ended.

Purpose

The purpose of the mentoring arrangement needs to be clarified so that the mentor brings the right skills, experience and opportunities to the relationship.  The purpose may subtly change over time, so checking that both parties are still happy with the relationship is an important step in the process.  One of the purposes of mentoring is to bring to the person being mentored (the mentee) access to contacts, who may be influential in supportingtheir development.   This important aspect of mentoring needs to be discussed early in the relationship.

Communication

The way the mentoring session works will need to be tailored to suit the preferences of the person being mentored.  Some people prefer a face-to-face relationship while others may feel more comfortable in groups.  Some mentoring can take place online or by telephone.  If the purpose of the mentoring exercise is to induct and encourage a new group of recruits into an organisation, for example, group mentoring can be a powerful way of bringing new recruits on board and maintaining their enthusiasm for the organisation after the initial excitement of the new job has started to diminish.  In the early stages of the relationship the mentee will spend much of the time listening and questioning to clearly ascertain needs and support the formulation of goals.

Statue of an elephant

Trust

A good match between the mentor and the menteee will enable the relationship to start well.  The presentation of the mentor, the way they use their voice and their gestures all have an impact.  The mentor must be trustworthy, maintain confidentiality and have integrity if the relationship is to work.  Successful mentoring happens when the relationship between the mentor and the mentee is well founded and a good rapport has been developed.  Unlike coaching, mentors bring their own experience into the relationship, which makes it a more personal contract.  Confidence must be respected on both sides.

Process

The pace and frequency of the sessions need to be agreed and moderated as needed.  Time to explore goals and needs should be set aside at the start of therelationship to allow for the development of goals and for clarification about the way they will be achieved.  Th eperson being mentored may choose to have a number of different mentors and the process of working with other mentors may give rise to complexity in terms of goal setting and achievement of milestones.

Progress

An honest way of discussing progress against goals and providing feedback needs to be in place.  A mentoring plan with regular reviews in place is a good way of setting this up.  Milestones need to be celebrated and a time will come when the mentor has learned as much as they feel they can from their mentor.  The mentoring process needs to allow for this to happen in a planned and non-threatening way.

And finally ...

If you keep these things in mind you will soon discover the benefits of mentoring.  And remember – mentors can get just as much out of the relationship as the people they are supporting.  Reflecting on your own successes and failures and how you faced up to your challenges will reveal much about your own progress through life and can strengthen your own sense of self.

If you are interested in establishing mentoring in your organisation then get in touch with us.  We’re here to help.

Izzy Ixer

Director and Principal Consultant

Blue Pebble Coaching Ltd

www.bluepebblecoaching.co.uk

HR data or people – where to focus our energy?

What a great People Management Industry Insight webinar this morning!  The subject was “How can HR lead the way for growing companies?”

With speakers from Talktalk, the Cass Business School and Workday as well as the Editor of People Management the speakers talked about the power of integrated HR systems.  The holy grail of entering data only once into the HR system, confident that it will be consistent across the HR functions and provide everyone with a clear view across the organisation continues to be the goal for many organisations.

Talktalk’s case study illustrated the way they had been able to support a move from fire-fighting operational activity as they grew rapidly to achieve a position 4 years on, where strategic thinking drives the organisation.

For me as a coach, the clear message coming from the discussion was that an organisation may design and execute a transformation programme which gives them world class HR data, which they can mine and interrogate to inform their strategy.  However if the message coming from the leadership is that they don’t care about their staff, the exercise will be futile as the staff will not be supportive. 

Clutterbuck and Megginson, in 'Making coaching work: creating a coaching culture', define a coaching culture as one where: “Coaching is a predominant style of managing and working together, and where a commitment to grow the organisation is embedded in a parallel commitment to grow the people in the organisation”.  Companies looking to change their systems and processes and grow may need to reflect on this at the impact assessment stage.  A sustained drive to change and embed a new culture into the organisation should not be taken lightly and creating time in a pressured work environment for thinking, sharing, growing and developing is a big ask.

In her book “Time to Think”, Nancy Kline says:  “Knowing how to manage a thinking team is fundamental to building tomorrow’s successful organisation”.  She recognises that the power base for culture change is the team meeting.  And organisations need to recognise that this change requires a high level of energy from the leadership team over a sustained period of time.

The results, when nurtured and driven through successfully, repay the effort.  The act of creating conversations where inline coaching takes place as a matter of course can be seen in higher levels of commitment in staff, improved staff retention and a greater commitment to the organisation’s objectives as a whole. 

And with a well-implemented and rigorously managed HR system working behind the scenes, data can be mined and insights revealed which will help to prove the case for investing in technology, processes and, of course, people.

Izzy Ixer, Director and Principal Consultant, Blue Pebble Coaching Ltd

26 November 2015