I bring a wide variety of tools to my work with my clients to help them reach their goals. Most are centered around my passionate belief in the “beautiful constraint”: that the very things that constrict us are, in reality, gifts that can open up previously unimagined possibilities.
Changing the way we look at the world is a skill we can hone and develop, just like any other. Three of my favourite tools to help my clients develop these skills are the Birkman Method, Stakeholder Centered Coaching and Liberating Structures.
THE BIRKMAN METHOD
Becoming a High Performing Team requires a lot of work.
It’s not just about strategies and targets. It’s about understanding what motivates the people around us, and managing the inevitable misunderstandings and conflicts that arise.
The Birkman Method is a powerful behavioral science-based tool that helps both individuals and teams grow in self-awareness and the skills related to managing themselves, their emotions and their relationships.
By developing their team purpose, clarity and psychological safety these teams develop resilience, purpose, and uncover the pathway to a fulfilling and invigorating life for all their members.
STAKEHOLDER-CENTERED COACHING
Stakeholder Centered Executive Coaching focuses on helping leaders make small changes to leadership beliefs and behaviors in order to elicit big results for their stakeholders and team.
The hallmark of the SCC coaching system is change based on continuous feedback. We start with one-on-one coaching to identify one or two of the leader’s key behaviours that, if changed, would yield the greatest benefit to the leader and his context.
Over a 9-12 month period, a select group of stakeholders (direct reports, peers, supervisor, etc) participate in short, informal monthly feedforward conversations. These guide a monthly coaching session in which we adapt and adjust the action plan and measure growth and progress.
LIBERATING STRUCTURES
Liberating Structures are easy-to-learn microstructures that enhance relational coordination and trust. They quickly foster lively participation in groups of any size, making it possible to truly include and unleash everyone.
Liberating Structures introduce tiny shifts in the way we meet, plan, decide and relate to one another. They put the innovative power once reserved for experts only in the hands of everyone.
These structures are a disruptive innovation that can replace or complement conventional practices. Every person interested in leading change—in schools, hospitals, foundations, agencies, and businesses—can use Liberating Structures to generate innovation and great results.
As Wayne Dyer said, when we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change. Our perspective is fundamental to our happiness and our success: in work, and in life.
I’m a certified Stakeholder Centered Coach, a trained Liberating Structures facilitator and have been using the Birkman Method as an advanced consultant for 17 years. These tools have guided my approach with everyone from non-profits to sports teams to corporate CEOs, and helped them and their organizations solve a wide range of challenges, from goal alignment to innovation fatigue to ineffective communication to relational disruptors.
When we see our limitors as a chance to explore something new we uncover real breakthroughs that can reroute the future of ourselves and our organizations. And this new space lets us be creative, innovate and grow.