advocate of Executive Coaching
Self-coaching is truly an art. As a long-time advocate of executive coaching, I’ve seen how leaders can benefit from structured reflection and self-guided growth. Yet many executives lack a practical self-coaching framework to apply in real-time situations.
Leader’s today are facing far more complexity. They experience an accelerated rate and pace of change. Additionally, there are greater demands on interpersonal leadership skills than ever before.
Let’s be frank, we can’t predict the timing of the next crisis. Furthermore, we don’t always have (or can’t afford) the luxury of a trusted confidant at our beck and call.
Why Executives Need a Self-coaching Framework
Ideally, we can all have a self-coaching “go-to” framework in our wheelhouse.
As is the case with most things, universities and colleges don’t teach graduates the art of self-coaching.
In Case You Missed it
I’d like to pass along this handy framework from author Katie Best. Katie is a PhD from the London School of Economics.
Applying the SOLVE framework summarized
S=State the Problem Untangle the mess and state the problem clearly and succinctly in 1-2 sentences, e.g. “Our top line revenue has stagnated. As a result, our expense load is growing faster than our revenues.” Duly noted that the work completed in this step of the process alone, pays significant dividends down the line.
O=Open the box Diagnostics and due diligence phase. Ask yourself what information or data that you need to make sense of the problem. From the example above, for context “how long has this been going on?”
L=Lay Out the Solution Formulate your plan for solving the problem. A single action? Or a series of actions phased in over time? The key here is to match the intervention to the context of the situation. Be sure that your solution properly addresses the crux of the issue or the root cause.
V=Venture forth Get going. Keep a vigilant eye on what is worth keeping. Discard what isn’t working. Achieve the objectives that you outlined.
E-Elevated your learning Be sure to do an After-Action Review. What worked? What didn’t? From my learning’s, are there other opportunities?
If you’re in a pinch, would benefit from experienced perspective and would like some help, you can reach me here
