Last week I had the incredible opportunity to be trained by Marshall Goldsmith at “What got you here, won’t get you there” event organized by the Corporate Research Forum in Brussels. Below I would like to share with you 10 tips Marshall gave to all the coaches in the room.
So who is Marshall Goldsmith?
Dr. Goldsmith is the author or editor of 35 books, which have sold over two million copies. He is one of the select few executive advisers who has worked with over 150 major CEOs and their management teams. At the recent Thinkers50 ceremony in London, Marshall Goldsmith was recognized again as the World’s #1 Leadership Thinker, #1 Executive Coach and #5 Most-Influential Business Thinker. He has written two New York Times bestsellers, MOJO and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – a Wall Street Journal #1 business book and winner of the Harold Longman Award for Business Book of the Year. His new book, Triggers, is a #1 New Your Times and Wall Street Journal best seller, as as an Amazon Business Book of the year.
10 tips for all the coaches in the room
- Build a name for yourself, you are your own brand.
- Customer selection is critical for your business as a coach. Helping winners is way better than fixing losers.
- It is not about yourself, it is about your client. Don’t ask what you could do to become a better coach, ask – what can you do to help your clients achieve better results.
- Do people really change? Marshall, showed that the more follow up there is, the higher the probability for change to happen.
- Never coach a person with ethics problem. Such people should be fired and not coached.
- Don’t forget that you are only a player in their drama, not the drama itself.
- Our role as coaches is to help more, judge less and quit worrying about what you cannot change. Leave your ego aside.
- Choose a path and make peace with all the hundreds other paths missed. We live too long with regrets.
- Be happy. Find meaning. Be fully engaged. Build positive relationships. Set clear goals. Make progress. Make positive difference in someone’s life.
- At the end of each day, ask yourself ” Did I do my best?” and “Am I still doing what I am doing for the right reasons?”
Another thing I am taking away is an interesting activity based on feedback called FeedForward – a great tool I am planning on bringing to my coaching practice:
If you are curious to learn more about Marshall’s work, I highly recommend visiting his website: http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/ or reading one of his wonderful books. I am currently reading Triggers.