In this podcast, recorded at the Agile India 2019 conference, Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods, spoke to Deb Preuss about life coaching, creating joyful workplaces, diversity and inclusion.
Key Takeaways
- Life coaching is a skill that helps others find their best selves
- Culture has shifted and people know that it is possible to find pleasure at work, so autocratic leadership styles will no longer be accepted in the workplace
- The freedom to be your authentic self reduces your stress and frees your uniqueness to bring a richness into the workplace
- Diversity and inclusion are two different things and we need both in our workplaces
- By paying attention to small things done consistently with intention we can build a culture that genuinely is inclusive
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Show Notes
- 00:48 Introduction
- 01:33 Being a life coach in the dynamic environment of today
- 01:57 Help people slow down just long enough so they can hear what’s going on inside themselves
- 02:17 The value of sitting quietly not knowing the answer
- 02:31 Asking questions that elicit “ha” responses
- 02:57 Demonstrating powerful questioning
- 03:16 How coaching looks is different for every person
- 03:34 The skill of seeing what is there and reflecting it back so the coachee notices what’s there
- 04:16 If we are stressed and overwhelmed when bringing ideas to others that becomes part of the message we bring
- 04:27 Trying to teach people to be aligned with what they love
- 04:42 This matters because it enables people to be more effective
- 04:57 If we can let people have their “soft and fuzzy” aspects they can bring their whole selves to the work they do
- 05:20 It’s OK not to have all the answers
- 05:31 The world is moving too fast to tell people what to do – we need to share leadership and change our leadership styles
- 05:47 Culture has shifted and people know that it is possible to find pleasure at work, so autocratic leadership styles will no longer be accepted in the workplace
- 06:08 When leaders can design a way forward that is rewarding to them they can make where they are a satisfying part of their life
- 06:24 Stress does not have to be part of the package of work-life today
- 06:32 People who aren’t stressed out bring much more to the work that they do
- 06:40 Authenticity as an important building block of a joyful workplace
- 06:57 Some of the practices that Menlo Innovations embrace as part of their quest for a joyful workplace
- 07:08 You don’t have to apologise for being who you are
- 07:22 The freedom to be your authentic self reduces your stress and frees your uniqueness to bring a richness into the workplace
- 07:34 Joy is not the same as happiness
- 07:50 To enable this to happen leadership needs to create safety so people can be vulnerable
- 07:54 A leader who doesn’t feel safe will have trouble creating safety for others
- 08:10 Asking people to be vulnerable has to happen inside a place of trust
- 08:21 There are tools which can be used to help create safe environments
- 08:28 We build trust by talking openly about things and being accountable to others
- 08:40 Advice in the book The Speed of Trust on how to build trust and to repair trust
- 09:08 Exploring the current state of diversity
- 09:20 The importance of inclusion in addition to diversity
- 09:28 Diversity is not the same as being inclusive
- 09:36 Inclusion is honestly welcoming differences
- 09:54 The comparison of an open space event compared to a traditional conference is similar to going from a traditional workplace to an agile workplace
- 10:08 Creating a space where people feel free to choose to step in
- 10:16 How do we invite diversity rather than selecting diversity?
- 10:28 Inviting diversity is challenging
- 10:58 The desire to be inclusive is not the same as accomplishing inclusiveness
- 11:16 The resources are starting to be available for allies
- 11:28 By paying attention to small things done consistently with intention we can build a culture that genuinely is inclusive
- 11:52 Deb’s own work with women through Ten Women Strong
- 12:12 The key thing Deb brings is to help women be courageous through affirming who they are, how they are and encouraging them to be bold
- 12:38 How Deb got connected with the Ten Women Strong program
- 12:57 The program targeted at women in agile which gives a common foundation for conversations and collaboration
- 13:20 The common set of values that all agilists share
- 13:33 We are socialised to help others rather and forget to listen to what we need
- 14:28 What it means to work in a totally remote way across multiple initiatives
- 14:44 Co-active coach training conducted entirely remotely
- 15:09 Being an astonishingly good listener and offering that as a service
- 15:21 The value of coaching through exploring what the coachee wants and needs
- 15:49 If I can help leaders bring more joy in the workplace, my work is multiplied
- 16:09 An invitation for anyone who is curious about coaching to book an hour to see what it’s about
Mentioned:
Agile India
Richard Sheridan – Menlo Innovations
Book – Liftoff
Book – The Speed of Trust
Book – Better Allies
Ten Women Strong
Co-active coaching
Contact Deb at A Bigger Game
