Category Archives: Coaching

Coach and Mentor Essentials

(‘Justplainandsimple™ Coaching, mentoring and Leadership Crucibles’)

‘Mentorship’ has its origins in Greek mythology. Mentor was a friend of Odysseus. Odysseus placed Mentor in charge of his son Telemachus and his palace when he left for the Trojan War. Goddess Athena visited Telemachus disguised as Mentor to hide herself from the suitors of Telemachus’ mother Penelope. As Mentor, Athena encouraged Telemachus to stand up against the suitors and go out to find what happened to his father. Mentor’s relationship with Telemachus and Athena’s encouragement and practical advice for dealing with personal dilemmas, led to the name Mentor being adopted in English as a term to describe someone who imparts wisdom to and shares knowledge with a less experienced colleague.

The word Mentor has come to stand for a ‘trusted advisor’. Justplainandsimple™

There is a subtle difference in mentorship as compared to a coach, who facilitates the discovery of solutions by the leader/entrepreneur coachee himself/herself ….. or a consultant, who is supposed to provide solutions ….. or a trainer who imparts skills.

Mentorship also assumes ‘subject matter expertise’ to be able to give advice based on own experience. Hence the two words trusted and advisor acquire their significance. But what is more important here and goes way beyond ‘subject matter expertise’ or ‘business excellence’, is ‘trust’.

Hence it becomes extremely important to search for a ‘trusted’ mentor/coach with great care ….. with proper evaluation and selection criteria to choose well. Very often the search ends up with only historical evidence of functional experience. This may not be sufficient.

The leader/entrepreneur should take sufficient time and care in the search, because once the relationship is established, he/she should accept and act on agreed upon action plans. If this is not done, it is loss of time and money for the leader/entrepreneur and loss of time for mentor / coach. It is a two way relationship with expression of mutual respect and gratitude being key on both sides. However, still if things don’t work out well, it is better to openly discuss and end the relationship rather than drag it painfully.

A study of successful Indian CEOs gave some very good insights on the qualities required in a leader/entrepreneur in the journey from start up to growth, apart from ‘business excellence’. The entrepreneur has to show tremendous ‘Inner Strength’ to manage self and environment, to network with stakeholders within the organization and outside and to keep the team energized.

Cricketing legend Yuvraj Singh, in his book ‘The test of my life’, in the chapter titled ‘The Battle for Confidence’, shares how a three member team of a physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coaches helped him get back into action after his fight with cancer.

Therefore, it is important that the mentor/coach himself/herself has the ability to stay grounded, calm and focused in order to be able to help the leader/entrepreneur handle such tough situations well, as and when they arise. Most importantly, an unbiased viewpoint, detached approach, independent thinking, balanced mind and intellect and extreme confidentiality are the attributes that enable the mentor / coach to hand hold the mentee/coachee and to co-create/co-evolve co-owned solutions to come out victorious through various chakravyuhs of business and life’s Mahabharata in this Karmakshetra/Kurukshetra !!

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Our Young Cricketers should Coach Old Politicians

From The Crucibles of

There is so much that India’s senior statesmen can learn from Team Dhoni. Will do the country a lot of good. Recent events in both the fields throw up such stark comparisons.

Fixing/corruption ? Get the culprits out. They CANNOT be in the game. Period.

Experienced, so called indispensable players replaced by young, energetic, charged up, passionate, fire in the belly members. The show goes on ….. and with better results !! Continue reading →

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Why I adopted Coaching as a route to Leadership Development ?

(‘Justplainandsimple™ Coaching and Leadership Crucibles’)

….. also, a good Leadership Behavior/Style to have !!

Over years, as a student of Coaching and Leadership, I observed and experienced many leadership styles. The spectrum has those with total ‘uninterested abdication’ to the highly pushy and aggressive varieties. While the former just ‘let go’, the latter have various shades of ‘push’. Either of these leave a lot to be desired.

Even the widely professed ‘Situational Leadership Influence Behaviours’, to have real positive effect, have to first pass the test of ‘genuine intentionality’ as a necessary condition. However, Leadership behaviour very often ends up becoming disguised ‘manipulation’ and a euphemism for ‘push, directing, fear, coercion, ordering’. I have known Leaders who are aware of and openly accept and acknowledge that Leadership Assessment Tools have shown them to be ‘Destructive Personalities’ and still live happily with that knowledge !!

True Leadership, by definition, should have ‘willful following’ and basic elements of ‘genuine intentionality’ and ‘influence’ are necessary conditions. The interface has no ‘force’ or ‘impact’ but a very smooth ‘flow of thought and energies’….. with Purity, Beauty and Grace ….. and mind you, this requires a lot more Inner Strength and Maturity.

The Leader has to first develop his/her own self and be already operating from a ‘higher self’ for anyone else to come and willfully ask for a ride or seek to be a fellow traveler in this journey of life. Jim Collins says, “Level 5 Leadership builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility & professional will”. These are the qualities that lead to the development of a ‘Servant Leader’. Leadership has a Spirituality about it. Leaders are meant to help others become the people God created them to be. In other words, to help others become who they are meant to be, to fulfill their unique purpose here on planet Earth. .

The engulfing of both the Leader and Follower in A Wave of Smooth Energy Flow can be a very healthy, effective and efficient process. There is a Harmonious Influence of Energy Fields. No one forces or tells anyone to do anything. Both ‘genuine intentionality’ and ‘influence’ operate out of ‘Free Will’ leading to ‘Successful Outcomes’ that are a lot more enduring and lasting.

Coaching, as a process for Leadership Development, allows the Coach and Coachee to have a Graceful Rythmic Dance in a Positive Energy Field !! No pushing, no coercion, no directing, no ‘absent mindedness’, no persuasion ….. Justplainandsimple™ Helping Realise Potential by partnering to enable development of self owned, fully acceptable solutions and plans.

As per Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, “Spirituality is ingrained in the Indian polity. Since ancient times rajgurus have guided & counselled rulers & in turn rulers have supported religious & spiritual leaders. Rama’s guru was Vasishtha & Krishna’s guru was Sandipani. Jainism & Budhism flourished under the patronage of the rulers of their time. Shivaji gave patronage to Samarth Ramdas.”

Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow ~ Vince Lombardi, Legendary Football Coach

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Values & Teamplay vs Professional Excellence & Individual Brilliance

For years I have observed situations where this issue gets highlighted. ‘Values and Team play score over Professional Brilliance and Individual Excellence’, some of the senior professionals used to tell me during my early career. Initially I took it as yet another nice and good viewpoint ….. just ‘nice to have and say’. Over years my belief in this kept getting stronger. Continue reading →

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Shortage of Good Leadership in India; A Ticking Time Bomb ?

Business & Economy July, 2008

One of the most widely discussed & debated terms, with many definitions already existing, ‘Leadership’ continues to be an intriguing topic. As a student & practitioner of Leadership, I have tried to observe, read about & learn from the ways, behaviours, thoughts & styles of many Great Leaders. In my quest to learn more about Leadership, before being able to comment on Good Leadership, I checked how Oxford Dictionary treats the subject. Lead is described as ‘show the way, esp by going in front; guide or take by holding, pulling etc.’. A Leader then, is ‘a person who Leads’ & Leadership is the ‘ability to be a Leader’.

What then, is ‘Good’ Leadership ? Fundamentally, at the most basic level, the element of ‘going in front’ is an essential requirement to be fulfilled. A Leader is also expected to have, depending on the field of operation, Business, Functional or Domain knowledge, specific to the area of operation. A good definition of Leadership that I came across is ‘A Leader is someone you choose to follow, because you know that he/she can take you where you want to go, but cannot go alone’. This definition goes beyond just ‘subject expertise’ & ‘going in front’, to highlighting ‘choice’ & ‘desired direction’ on behalf of the followers as well ….. It allows for a conscious human being to make an active choice & to determine his/her future direction….. so much a part of The Indian Ethos !! The question then is about options available to be able to make a choice, rather than having to choose from whatever is available.

However, talking of Good Leadership, there is also the concept of ‘Situational’ Leadership. According to this, the approach should be changed depending on the context or situation. An approach valid in one situation, may not be valid in another. So, a slightly broader view, encompassing more variables is proposed. Now what is the context that is generally kept in mind when choosing a Leadership approach ? Very often, even when this is followed, the context remains very narrow ….. confined to one circumstantial dimension only i.e. a variation in approach/action just based on situations & events or maybe depending on who the Leader is or what geography or domain he/she is involved in. Leadership should look at a much wider context ….. social, economic, psychological, physical ….. a holistic systems approach. A Bangalore city prospering in IT ignores the context of infrastructure or social inconvenience that maybe building up due to another variable that gets totally left out of the equation. While Delhi booms in real estate & infrastructure, social stress, intolerance, crime & road rage create a bulge and distortion of the picture at another place.

Good Leadership, at the cutting edge, is Life itself !! Like in life, a Dynamic Balance of various aspects has to be maintained ….. between yin & yang, masculinity & feminity. Good Leadership needs to attain a balance between social, economic, physical & psychological variables. In most situations we see one dimensional excellence at the cost of various other dimensions. The result is a time bomb ticking somewhere else. Depending on which area one is responsible for, one would maximise indices depicting performance in that dimension, sweeping the dust out from ‘my house’ onto ‘the neighbour’s front yard’. This does not really ensure a healthy, all round effort. Inflation & other pressures build up as a result of ignored variables, not built into the equation. A chain is as strong as the weakest link …..

In the corporate world, to some extent ‘The Balanced Scorecard’ approach deals with such a situation, though not fully. Alongwith stakeholders’ financial interests, it encourages measurement on the people, customers & process dimensions as well ….. definitely an approach in the right direction, but still needs broadening of the scope to include impact on society, environment & nature.

There is tremendous ‘Energy’ in India today, both quantitatively & qualitatively. A billion plus people, half of them below 20 years of age, growing opportunities, developing economy, increasing aspirations !! What is needed is a holistic approach to make sure that this phenomenal social, physical, psychic energy produces the best results in a multidimensional Indian ecosystem. Neglecting any one dimension is like ‘leakage’ of energy from that ‘weakest’ point in the nuclear reactor ….. !! Balanced, well rounded development, ensuring that social, economic, psychological, physical & environmental interests are in a Dynamic Equilibrium is the challenge in India today. Such a balance will ensure ‘Ananda Tandava’, which India has taught the world over ages.

Alignment of a billion ‘charged ions’ in a Laser Head, needs application of a high voltage of Leadership Qualities of Truth, Integrity, Ethics, Humility, Inner Strength, Transcending of Self & Passion ….. And once it happens it can LEAD to a Highly Powerful Laser Beam ….. !! However, leaving a weak spot, an unattended to variable, can LEAD to leakage of uncontrolled high energy into the Indian environment ….. causing damage or a lost opportunity. Let’s hope that we see A Dynamic Equilibrium leading to A Celebration of Life in the India of tomorrow !!

J.P.Singh

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