Expanding your group and team coaching toolkit (23): Momentum

We are a few days away from the start of November, which is often considered the “last mile” of the year, by many. It can be the time to make sure we get things done! Today’s topic is all about momentum. Sometimes getting things done isn’t as much about making huge steps happen, but leveraging the momentum we’ve created.


The tagline for my two recent planner workbooks  - Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack (for Remote Professionals)  - is Daily Steps + Consistent Action =  Momentum™


In effecting change, it is often not about the huge steps we undertake but the smaller, consistent actions we undertake that make such a big impact over time.


I was interested to see if I could track when I first started talking about momentum with my clients.

Here’s what I found from a newsletter article to my 90Days BizSuccess Groups back in the mid-2000s:

Building Momentum Towards Your Goals - Create The Tipping Point 

Momentum = To Move Forward

Momentum is a powerful tool in the achievement of goals. Have you ever noticed how things literally start to snowball and take on a life of their own, once a certain point is reached?

Many times momentum is gained through these very steps you are taking throughout the 90 Day BizSuccess Program. Momentum is most often about the cumulative impact of smaller actions not just one giant step.

What are you noticing about momentum you have gained in the throughout this program? What's getting easier? What's becoming effortless? What can you leverage to get more momentum?

What's the one area you want to ensure the momentum sustains itself within?

(Originally published as part of the 90 Days BizSuccess program support emails)

When working with groups such as business owners,  it can be useful to explore the topic of momentum on the individual lens to help people with planning, or reflecting on what steps they are taking consistently to create some movement.


When working with teams, helping teams understand their collective momentum, is important. What are the things helping the team overall – this may include alignment, focus, clarity etc. Have the team identify what the things are that are helping the team get some traction and momentum.


Just like a snowball rolling down a hill, momentum can eventually take on alife of its own. It can be invaluable to focus in on what is creating action and some “life of it’s own”.





Creating momentum is also an important part of the coaching process.

Consider incorporating some of these questions to your upcoming conversations:

What does momentum mean for you?

What specific actions are you taking on a regular basis, consistently to create momentum?

Where are things “Taking on a life of their own”?

What’s helping with momentum (clarity, goals, alignment etc)?

What is a quick win for you?

What is going to help you be successful?

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development)

Join us for an upcoming ICF CCE approved program - Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs) starting Friday November 1st at 1015 am ET (running to December 2nd), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum ( 10 CCEs) starting Monday November 4th at 3 pm ET or the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program (8.5 CCES) starting Monday November 4th at 1:30 pm ET.

Expanding Your Group and Team Coaching Toolkit - Identity (22)

This week’s building your group and team coaching toolkit brings us to the topic of IDENTITY. It helps us describe "Who we are, How we Do things, and What’s important to us”. In any context we may have multiple identities – my identity as a team, as an individual, as a parent. Our identity is a key part of organizational culture work.

In the team coaching context, it’s likely that we will be working around topics including team identity.

 Exploring the notion of WHO We are can take us in to a number of different areas including:

Who are we as individuals?

What makes us unique?

What are our styles?

What are our strengths?

HOW We Do things speaks to our NORMS. What’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable on this team or in this group. What are the behaviors and practices which are acceptable? What is taboo?

The clearer we can be with our norms, the more safety is created. In a team coaching context, it may become apparent that alignment and conflict exists because norms are not clear, and therefore, behaviors are also not aligned. Spending time with a team clarifying the ACCEPTABLE and NOT ACCEPTABLE behaviors, while also talking about what happens when these are violated helps to build connection and trust.

What’s important to us speaks to our values. What are the things that we will stand up and fight for? What will we go to bat for? 

Working with Identity as a group or team coach will take us into a series of conversations -from strengths and styles, to values, and norms. What are the conversational touchpoints you want to make sure you have built into your engagements?

Questions to consider around identity:

1.       Who are we?

2.       What is important to us?

3.       What is acceptable on this team?

4.       What is taboo?

5.       What are the 3-5 things we value most as a team (consider how we work, who we are, etc)?

6.       What do we want to make sure new members know about us, our history and our strengths?

Enjoy your conversations,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development)

Join us for an upcoming ICF CCE approved program - Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum ( 10 CCEs) or the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program (8.5 CCES) starting October 24th.

Expanding Your Group and Team Coaching Toolkit - Inner Critic - 21

Work around the Inner Critic, The Saboteur, or Gremlin is at the core of many coaching processes

and models. As we move through a process of change it’s useful to remember that the Inner Critic surfaces, making it known that change is afoot.

The Inner Critic can take many forms, and is an internal voice the coaching client will hear when change is happening. From saying “you are not good enough” to “who will care”, the inner critic is often grounded in our core identity, values and belief systems. The voice of the inner critic will point to different perspectives, as well as assumptions at play.

At different stages of the coaching process, it will be important to identify when the Inner Critic is showing up and to determine how you want to address it. Unchecked, the Inner Critic can derail the best plans, getting in the way of action and progress. It can be a signal that there is deeper work to be undertaken around mindsets, beliefs and assumptions.

In a group coaching context, it is likely that the inner critic is getting activated at different times as group members hit different stages in the coaching process. Our approach to working with the inner critic may also be variable. Some clients may want to take a playful, exploratory approach with the Inner Critic, by giving it a shape, or a voice. Others may want to box the inner critic, while others may want to banish them. Given that the inner critic is part of ourselves, and may be a signal of protection, it’s important to gain more experience and tools in this area.

While an entire team may have limiting beliefs, there may not be one voice of the inner critic which exists in a team context. As such, inner critic work may be more pervasive in the team context than the group context.

For more on inner critic, do check out these resources:

Taming Your Gremlin -Rick Carson

Positive Intelligence - Shirzad Chamine

Questions to consider :

1.       What inner critics are surfacing as you move through change?

2.       What do they look like? Give them a voice, a dress, notice their manners…

3.       What changes are the inner critic signalling?

4.       As you move through change, what is the inner critic wanting to hold onto?

5.       What would be a more empowering belief for you?

6.       What’s another way of approaching change?

Enjoy the exploration,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, PCC – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development)

Join us for an upcoming ICF CCE approved program - Group Coaching Essentials (8.75 CCEs), Advanced Group and Team Coaching Practicum ( 10 CCEs) or the Certified Facilitator Program (24 CCEs) for PlanDoTrack and the Coaching Business Builder starting this coming week.