Aug
17

Logo_CC_HiResLast week, we discussed how you react when others behave inappropriately toward you.   Some of you may focus more on the behaviors of others, and some may focus solely on yourself, or experience a combination of responses.  The most productive way to respond involves acknowledging the behavior of others, but then using the experience to grow as an individual.  Ask yourself how you can change in order to become a better and stronger person and avoid future conflict.

In this article, we will bring up some of the common excuses that many people use to justify the responses that, in the end, may stunt your personal growth and prolong the negativity of an experience.  Then we’ll discuss some alternative perspectives that may help you discover the power of a healthy balance of focus, both on the incident itself and your internal growth.  By relinquishing control over others and taking control of yourself, you will not only turn negative experiences into positive outcomes, but you will find that your life becomes much less stressful and much more happy and fulfilling!

The first step is to make yourself aware of the way you currently respond to the negative or inappropriate behavior of others.  If you missed last week’s article, we highly recommend that you read the article and find a response type that describes what you do when others ‘wrong’ you in some way.  Then you can come back and get even more out of this article.

Now that you understand how you respond to others and where your focus lies, you can begin to discover areas for growth and change.  Sometimes, even those of you who have an overall well-adjusted response, you may still dabble in some of the responses that are control-based and overly focused on the other person.  Sometimes, the more intense or hurtful the situation, the more desperate we become in trying to fix it.  When there is a sense of desperation or panic, it is even more important to be aware of our perspectives because our judgment may be impaired, and we may feel the need to justify our actions.

Think about this business world example.  You have been working on a major presentation for your company executives about a new system that will greatly increase profits.  You invite a co-worker to help you design the power point and assist you in the actual presentation.

The idea is well-received by the executives, but throughout the entire presentation, your co-worker interrupts you and takes over the speech, using language that suggests the whole thing was their idea, and you are the assistant.  The executives congratulate him on a job well done, and set up a meeting to discuss the idea further.  You are not invited.  He has just taken all the credit for your idea.

Now, let’s discuss the different categories of response focus with examples of the excuses, justifications, and perceptions that might accompany your response, and then introduce new perspectives.

Detachment of Focus

If you chose the Independent, Releasing or Tolerant descriptions, you are exhibiting a detachment of focus.  You tend to write off the behavior of others and prevent yourself from having any kind of reaction to it.  This could potentially invite others to treat you badly, not out of maliciousness, but because they honestly believe you won’t care if they do it.  You co-worker may convince himself that you didn’t really care about this project or getting a promotion, so you wouldn’t mind if he took the credit.

You may even convince yourself that you don’t care because you would rather try to shrug it off than create conflict, cause a scene or come off as childish.  However, this route prevents you from growing as a person, learning how to handle conflict, and remain assertive.

Potential excuses or justifications include:

“You have to pick your battles.”

“If I just ignore it, it will resolve itself.”

“It’s my life, so it only matters what I do.  I can’t waste time thinking about what others are doing.”

“It is good to tolerate others.  They teach us tolerance in school, so I’m using it in life.”

These statements may help you to not become angry, but the fact is, this was your idea.  Picking your battles does not mean that you should ignore it when you are wronged.  It does not imply choosing whether or not something is worth addressing might be worth your time to get the credit you worked so hard to deserve.  So what actions can you take that do not focus on the behavior of your co-worker, but do allow you to regain credit for your idea?

Internal Focus on Others

If you chose the Empathetic, Helpless or Conditional descriptions, your focus is on the actions of others as it relates to you.  While some aspects of this can be positive, if you only focus on how their actions affect you, then you are missing out on the options that are within your control that could increase the happiness, fulfillment, and success in your own life.

Potential excuses or justifications include:

“If I could just understand why they do what they do, I’ll feel better.”

“If I know what the underlying issue is, then suddenly the action itself won’t seem so bad.”

“If they just understood what they were doing, they would stop.”

“My life would be better if they stopped doing what they do, but I can’t control them, so I have no choice but to suffer through it.”

“Suffering builds character.”

“Well of course I only like it when people behave well towards me, and of course I hate it when they don’t.  What’s wrong with that?”

Understanding that your co-worker has had many ideas that were shot down in the past by the executives and saw this as a chance to really shine for the first time in his life may help you avoid lashing out at him or holding a grudge, but it does not mean that his actions were okay.  If you simply choose to suffer through it, thinking it will build character, you might be missing the point of that phrase.  It is not the suffering that builds character, it is the way you handle it.  You could also choose to write off your co-worker forever, never speaking to or working with him again, but how does that help you get your credit for your project?  You do not have to give up something that is important to you just because of how someone else behaves.

External Focus on Others

If you chose the Role Model, Controlling, Gossiping, Complaining, Dictator, or Vengeful descriptions, you are taking action for the sake of the outcome as it relates to the other person.

Role Modeling can be great, but if your only purpose is to influence others, then you might be disappointed or upset if those ‘others’ do not change.  Remember, some of these descriptions are not based on negative responses.  It is simply important to also realize that even a positive response has room for more personal growth and success if combined with other responses, which we will discuss in the next section.

Potential excuses or justifications include:

“I’m not trying to control others, I’m just trying to influence.”

“But he won’t change until he knows how it feels.”

“Their boss needs to know about this so that they will realize what type of employee they have hired.”

“If people see me behave appropriately, they will see the light and follow suit.”

“How can I let him just ‘get away’ with this?  I have to do something to show him his behavior is wrong.”

“I’m not gossiping, I just really need to talk about this to process it and to vent.”

“You have to be harsh, or no one respects you… people will walk all over you if you let them.”

With the situation of the co-worker taking credit for your work, you may feel like you want to tell everyone at the office about the presentation.  But what is your real purpose for talking about it?  Are you asking a couple friends to listen and help you decide what to do next?  Or are you telling everyone you run into just so that they will know what happened and there will be no question that you were wronged?

If you go to the executives, are you going to them to let them know that it was actually your idea?  Or are you going to them to let them know that your co-worker stole the credit?  Will you try to sabotage the project by not helping anymore so that it becomes obvious that he doesn’t really know what he’s doing?  Will you plan to take credit for his next idea to show him how it feels or to get even?  Will you talk to him and kindly ask him to make sure that you receive credit for your idea?  Or will you start lashing out at him and barking orders?

What is the purpose behind your actions?  Are you trying to make sure you get credit?  Or are you trying to control him or the people around him (like the executives) in order to control him indirectly?

What can you do instead that will help you reach your goal of getting credit for your idea and experience personal growth and an overall positive outcome?

Internal and External Focus on Self and Others

If you chose the Self-Improving or Well-Adjusted descriptions, you are well on your way to a healthy balance of focus.  The main difference between these two descriptions is that the Well-Adjusted response also includes role modeling and empathy.  While it is great to achieve self-improvement, it is still true that being empathetic will help you avoid anger and having a desire to positively influence others is great, as long as you are not imposing your influence on others.  It is one thing to behave a certain way because you believe it is right, but if you are only doing it to show others how it’s done, than you are losing that valuable focus on yourself that will help you continue to grow.

In the case of the credit-taking co-worker, a healthy response might be to avoid anger by understanding that it is unlikely that he did this out of spite or maliciousness, that there may be other causes for his actions that you may or may not ever fully understand.

You can turn the incident into a learning experience that teaches you to make sure your name is clearly written on all of your work, that you take responsibility for making sure that you discuss the presentation with the executives beforehand, casually letting them know your role and the role of your co-worker.

You can learn about yourself and how you are able to successfully, maturely, and positively handle conflicts of this kind.  You will gain self-confidence in your ability to calmly respond to negative experiences by turning them into a positive experience.  You will bring meaning to your experiences by consciously exploring how each and every situation you encounter brings value to your life and to your self.

You will become a role model to others, not so that you can ‘fix’ people, but so that you might inspire them.  If you do inspire someone, it will bring you joy, but if someone is not ready to be inspired, it is not because you failed, and it will not bring you down.  At the end of the day, you behave in a manner that you personally believe is best for you and those around you.

However…

In this case, all of these perspectives will help you grow, but the fact is, you still have not received credit from the executives for your idea; credit that could possibly lead to a promotion or more responsibility within your company.

This is where a coaching session would come in handy.  Only you can decide what is best for you, and how important that credit is to you.  Was the purpose of the idea to help the company? Or was part of the purpose to gain credibility with the executives?  What type of solution will work for you?  You may feel more comfortable asking your co-worker to let you accompany him to the meeting so that you can be involved in the project that you consider your ‘baby’, letting him know how much it means to you for people to know that this idea is yours.  You might prefer to go to the executives and ask them to be involved in the meeting for the same reasons (rather than simply ‘telling on’ your co-worker).

By maintaining a healthy mindset when it comes to the behavior of others, you will live a happier and less stressful life, and you will grow and develop as a person, becoming a better you.  But sometimes, you will find that some coaching goes a long way in helping you with some of the details.  It will also give you a safe place to vent your frustrations without gossiping, to talk about all of the possibilities and outcomes for different for responses without actually ‘trying them out’, and you will find the answer that works for you and lets you define and achieve your goals.

This is a great topic for debate, considering all of the justifications that we use to make us feel like our own behavior is fueled by good intentions.  Please share your thoughts here.

2 Comments »

  1. There is something magic about being able to talk to a professional who knows how to help bring out YOUR answers. Everyone can benefit from a coaching session. It allows a safe and confidential place to create confidence and trust, be heard and understood, make an action plan and commit and take ownership for your progress and accomplishments. The first step to resolving outer conflict is to recognize resolve inner conflict!
    Looking forward to more posts and joining CC to help more people shine!
    Bonnie

    Comment by Bonnie Silvia — August 18, 2010 @ 3:12 pm

  2. Absolutely, @Bonnie! When you say ‘everyone can benefit from a coaching session’, that is exactly right.

    In fact, a fun problem to have when you are a new coach is deciding on a niche, because truly EVERYONE can benefit from coaching. So niche possibilities are endless, but where to begin!

    Of course, that brings us back to the idea that even coaches benefit from coaching, and niche development is certainly a necessary coaching topic!

    Comment by CoachingCognition — August 20, 2010 @ 12:47 pm

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Jul
27

Logo_CC_HiResCross promotion begins with simple promotion.  Unless two or more individuals have a prior relationship, they usually discover each other because one person promoted or shared the work of the other.  The successful continued development of this promotional relationship depends on whether or not the initial promotion is reciprocated.

But remember, this ‘returned favor’ should never be expected.  It may lead to disappointment.  There are many external factors that are involved in whether or not the person you are promoting will even see your promotion.  Therefore, make sure that if you promote, you are doing it for the sake of increasing the value of your content.

I am discussing the possibilities of what the promotion of others can lead to, but it should not be the goal.  For example, you are in your car on the freeway in rush hour traffic, and there is a car in the lane next to you with its signal on.  You decide to let them over, and they get in front of you, and then do not wave thanks.  How do you feel?  Are you upset or angry?  If so, what was your purpose for letting them over?  Did you do it so that traffic would flow more easily or so that you would get the self-satisfaction and validation of the wave?

When you are promoting others, promote people who have influenced you in some way, either through their services or through content you have read.  Otherwise, your readers may not find value in that promotion, and you may be left in bumper-to-bumper traffic AND miss out on the ‘wave’.

So, what can the promotion of others

do for you and your prospects?

Promoting others will establish your own image as a giving person.  If you are willing to promote the work of others, then it means that you do not take the ‘every man for himself’ attitude in business.   It means that the importance of giving value to your prospects is more important than making sure your own name is all your readers ever see.

It shows confidence in your own value.  By sharing what others are doing, or giving credit to others who have helped you achieve your goals, you are letting your prospects know that you are not afraid to expose them to other leaders, risking that they leave you to follow that person.

Promoting others through giving credit for their product or service that has helped you in some way can also give you credibility.  It lets your prospects know that you have experience and/or training that may help them succeed, too!

And finally, when you honestly promote others, especially if you do it on their own sites, it will help you become more recognizable!  Not only will you be more visible on their site when you leave comments for their blog or post on their wall, but when you use a frequently searched name in your own content, it is likely that others will come across your work while looking for information on the person you credited or promoted.

What are some easy ways to

promote others successfully?

Write an entire article about what someone else is doing, while making sure that you find a way to relate it to yourself and/or your readers.  If you read an article that you enjoyed or that you learned from, share it with your readers by writing a response article.  You do not have to simply share the link to someone else’s content, you can write your own content that shares their information and shows your personal reaction to it.  Did it cause you to think or to act? Tell your prospects about it, and include a link to the original work, so that they can read it for themselves and see what they get out of it.

Write an entire article about what you are doing, but give credit to others who have helped you along the way.  Promoting in the form of giving credit where you believe it is due will not only show your prospects that you are a grateful person, but it will also give them the opportunity to get the same kind of assistance from the same place you did!  You are essentially pointing your prospects in the right direction for their own development as an entrepreneur.

Be where your future cross-promotion partners are!  Go to their blogs, Facebook pagess, etc and leave valuable comments often.  The more you leave comments and interact with them and their visitors, the more promotion you are giving them by contributing to the activity of their sites, and the more recognized you will become by showing the value you can provide.

Leaving comments on your own Facebook page is another way to promote others.  If you want to tag someone in a comment, make sure you are already ‘friends’, then type in an “@” and begin to type their name.  A list will populate beneath the comment box, and you will be able to choose that person from the list.  Once you do that, their display name will appear in the comment box and it will become a link to their page.  Your comment will even show up on their wall, too!  This only works with original wall posts, not with replies to posts.

When YOUR content has been shared:

If you have promoted someone, or even mentioned and tagged them in an article or blog post, and they turn around and promote that content to their own list, what do you do?  In addition to maintaining your post, including answering comments, connecting with your readers, and watching for further promotions from those readers, what can you do to show that you appreciate the promotion of your post?

If the person who reciprocated your promotion is a highly recognized individual, it may seem difficult to thank them personally.  However, there are ways to get your message to this industry leader.  For example, if they shared your link on Facebook, comment on their link post.  If they shared it through an email list, perhaps you can show your appreciation on their personal Facebook page.

What do you do if you discover that someone has shared your content without you promoting them first?  What would you hope someone else would do?  Do you think it would be beneficial to go to their page, thank them for sharing, and then try to find something worth sharing with your audience?  Remember to always do what you think everyone else would do in a perfect business world.  BE the perfect business world.

Is cross-promotion a form of collaboration?

Why do you think cross-promotion can be considered a form of collaboration?  A collaborative partnership involves two or more people working together toward a common purpose.  But what is the common purpose in cross-promotion?  If you and another individual are working together to promote each other, then the promotion itself is the common purpose.  So yes, cross-promotion is, in fact, a form of collaboration!

Thinking about cross-promotion as a collaborative effort might help you remember that it is frequently the first step toward more involved collaborations.  If cross-promotion works out well between two individuals, then it means that the content you both provide work well for both of your target markets, it establishes recognition of and between both of you, and it can possibly set the stage for future relationships.

These are all relatively broad examples of how to invite cross-promotion into your business life.  If you would like more personalized assistance, talk to your coach about ways that you can promote others that will be beneficial to your business and, most importantly, to your community!

Click here to visit an article with more information on collaboration, and then check out the accompanying interview with Richard Goutal, expert collaborator and Coaching Cognition coach!

If you are looking for future collaboration or cross-promotion partners, visit the Coaching Cognition fan page and see what others are doing that you think is worth sharing with your prospects, then practice what you have learned here.

2 Comments »

  1. I like to promote others. Recently I bought a book as a result of an Amazon dsicussion. I found enormous value in the book and wanted to share my thoughts about the book so I then wrote a review of the book – on Amazon and on my blog and notified the book author. Unexpectedly he blogged about me, which was not the reason I wrote the review…
    I have since gone back to the author’s blog and left comments to add value.

    Comment by Helen Wenley — July 28, 2010 @ 1:57 pm

  2. Helen,

    That is amazing! And it brings up the relevant point of making sure that the person you are promoting finds out about it!

    You let the author know about your review, simply because you thought he might enjoy reading it. If you hadn’t notified him, he may have never seen otherwise seen it, and therefore would never have blogged about you.

    Way to go!

    Comment by CoachingCognition — July 29, 2010 @ 12:29 pm

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Jun
22

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Are you looking for a way to decrease the number of mistakes you make while at the same time increasing your confidence during the times that you do make a mistake?  Mistakes are a part of every journey; in fact, they are vital to your success.  Sometimes, it takes finding out what NOT to do in order to determine the correct actions.

In this article, we will explore how to recognize mistakes, different types of mistakes, how to find positive meaning in them, and how to apply the inherent lessons towards your future.

When you make a mistake in your journey toward achieving a goal, what do you do?  Do you see the mistake as a negative reflection of who you are as a person?  Do you feel guilty?  Stressed?  Unmotivated?  Unconfident?

These are all very natural emotions that are healthy to experience after you have taken an action that you think is a mistake.  In fact, they are the very emotions that let you know a mistake has been made.

Your complex system of emotions is an incredible reflection of your value system.  When you feel happy, it is a sign that your actions and surroundings align with your values and morals.  When you are angry, it is a sign that someone else has treated you in a manner that does not align with your values.  When you feel guilty or a lack of confidence, it usually means that your own actions do not align with your own values.

By staying in tune with your emotions and exploring them as they arise, you will have a better understanding of yourself and your values.

There are many different types of ‘mistakes’ that someone can make.  Sometimes they are a direct result of a specific decision.  This can make decisions seem stressful because you are afraid of making a mistake; making the wrong choice.  But if you have a great understanding of the true nature of mistakes, decisions will become easier because you will know that if a mistake is made, the ‘worst’ that will happen is that you realize the mistake, learn from it, and apply it to future decisions.

Some mistakes are made due to a lack of forethought.  Perhaps you take some kind of action without thinking it through.  Whether that action involves an unnecessary purchase, a statement made to someone you care about that hurts them in some way, taking a job that you don’t really like, or taking on too many responsibilities, the mistake occurred because you didn’t think about the consequences or the true meaning your action carries.

However, the next time you are faced with a similar situation, how likely do you think it will be that you pause and reflect on the possible outcomes before you commit to the action or statement?

Other mistakes are made because you base your action on your own values, but the outcome directly affects someone with different values or values that you may have projected onto them.  You feel like your actions were right, but find out that they caused a negative experience for the other person.

For instance, if you take on someone else’s responsibilities, thinking that you are helping them, you may find out that you were actually depriving them of something they would have enjoyed doing or could have learned from.  Perhaps in this case, it is not the action itself that was the true mistake, but the assumptions behind the action that holds the true lesson for you.

There are also mistakes that are made because they are reaction to someone else’s mistake.  These are actions that are taken in the heat of the moment, when you are so deeply immersed in emotion that your judgment is affected.  In these situations, you may find yourself taking actions that you would normally never take, and it might cause you to feel negative emotions about yourself and the way you handle stressful situations.

However, once again, you learn from these experiences and apply it to the future.  You recognize when you are feeling emotions that can cause impaired judgment, and you know not to take any action until the wave of emotion has passed.

Every mistake that you make carries a valuable lesson about your values, what your goals are, and how to achieve them.

Wherever your mistakes are made (like within a relationship, your business, etc), the mistake itself is not a reflection of who you are.  It’s what you do afterwards that will help you define yourself and what you stand for.

We all make mistakes, but those of us who use them as life lessons have a much more positive outlook on life.  There is nothing wrong with feeling down about a mistake, but if you dwell on it, you will never grow.

Take the negative emotions and use them to take positive action.  This may include making up for your mistake if at all possible, or you may simply acknowledge the mistake by creating a plan to make sure it (or something similar) does not happen again.

Not only can you take action to make sure a mistake is not repeated, you can also learn more about what will work for you.  The more you learn about WHY certain actions are mistakes, the more you learn WHAT kinds of actions will lead to success.

Like a clay sculptor who begins with a solid block of clay and carves away all of the clay that is not a part of the final sculpture until all that is left is the masterpiece, so do you “carve away” all of the actions that you discover are not a part of who you are until all that is left is your ‘real self’.

When all else fails… Succeed!

2 steps forward… 1 step back?  I say 3 steps forward!  After all, in my book, learning from your mistakes bring you closer to finding success, not further from it.

What examples can you think of from your own life?  What are some ‘mistakes’ that you have made, and what lessons have you learned from them?  Take some time to think about them, and reflect on them.  If you would like, I invite and encourage you to share your lessons in our DISCUSSION AREA.  Sharing your mistakes is a great way to put even more meaning to your experiences because you can use them to help others who may have similar situations arise in their lives.

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May
26

LOGO - Coaching CognitionWhen a phase of our lives comes to a close, we can’t help but feel a sense of loss because we feel it is ending.  However, our journeys never end, they simply evolve… develop… grow.

We can draw on our experiences and keep them alive by using what we have learned and applying it to future experiences.  We can stay connected with our community and share our experiences with those who currently stand where we were standing at the beginning of the phase we have now completed.

The sun goes down, and we call it the end of the day.  The sun rises, and we call it the beginning of a new day.  But the sun never changed; it never left.   It is still the same sun sitting in the same place.  It is the earth that moves.

Your experiences and connections are like the sun, and you are the earth, moving toward your full potential.  Let the light of your experiences shine on the parts of you that can use it for success and growth.

Perhaps this is a bit poetic.  Let’s put this in more concrete terms, in the form of congratulations.

It is now the final week of coaching training for the students of the Coaching Cognition Certification program.  Our student body is populated by a unique collection of truly extraordinary people, and it has been our pleasure to witness the growth and development of their personal and professional goals.  We want to thank you, our students, and congratulate you on your already inspiring accomplishments.

Now that the first phase of coaching training is coming to a close, there may be some feelings of deflation.  Our students have been going strong for six months, and now it may seem that there might be a lull in momentum.  However, if you have an action plan in place and you stay connected with the community, your experiences will continue to ‘shine’ on you, energizing you… motivating you.

How will you stay motivated?  What is your post-graduate action plan?  What’s next for you?

You will all have slightly different answers to this question.  Some of you will submit applications to become a Coaching Cognition coach, some will start your own practice, some will apply what you have learned to your own businesses, some will attend the Coaching Cognition Advanced Training Program, some will stay connected other ways, and some are not yet sure of what the next step will be.

At Coaching Cognition, we embrace the need to stay connected and maintain motivation.  Therefore, this article is designed to remind you of the ways to keep your sun burning bright and your world turning.

Use one or all of the following five methods to help you stay motivated, continue your momentum, and take the next step to reaching your goals.

Stay Connected –

Keep in touch with your fellow students.  Having a network of people who have something in common with you is very special.  Even if their specific goals are different, your paths crossed during this training for a reason.  Some of you are already forming mastermind groups, and this is a great way to stay connected and keep up the momentum.

The Coaching Cognition Facebook page is a great way to stay connected.  Post on the wall to update our entire community on what you are doing, start discussions, join discussions, and post links to your blogs, testimonial videos, and interviews.

You will have continued access to the student blog and ning site, so take advantage of this!  Not only will you be able to stay in touch with your current classmates, but you will also be in touch with new students when the basic training opens up again in the fall.

Share Your Experience –

When the basic training classes begin again, there will be a new group of students who will be starting on the phase of the journey that you are now completing.  You will be a great source of information for these students.  So share your experiences with them.  They will be excited to hear from graduates like you and to find out what you are doing now that the training is over.  Share with them what you got out of the program, give them study tips, and answer their questions.  You may end up finding some new clients within that new group of students.

Create testimonial videos about your time with Coaching Cognition, your peer coaches, and your hired coach if you have one.

Hire a Coach –

Hiring a coach at Coaching Cognition will help you stay organized and motivated.  I feel like I do not really need to tell you why.  After all, you have completed the training and know exactly why coaching is so beneficial.  However, sometimes when someone knows how to do something, they do not see the need to hire someone else to do it for them.

Coaching is not something you can easily do when you are personally involved in the outcome, and you are certainly personally involved in your own goals!  This is why it is usually not a good idea to coach family members.  Therefore, most of the best coaches also have a coach!

Start Your Coaching Practice –

Whether you are interested in applying to be a coach with Coaching Cognition or you are planning to try it on your own, it will be very helpful to learn more about business and marketing.  Coach training programs are intended to help you learn how to be a coach.  At Coaching Cognition, we teach you some basics about starting your practice.  However, just like starting any other business, it is good to learn more about business practices and marketing.

Start applying what you are learning through Renegade Professional to your coaching business.  Attend seminars, such as the one coming up this June 2010 in Portland about online marketing.  If you decide to apply to for a position as a coach with Coaching Cognition, most of the logistics are taken care of for you.  Of course, it is still beneficial to learn more about online marketing so that you can attract more clients to you.  So keep your eye on the Renegade Professional News site for more marketing tips, and then apply them!

On our Coaching Cognition exit survey, so far 62.3% said you are planning to apply to be a coach with us, and 27.9% are undecided.  If you are still undecided, stay tuned for more information about coaching with Coaching Cognition.  Remember… at the live event in Portland we will be unveiling the new Coaching Cognition site, which will give you some more insight into the ease and benefit of coaching with us.

Continue Education –

The advanced training program is currently being developed and should open in the fall.  72% of you, in the exit survey say you are interested in the next level of training.  While you do not need to complete the advanced training to coach for Coaching Cognition, if you are planning to earn your PCC credentials through the International Coaching Federation (ICF), then this training is a must.

We have heard that many of you are interested in more practice.  If that includes you, then you are going to love the advanced training.  The basic training focuses on concepts and fundamentals.  You learn about what coaching is, how it is done, techniques used, and common problems encountered.  While there is certainly a strong emphasis on application of skills, it is mostly classroom discussion and reading materials.

The advanced training will give you much more of the hands on training that will help you truly hone your skills and get some serious practice.  There will be coaching labs that are designed to help you recognize when you have shown mastery of each competency.

The course content will be specifically designed to prepare you for PCC credentialing, and we are building the courses around the competencies required.  After you complete the advanced training, you will have more than enough practice that will build your comfort level and confidence in your own coaching skills.

We are so happy for all of our students at Coaching Cognition, and we can hardly wait to see what you all bring to the community.  We would say, “Good Luck”, but luck has nothing to do with it.  You already have what it takes to succeed!


17 Comments »

  1. These are all excellent suggestions about staying in touch and keeping ourselves motivated. The advanced class sounds intriguing.

    Comment by Tracey Hausel — May 26, 2010 @ 5:56 pm

  2. I will be one of those new students in the fall! Coaching Cognition is such an awesome platform. It’s even cooler to know there’s an advanced course! I’m looking forward to the new site and learning from all you experienced coaches! :)

    Kari Baxter

    Comment by Renegade Marketer Pro — May 26, 2010 @ 6:51 pm

  3. Congratulations to all graduates of Coaching Cognition phase I. Looking forward to hearing about your adventure. It is a privilege to serve in this awesome community.

    Enjoy the journey!

    Comment by Coach Curt — May 27, 2010 @ 7:50 am

  4. We all need to stay in touch. The community that has been built will last. I have made friends that will be life long.We have been given a skill that could and will change our world.We can follow our dreams and still learn the other skills that we need to be a success. Who better to learn from then our community that are friends. So put your paddle in the water and together we will have a journey of a lifetime.

    Comment by Morris Fisher — May 27, 2010 @ 7:56 am

  5. Thanks Kendall for this more than informative article.

    I will say Tuesday after my last session I had an unexpected response. I felt like crying, as if I had received news of a sudden loss. Fortunate for me I have a team with which to consult. I immediately talked to one of the members, told her my feeling and she said now you know how I feel, welcome to the crowd.

    However lonely the emotion was I know I am not alone in the mix. Moving forward will be the best remedy for us all. What ever the move forward is for you I wish everyone all the best.

    See you at the forum and in the fall. Perhaps I will catch a glimpse of some of you during the summer.

    Comment by Patty Jones — May 27, 2010 @ 8:05 am

  6. Congratullations to all graduates. I know I am felling those mixed emotions. The safety net is our community. The advanced course in the fall, how much better can it get? Coaching Cognition and the community are awsome. Kendall you summed it up perfectly. Thank you. I agree with Morris together we have a journey of a liftime.

    Comment by Elizabeth Pennington — May 27, 2010 @ 9:08 am

  7. I can hardly believe that CC really comes to a close now. When we started a few months ago everything seemed to be so far away – competencies, ICF, graduation – personally, I incredibly enjoyed our journey – thanks, Barbara, thanks CC-team and last but not least: thanks, Kendall, for these great articles you write – I love them! YES, we’ll stay connected!

    Comment by Margareta Rozsonday-Hien — May 27, 2010 @ 10:00 am

  8. You are right Morris, we have made some friends and built relationships.We won’t all take the same path but by maintaining the relationships and keeping connected, you never know when our paths will cross again. I wish all those in Coaching Cognition great success and happiness as they travel their chosen path, reaching out and helping others as they go.
    Thank you Barbara for lighting our way. God Bless.

    Comment by Pam McKeen — May 27, 2010 @ 10:39 am

  9. Congratulations Coaching Cognition 2010 graduates :) . I am very excited for all of you. And just like Curt I am here to serve you and the entire Coaching Cognition community!

    Keep Going! Keep Growing!

    Comment by Diyana Alcheva -- DiDi — May 27, 2010 @ 1:41 pm

  10. Congratulations to all the new graduates!! This is an exciting time.

    Kendall, your advice is so timely. If I can add one valuable thing I have learned.

    Learn the business side of coaching. I’ve made it a personal mission and passion to learn everything I can about creating a coaching business, and not just a coaching practice. And now I help new coaches do the same thing.

    What is the difference? Most coaches focus mainly on one-on-one coaching, but after you soon find out, that doesn’t leverage your time and it’s not the best solution for all your potential clients. There are many ways to offer coaching beyond one-on-one coaching. Discover these ways and you will leverage your time and knowledge, create multiple streams of income, and best serve your clients.

    Comment by Cindy Schulson — May 27, 2010 @ 4:23 pm

  11. I can hardly find the words to express my gratitude, Barbara. Not only have I learned a lot, but made all these acquaintances in and around the classroom. I will nourish them and participate in as many ways as possible to keep in touch, by all means

    Comment by Amnon Thaller — May 28, 2010 @ 12:57 am

  12. Beyond continuing in the fall and connecting with people at the live event in June, I’m excited to continuing to follow the community as they pursue their dreams and put their plans into action. Congratulations on everyone who stayed the course and graduated. It was an incredible journey with a great guide in Barb and a varied community with some awesome contribution. Can’t wait for the next phase!

    Comment by Leta — May 28, 2010 @ 2:32 am

  13. Hi everyone,

    I never thought of this as an end but an opportunity to further advancement with all the fantabulous new friends within this community and beyond.

    Sofar,it’s already been an honour and great pleasure to have got to know quite a few of you and look forward to developing this much more in our bright futures.

    A very special thanks goes to Barbara,Kendall and LeeAnn for all their wisdom,training,support,caring,sharing and for giving me the opportunity to improve and position myself to better serve others!

    Love you all dearly and those stars who will move in other directions,good luck…even though you don’t need it :-)

    Those who will remain in our community and/or take the advanced course…Fantastic!!!!

    See you all soon,

    Warmest regards,

    Jan :-)

    Comment by Jan Robberts — May 28, 2010 @ 6:15 am

  14. Kendall, thanks for the helpful hints to stay connected. I just realized that although I read everything that comes from R-Pro and CC, I have not been vocal at all. I intend to change that- starting now. I plan to stay connected to this great group. More participation will be my 1st step.

    Comment by Mary Reyes — May 28, 2010 @ 4:13 pm

  15. Barbara,
    Thanks so much for leading all of us thru this amazing experience. I can’t believe its over. I definitely need a little guidance to decide my next move. There is so much to choose from.

    Comment by Mary Reyes — May 28, 2010 @ 4:23 pm

  16. Wow — we brought the concept of our CC “family” to a whole new level! Seeing people actually transform themselves over so short a time was absolutely incredible – more than I dreamed, and as you know, I’m a big dreamer!

    I, too, look forward to the advanced training, the new class of students coming up, and continued relationships with those of you who will become coaches for CC as well as those who will be applying your new skills to your businesses and lives.

    The light is shining so brightly I may need to get sunglasses!

    Love to you all!

    Barbara

    Comment by Barbara Silva — May 30, 2010 @ 7:23 am

  17. Congratulations to all the Coaching Cognition graduates!

    As Kendall said – you have what it takes to succeed.

    I am pleased to have been able to work with many CC students, and am excited to be able to work with many more.

    Let me know if I can help you progress your business!

    Michael Wilson
    Business Builder for Motivated Entrepreneurs

    Comment by Michael Wilson — May 30, 2010 @ 3:09 pm

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