Thanks so much for a terrific first session! So excited to be partnering with you on this journey.

Attached are the slides from today for your reference.

Over the next two weeks: 

Meet with your Journey Partner to discuss the below:

1. Share your developmental goals for the program and explore how to support each other: Co-create this!
2. Pick one way to begin to tune into your “inner game” and notice what your notice (a pause/reflection practice.
3. Share your aspirational adjectives (A year from now) and the how you think your team would describe you today, and explore how to begin to enhance your leadership way of being.
4. Read Chapter two of "Language and Pursuit of Leadership Excellence."

Several of you have asked "what is coaching?" Coaching is a one-on-one confidential space to explore your own learning, growth and development. Keeping your individual developmental goals in mind, we would work together to co-create a safe and challenging space to explore your inner game and your outer game to help you elevate your leadership. Fundamentally, I believe what I do as a coach is help people see, feel, think, and believe differently, so they can do differently, so they can have a greater impact, achieve greater outcomes, be the leader you want to be, etc. (Do you hear the OAR model in there?)

Coaches use lots of questions and share observations to help you explore more deeply, see things you might not otherwise see, change perspective, get the swirl in your head out in front of us - all for the sake of your growth and development. Think of this as not so focused on skill building (although that may well happen) - rather it's about exploring your internal operating system and seeing where it might could use an upgrade to get the results you want and be the leader you aspire to be.

One very good reason to choose to do the coaching is that it will help you learn the tools of coaches - which you can then bring to your leadership toolkit and those you lead. Skills like, how to use powerful questions, how to allow for discomfort and silence, how to be deeply present, etc. And when it comes time for you to have developmental conversations with your team members, it may make you more compassionate toward their experience as well as more skilled and able to be with whatever comes up - and give you stories to share about your own journey. Leaders get to share with their team members what they see, and help them stretch and grow through to the next level. This is a great opportunity to lead by example.

I've attached a form each of you would sign that outlines what coaching is and isn't, the confidentiality aspects, etc.

It would be helpful to know by 5 pm EST this Friday August 14 if you're in or not. Please email me privately at colin@fivewaysforward.com to let me know. If you're in, sign the attached form and return it to me.

And if you have questions, post them here or email me!

See you soon!

Colin

Make sure to refer to earlier post to get materials and downloads from session one!

Session two is a week away. Here are a few things for you to prepare for it:

• Make sure you meet with your journey partner to support, explore, and learn with each other. Co-create how best to do that together.
• Read Chapter 2 of the book (Pages 23 - 38) - probably 20-30 minutes
• See attached file called "Learning Readiness Self Check" - print it out and complete it and bring it with you to the session.
• Explore your "pause" or reflection practice. I will be adding each of you to a thrice weekly (M, W, F) email I send to share my "Take A Moment" videos. They are 2-3 minutes long where we take a deep breath and then listen to a poem or story to inspire, challenge, encourage, feed us. These may become part of your reflection practice.

Also be thinking about whether you will be signing up for the coaching sessions. I'll send more info on that early next week.

Talk soon!

Colin

What a joy it was to be in conversation with you as we launched our SOAR program! Thank you for jumping right into the mix and being very present.  Attached you will find:

• The slides from today's session

Between now and next time:

• Meet with your journey partner at least once
  • Share your developmental objectives
  • Get to know each other
  • Co-create how to best support and challenge each other
• identify a way you can tune into your inner game more regularly - a daily pause or noticing practice that will help you notice the thoughts, emotions, body, spirit working inside of your - your internal operating system.

More posts coming - as I can only upload one file at a time.

That's it for now. What a great morning I got to spend with you all!

Colin

There will be two support folks for this program I want you to know before we start.

The first is Fatema Basrai (Fatema@utexas.edu). Fatema will be with us during the sessions serving as our technology host. She will be partnering with me on using Zoom and it's functionality to the fullest, moving us into and out of breakout rooms, etc. So if you need help during a session, she is available to assist. Thanks, Fatema, for being on the journey.

The second person who will be supporting us is Andrew McLetchie, yes, a relation - he's my brother and a tech security whiz. He set up this wiki and forum for us, so if you have any issues with this forum, please reach out to him at huskerdru@gmail.com. 

Welcome and the let the exploration, conversations, and journey begin!

Colin