Emerging Coaches & Leaders Action ToolKit

Your Action Toolkit keeps you connected beyond your Groops sessions with key group connection concepts to review, discussion questions to continue to reflect on or talk about, and takeaways or things to try to apply new skills and knowledge together.

Groop 1: Building Rapport, Utilizing Strengths, and Defining a Vision

Group Connection Concept

Key Aspects of Psychology-Based Coaching

Psychology-Based Coaching helps people achieve a higher level of well-being and performance in life and work by combining the theories and practices of psychology.

It is a growth promoting relationship, focused on the now (dynamics in the room) and the future (where we are going) rather than the past (which is more common in therapy). This helps individuals, teams, and organizations navigate challenges and maximize potential.

Unpack the why that drives your leadership and coaching and how this purpose shapes your behaviors. Two coaching skills to practice are:

1. Building Rapport:

Coaching requires trust and rapport in order to create behavior change. This is built by:

  • Holding unconditional positive regard

  • Showing empathy

  • Walking the talk

  • Slowing down

  • Paying attention

  • Being honest

  • Keeping confidentiality

2. Creating a Vision: For Yourself + Your Coachee:

Visions serve as the foundation of planning and goals. We must know what we’re working towards to get there. To do this, first start with your own self reflection using the questions below to guide you.

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

  • What motivates you to be a coach?

  • What are your values as a coach?

  • What past experiences shape how you coach?

  • What strengths and strategies will help you?

  • What support do you need to do this work?

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

This week take the Via Strengths Survey – use this to connect with your coachee to continue practicing building rapport, utilizing strengths, and constructing a vision.

Ask your coachee:

  • What change do you want to make?

  • How might this change feel / look?

  • What motivates you to make this change now?

  • How does this change align with your values?

  • What strengths might help you along the way?

  • What support do you need to get to your vision?

Next time, we will share visions in the group and reflect on our practice.

Groop 2: The Fundamentals of Motivational Interviewing

Group Connection Concept

Key Aspects of Motivational Interviewing

Motivational Interviewing is a strengths-based approach to relationships and uses techniques such as asking questions, active listening, and finding and articulating a goal of the relationship or engagement.

It is not a technical skillset but a way of being with people. And the core practices are:

  • Partnership:  “We are going to work on this together.”

  • Evocation:  “I will create space for you to share your needs and wants with me, including what you hope and what you fear.”

  • Acceptance:  “I value you as a person - what you know and who you are.”

  • Compassion:  “I want to understand and respect your experience.”

Unpack the “Why” by using OARS:

  • Open-ended questions draw out and explore the person’s experiences, perspectives, and ideas. “Why?” “How?” “What if?”

  • Affirmation of strengths, efforts, and past successes help to build the person’s hope and confidence.

  • Reflections are based on careful listening and trying to understand what the person is saying by repeating, rephrasing or offering deeper guesses about what the person is trying to communicate.

  • Summarizing ensures shared understanding and reinforces key points made by the other person.

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

Practice OARS this week in your personal and / or professional lives:

  • Open Ended Questions: Use “How” or “What” questions - “How important is this to you?” “What might you try?”

  • Affirmations: “I appreciate you sharing this with me.” “It takes a lot of strength to acknowledge…”

  • Reflections: “It sounds like you’re feeling….” “You are concerned about….”

  • Summaries: “I’m hearing you say that….. This feels hard right now because…. You’re hoping to…..Does this summary sound right to you?”

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

Meet with your peer coach to practice Motivational Interviewing.

This conversation should end with a set goal.

  • Review their vision + ask what steps they would like to take.

  • Ask how they could get there and what has stood in the way before.

  • Reflect what you’re hearing (“What I’m hearing you say is ____”).

  • Highlight strengths when you hear them. Ask how strengths can be applied here (“I remember you mentioning you have a strength of creativity. How can you use that to be successful?”).

  • REFLECT! Use OARS.

  • Summarize the conversation at the end.

Groop 3: Understanding and Applying Appreciative Inquiry

Group Connection Concept

Key Aspects of Applying Appreciative Inquiry

Appreciative Inquiry is a strengths based approach that focuses on what's working well instead of dwelling on problems in order to motivate change and leads people to co-design their futures.

The Five Core Principles of Appreciative Inquiry:

  • The Positive Principle: Positive emotions and strengths generate positive change. Positive action comes from positive energy and emotion.

  • The Constructionist Principle: Our realities are constructed through conversations and interactions with other people. Positive energy + emotion stem from positive conversation and interactions.

  • The Simultaneity Principle: Positive questions lead to positive change.

  • The Anticipatory Principle: When we anticipate a positive future, we are more likely to create a positive future.

  • The Poetic Principle: Similarly to how a poem is open to interpretation, we can choose what aspect of our story to focus on. The more we look at a positive moment - the more positive our future becomes.

The 5-D Cycle of Appreciative Inquiry:

  • Define: Choose the topic of inquiry - make sure this is positive (e.g. I want to increase the amount of health foods I consume vs saying I want to stop eating junk food).

  • Discover: Explore best experiences, values, and wishes to strengthen the energy + self-efficacy of the client.

  • Dream: Create “what might be.” What is life calling you to be? What possibilities generate excitement? What strengths support this happening?

  • Design: How do we create the ideal future?

  • Destiny: Live out your design + and make changes as needed.

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

Self reflect with Appreciative Inquiry in mind:

  • How much do you focus on what went well vs what didn’t?

  • What are ways to think through new narratives or stories for a more positive outlook or outcome?

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

Use the 5 Principles + 5-D Process of Appreciative Inquiry to reflect on the vision and goals set with your peer coach.

  • With your coachee:

    • Review their vision and the goal they set last time.

    • Use Appreciative Inquiry to help them understand the narratives / stories they have built that help or hinder them achieving their goal and vision.

    • Ask:

      • “What are narratives or stories you tell yourself about how you achieve goals?”

      • “What are key moments that were turning points in shaping these narratives?”

      • “How might you reimagine a new narrative that gets you closer to your future vision and goals?”

    • Finish the session with a set new narrative / story / mantra to help them achieve the goal they set.

  • Remember to use the 5 D’s to have this conversation: Define, Discover, Dream, Design, Destiny.

  • Keep it positive and focus on strengths!

Groop 4: Creating Generative Moments

Group Connection Concept

Key Aspects of Generative Moments

A generative moment is a pivotal moment of understanding in coaching or personal development. These moments inspire clients to consider new insights, perspectives, and possibilities. These are the moments that lead to meaningful change.

The Five Steps of Generative Moments:

  • Identify the topic: Pay close attention to what the client is telling you. Use simple reflections to get clear on what the client wants.

    • Say: “It sounds like you are frustrated with your situation at work. What would you like to feel instead? How might you get there?”

  • Ask for permission: Check in to make sure you are headed in the direction the client wants and that is also aligned with their vision.

    • Say: “I’m hearing you want to focus on ______, would you like to spend our time today to work through this or continue working on _____?”

  • Figure out what really is going on: Use Appreciative Inquiry + Motivational Interviewing to dig deeper.

    • Say: “What does success in this situation look and feel like to you?” “How does this connect to your vision?”  “I noticed you chose 3 out of 10. What made you choose 3 and not lower? What needs to happen to move to a 4 or 5?”

  • Brainstorm: Engage the client to play with ideas and new approaches to move forward. Work together to generate possibilities + set a time limit. Withhold judgment and evaluation. Encourage wild ideas! Set a minimum number of ideas.

    • Say: “Let’s brainstorm some ideas together. If you had a magic wand and no constraints on you, what are some things you wish you could try?” “How do these ideas feel to you?”

  • Design action plans: Transition from brainstorming to goal setting.

    • Say: “Out of all of these ideas, what is something you’re learning about yourself? Which idea is standing out to you?” “What is one realistic and small step you can try this week?"

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

Self reflect on your own generative moments:

  • “What was a pivotal moment for you that changed how you thought or made sense of something in your life?”

  • “What helped you have this generative moment?”

  • “What can you learn from your own generative moment?”

  • “How can you apply those learnings to your own work as a coach?”

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

Practice creating generative moments using Motivational Interviewing + Appreciative Inquiry.

1. Review your coachee’s vision and the goal they set last time.

2. Go through the “5 Steps of Generative Moments” process to land on action steps.

3. The goal by the end of the session is to land on action steps to achieve their goal.

Groop 5: Stages of Behavior Change and Immunity to Change

Group Connection Concept

Key Aspects of Behavior Change and Immunity to Change

For true behavior change to work, your job as the coach / leader is to meet the person where they are at. Dr. James Prochaska developed the Transtheoretical Model of Change, which lays out how ready someone is to change their behavior. It is important to remember that readiness for change is non-linear and sounds different at different stages.

Transtheoretical Model of Change:

  • Precontemplation (I won’t...): “It sounds like you don’t see this as a problem. Is there any part of you that feels like this should change? What does that part say?”

  • Contemplation (I may...): “Why would you make a change? Why wouldn’t you make a change? What do you fear losing / giving up if you made this change?”

  • Preparation (I will...): “Wow, I see the steps you are making to make the change. How does it feel? What do you imagine the impact to be?”

  • Action (I am...): “I notice you do ___ regularly now. How do you feel? How do you feel in your mind, body, and heart? What is allowing you to do this?”

  • Maintenance (I still am...): “As you changed your habits, how have you changed as a person? You are doing a great job being accountable, is there anything getting in your way? How can we plan to mitigate those thoughts / risks?”

  • Relapse (I failed/relapsed):“Change is non-linear. Everyone has days they cannot stick to the behavior change. Let’s practice empathy and self-compassion and plan for tomorrow.”

Immunity to Change is a framework that supports individuals and organizations in identifying and addressing barriers that inhibit change and growth:

1. Identify the goal: “What is something that is important to you that is about you?”

2. List all the behaviors keeping you from that goal: “What behaviors keep you from this goal?”

3. List your competing commitments: “What beliefs do you have that cause these behaviors?”

4. List big assumptions: “What assumptions are you making about yourself, others, and the world that explain why you hold onto these commitments?”

5. Test your big assumptions! “What if.....?!”

Novaflex

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

  • What is a behavior you feel completely stuck with when trying to achieve your goal?

  • Where are you in your own readiness for change?

  • What would need to happen to get to the next stage?

  • Have you experienced the non-linear nature of change? How does it feel? How do you keep moving toward your goal?

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

Practice identifying readiness for change and working through resistance.

1. Review your coachee’s vision and the goal they set.

2. Work with your coachee to identify their readiness for change. What stage are they in?

  • Precontemplation (“I won’t…”)

  • Contemplation (“I may…”)

  • Preparation (“I will…”)

  • Action (“I am…”)

  • Maintenance (“I still am…”)

  • Relapse (“I failed…”)

3. What needs to happen to move to the next stage? How do they think of the non-linear nature of readiness to change?  How can they embrace this process with empathy for themselves?

4. Explore your coachee’s own resistance to change. What gets in the way? How can they overcome this resistance?

Groop 6: Pulling It All Together

Group Connection Concept

Key Aspects of What We’ve Learned and Closing / Termination Sessions

Trust, vulnerability, and mutual support impact how we coach and lead. It also impacts how we learn. Reflecting back on these aspects helps us integrate the learning and experience and encode information in a deeper way.

What we’ve covered over the past 6 sessions:

  1. How to build rapport

  2. Identify and utilize strengths

  3. Create a Vision

  4. The Fundamentals of Motivational Interviewing, OARS, Change vs Sustain Talk

  5. Understanding and Applying Appreciative Inquiry

  6. Creating Generative Moments

  7. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

  8. Transtheoretical Model

  9. Immunity to Change

  10. How to apply this to your coaching and leadership style

  11. How to end a coaching relationship / termination session.

Group Discussion Questions

Continue the Conversation

  • What were your biggest insights from our time together?

  • What are changes you have noticed?

  • What would you like to carry forward and try?

  • How do you feel about our sessions coming to a close?

  • Any feedback you would like to share?

Takeaways or Things to Try

Take Action Together

Practice a closing session with your coachee:

  • Reflect on all you have accomplished together.

  • Summarize their plan and support resources going forward.

  • Acknowledge the ending of working together and ask how it feels.

  • Share appreciation for the time together + their strengths.

  • Ask if they have any feedback + close the session.