Photo by Inggrid Koe on Unsplash Understanding why we do what we do leads to a more fulfilling and satisfying life. That’s an assumption I start with. If you disagree with it probably you won’t agree with what follows in this blog. Imagine a fictional but very realistic newly promoted manager. Let’s call her Jane. […]

Photo by Felix Mittermeier from Pexels This is the second in the series of blogs on coaching tools that can help technical leaders. The previous part was focused on trust and relationships. Today the focus is on communication. Communication is improvisation. But unlike jazz musicians, we don’t learn music theory to base our spontaneous expression on. No wonder […]

Photo by suntorn somtong from Pexels Technical leaders often experience the same issues. I’ve coached hundreds of them all over the globe. And, again and again, I found myself sharing the same similar tools, exercises, and models with them. In this series of blogs, I’ll be sharing the resources that are most helpful to my coaching clients. This […]

Photo by Paul Gilmore on Unsplash Avoid jargon and abstractions when explaining new concepts to laypeople. That’s good advice, isn’t it? Yet, when explaining what coaching is, it’s tempting to talk about awareness, partnership, responsibility. All nice and fancy, but abstract words. People become even more confused after coaches explain coaching. My secret wish is […]

Photo by Arnaud Mesureur on Unsplash When something disturbs our usual way of being, our homeostasis, the first response is to restore the previous state. From level B we want to get back to level A. This is a natural response. But with it, we become too narrowly focused. We are so concentrated on A […]

Photo by Yux Xiang on Unsplash If you need help as a first-time manager will you look for a coach? Chances are you will not. In a study commissioned by the International Coach Federation they found that 87% of coaching clients first sought different modes of getting help (like mentoring, therapy, or talking to family […]

The book I will be reviewing today is ‘The First-Time Manager’ by Loren B. Belker, Gary S. Topchik, and Jim McCormick. Below, I’ll share some useful advice it offers to the first-time managers and I will also emphasize advice that is not so useful. So let’s go. I came across this book accidentally. It is […]