AOC

Background As a business leader, I have been privileged to closely observe several world-class global organizations like Unilever, IBM, American Express, Nestle (and my employer, Ogilvy itself) in different parts of the world. Then, in my role as a talent head, I was fortunate to learn not only to how such organisations develop and grow...

THE COACHING PROCESS – BEYOND PROBLEM SOLVING A friend recently shared this strategy framework. It neatly captures the four elements that help in driving towards a solution to a business problem. Made me wonder how the framework could apply in an executive or leadership coaching context. Here is an attempt in that direction: PROBLEM –...

Sell your Cleverness. Buy bewilderment. -Rumi I would say, Relax your Certainty. Gently, invite wonder. An openness to learn is the most vital human ability, my teachers, Gay & Katie Hendricks told me in 2000. And it has been my experience in working with thousands of people, leaders, coaches and facilitators over the last 27 years (Since 1996) in the field of...

CAN YOU GIVE UP BEING THE HEALER, EXPERT OR FIXER TO BE A COACH? This was the challenging question with which eminent coach, author and speaker Marcia Reynolds, PsyD, MCC ended our monthly learning session at a packed event of associationofmumbaicoaches. The topic was ‘Reflective Enquiry’ and there were several lightbulb moments during the 90-minute...

The unprecedented health and humanity crisis brought our global community to the edge. Progressing into a mental health epidemic it triggered the tsunami of anxiety and stress all throughout the globe. The magnitude was such that you would not have been untouched. One way or the other, each one of us has suffered / is...

THE ART (and SCIENCE) OF DOING NOTHING! Have you heard of the fishing story about the famous inventor Thomas Alva Edison? Let’s start with the ‘science’ story first! Edison had tried hard to find the right material to use as a filament for the incandescent light bulb. Many inventers had made several attempts earlier but...

Coaching has been my preferred mode of leading throughout my career. I repeatedly got trained as a coach within and outside the organization. With a keen interest, I have always been exploring key aspects & styles of coaching. The term ‘Coaching’, mostly associated with sports, originated in the late 1880s. Since then, it has kept...

ARE YOU ASKING THESE QUESTIONS? Our biases and beliefs are the window through which we see the world. They shape our perceptions, judgements and our actions. However, we can get into a trap when we generalize our truths to create mental models, which may not always be useful. Here is an example (from a coaching...

COACHES AS THINKING PARTNERS Coaching is a partnership. An engagement of collaboration and co-creation. And most importantly a conversation that sparks a process of thinking and learning. This is what differentiates it from other modalities in the ‘helping’ space. The power of a coachee’s resourcefulness is inextricably linked to the power of their independent thinking....

COACHING IS SUBTRACTION This statement from Michael Bungay Stanier, celebrated coach and author, caught my eye. It reminded me of a lively conversation with a fellow coach when she spoke about her struggle to explain to people in her region about what her job as an entrepreneur coach entailed. It’s never easy to explain that...