In today's organizational environment, with its flattened hierarchy, complex structures and reliance on multidisciplinary task forces, teams that work together effectively are vital. But it's not enough just to build those effective teams.

We can sometimes forget that working on a team is as essential as working in a team...especially when we see our teams performing at a superior level. We can often develop such trust and confidence in our teams that we turn our focus away from the effective team and direct it toward staff who need more of our input.

That's a mistake. The high performing team needs us to stay engaged, affirm team members' instincts and decisions, acknowledge their wins and reinforce the learning gained from things that don't go so well. The power of a team lies in its collective competence and the ability to make the most of that competence.

Click here to take a look at Collective Competence by Joanne L. Smikle, six strategies that help you capitalize on what your teams know. 

Self-Change & the Art of Jujitsu

Curated by Kris Campbell, Managing Partner at BoldWork

The Japanese characters to the right are "ju" (flexible, yielding, gentle) and "jitsu" (art or technique). This is the definition of the martial art, Jujitsu: a flexible art that enables one to turn an opponent's strength and momentum into an advantage by exploiting elements of balance, leverage, circularity and timing.

I've always felt an affinity with the philosophy behind Jujitsu, and an appreciation for the strength and power a JuJitsu master can demonstrate without a weapon or display of overt aggression. I've been a practitioner in the field of human change for quite some time, and lately I feel more closely aligned with the Jujitsu master than to Rogers, Maslow, Jung or Ellis (a few of my most admired change agents).

When it comes to helping people take those first steps toward self-change, there are a zillion artful tools that a seasoned coach can apply - really, I'm sure, a zillion at least. The point is not the zillion to choose from - it's choosing the right one. And I'm convinced that the "guide 'em and let 'em figure it out" - or the self-actualization route - is often not the best in today's challenging world. Sometimes, as a coach and trusted adviser, we need to apply a flexible art that enables us to turn a Coachee's strength and momentum into an advantage by exploiting their strengths of balance, leverage, circularity and timing.

Jeremy Dean, at PsyBlog, uncovered some compelling research regarding how the technique of Self Persuasion is an effective tool in initiating self-change. I've actually used this technique with clients, like it and, further, think it's a very Jujitsu style approach.

Check out How to Encourage People to Change their Own Minds - Self-Persuasion: let people talk themselves around to your point of view. Jeremy Dean at PsyBlog

Coaching is now a multi-million dollar business. For good reason. A recent worldwide survey of coaching clients reveals that companies using 

professional coaching see a median return on investment of seven times their initial investment. An overwhelming majority, 82.7 percent, of individuals who have experienced professional coaching report being "very satisfied" with their coaching experience and 96.2 percent said they would repeat it.

Most certified coaches are trained using coaching models that focus on the individual coachee. While these models provide an excellent foundation for coaching, they have obvious limitations.

At BoldWork, we take a strong systems approach to coaching, leveraging the synergy between the individual and the environment in which they work. We integrate our coachee's experience of their day-to-day WorkClimate into the fabric of the coaching engagement.

We guarantee that your coaching engagement will be a successful one.

Contact us and start achieving your goals today!