By 2 min read

Idea #53 Tennis ball & Team Building

Do it When you have team building. People are standing in a group or sitting around the table. Give them an easy task: Tennis ball has to pass everyone’s hands as quicker as possible. Team members will have to prepare strategy. Usually they will start with quick throwing ball. Measure their time and tell them that it can be quicker. They will start doing that quicker for sure. After several tries tell them that record is 2 second. After the first shock they will manage how to do it. They just have to make “tube” with everyone’s hands and pass the ball through that “tube”. Everyone will be happy with new idea.  “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” – Antoine de Saint

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that your team has become perfect?
2. Why is that so important to you?
3. How would you know that your team is perfect?
4. What other valuess would you have then?
5. What else is even more important … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #45 Stand for coaching air magic sticks

Do it When you want to raise self esteem in people. On every training bring stand like one on picture below. Tell participants that it is stand for air magic sticks for coaching. Ask each one of them to take one air magic stick. They will use it on their everyday work or in life. But now they will have air magic sticks that will help them.
Whenever they have some question air magic stick will give them answer. 

Coaching questions for you are as follows:
1. What do you regard as the biggest challenge at the moment?
2. How do you know that you have been handling that challenge successfully?
3. How would you feel if you managed to cope with that challenge?
4. Which means would you use to reach the set goal?
5. What would be your first step to attain that goal?
6. Make a list of all further steps.
7. What would be the most useful system for dealing with any future challenges?
8. What else would you find beneficial to achieving your goals?
Thank you for your ideas.

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… Read more
By 2 min read

Idea #44 Full MeNtal Jacket

Do it When you train your people how to deal with difficult people. In our business dealing with difficult people is mandatory. “Difficult People are your key to self- empowerment, you need to learn how to cope with them, do not let them dominate and affect you.” – Janice Davies. One of techniques is to teach them to wear virtual protection from difficult people, as well as to establish a close rapport with them by showing empathy and incessantly reminding them that they are wearing invisible Full MeNtal Jacket. As a result, every bad word, anger, every feeling of negative energy will be stopped. If your employees manage to recognize and accept that tool, they will deal with difficult people more easily.

Coaching questions for you are as follows:
1. Which symptoms do you notice in your body when you deal with difficult people?
2. In which part of your body do you notice that?
3. What is the shape of that symptom?
4. Is it sharp or smooth?
5. In which color is it?
6. Is it stable or spinning? If spinning, is it clockwise or counter-clockwise?
7. Is it getting hot or cold?
8. Now when you
… Read more
By 2 min read

Idea #41 Where to put effort

Do it when you want to point to the participants the importance of putting effort in the right point. This is story about giant ship that has suffered engine malfunction and was tightened on the dock for engine repair. Several groups of engineers failed trying to repair the engine. Finally captain called old mechanist with lifetime experience on ships like this. For 15 minutes he was examining the full system. At the end he focused on the one pipe and started hitting it with hammer. After that engine started working properly. Captain was amused but suddenly he was stunned because mechanist asked him for 5.000 $ for his work. Then captain asked for specification of his 15 minutes service. Machinist wrote on the bill: Working on the engine 2$, diagnosing what to do 4.998 $, in total 5.000 $. Obviously, in life everything is knowing where to put the effort.

Coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that you are sitting with someone like old machinist from the previous story, but he has knowledge relevant to your career. How useful it will be for you?
2. Where will be the most useful place to talk with him?
3. How … Read more

By 3 min read

Idea #40 Leadership by the finger

Do it during training when you want to point that managing people is 2 way street. Divide participants in pairs. They have to stand facing each other.
Person A has to point his/her finger just next to the nous of person B. Just give instruction that person A has to move his/her finger and person B has to maintain the same distance between his nous and finger of person A. Very soon everyone will show their real personality. Some people will just move finger left to right without moving arm. But, some of them will give them a full speed and creativity making spirals with finger. After 2 minutes ask them to switch the roles. The very next moment you will hear laugh, because everyone knows what will happen. Those who were gentle will receive the same treatment. But the other ones will experience rollercoaster journey. This is the best way to show participants, especially managers that we are all dealing with people like us.

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine yourself giving feedback to one of your employee. On the same time you have noticed that in the room is (invisible for your employee) person … Read more

By 3 min read

Idea #39 Cherishing problems

Do it when you want to find real problems and answers to them. Old people say:  “Where is the illness there’s a cure”. In business world it means that people who are in the front line dealing with problems are first one who will notice them and find the answer. Just they have to be motivated to do that. Otherwise they will just complain about their destiny. So first you have to motivate them to escalate the problem to you. Make competition that every week all employees will send by email the most difficult situations.
Choose the hardest and give price to that person. Now for next 7 days all people will have to think about solving that situation. Choose the best answer and give price to that person. At the same time competition will be for the next difficult situation. So, from now on, every week you will have two competitions. First, for the best problem and second for the best answer for situation from the previous week. Just imagine how strong your team will be in a year. Special note: It is not allowed to give money for the price!

Now, coaching questions for you:… Read more

By 3 min read

Idea #38 Hamlet’s Dilemma

Do it when you want to train decision making. So many times we have to choose between to do or not to do something. If only we could predict the future. For instance, we are planning to invest in our business but we don’t know is situation on the market going to be better or worse for our business. But after the battle it is easy to be the general. Before the battle we can (only) use matrix 2 x 2. Now we have 4 quadrants. In first we do the action (invest the money) and situation on the market is going to be better for our business. On second quadrant we are not investing money and situation on the market is better. Obviously we miss the chance to invest in good business. In third quadrant we do the action, and situation in the business is worse. So we are very sad for losing money. In fourth quadrant we don’t do the action and situation is worse in your business. Ironically we are happy because we haven’t invested in bad business. If you cautiously discuss situations in every quadrant you will notice that in 2 situations almost always you … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #37 Emotion Vs. Logic

Do it when you want to train decision making. Often we say that while making decisions is good to exclude emotions, using only our logic. At the same time, there are so many emotional decision making techniques. Even with what we believe are rational decisions, the very point of choice is always based on emotion. It is much easier to understand if we say that emotions are signals from the subconscious mind. Now, we can start game. Divide participants in 2 groups. First group has to prepare presentation of one of your products using only logic. Presentation has to include poster and sales speech. Other group has to do the same thing using only logic.
Give them 15 minutes for preparation. Then they will do the presentations.
Objections and questions from the other group are the most important part.
Answering them each group can use bith, emotion and logic. 

Coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that your career is guided just by your intuition and that you can fail. How confident will you be on a scale from 1 to 10?
2. Beside confidence, what other your values will benefit?
3. How your life looks then? … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #34 Action plan at The End

Do it when you have finished your training. It is always good to see how participants have accepted training and what are they going to implement. On one page of handout give them matrix 2 x 2. In 4 quadrants give them headlines:  I will do More, I will do Less, I will Stop and I will Start. On every quadrant make at least 3 lines so they can fulfill them. At the end of that page make a space so participants can sign. This is very good commitment that they will really follow their action plan.
And remember that We Can Not Change our Past but We Can Change the Future.
Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Find area in your life where you want to make improvement. Which area is that?
2. How important on a scale from 1 to 10 is it to you?
3. Whom will you be when you make that improvement?
4. To make that improvement you will have to start doing something differently. Name 3 things!
5. You will have to stop doing something. Name 3 things!
6. You will have to do something more than you are doing now? Name 3 things!… Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #31 Maximum training results

Do it when you are asked: “How can you guarantee that participants will accept skills from your training?” I have applied at some French company for delivering soft skills to their managers. In application form one of the questions was: “How can you guarantee that participants will accept skills from your training?” If you have any experience in training than I am sure that you have seen curve explaining that training without mentoring and coaching sessions will make maximum 10 % improvement. So I come to the following idea. I will guaranty that participants will gain any percentage that we would agree was acceptable. And after a month we will do evaluation. If participants fail, company will have to pay 3 times value of training. In that way I am 100 % sure that they will find way for coaching, mentoring, refreshing and everything that is necessary for successful learning. What are your thoughts?

Now, coaching questions for you:
1. Imagine that you have to deliver training to a very important group of managers. How would you prepare?
2. How important is that training to you?
3. Who will also benefit from it?
4. Who are you in eyes … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #28 Positive feedback for the end

Do it When you are finishing the training. After any training it is very important that people leave it with positive feeling. This means that everyone has done his part in developing total success. Using this tool everyone will leave training with something very concrete. Supply everyone with piece of paper. Then he/she has to write his/her name on the top of the paper. Than each one has to give his paper to the person left to him/her. Each person has to write one sentence what that person has developed during that training. After that he will pass that paper to the left. At the end every person will have positive feedback from all colleagues. It is important that one by one read aloud what was written.
!#28Now, coaching questions for you:
1. What was the nicest thing that anyone in the company said to you?
2. How you have felt when you heard that?
3. What other values you had that time?
4. Which melody can repeat that feeling to you?
5. What other things you can do to regain those feeling?
6. Where and when in the future you can use those values?
Thank you and … Read more

By 3 min read

Idea #25 Paper plane evaluation

Do it When you want easily to see how much participant have gained from the training. It is always important to see how much participants have gained from the training. If you ask them directly it can be very bad experience reminding them with school. So let’s use our creativity.
Prepare note book size papers and write on each of them one question concerning topic that was lectured. Ask each participant to take one paper and to make a paper plane from it. Everybody knows to make some kind of paper plane. Then they all have to make a circle as bigger as possible. On your sigh everyone will launch their planes and everyone has to take one plane. If you mark questions with numbers, just ask who has plane number 1 and he/she will read the question and provide the answer.
child hand with paper plane
What variations of this game you suggest?
1. Just imagine your biggest problem. What is it?
2. And imagine that solving that problem you will be much better person. How do you see yourself at that moment?
3. Now, reframe your problem into goal. What it will be?
4. To reach that goal there is a plan … Read more

By 3 min read

Idea #22 Learn them to be punctual

Do it When you want to establish that people have to be punctual.
It is another story from Master ZI; I have mentioned in ideas #10 & #15.
“After 25 years in the same parish, Father was saying his farewells at his retirement dinner. One local politician had been asked to make a short speech. But he was late.
So the priest took it upon himself to fill the time, and stood up to the microphone:
“I remember the first confession I heard here 25 years ago and it worried me as to what sort of place I’d come to… That first confession remains the worst I’ve ever heard. The chap confessed that he’d stolen a TV set from a neighbor and lied to the police when questioned, successfully blaming it on a local scallywag. He said that he’d stolen money from his parents and from his employer; that he’d had affairs with several of his friends’ wives; that he’d taken hard drugs, and had slept with his sister. You can imagine what I thought… However I’m pleased to say that as the days passed I soon realized that this sad fellow was a frightful exception and that this … Read more

By 2 min read

Idea #16 Yes, You can choose

Do it When you have to deal with participants that are not interested in training.
So many times people are “sent” to the training with idea of correcting there behaving.
No one likes to be changed, so we have to be very careful with them.
!#16
You can say: “OK people I know that was not your idea to come to this training. You had no choice. You came and I want to thank you. Now you have a complete choice! I want you to write down:
1. What would be the best possible outcome for you for next 2 hours (4 hours, 8 hours…)? And
2. How is that outcome going to help you in your everyday life?”
For sure you will open them, gain on your side and convey their goals with your training program.

Now questions for you?
1. What do you really want from them?
2. Why is that important to you?
3. Who would you be if you get their attention?
4. Who else would benefit then?
5. What would be some even more useful question for them?
6. How to connect their needs with needs of their job positions?
7. How are you going … Read more