An open mind can change the world

 Over the last 24 hours, I heard 3 questions that really caught my interest.

The first question was "How can you coach someone to get better at something if they don't think they need to improve."

The second question was "What do you do with that one person on the team who always seems to have an excuse as to why things aren't finished."

The third question was posed today on LinkedIn by our very own Andrew (Drew) Boyer, "Is the demand for Leadership Coaching coming from Corporate Leaders or Employees??"

What struck me is the answer to all three questions is quite the same...

A coach can't help someone improve if they aren't open minded and ready to improve. If there is no invitation for coaching, no coaching will occur.

If the person you are working with doesn't believe they need to improve - the likelihood of them investing in improvement on their own volition is small. You may show them data indicating there is room for improvement... it may be explained away, or simply rejected. You may offer new exercises or tools that can help them improve their outcomes... they may be ignored, or or halfheartedly adopted only to fall back to old habits once no longer being observed.

As our friend Albert Einstein suggests, we all live in worlds we create and believe to be good; in order to change that world, we have to change our thinking!

A good coach will use questions to reframe thinking and create curiosity, inviting an open mind.

❔ What would it be like to be even better at this skill?

❔ How would it feel to be able to raise the bar even higher?

❔ What are some things we could learn, so we can create even more valuable solutions?

Minds can be opened, and curiosity can be sparked - and once it is - the opportunity to improve is endless! The right question can open the door.

What's stopping you?