Monthly Archives for March 2012

Bring a Positive Impact

My vision is to have the freedom to travel, work and live in different places and have the change to meet people from different part of this world.  It will be great to help people and bring a positive impact to people I meet.  Coaching might be a profession that I can put my efforts to work on as my 2nd career.

Coaching is a hybrid field, needs a strict set of quality guidelines to ensure practitioners having the skills to be an effective coach.  Coaches choose to become credentialed, operate within a professional framework and follow good ethical standard.  Ethical standard is the business foundation of being a coach.  It helps coaches build a trusted relationship with clients.  ICF has outlined 11 core competencies fit into 4 headings and can match different stage in the coaching process.

The highlights of core competencies of coaching are to use an open style to employ active listening, powerful questioning, discover clients’ concerns and build trusted relationship.  Coaching bring positive impact, design goals with actions and progress, with the ethical attitude.

The 11 key words have already highlighted the competencies required as a professional coach in below 4 categories.

Co-creating the relationship via producing mutual respect and trust as well as employing a style that is open, flexible and confident.

Communicating effectively including active listening to support client self-expression, ability to ask powerful questions to revel the information needed to the coaching relationship, and use language has the positive impact on the client

Facilitating learning and results via creating awareness, designing actions for ongoing learning in work/life situation and taking new action, goal setting and managing accountability.

Related behaviors have been developed by ICF, including what the competencies look, sound and feel like in practice.

If the coach has a clear vision of “bring a positive impact” to the clients and help people to achieve their dream, this role will improve people’s spiritual life and make small changes to this world.

Be a Grateful Person

It’s all about the attitude and how you look at this world from different angle.

We have arranged a night owls group having a walk every Tuesday.  Even we tried to keep our walking going, we still face the challenge of having visitors, having works, too tired … etc, we can easily find a reason to be a lazy owl on Tuesday night.  Yesterday, I tried of remind everyone again that we will have a night walk via Whats App.  A girl friend sent me a pictures and informed everyone that she has a car accident on Tuesday morning.  Her husband said … we need to work and cannot walk tonight.  When I saw her photo, I was shocked because her BMW car was almost crashed by a serious hit of a taxi.

I could not sleep well at night after seeing the accident photo.  We went to our girl friend’s house tonight.  Surprisedly, she and her son on the passenger seat didn’t hurt by yesterday’s car accident.  The only comment that I can make is … “You are in God‘s hands”.

I am a new Christian and are still looking for MIRACLE.  I appreciate this miracle (or God’s bless) that they are safe.  I keep on thinking … if they are not driving BMW today, their 2nd car at home may not give them such a good protection.  If they arrive the cross road 1 second late, the taxi driver will hit her car from the different angle and probably caused more damages.  If, If, If, If, If …. even their car has crashed, there is nothing better than my friend and her family are safe.

This morning, someone asked me, what change will make your life perfect?  I was thinking about … a better working environment, a bigger house, more money, kids perform better in their schools … and so on.  After meeting my girl friend and knowing she and her son are fine, my answer will be “having a grateful mind’ and thankful what God has provided to me.  It will make my life perfect.

Again, it’s all about the attitude and our angle of viewing WHAT WE HAVE.  Be a grateful people will make my life perfectly.

A Victorious Life Cycle

This idea came to my mind that you need different coach, different inspirations and different goals in different life cycle.

I just gradually understand that, even as a career woman for more than 20 years, I still cannot really understand the challenge and influential power that my next generation is facing.

I saw many friends try to protect their kids by limiting their exposure in the places or experiences that they are not familiar to, for example, a part time job in high school, write blog, play video game, study at Starbucks, build up their website ….

When our next generation is moving to the age of “knowledge economy”, most of their jobs we might not really understand.  They will not sit in the same table, work in the same office or have the same business card for many years.  They may fly to Shanghai, go to New York, travel to Dubai for a “project”.  When the “project” has completed, your son will go fishing or read book all days.

We cannot “consult” our kids anymore.  However, when I have some understandings about “coaching”, I asked myself “can we help and coach them in different life cycle”.

Hopefully, the answer is YES.

When our kids are 6 months old, we start learning how to play and spend time together.  You need to know your kids’ characteristics, what they like and what are their strengths /and weakness.  Kids cannot say NO, or I don’t believe it.  It’s the introductory stage of a Victorious Life Cycle – we need to know kids better.

Then, the parents and kids need to explore their personalities, motivation of success and their area of focus, as personalities coach.

When they need to decide their major, they need career coach.  After they got married, they need marriage coach, life coach … etc.

Most important, you need to aware that “I need to LEARN” my SWOT.  If we make the SWOT of different life cycle perfectly right.  We can claim that we already have a “Victorious Life Cycle”, because we have the best performance in different stage of life.

Self-directed Learning

“Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand.”

Thousands years ago, Chinese philosopher Confucius had already shared this concept of “experiential learning”.  However, until today, most of educational systems in Asia still prefer to “tell” students what to remember.  My younger son in his 7 years’ learning have already transferred to 5 schools with different system; best private school in Taiwan, Australian school, American school, Singapore government school, then moved to Independent school in his 1st year of secondary education.

I really tell the differences between systems and fully understand that “learning” cannot one system fits all.  But it is really a tough challenge for teachers to see the difference of kids, identified the difference of needs and offer different ways of learning to nourishing our future leader.

I found that if we can understand our kids’ learning style, they learn better and enjoy more.  If the leader of a group can tell the difference of his team members’ learning style, the manager can facilitate the team and build a high performance team.

(1) Activists

Activists like to be involved in new experiences. They are open minded and enthusiastic about new ideas but get bored with implementation. They enjoy doing things and tend to act first and consider the implications afterwards. They like working with others but tend to hog the limelight.

(2) Reflectors

Reflectors like to stand back and look at a situation from different perspectives. They like to collect data and think about it carefully before coming to any conclusions. They enjoy observing others and will listen to their views before offering their own.

(3) Theorists

Theorists adapt and integrate observations into complex and logically sound theories. They think problems through in a step-by-step way. They tend to be perfectionists who like to fit things into a rational scheme. They tend to be detached and analytical rather than subjective or emotive in their thinking.

(4) Pragmatists

Pragmatists are keen to try things out. They want concepts that can be applied to their job. They tend to be impatient with lengthy discussions and are practical and down to earth.

Peter Honey and his team had developed Honey & Mumford learning styles questionnaire (LSQ) to help respondents better understand their preferred ways of learning and become a better all round learner.  The tired and tested LSQ has two versions of the LSQ, the 80-item and 40-item.

We all have preferred ways of learning and learn better from some activities than others. The tried and tested Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ) will help you become a better all round learner.

80-item questionnaire is the original questionnaire:

  • Ideal for people who want a more comprehensive questionnaire
  • Better for a longer session where there is time to explore

learning styles and the suggestions for action in more depth

  • More appropriate for people who can relate to the business references
  • More likely to appeal to traditionalists who want to use the original Honey & Mumford questionnaire.

40-item questionnaire:

  • Ideal as an initial introduction for people who have not previously given much consideration to how they learn
  • Useful if time is at a premium – the questionnaire takes less time to complete and score
  • Helps people stay focused – there are fewer suggestions for action to choose between
  • The wording is concise and better suited to a more diverse audience.

The modern and systematic way of learning analysis will help Confucius to better leverage his theory and help his students become a all-round learner by facing his or her own learning style.

Tell me, show me and involve me … in the real life, even we have difficulties to “involve” all learners in all aspects, this LSQ, at least, remind us how to allocate our resource in better balance in telling, showing and involving people.

Imagine

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.

I have changed my linkedin profile in a low profile manner.  It’s not a time to draw people’s attention that I am in the coach business, but it is the time that I need to show my commitment about what I want to be and what I want to contribute to.  I need to explore the area that I can donate my “brain power” and help people to image their life of success.

Often time in life, we forget how to imagine.  Frank and I spent time to draw my imagination what we just had our first boy.  We wrote down our dream in the cover page of a book I bought in our first trip to Canada … time flies, when I accidently opened this book this year, after 15 years after.  We found that we have achieved our dream back to years ago.  We didn’t notice that when time passed, we have a 2nd boy and our dream was getting bigger and bigger.

The dream and became a real life, when we live in it, we take it for granted.

We are painting a bigger dream, not only to contribute to our family, our finance, but also to make a small change to this world.

It is really important to trust who you are and to understand how open you are to trusting others and letting them into your life.  Whether it is work or life, trust looks the same. Doing business in today’s world demands greater openness and honesty.  What type of “contribution” or “business” that we can devote and trust it? Together, we will discover and focus on accomplishing our dreams.  We need to form a powerful alliance for success. We also need times to make our statement of “dream” specific, measurable, achievable, realistic with time frame.

I need to coach us first, as a career and entrepreneur coach.  I need to learn how to help myself and other people get from where we/they are to and where our/their dream to be.  I also need to learn being good in learning, hearing, empowerment, support, commitment, caring and action… what a wonderful experience of life learning. It’s going to be a fruitful journey.

Be Still

Spiritual Stillness is important to build it into the rhythm of life.  Without rest we cannot see clearly; we begin to see ourselves as more important than we are.

Some of us may fear what will happen if we sit still and stop working.  During a time of stillness or rest, we can be spiritually or physically healthy because we are healed while we rest.  Our greatest strength may be our ability to stand still with trust and faith.

youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6Fw8DgvTQA&feature=related

Hide me now, under your wings, cover me, within your mighty hands. When the oceans rise and thunders roar, I will soar with you above the storm. Father you are king over the flood. I will be still and know you are God.
Find rest my soul, in Christ alone, know his power, in quietness and trust. When the oceans rise and thunders roar. I will soar with you above the storm. Father you are king over the flood. I will be still and know you are God.

Little Celebration

人生的每一個階段都有一件最該做，最想做。和最值得做的事，在2012年; 我想 …

(1) 隨心所欲做我想做的事 (2) 在任何地方工作與生活 (3) 貢獻自己的知識，幫助別人

我們的存在，應該要對世界創造些小小的意義，問題是：應該與適合做什麼？！

人生第ㄧ階段念書求學問，第二階段結婚求孩子，第三階段升遷求富貴，下一段路開放定義，自由發揮時，似乎比選校挑公司還難，因為：無限可能！

我跟大部分戰後嬰兒潮或ＸＹ世代的人一樣 … 需要尋找我的北極星。2012 年：在闖蕩職場20 多年後，曾扮演全球百大企業高管，亞太區域資深總監，新加坡外派，香港上市公司總經理，或台灣大學講師 … 後，我開始學習如何用放大鏡鑑賞珠寶，如何用滑鼠建設網站，如何看地產趨勢，買賣房產。有一晚 ; 上帝呼喚我，在我跟他不熟悉的情況下，我開始認識上帝，讀聖經，帶孩子禱告，我不再認為 i am lucky，我開始相信：i am blessed by God。

I once was full of self, and proud until one day, quite by surprise, I caught a glimpse of me.

When you forget yourself, you usually start doing something others will remember.

我開始依感覺帶領我做我該做的事，我希望有創新機會，把自己的學習貢獻給別人，幫別人順利地編織人生的夢想。

Now I explore and learn the role to practice coaching, My love stands firm and I have established my faithfulness … In one of tele seminars, Rob Stringer asked: “What’s your little celebration today?” I said, I want to celebrate that I am joining this call and do something different today (including this first blog for my self reflection).

WHAT’S YOUR LITTLE CELEBRATION TODAY? Thanks the new friend, Linda Bor’s sharing:

A coach is your partner in achieving your personal goals.

Your champion during turnaround.

Your trainer in communication and life skills.

Your sounding board when making choices.

Your motivator when strong actions are called for.

Your unconditional support when you take a hit.

Your mentor in personal development.

Your co-designer when developing an extraordinary plan.

Your beacon during stormy times, your wake-up call when you don’t hear your own.

And most importantly, your partner in living the life you know you’re ready for, personally and professionally