Week 23.39 Grateful and Humble

I come to this week's newsletter filled with gratitude, humility, and wonder that I had not previously imagined. While writing Becoming Coachable, our focus was on the book's content, bringing to life our insight that the most essential ingredient to coaching is the person being coached. While writing the book, we discovered so much about the topic and even more about ourselves. Our knowledge of the material became so much more profound, and we learned why we were compelled to write the book and the journey we had taken to arrive at this moment. Writing the book has been a fantastic journey. Since then, the journey has become even more profound and richer as we have experienced the material through our readers and friends. We have learned what it means to them, how they are experiencing it, and how it is changing their lives. We have discovered--as we had previously hoped and imagined--through our book that people find coaching, benefit more from the experience, and even (early reports indicate) can become coachable. Here are a few insights I'd like to share the week after the book launched.

When we began writing the book, we focused on the coaching process, revealing how the ecosystem operates so that people looking for coaches had context. Then, we used the power of our network to understand what the client needs to bring to the coaching relationship to get the most out of it. We had always understood that the critical driver of success is the coachee's willingness and commitment; this work reinforced that belief. In conversations with readers of the book, we have also discovered that beyond the implications for the coaching relationship, the insights in Becoming Coachable mean that it is always possible to grow and change. And that has made this book optimistic, generative, hopeful, and practical.

We set off to write the book together, which became a unique collaborative project. Marshall, Jacquelyn, and I each have our voice, which we brought together one narrative, speaking as one and as individuals simultaneously. You will hear this in the audible book, which alternates our voices. Most enjoyably for us, you will listen to/read it in Chapter 9 where we recreate a conversation about what inspires us about coaching, leadership, and life. We aspire to make this book an ongoing dialog with readers and our community over time. Since the book was released, we have understood that everything we do that is great we do together. We knew this before. After all, leadership is necessarily about working together. The work of writing, releasing, and experiencing the book with our readers continues to reinforce this belief, driving our deeper commitment to engaging more people and broader groups.

A little unexpected for me has been how writing a book has brought focus to the topic we wrote about. Part of that has been the inspiring support that our communities have demonstrated, helping to make the book release so exciting. We are inspired to believe that there is an even more significant influence afoot: a change is happening. We hear it in the conversations the book has ignited - about personal growth, the potential for change, and the ambition to bring others along. I have been working in this area for over a decade, and I have never felt the groundswell of purpose to do better than I am feeling right now. The support of the book, its concepts and precepts, and how we observe it get assimilated, synthesized, and applied is astonishing and encouraging.

All this to say, we are grateful and humbled by the reception and implementation of the book. We love that people buy for friends (and bosses) as a gentle nudge to see what is possible. We are excited that, by and large, readers are receiving the advice as a passage on how they can improve, not an edict on how they are flawed. At its core, this is a book about hope and change for the better. And everyone is welcome to join. We appreciate everyone who has even considered the book, especially those who bought it (and wrote a review.) We know this is only the beginning. In the coming weeks, we will continue to evolve the ideas and involve our audience in podcasts and events as we launch the book on the Honor Education platform. We are excited to learn with you as we continue our journey to Becoming Coachable together.

Fostering Belonging as a Leader LinkedIn learning course by Sanyin Siang

Employee expertise and imagination are your company’s most powerful assets. And research has shown that a sense of psychological safety is the biggest predictor of revenue growth. So, how do you nurture a safe work environment that allows your workforce to unleash its true potential? In this course, learn how to go beyond diversity and inclusion to proactively help your employees feel like they belong. In a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world, an overall sense of belonging is imperative for organizational success; discover opportunities and strategies to cultivate—and sustain—this feeling in your business. Learn how to build team trust and redirect competitive behavior, how to maintain belonging during employee onboarding and exits, and how to make belonging an organization-wide habit. Sign up for the course here.

A message from Marshall Goldsmith

Here’s something to think about this week:

Just because you can do it alone, doesn’t mean that you should.

Just because you feel just fine without support, doesn’t mean you’re fine.

And just because you’ve gotten used to doing it alone, doesn’t mean that that’s the only way to live.

The support of a community is priceless. Find yours.

Read more about the value of a support system in my newest book, Becoming Coachable!

Gifts, Growth, and Philanthropy: What Can You Do When Faced With Opportunity? by Whitney Johnson

When I interviewed Gail Miller on the Disrupt Yourself podcast, she shared details about her journey and the transformative shift in her life—from handling her late husband’s business to becoming Utah's largest individual benefactor. Through this journey, Gail Miller shifted her focus from business to philanthropy. She stepped back in order to grow. Her journey highlights the importance of the concept Step Back to Grow—one of the Seven Accelerants of Growth that helps you increase your speed as you journey up your growth curves.

The concept Step Back to Grow highlights the power of moving out of your immediate growth trajectory in order to unlock unseen possibilities. This may involve taking steps backward or sideways, but it always encourages prioritizing the future in lieu of the present. She intentionally took time to consider, understand, and explore different perspectives. In stepping back in order to move forward in a deliberate way, Gail has been able to make informed decisions about how much money to put into the family foundation, how to develop a more aligned process for grant decisions, and how to have the greatest impact with their resources.?

With love, gratitude and wonder.

Scott