"Wow, this doesn't suck"

I received some high praise for an HR initiative early in my career. And, please forgive the colloquial language, but that is exactly what they said. “Wow! Your program doesn’t suck.” As if they expected that it would. As if they normally anticipated an HR training initiative to be a compliance-driven, rule-defining, policy-enforcing, documentation-heavy, snooze-fest.  

And here I had changed it up and taught something interesting. To them. Valuable. To them. And clearly meaningful to the organization.

That feedback was my oxygen. I loved it and wanted more. If I could make performance management exciting, what else could I revive interest in? 

Well, it turned out that I was a one-hit wonder. Maybe that is a little harsh, but still… try as I might I never found another topic on which I could move the needle that far. Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action, Total Quality Management, Benefits Administration, Compensation, Retirement Planning… Ugh! I came close with a program on Teambuilding, but not really. On one topic I consistently hit the ball over the wall and on most others, I got on base. When I eventually decided to leave corporate life and start consulting, therefore, the decision to specialize was easy. I would make my passion my jam.

So, that is how I became a self-proclaimed “King of a Mole Hill.” Jack of Many Trades originally, but now Master of Only One. Since May of 1998 I have been on a quixotic quest to rid the world of performance evaluations and replace them with a coaching system. And in the small and mid-cap space, my team and I have made a dent. We have helped hundreds of organizations abandon a bad “best” practice and learn to do something healthier. While any training curriculum will always be a work in progress, I have had the privilege of obsessing on one basic program with an objective of improving its impact each time it is offered.

That is perhaps why receiving an unsolicited personal message like the one below is so deeply gratifying. It gives you something to think about. An attendee at a public program ten years ago took the time to let me know this week that our program changed his life for the better and that what he learned still impacts his career today.  His Fortune 50 current employer is” blown away” by what he knows about coaching and wants to “earmark” him for a future promotional opportunity.  

While we are currently recruiting for our 42nd public course, and we have had more than a thousand graduates, I remember this particular participant very clearly. Nigel and I have chatted over the web through the years and have remained in touch. I am proud of him. I am happy for him. And I am ever so grateful for the opportunity to work with people like Nigel teaching a program that is my passion. And one that still doesn’t suck!   

This is where I want to be. This is what I want to do. I hope that each of you are equally blessed.

So, how can you find your own career path that doesn’t suck?

• Follow Your Passion – What lights you up? What aspects of your work fill you with energy compared with those that deplete you? Do more of that, please.
• Craft Your Ideal – Organizational Design is a hidden leverage point in coaching. Learn to divide the work up in a way that suits the specific talents of those you can attract to work with you. Create a job description that clearly outlines division of labor to eliminate any confusion. Nonstandard work division can be fine, as long as accountability is clear.
• Leverage Your Advantage – What is easy for you? What do others appreciate most that you do for them? Do more of what only you can do best.
• Eliminate Drudgery -- Marcus Buckingham, in his book, The One Thing You Need to Know says that research indicates that superior individual contributors who sustain outstanding levels of contribution over long periods of time “figure out what they don’t like to do and stop doing it.” He applied it to his own life when he stepped down as Vice President at Gallop to focus on his true love -- writing and speaking. His impact and happiness only increased.  

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Nigel's Testimonial

(This has been slightly redacted in consideration to their current employer)

PRIVATE MESSAGE RECEIVED 6/18/21

Gary…

Ten years ago, I attended the Catalytic Coaching Course* you held in Atlanta. Last week I interviewed for a new role within my international retail company as lead coach for our store.

It's a new role for my company and one that I was instantly drawn to when I read the job description. I sat with the European lead and my local team, and they grilled me for an hour. Unfortunately, I did not get the position, but here is what amazed me and why I instantly thought of you.

My store leader sat with me afterwards and said this exact sentence. "I had no idea that you had so much experience and passion for coaching." My response was simple, “That's because this company still uses employee reviews as a tool to manage your teams.”

I spoke in great depth about what Catalytic Coaching is and how it changed my life, both in business and personally. He was blown away.

The feedback for my interview was this: I was simply overqualified to do this role in its first iteration (overqualified is something that I have always had an issue with, but that's another story). What it has done, though, is earmark me for bigger coaching roles on a local level. I am having constant discussions with the leadership team now that they are all aware of my background. They feel I will be able to help drive the performance of our teams in a new way that they haven't experienced.

You changed my life 10 years ago for the better. Quite a profound statement this early on a Friday morning, but one I realized greatly over the last few weeks. The way we think is vital to how we grow as both humans and employees, and I thank you once again for helping me think about people differently.

Kindest Regards,

Nigel

*Please note that the Catalytic Coaching Course has been elevated to the new Mastery Program*