I have been listening to a significant number of expert
consultants in the last few months. In the midst of the wisdom they share comes
a review of some obvious, but timeless insights. Stuff like:
“There are consequences to every choice!” “Be sure you
want the consequences of what you want!” “It’s not what happens to us BUT what
happens in us!” “Words create conditions!” “You get more of what you pay
attention to.”
One expert on executive coaching told us that when she asked
many CEO types struggling to find direction in dealing with one situation or
another, what they thought the answer should be. (One major purpose of coaching
is to help the leader find the answer within.) They often answered, “I don’t
know what to do?” So she asked them: “What would you do if you did know what to
do?” More than 90% of these leaders who said they did not know what to do and
could not offer any answer proceeded to share an answer to that second question,
usually leading to the positive helpful direction they were seeking in the first place.
The theme of coaching is found in the power of encouragement.
I learned that great coaches don’t tell people what to think, but they point
people in the right direction to find the answers. The major key to the coaching
process is to ask powerful questions. So what’s the WIN in this,
that is, What’s Important Now?
How about looking at the questions that Jesus asked? After
all He is the ultimate coach—right?
