Kaizen Matters

Laser Provision: I don't know of a leader who is not concerned with improving performance. That is, after all, an essential part of a leader's job description. No leader aims to keep things the same, let alone to make things worse. Leaders are change agents with a single-minded focus on making things better. But how do we actually do that? Although, as you will read, I have some objections to traditional problem-based learning, focused, as it is, on determining and fixing the causes of whatever is impairing performance, I nevertheless appreciate the emphasis on continuous improvement and I especially appreciate the orientation of the Japanese TQM process known as "kaizen." Never heard of it? Read on to learn more!

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your approach to leadership and life? Is quality job one for you? What would help you to make continuous improvement one of your core values? What would help you to express that value more fully? How could "good change" – "kaizen" – take shape today? What are three things you might do that would make things better for yourself, your family, and your organization?

Exhaustion Matters

Laser Provision: There is a time and a place for exhaustion. I have spent a number of years leading my annual 4:45 pace team at the Baltimore marathon. Afterwards, and at some points during the race, there are moments of exhaustion. Exhaustion can be a sign of having pushed oneself to get something done that is important, difficult, and/or fun. Leaders have to do that at times. Then it's time to renew, relax, and restore. But some leaders get addicted to exhaustion – a dangerous trait to be sure. If that sounds like you, if it seems like you are always exhausted these days, then read the entire Provision here...

Coaching Inquiries: How exhausted do you feel right now? What kind of rhythms are reflected in your daily and weekly patterns? How might you take charge of your calendar in order to better serve yourself and your commitments? Who and what could help you to make it so?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact Form to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs, Click Here.

Experiments Matter

Laser Provision: One might say there are two ways to learn: theory to practice and practice to theory. The first way, known as deductive learning, starts with a set of accepted premises and applies them to particular situations. The second way, known as inductive learning, starts with a set of experiences and generalizes them into a way of doing things. Both ways of learning are constantly at work in both children and adults, but inductive learning – practice to theory – is clearly the original genius and instinct of us all. Young children are insatiably curious and inveterate researchers. They learn by conducting experiments. Great leaders would do well to rekindle that spirit in our people. Don't be afraid: the benefits far outweigh the risks. Click here to read the full Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: How much are you willing to trust yourself in the action-learning process? What kind of experiments would you be willing to conduct in order to find out? How could you become more venturesome in conducting experiments? What is one thing you would like to explore and try out in the week ahead? How could you plan that out right now?

Design Thinking: Lessons for the Classroom by Betty Ray

There are a variety of ways to put design thinking into practice and Betty Ray's blog provides some great info about how design thinking can be used in the classroom. Betty Ray's blog shares how the concept was covered at the Big Ideas Fest 2011 ...

One of the core components of Evocative Coaching is design thinking for educators... check out The Center for School Transformation to learn more!

Our Organizing Minds

Laser Provision: Today's Provision is an appreciative review of a new book co-authored by my friend and colleague, Margaret Moore, the CEO of Wellcoaches Corporation and co-director of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School. The premise of the book is simple: to organize our lives we must first organize our minds. What that means and how to get it done is what the book and this Provision is all about. If you've been looking for a fresh approach to long-standing problems of disorganization and distraction, then I invite you to fasten your seat belt and read on. In one Provision we will cover all six Rules of Order. Click Here to read the entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe the state of your organizing mind? Is it on autopilot or have you taken control? What would help you to be more aware and active? How could you get more sleep? How would you describe your priorities in life and work? How could you pay more attention to them both now and in the future? Who could coach you through the conversation?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, Email Us or use our Contact Form to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs, Click Here.

Unbidden Desires

In the Western calendar, today is New Year's Day: a traditional time for looking back on the past year and looking forward to the New Year. Both activities have real value and it's a shame that the start of every quarter does not arrive with the same reflective energy. To ponder how the past year went and to set goals for the future are quintessentially human activities. So don't squander the day!

Many people come to coaching because they want assistance with these two reflective practices. In thinking about the past, we all have blind spots and critical voices. By offering honesty and empathy, coaches assist people to see and to value what is there. It is incredibly liberating to stop, or even just to pause, our avoiding, exaggerating, and berating tendencies. That's what a good coaching conversation can do for us, and I encourage you to contact LifeTrek Coaching for a complimentary session: Click Here.

The real genius of coaching, however, lies not in reflecting on the past but on the future. Coaches assist people to set and achieve goals. That may be the simplest of all definitions when it comes to the work of coaching. We don't set goals for people and we don't tell people what to do. We don't nag people or make people do what they are "supposed" to do. We rather invite people to set goals for themselves and assist them to navigate the journey.

That's where the name "LifeTrek Coaching" came from. It was my goal, all the way back in 1998, to help people with their goals in life and work. That trajectory represents the trek of coaching. It is a moving target and, at least this side of the grave, it never ends. Which is why some people always have a coach. There's always another aspiration to unleash and another possibility to consider.

Which brings me to the subject of today's poem. For many years, I have been in the habit of writing and sharing a poem with the readers of LifeTrek Provisions on the first Sunday of the New Year. Lately, I have been thinking about the relationship between bidden and unbidden things. The dictionary defines that relationship in terms of choice, intention, and will. Unbidden things are uninvited, not asked for, neither commanded, ordered, nor summoned.

"I bid you to come forward," on the other hand, is an obvious invitation and request. We often think of bidden things as desired things and of unbidden things as undesired. Health and family emergencies or natural disasters, for example, are unbidden. So, too, with things that disrupt or interfere with our plans. When a campaign or strategy goes awry, the military refers to that as being "Overtaken By Events. And being OBE is definitely not desired.

Yet coaches, who are in the business of that most bidden of enterprises, setting and reaching goals, have learned to be on the lookout for unbidden desires. All that is bidden is not good and all that is unbidden is not bad. There are things that well up inside us to guide us, and we would do well to acknowledge and appreciate those things as the source of ambition itself.

Where do goals come from? Why do we bother with them at all? It is from the deep reservoir and churning energy of unbidden things that the bidden arises. So before we run too far away, pause with me for a moment to consider the treasurers of the unbidden:

Unbidden
©2012 Bob Tschannen-Moran

Things happen
Overtaken by events
Emotions race
Unbidden

Blocks happen
Stifling creativity
Urgency impairs
Unbidden

Insights happen
Discerning truths
Clarity emerges
Unbidden

Feelings happen
Spilling over
Provoking thoughts
Unbidden

Heartaches happen
Gasping for air
Confusion reigns
Unbidden

Dreams happen
Revealing secrets
Hope arises
Unbidden

Breaches happen
Sudden terminations
Swelling grief
Unbidden

Connections happen
Awakening hearts
Restoring souls
Unbidden

Yearnings happen
Moving mountains
Cleansing spirits
Unbidden

Inklings happen
Subtle noticing
What must be
Unbidden

Shifts happen
So unsettling
The sun rises
Unbidden

Dreams happen
Unleashing aspirations
Possibilities emerge
Unbidden

May you find your own treasures in the unbidden things of 2012.

Coaching Inquiries: What things are unbidden in your life right now? What things are welling up inside you? What things are happening around you? How could you learn from them and collect the treasures these things have to offer? Who is your coach on the trek of life?

If you would like to reply to this Provision, we encourage you to use our Feedback Form. If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Hereor Email Us. Top

Example Matters

Laser Provision: Do you set a good example? If you are a leader in any organization, whether in a school, a corporation, a congregation, a club, or a marching band, then I hope so. People are watching our every move as leaders, and what they see matters. Do we work hard? Do we express caring and empathy for people? Do we make wise decisions in both ordinary and extraordinary times? If the answers to those three questions are all the same – a resounding "Yes!" – then our leadership is sound and will inspire people to greatness. If we fall short at any of those points, then we're headed for trouble. Want to learn how to avoid that eventuality and optimize your leadership? To read the entire Provision click here.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your work ethic? Do you overwork, under work, or is it just right? How would you describe your emotional intelligence? Are you too soft, too hard, or just right? How would you describe your decision making? Do you focus on problems to the exclusion of possibilities, or is it just right? How could you set a more positive example in all three of these regards? Who could help you make it so?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, Email Us or use our Contact Form to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs, Click Here

Qualms Matter

Laser Provision: Few, if any, leaders would disagree with the title of today's Provision. Quality matters. Quality matters not only in our goods and services, it also matters in the way we carry and conduct ourselves as leaders. If quality is so important, then, it becomes a key work of leadership to continuously maintain and to constantly be on the lookout for ways to improve quality. If that doesn't always define your leadership, or if you're not sure how to do it, then this is the Provision for you. To read the entire Provision click here.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your commitment to quality? What helps you to continuously improve that quality? Are reflective practices a regular part of your life? How could you strengthen and derive more benefit from those practices? What part could coaching play in the equation?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, Email Us or use our Contact Form to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs, Click Here

Challenging Education Paradigms

Sir Ken Robinson challenges us to change education paradigms, waking up kids -- and educators -- to life. Huzzah!! You have to watch this RSA Animate Video.

Quality Matters

Laser Provision: Few, if any, leaders would disagree with the title of today's Provision. Quality matters. Quality matters not only in our goods and services, it also matters in the way we carry and conduct ourselves as leaders. If quality is so important, then, it becomes a key work of leadership to continuously maintain and to constantly be on the lookout for ways to improve quality. If that doesn't always define your leadership, or if you're not sure how to do it, then this is the Provision for you. To read the entire Provision click here.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your commitment to quality? What helps you to continuously improve that quality? Are reflective practices a regular part of your life? How could you strengthen and derive more benefit from those practices? What part could coaching play in the equation?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, Email Us or use our Contact Form to arrange a complimentary conversation. To learn more about LifeTrek Coaching programs, Click Here

The Power of Positive Coaching

Finally: athletic coaching is catching up with best practices in professional coaching. Read the power of the positive. It's not just about yelling at your players! http://t.co/FL0ytImN

Questions Matter

Laser Provision: Leaders often think of ourselves as answer people. We are, almost by definition, the go-to people in organizations and we think it is our job to generate ideas, solve problems, and keep people on track. But what if the best way to do all that is not by answering questions, but by asking questions? What if our role is best understood as that of a conversation starter and question asker rather than as an information provider and decision maker? When leaders understand ourselves in this way, everything begins to shift – from how we talk to ourselves to how we talk with others to how we get things done. That may seem less efficient than simply telling people what to do, but looks can be deceiving. Read on if you would like to see things anew. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What is your orientation in life and work? How often do you choose to take the Learner Path? What would help you to get on that path more often? Who do you know who embodies that orientation? How could you partner with them to learn and grow together?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Memory Matters

Laser Provision: All leaders know the importance of remembering names. Being able to call someone by name, especially after it has been a while since we have seen them, is a form of acknowledgement and affirmation that says: "You are important to me." People feel great when we give them that sense. But did you know that being able to remember the past derives, in part, from our ability to anticipate the future? Both functions utilize the same processing centers in the brain, and the stories we tell about the past are as much about sense-making as they are about reporting. In our minds, all human beings are time travelers. If you want learn how to leverage that ability for leadership, then I encourage you to read on. Read entire Provision ...

Coaching Inquiries: What is the nature of your relationship to the past, present, and future? Are you aware of how your own optimism bias plays out in life and work? To what degree would you describe that bias as irrational and to what degree would describe it as predictive? How can you become better able to bolster the self-confidence of others?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Moods Matter

Laser Provision: Are you in a good mood? If you are a leader, I certainly hope so. That's because moods, like emotions, are contagious. People pick up on and attune themselves with the moods of leaders. When leaders are persistently anxious, frustrated, or depressed, for example, such qualities come to define the culture and climate of our organizations. Any thought that people will rise above the mood of their leaders is largely an illusion and certainly an exception to the rule. Most of the time, leaders set the tone. It behooves us, then, to set a tone that will lead to organizational success. And moods cannot be faked. Self-management is therefore a key work of leadership. Read the entire Provision if you want to buff up your own mood and set yourself apart as a leader.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe your mood in life and work? What would assist you to cook up more positivity? Where do you go to find clarity, calm, confidence, and hope? Who could help you to find those energies today and to stay with them tomorrow?o reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form.

To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Mindfulness Matters

In her extensive research and writing on trust in schools, my wife, Megan, notes that trust is hard to define because it is easier to describe the absence than the presence of trust. Trust is like air: we take it for granted until it becomes polluted or scarce. Mindfulness works the same way. So many definitions describe mindfulness in terms of what it is not: not distracted, not judgmental, not reactive, not bored, and not attached to an outcome. Although these statements are all true, they do not help us very much when it comes to incorporating mindfulness into our life and work as leaders. What, exactly, are we supposed to do and how, exactly, are we supposed to be? Read the entire Provision to get some answers....

Coaching Inquiries: What is your decision when it comes to mindfulness? How do you show up and carry yourself in life and work? How well do you embody the six attributes of mindfulness identified in this Provision? What could help you to embody them more fully? What is one thing you could do right now that would make you more mindful? Who could join and support you on the journey?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Learning Through Listening

According to the International Listening Association:

• 45 percent of a student’s day is spent listening.
• Students are expected to acquire 85 percent of the knowledge they have by listening.
• Yet only 2 percent of the population ever receive formal listening instruction.

To change that, Learning Through Listening has developed a variety of downloadable lesson plans, strategies and activities, as well as case stories for teachers. The lessons plans use poetry, music, stories, and interactive activities to help K-12 teachers meet the diverse needs of their students.

Perhaps it would help if we all took a few listening courses. To that end, you might enjoy listening to a 30-minute podcast on The Science of Listening from WNYC. Although the focus of the program is on the biology of listening to music, it makes clear how the affective components of listening come into play and influence what we hear. That's as true for verbal messages as for musical tracks, so keep that in mind as you listen to the program. Enjoy!

Coaching Inquiries: What is your relationship to music? How can listening to music make you a better listening leader? How could you learn how to be a better listener? What would you like to listen to right now?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Belief Matters

Laser Provision: Do you believe in what you are doing? Do you believe that you will be successful? If not, then it's time to look again at your life and work. Self-belief is what separates leaders from followers. Leaders not only believe in the mission, we also believe in the ability of people to achieve the mission. I know how this works. In less than a week, my wife and I will be on our way to Asia for a whirlwind tour during which time we will be presenting on 14 different occasions in 4 different countries. Along the way, we will also be attempting to conquer the summit of Mt. Kinabalu – a high-altitude climb to almost 4,100 meters or 13,450 feet. Sound crazy? It would be if we didn't believe in the cause and in our capacity. This Provision explains the connection. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What do you believe in? How do you put your beliefs out in the world? How attractive is your energy? What stories do you tell about the future and change? How confident are you that change is possible? Who is a part of your tribe? What movements do you connect with? What movements would you like to start?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Beauty Matters

Laser Provision: Many people think of leadership as hard work. "I wouldn't want to be in her or his position!" is an oft-repeated refrain. That notion is reinforced whenever leaders get in trouble. Just think of the leaders in the Arab nations of northern Africa and western Asia. Who wants to be them! Closer to home, at least closer to my home, who wants to preside over looming deficits and divided constituencies? From political leaders to school leaders to church leaders, the refrain sounds like something from a Rodney Dangerfield movie: "We just don't get no respect around here." When times are tough, it's tempting to see everything through the lens of enemies and struggles. But there is another side to life: beauty. Great leaders look for that beauty and make it plain. Could you do that? This Provision might help. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What helps you to see beauty in every situation? How can you better point that out and share what you see with others? What effect do you think that might have? Who do you know who is that kind of leader? How could you interview them to find out their secret?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Juice Matters

Do you have juice? If you are a leader, then that would be a good thing to have. I don't mean fruit juice, of course. I mean the joie de vivre, the joy of living, that adds energy and excitement to any situation. With all the travail in the news lately, including both natural disasters and political upheavals, it's easy to lose our juice and forget our joy. Yet that is the first responsibility of leaders. It is our job to show up with juice and to share it with others. How do we do that? By noticing the good stuff in life. In every situation, great leaders always find things to celebrate. Such mindfulness refills the glass for leadership. Want to pour some of that juice for yourself? Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What kind of attitude do you bring to the work of leadership? Do you inspire people and lift them up or do you discourage people and tear them down? How would others answer that question about you? What has been your best experience with serving as a catalyst for positive energy? How did you muster that spirit? What would it take to muster that spirit on a daily basis? How could you make it so, right now?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Check Out Past Issues

It's been too long! Check out the issues you missed of LifeTrek Provisions, since our last post in November, by visiting our Web Archive. We're in the middle of a series on evocative leadership, the kind that calls out the greatness in people. Like what you see? Sign up to receive your own weekly emails! Thanks!

Touch Matters

Laser Provision. When it comes to leadership, it's not enough to have a clear vision and lots of ideas. It's not enough to have lots of technical skills as to how to get the job done. One must also have the high-touch skills to galvanize teams and bring people together. That's especially true when we seek to bring about change in organizations or society. The more of a change-agenda we have, the more important those people skills become. Want to learn what that looks like? Read entire Provision...


Coaching Inquiries: What kind of leader are you? How would you rate your ability to touch the hearts of the people you lead? What would help you to develop your emotional intelligence? How could you become more sensitive to the people side of the equation? Who could assist you to make it so?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Trust Matters

Laser Provision: Today's Provision could not have been written without the research and work of my wife, Megan Tschannen-Moran. For the past 15 years, Megan has made trust one of her primary academic and professional interests. But trust is not just a theoretical construct to be studied, understood, and described. Trust is a way of being in the world. My wife embodies that way of being as does every great leader. Trust matters. Read the entire Provision to see just how much it matters and how it works.


Coaching Inquiries: On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate yourself when it comes to trustworthy leadership? What examples do you have of standing in trust and experiencing its transformative power? How could you strengthen your understanding and practice of trust? How could you make your school or organization more fully embody the five facets of trust? What is one thing you could do today that would move things forward in a positive direction?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Happiness Matters

Laser Provision: As someone concerned about the future of education in America and around the world, I have watched with increasing dismay the strident calls to get tough with teachers. There's no hiding the behaviorist philosophy: punish the low-performers and reward the high-performers. But are such threats and incentives the best way to change behavior and reform the system? Twelve years of coaching adults to higher-levels of learning and performance tell me the answer is no. Happiness matters. That's the most important incentive of them all. Read Entire Provision...


Coaching Inquiries: What framework do you come from? How can you make life and work more positive? What is one thing that could make you happy right now? How can you meet more of your needs for autonomy, competence, relatedness, and well-being? How could you assist others to meet those needs as well?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

What Is Servant Leadership?

The connection between being nice and servant-leadership can be seen in the earliest writing about servant leadership from Robert K. Greenleaf. In his 1970 essay, "The Servant as Leader," Greenleaf wrote:

"The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature."

"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

In his second major essay, "The Institution as Servant," Greenleaf articulated what is often called the "credo":

"This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions -- often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them."

That sounds very nice to me. There are many excellent books and articles about Servant-Leadership. You can download a bibliography from the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership. Or you can go straight to the source, and read Greenleaf's seminal book on Servant Leadership for yourself.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe the power of leadership? Where does that power come from? What does it lead to? How can you best embody the power of servant-leadership? What difference would it make if you carried yourself that way today?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Needs Matter

Laser Provision: When it comes to leadership, needs matter. Leaders who are more concerned about their own power, position, ego, agenda, perks, pocketbooks, smarts, or solutions, than about the needs of their people and the people they serve are not great leaders at all. Great leaders take a "seventh generation" perspective. We think about the impacts of our decisions not only on the needs of people today but also in the needs of people seven generations in the future. Where are we taking our people? If you haven't thought about that lately, then read on. You just might get inspired. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What needs are you most acutely aware of right now? What are people trying to tell you about how you are treating and respecting their needs? How could you do more listening before taking charge? What would have to change in order for you to get into that frame of mind? Who do you know who models respectful servant leadership? How can you get to know them better?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.