How a coach's posture triggers greater agility and collaboration across an organization in Asia

Copyright © 2014 1-2-WIN Co., Ltd. All rights reserved
How does a coach’s posture,
rooted in Western and Asian cultures,
trigger greater agility and collaboration
across an organization in Asia?
Jean-Francois Cousin, MCC, jfc@1-2-win.net

Jean-François Cousin, ICF Master Certified Coach,
serving Clients across Asia and the Middle-East,
former Senior Executive in Asia
Coaching and corporate experience Successful Clients
+
• Delivered over 5,000 hours of coaching 1-on-1
and workshops since Oct ’06
• One of his main interests: help leaders and
organizations enhance collaboration and agility
• Former Managing Director of a Fortune-500
Company in Thailand (1998-2004)
Contact: jfc@1-2-win.net

Self-
awareness
Self-
acceptance
Self-esteem
& self-trust
+ -
Authenticity
&
Vulnerability
Awareness
of others
Openness
to others
Collaboration

Agility
Pick up from
mistakes
keen to
experiment
comfortable
not knowing
versatile
thinking
accountable
‘adult’
eager learner

Raising Agility and Collaboration in Asia…
concerns and reasons for hope

• Collaboration across departments
• Levels of self-esteem
• Effects of paternalistic management
on accountability and engagement
• Risk and mistake avoidance,
discomfort with uncertainty
Raising Agility and Collaboration
in Asia…

Coaches: who do we need to ‘be’,
to facilitate the emergence of
greater agility and collaboration?
Self-
awareness
Self-
acceptance
Self-esteem
& self-trust
+ -
Authenticity
&
Vulnerability
Awareness
of others
Openness to
others
Collaboration
Agility
Pick up from
mistakes
keen to
experiment
comfortable
not knowing
versatile
thinking
accountable
‘adult’
eager learner

6 paths
Coach
leadership-team,
to
instill
greater
collaboration
&
agility
across
the
organization
6 paths towards more Agility and
Collaboration, facilitated by coaching

Enhance sense of self-worth,
the foundation for transformation 6 paths
•At the start, explain what coaching is and what it’s not, what the coach’s
posture is and what it’s not
•Discussing Lao Tzu’s thought may help focus the discussion appropriatedly

the foundation for transformation 6 paths

6 paths
the foundation for transformation

the foundation for transformation
• Coach the ‘who’
• Confront and let go of fears (‘not good enough’, ‘not loved’, ‘not included’…)
• Stakeholder-centered coaching: coachee regularly asks for feedback / advice
• Gratitude and self-appreciation exercises
• ‘Identify 100 positive things about yourself; what do they say… about you?’
• Articulate a “leadership brand” and “value-proposition” to stake-holders
• Encourage meditation
6 paths
‘I am good enough … as a Work in Progress’
Coachee
Coach
Feedback helps me grow
Openness / eagerness to experiment outside
of comfort-zone

Nurture authenticity, to truly connect with others
and develop ‘adult-to-adult’ relationships 6 paths

Nurture authenticity, to truly connect with others
and develop ‘adult-to-adult’ relationships
• Shadowing to track the ripple-effects of coachee’s authenticity
• Coachee experiments ‘coaching’ subordinates with similar adult-to-adult
posture as her/his executive coach adopts
• Experiment saying ‘I’m wrong’, ‘I’m sorry’, ‘my mistake’ and the benefits
6 paths
‘Being truly authentic and vulnerable grows
others’ trust in me’
‘Mistakes are part of the path to greatness’
Holding others accountable
Truly connecting to others

Revisit and update beliefs and behaviors
to anchor truly collaborative leadership
6 paths

Revisit and update beliefs and behaviors
to anchor truly collaborative leadership
• ‘Improvisation theater’-based exercises
• Games on different beliefs and behaviors (to anchor ‘be-do-have’ model)
• Invite coachee to let others know abouther/his ‘experiements’
6 paths
Less control, more empowerment
Embracing different perspectives
Trust in collaborative process
Taking the risk to trust and monitor

Shift focus from self to others, seeing their ‘best’ and
helping them ‘play at their best’ 6 paths

Shift focus from self to others, seeing their ‘best’ and
helping them ‘play at their best’
• ‘Risk’ trust, make others aware of it and monitor…
• Coach on how the coachee can draw out “more from them” (co-workers) and
“less of her/himself” in terms of contribution to collaborative work
6 paths
‘There is greatness in others’
‘It’s a loftier goal to help others contribute
at their best than to be the smartest guy in
the room’
‘I am secure enough to take care of others’

Acknowledge benefits of coaching on
coachee’s comfort with diversity and uncertainty 6 paths

6 paths
• Anchor shifts in behaviors and beliefs, gains in sense of self-worth,
authenticity, openness to others, comfort with not knowing, etc…
• Practice gratitude + self-appreciation exercises
More comfort with uncertainty
‘I trust myself enough to handle the
unexpected at best’
Acknowledge benefits of coaching on
coachee’s comfort with diversity and uncertainty

6 paths
Resources:
• Prepare participants and forge 1:1 alliances with them
• “Discover how outstanding your colleagues are”
• “Certificate of appreciation”
• “Improvisation theater” games (eg. ‘Yes, and…’)
• Align ‘beliefs’ and ‘behaviors’ which will help the Team
trigger more agility and collaboration in the Organization
• Drawings – for example: Who I am / My passion / A tough
moment in my Life and a lesson I learnt / 1 strength I bring to our
team / Something I want to improve further as a team-player
Coach leadership-team, to instill
greater collaboration & agility across the organization
Appreciation of others as persons & contributors
Authentic behaviors
Vulnerability and openness to others
Helping others contribute at their best
Openness to experimentation out of comfort-zone
Aligned beliefs and behaviors about triggering
greater agility and collaboration in the organization
Case Study on request +

6 paths
Coach leadership-team, to instill
greater collaboration & agility across the organization

Shifts in coachee’s posture, enabling greater
collaboration & agility in the organization

Coach’s posture
Coachee’s posture
with coach
Coachee’s posture
with others
Ripple-effects on others
(linked to agility & collaboration)
Student / enabler of
coachee’s greatness
Learns and gains
self-awareness as s/he
‘teaches’ the coach
Open (to learn) from others
Gain self awareness of one’s
thinking, grow confidence;
open (to learn) from others
Authentic and vulnerable Authentic and vulnerable Authentic and vulnerable Authentic and vulnerable
Holistic listener
Makes sense of her/his
thinking, personal
‘experience’ and
emergent learning
Listens to make others’
thinking visible
Think and contribute at best,
listen and help to make
others’ thinking visible
Non-judgmental
thinking-partner
Crosses boundaries,
attains self-acceptance
Less judgmental
thinking-partner
Think more freely,
less judgmental of others
Comfortable with not
knowing, with failure,
trusting process
knowing and with failure
knowing and with failure
Comfort with uncertainty
and with failure
Empathetic, yet
detached from outcome
Accountable for outcome,
makes sense of
conversation
Holds others accountable, in
adult-to-adult relationships
More accountable,
in adult-to-adult
relationships with others
Courageous
feedback-provider
Grows self as a
‘work in process’
Asks for and offers
courageous feedback
Grow self-awareness and
genuine self-esteem
Supportive challenger
Experiments outside
of comfort zone
Supportive challenger
Experiment outside
of comfort zone
8 shifts in coachee’s posture, enabling greater
collaboration & agility in the organization
A
C
A
A
A
C
C
C
C
A C
C
C
C
A
A

A Coach’s posture rooted in Western and Asian Cultures,
deepens the coachee’s transformational experience Mastery
Time approach
Linear Cyclical
Western Asian
Reasoning
Rational Analogical
Making sense
Beliefs systems and
thinking patterns
Personal
experience
Learning
Goal-related
‘Journey’ related,
emergent
Learning
From what is said
From silence and
what is not said
‘Truth’
‘Absolute’ ‘Relative’
search for knowledge Growth search for wisdom

Thank You for
your agility &
collaboration 
jfc@1-2-win.net

1. Meeting Ethical Guidelines and Professional Standards
2. Establishing the Coaching Agreement
3. Establishing Trust and Intimacy with the Client
4. Coaching Presence
5. Active Listening
6. Powerful Questioning
7. Direct Communication
8. Creating Awareness
9. Designing Actions
10. Planning and Goal Setting
11. Managing Progress and Accountability
11 ICF Core-Competencies

Why do more agility and collaboration matter?
because of stagnant competitiveness
and relatively low engagement…
% of engaged workers % of actively disengaged workers
Source: Gallup http://www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/164735/state-global-workplace.aspx
China
Japan
Singapore
India
South Korea
South-East Asia
Australia
United States
6%
7%
9%
9%
11%
12%
24%
30%
26%
24%
15%
31%
23%
14%
14%
18%

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