How a coach's posture rooted in both Western and Asian cultures triggers greater agilit and collaboration across an organization

How a coach’s posture rooted in
both Western and Asian cultures
triggers greater agility and collaboration
across an organization
Jean-Francois Cousin, MCC

Jean-François Cousin, MCC
based in Asia since 1995
Coaching experience Clients experience
• Master Certified Coach since 2012
• Director at the ICF Global Board of Directors
• Delivered over 9,000 hours of coaching and
team facilitation since Oct ’06
• Author of ‘Game Changers at the Circus:
how leaders can unleash Greatness
in their organization’
• Former Managing Director of a Fortune-500
Company in Thailand (1998-2004)

The big picture and its hard truths
•The easy part of the growth is over
•Leaders now work in a ‘VUCA’ environment
•Collaboration and agility are critical to
organizations’ success
Leaders should role-model and enable collaboration and agility
in their organization.
How can we help?
the ‘game’ of business has changed,
leaders must become game-changers

Raising Agility and Collaboration
• Unhealthy levels of self-esteem

Symptoms of unhealthy levels of self-esteem / toxic behaviors
Fake superiority / pretence of invulnerability
Limiting beliefs about themselves
Black-and-white judgments or/and
‘playing the smartest guy in the room’
Fear of mistakes / perfectionism and micro-management
Hanging out only with one’s ‘gang’
Change resistance and the comfort-zone of managing silos

Raising Agility and Collaboration
• Unhealthy levels of self-esteem
• Risk and mistake avoidance,
discomfort with uncertainty
• Directive management lowering
accountability and engagement levels
• Lack of collaboration between
departments

Agility
learn from
mistakes
keen to
experiment
comfortable
not knowing
versatile
thinking
courageous
decision-maker
eager learner
Traits of an agile leader
Copyright © 2017, www.greatness.coach all rights reserved

Collaborative
relationships
Team aligned on the
Vision and ‘way of
working together’
Team-members
help each other
play at their best
Effective
Collaboration
Boosters of collaboration

Self-awareness
www.greatness.coach

Self-awareness
www.greatness.coach
Self-acceptance

Self-awareness
www.greatness.coach
Self-acceptance
Mindful Growth

Self-awareness
www.greatness.coach
Self-acceptance
Mindful Growth
Self-trust and self-esteem
Authenticity, humility & vulnerability

Healthy self-esteem replaces toxic behaviors
by behaviors supporting collaboration and agility
Let go of… Embrace…
Fake superiority / pretence of invulnerability
Limiting beliefs about themselves
Black-and-white judgments and/or
playing the smartest guy in the room
Fear of mistakes / perfectionism and micro-
management
Hanging out only with one’s ‘gang’
Change resistance and the comfort-zone of
managing silos
Humility and openness
Their aspirations
Their ability to help others perform at their
best
Mistakes as sources of growth, and
empowerment
Interest in others
Purpose and change-driven leadership

Self-awareness
Self-acceptance
Self-esteem & self-
trust
+
-
Authenticity,
humility &
vulnerability
Openness to
others
Mindful
Growth
The path from self-awareness to collaborative
relationships

Look at your neighbor… and say
what strength or beauty you see in her/him

Self-awareness
Self-acceptance
Self-esteem & self-
trust
+
-
Authenticity,
humility &
vulnerability
Helping others
grow
Openness to
others
Mindful
Growth

Self-awareness
Self-acceptance
Self-esteem & self-
trust
+
-
Authenticity,
humility &
vulnerability
Helping others
grow
Openness to
others
Collaborative
relationships
Mindful
Growth
The path from self-awareness to collaborative relationships

From collaborative relationships to effective collaboration
Collaborative
relationships
Team aligned on the
Vision and ‘way of
working’
Team-members help
each other play at their
best
Effective
Collaboration
Authenticity, humility
and vulnerability
TEAM LEADERSHIP

From effective collaboration to a collaborative, agile culture
Collaborative
relationships
Spread supportive beliefs &
behaviors
Enhance organizational agility
Authenticity, humility
and vulnerability
Effective
collaboration
High performance
Culture
ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

As coaches, who do we need to be with our clients,
to facilitate the emergence of
greater agility and collaboration through them?
Agility
Pick up from
mistakes
keen to
experiment
comfortable
not knowing
versatile
thinking
courageous
decision-maker
eager learner
Self-awareness
Self-acceptance
Self-esteem &
self-trust
+
-
Authenticity,
humility &
vulnerability
Helping others
grow
Openness to
others
Collaborative
relationships
Mindful
Growth

Think of your coach’s posture, your being…
c
and it’s ripple effects on your clients

Think of the ripple effects of your being on a coachee…
Who are you being when your coachee
becomes more agile and collaborative?
1
2
4
Row/Table

8 traits of a coach enabling in a coachee
higher confidence, agility in thinking and collaboration
• Authentic and humble
• Holistic listener
• Student / enabler of coachee’s talents
• Non-judgmental thinking-partner
• Comfortable with not knowing, with failure, trusting process
• Empathetic, yet detached from outcome
• Courageous feedback-provider
• Supportive challenger
Coachee
Coach

Coach’s posture
Coachee’s posture
with coach
Coachee’s posture
with others
Ripple-effects on others
(linked to agility & collaboration)
Shifts in coachee’s posture, enabling greater
collaboration & agility in the organization
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
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
Non-judgmental
thinking-partner
Crosses boundaries,
attains self-acceptance
Less judgmental
thinking-partner
Think more freely,
less judgmental of others
Student / enabler of coachee’s
greatness
Learns and gains
self-awareness as s/he ‘teaches’ the
coach
Open to be taught by others
Gain self awareness of one’s thinking,
grow confidence;
open to be taught by others
C
A
A
C
A
C
A
C
A C

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 be taught by others
Gain self awareness of one’s thinking,
grow confidence;
open to be taught by others
Authentic and humble Authentic and humble Authentic and humble Authentic and humble
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
Comfortable with not knowing and
with failure
Comfortable with not 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
C
C
C
A
A
A C

As coaches, which Asian influences
do you embrace in your coaching?
1
2
4
Row / Table
Time Reasoning
Making sense
Learning
Perceiving
‘Truth’
Growth

A Coach’s posture rooted in both Western and Asian
Cultures triggers
greater agility and collaboration across an organization
Mastery
Time
Linear Cyclical
Common Western experience Common Asian experience
Reasoning
Rational Analogical
Making sense
Beliefs systems and thinking
patterns
Personal experience
Learning
Goal-related ‘Journey’ related, emergent
Perceiving
From what is said
From silence and what
is not said
‘Truth’
‘Absolute’ ‘Relative’
Search for knowledge Growth Search for wisdom

6 paths
Coach
leadership-team,
to
instill
greater
collaboration
&
agility
across
the
organization
6 paths towards more Agility and Collaboration, facilitated by
a coach posture rooted in both Western and Asian cultures

Think of the ripple-effects of your learning today…

How a coach’s posture,
rooted in Western and Asian cultures,
triggers greater agility and collaboration
across organizations
Jean-Francois Cousin, jfc@1-2-win.net

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

Greatness Leadership Coaching
Jean-Francois Cousin
@JF_Cousin
Website: www.greatness.coach
email: jfc@1-2-win.net

Self-Leadership
Relational
Leadership
Team
Leadership
Organizational
Leadership
4 steps towards High Performance
through Collaboration
and Agility
Team
Leadership
Organizational
Leadership

Resource
(click on picture for access)
http://www.greatness.coach/book
On Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Changers-Circus-Greatness-
Organizations/dp/981095655X/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1446086545&sr=1-1

http://www.greatness.coach/book

Resource
(click on picture for a preview)
Available on Amazon (paperback and ebook)

Praise for the Book
“Game Changers at the Circus is a unique and charming story with important lessons for every leader. Jean-François Cousin’s creative energy springs from every page.
Read this book and make a positive difference in your organization!”
– Ken Blanchard, co-author of The New One Minute Manager® and Leading at a Higher Level
“Enjoyable and compelling, this timely fable and its lessons read like a novel but serves as an
important business manual. With wisdom and context from a long and successful business career, Jean-François Cousin has painted a vivid picture of how to enact
change effectively, with page after page of insight!”
– Marshall Goldsmith, a Thinkers50 Top Ten Global Business Thinker and top ranked executive coach, author of the NYT bestseller, What Got You Here Won’t Get
You There
“Many organizations struggle to build a high-performance culture. Sometimes leaders can’t get aligned. Sometimes they disagree about what is most important. Let’s
face it—sometimes it seems like a circus! Jean-François Cousin’s new book, Game Changers at the Circus, offers a powerful approach to change all that. Packed with
easy-to-apply principles and practical action steps, this book will help you and your team achieve new levels of passion, productivity, and performance.”
– Ron Kaufman, New York Times bestselling author of UPLIFTING SERVICE: The Proven Path to Delighting Your Customers, Colleagues, and Everyone Else You Meet
“Game Changers at the Circus is a great story of the roles leaders can play in either limiting or accelerating greatness in an organization. The four leadership levels
provide a framework for the future, as well as clarity around the essential behaviours contributing to the success of the organization.”
– Roland B. Smith, Vice President and Managing Director, Center for Creative Leadership

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 appropriately
Copyright © 2014 1-2-WIN Co., Ltd. all rights reserved

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 self and 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 +

Coaching tips and tools
(click on the picture to open the tool)
The path from
self-awareness to authenticity

Accelerate your personal growth, way beyond your comfort-zone
Coaching tips and tools
(click on the picture to open the tool)

How a coach's posture rooted in both Western and Asian cultures triggers greater agilit and collaboration across an organization

How a coach's posture rooted in both Western and Asian cultures triggers greater agilit and collaboration across an organization

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