Coaching for Leaders

Coaching for Leaders (CFL)
Master classes for veteran leaders

"The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch
"This program has reconnected me to my mission with both my team and my customers."
A coaching leader at Microsoft
"I'm beginning to recognize the signal through the noise." A coaching leader at Microsoft

Patricia Burgin, MA MCC
Founder and Head Coach

"This has been an amazing journey and I am thankful you were at the helm." A coaching leader at Vulcan
"We are making our jobs less hard." A coaching leader at Vulcan
"Undoubtedly, the most valuable experience that any company ever invested in." A coaching leader at a human services company

Door #1

Door #2

Sometimes leaders contact SeattleCoach to sign up for one of our Flagship Cohorts. These Cohorts are designed for people who are pursuing certification with the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Other leaders contact us to co-create a customized experience for their leadership teams and organizations. Simply put, they don't need their directors and people managers to pursue an ICF certification, they just want them to be far more effective in the way they lead.

Door #2 is "Coaching for Leaders" (CFL), and through the years, SeattleCoach has trained
hundreds of leaders in tech, healthcare, and other sectors.

We have a team of world-class CFL Facilitators that is meeting the growing demand.

"A Coaching Culture"

You've probably heard those words--and that aspiration--a lot lately.
Maybe you've also been hearing, "short staffing, burn-out, resentment, and mental health literacy"
along with the conversations about more leadership development and employee well-being.

Through the years, we've noticed three essentials in the development of Coaching Cultures:

Leaders use external coaches strategically,
C-Suite leaders are enthusiastic sponsors, and
They give time and resources to the education and development of internal coaching leaders.

Far more than a brief "tips, techniques and tools" workshop, SeattleCoach's Coaching for Leaders (CFL) will change how you think about leading, developing, and retaining your best people.
The magic is in the trust a leader creates (rather than in any flashy formulas or quick fixes).

Photo by Mark Meadows

(Click on the photo for Patty's bio)

My name is Patricia Burgin and I'm a leadership and communication coach for talented people and their teams.

Visionary leaders today understand that the nature of work has changed. Their most talented employees are looking for two key elements:

Work that matters—a sense of purpose and service, and
Opportunities at work for personal and professional development

And if both elements are not present, those employees are more likely to change companies than they are to simply change jobs. And, as always, the determining factors are the company culture and its managers.

To find out more about bringing Coaching for leaders to your
company or organization, click on that "Contact us" button.

We'll set up time to ask each other questions.

And we'll send you a copy of the SeattleCoach white paper,
"What Happens When Your Leaders Learn to Coach?"

Four On-Ramps
for Developing Coaching Leaders--and a Coaching Culture

1	*Executive Coaching for Leaders*. We begin with several coaching sessions with a team leader to work on their personal, tactical and strategic outcomes. This initial collaboration with the team leader uncovers the next steps in the process and development of both the leader and their team.

2

3

Team Meetings. The leader shares his or her vision for the coming period of growth, and the team works together with the leader and the coach to process both key agreed-upon content along with ground-rules and expectations. Everyone leaves with enthusiasm, a next step and some shared accountability. On-ramp #2 is often repeated quarterly as the team attends to their process and to their shared deliverables. Some examples: Ground rules for new and renewing teams; managing conflict; coaching skills to improve feedback; meeting strategies; consistently getting everyone's best; working with accountability; performance improvement and career development; a leader's personal presence. What does your team need more of? less of?

Introduction to Coaching for Leaders. As clarity grows about the nature and payoffs of coaching skills and presence, this on-ramp brings a fast-paced and interactive 4-hour workshop for up to 50 key leaders and people managers. In this day together, we introduce everyone to the key concepts and vocabulary of coaching as a people manager. Everyone leaves with some enthusiasm, a next step and some shared accountability. Every time we teach one of these workshops, a handful of leaders ask for more.

4

Coaching for Leaders, aka, CFL. We select up to thirty-five seasoned volunteers and invite them to meet for ten ninety-minute sessions, usually once a month. And between each of our sessions, these leaders join small groups of fellow participants, led by a veteran SeattleCoach, for practice and mentoring. The result is a little magic.

One company's evaluation of how a multiple-year "CFL" is helping them to
build their coaching culture:

"I’ve found that this Coaching for Leaders program has not only helped me to be a more effective and in-tune leader,
but is also helping me bring a deeper sense of soul and purpose to my work at Microsoft.
Thank you for guiding us through an incredible learning journey."

From CFL2

From CFL3

These are our areas of focus:

Developing a coaching culture in which employees become people of greater substance, capacity, engagement and confidence,
The neuroscience of how human brains organize to engage with others and to metabolize change,
The personal presence and subsequent influence of each coaching leader (no blaming, shaming or reactivity required),
The ability to recognize "coaching moments" with individuals, groups and teams and then,
Partnering on actionable experiments each time we meet, and always,
Some fun.

Click on the photo to the right to listen to an interview with Patty's pal & frequent collaborator, Dr. John Medina, a developmental molecular biologist and author of the Brain Rules books. The SeattleCoach faculty team knows what great coaching looks like, when to use it, and how it works. Dr. Medina brings us a steady and entertaining flow of research about why brains like it.

Patty presenting with pal Dr. John Medina, author of Brain Rules.

Word of mouth . . .

"Patty is one of the best. High integrity, compassion, spirituality, smarts and keen sense of humor makes her the best coach trainer I’ve ever had the honor to meet. I highly recommend her."

"I'm becoming a better version of myself."

"Thank you for answering your calling--and for helping us answer ours."

"Thank you for your leadership and influence in coaching and providing strong support, guidance and encouragement! It has made a significant difference in my life, my family and relationships with others."

"It's a trick! They have you coach others and you end up coaching yourself!"

"You turn people into coaches! How do you do that?!"

"What continues to present itself is the wisdom of how you’ve designed this coursework. I didn’t expect to discover and learn what I am. More than the rules and ways of coaching, it is heart and soul + science and framework. I love this mix."

"Your style is perfect for me, your wisdom and experience helpful, and you are fun. What more could a student ask?"

"As I finish Module II, I think I'm a better coach. I know I'm a better person."

"If it weren't for you and your kindness I would not be a coach today. You were the very first person to take the time to explain to me how my talents could be used as a coach."

"I see opportunities for the application of my new skills every day."

"This is so much more than training. I've learned from listening to everyone else in this cohort how to listen to myself better. It's a juicy growth opportunity."

"This training has been a chrysalis. We've all become more than we thought we could be via community."

"This work has quietly seeped into all parts of my life."

"I love what I do in a way I never imagined was possible."

"Thank you, Patty, so much for following your vocation. You've opened up a world of opportunity for other people to find their path. You have created magic."

"There are juicy bits to your much layered instruction that usually dawn on me as I drive home. One of the latest was the use of a song to get prepped and in the flow for a coaching session. There’s science behind why this works. You don’t regale us with some of the whys and wherefores but are willing to go down the road when asked. Subtle genius . . . Coaching training with you makes me a better person."

"My coaching comes into play daily, as I recognize how I can have better presence, ask better questions and help to make the world a brighter place."

"The entire program has been a gift and I will be forever grateful for our thoughtful and quietly transformative sessions. You have dug deep to create something that the world so desperately needs and found ways to empower and encourage more and more of it. What a blessing to have found you and to take part!"

"Just got my first coaching contract. I am SO excited and nervous. And so well prepared, thanks to you."

The members of our company who have completed the program are showing up differently with their teams. They are both 'coaching leaders' and 'coaching team players.'"

"Here's what turns me on: People of compassion acting with courage, connected with their life calling (purpose). One person or team living this way can cascade into their families, friends, colleagues, congregations, neighbors, and fellow citizens."

"This has benefitted my entire life."

"I have a closer relationship with my teenager."

"You can take this stuff and make it your profession. You can also make it your way of living. Date night is better. Parenting is better."

"This is so much more than training. I've learned from listening to everyone else in this cohort how to listen to myself better. It's a juicy growth opportunity."

"I see opportunities for the application of my new skills every day."

"I love what I do in a way I never imagined was possible. It has become aspirational, and I have a sense of calling to it."

"Expect as many changes in you as in those you coach! Welcome to this unique practice."

I have been thinking lately about how coaching is touching so many parts of my life, and how it makes me better at whatever I do when I show up like a coach. I am truly humbled by the gift of coaching, and I am truly grateful for your guidance and acceptance of me.

I love SeattleCoach and I am deeply grateful for your guidance, teaching, coaching and mentoring.

Click here to review our rich and growing SeattleCoach Book list. 

Additional resources

"Should Leaders Focus on Results, or People"? Some compelling research from Matthew Lieberman at HBR
And to get your research fix, every year the International Coach Federation (ICF) does a project with the Human Capital Institute about the impact of coaching on employee engagement, Building a Coaching Culture.
From HBR: How Microsoft Uses a Growth Mindset to Develop Leaders.
We ask coaching leaders to put away their devices while we meet: Simon Sinek sums up why.
A crucial resource for leaders and their teams (with thanks to The Table Group): This is our favorite team-meeting strategy.
How to Develop a "Self-Authoring Mind." Dr. Robert Kegan.
My rowing analogy, Getting to Whoosh
From Forbes: "Why most leadership training doesn't work (and why leadership development does)". (Here's the preview: Coaching before and after crucial training makes it stick.)
From HBR: "You Can't Be a Great Manager if You're Not a Good Coach"
Here's the bad news: In the Gallup organization's "State of the American Workplace," ten years of study show that seventy-five percent of American workers are chronically "Not Engaged" or "Actively Disengaged". The good news: Excellent coaching can help leaders and their teams to increase levels of Hope (p.11 of the study) and Communication (p.12).

"Coaching has a proven impact: add coaching to an initiative and people will focus on that initiative more. Add coaching to training and people learn more, up to 6 times as much in some cases. Coaches are like midwives for change: they know when change is coming, when it’s here, when it needs a nudge, and when it’s happening too fast. As change catalysts, coaches assist with managing the speed of change and smooth transition through change. With our understanding of how the brain works - there is an inbuilt resistance to change, and minimising the stress response, and error detection of the amygdala through actions like naming and normalising – we can make this process less painful. Change can be deeply challenging and emotional change required in organizational transition requires hardwiring of new learning through insight and action. Coaches are the perfect people to have around to facilitate this process." David Rock, Driving Organizational Change with Internal Coaching Programs