Listening for possibilities, not problems – Keeping the best at their Best

Keeping the best at their best.

The most innovative companies understand the value of one-to-one coaching. They invest in their employees and support them to perform at their best personally and professionally. I’d like to share a story from a recent coaching exchange with a high performer that demonstrates how coaches are well-positioned to listen for the subtle nuances that help keep the best at their best.

Changing Perspectives.
In our first call, my client described themselves as a career-driven performer with high expectations. They thrived, performing beyond expectations and working hard. They described their first significant boardroom encounter and their career trajectory, loss of passion, challenges, strained relationships with co-workers, feelings of imposter syndrom, stagnation, underappreciation, and the frustration of feeling overlooked for senior management positions.

What had been exciting, fun and challenging had become work and effort. My client wanted a fresh perspective and a way to reawaken their passion.

Listening with Purpose
When a coach focuses on what is wanted, possibility gets revealed. As an untrained coach, it would have been easy to succumb to the temptation to work on fixing my client’s problems. As a professional coach, my training enabled me to listen for exceptions and evidence of solutions. I was listening for how to surface who they were before losing their passion and becoming distant from their purpose and goals, not to fix them or their problems.

Knowing the right question to ask can make all the difference. I wondered aloud if my client had noticed themselves lighting up when speaking about their first significant boardroom break. As it turns out, they had.

Reconnecting Passion
Tell me more about the person who walked into the boardroom that day and persevered under intense scrutiny. What followed was a stream of positives. That person was unafraid, confident, unattached to the outcome, not looking to please anyone, willing to take risks, bold, trusting, and, above all, passionate. That person brought their best self, showing up in a way that convinced one of the executives to back their proposal—ultimately saving the company money.

Hiding in Plain Sight
So often, what we are searching for is hiding in plain sight. We have all lost our glasses on the top of our heads, our phones in our hands, and the car keys on the table in front of us. 

Qualified professional coaches provide a unique perspective to listen for solutions and exceptions. They can keep in plain sight what helps high performers remain consistently connected with their passion and perform at their best professionally and personally.