Everyone has rich work and personal achievements that they deserve to be proud of.
Often people underestimate the importance of what they have achieved in the past including the depth of significant skills and experiences that can equip them well when seeking new roles.
Natural modesty and humility often result in success being attributed to “us” and “the team” rather than “me”. This is to be commended but, in some circumstances, it is desirable and necessary to be clear and proud of what you have achieved.
This coaching technique requires a conversation with the client that then enables presentation of achievements in a structured way that reinforces their values, the action they took and the change that ensued as a result.
· I believe that (values)
· What I did was (actions)
· This has led to (outcome)
When does it work best?
This technique works best when a person is preparing to apply or be interviewed for a new role and is struggling to articulate and/or prioritise their achievements. It is also useful for someone needing to rebuild their confidence following a setback.
Step by Step
1. Explain the technique and check with the client that it seems helpful.
2. Ask the client to think about the achievements they are most proud of.
3. Depending on client preference either ask them to talk about these achievements or to brainstorm them on paper.
4. Ask them to choose one of these achievements that really excites them. If they struggle, reflect back either what you heard, saw and felt while they were speaking.
5. If they have brainstormed on paper getting them to score significance on a scale of 1-10 may help them to prioritise.
6. Ask some questions
· What led you to take on this challenge? (belief, issue or problem)
· Tell me what you did? (actions)
· Describe what is different now? (outcome)
7. At each stage the Time to Think (Kline, 1999) question “is there anything else” may be helpful.
8. Summarise for the client “so the story I am hearing from you is” (an example)
· I believe that the best solutions happen when people are involved in decision making early on.
· What I did was bring together a group of clinical staff, past patient and relatives to consider better ways of providing information before admission to hospital.
· This has led to a new protocol for pre-admission. This includes a day before pre- admission phone call and a meet and greet with a volunteer at arrival. Patient satisfaction in the new arrangements has increased from average to outstanding.
9. Repeat steps 4 to 8 on the next achievement.
10. Continue for as long as the client finds it useful this is usually a maximum of about six achievements.
References
Kline, N (1999). Time to think. London: Cassell.