What is leadership training and coaching all about? Leadership is definitely not for the fragile and faint of heart. It’s actually more akin to a firewalk; a barefoot walk across hot coals that challenges you to face your greatest fears. Let’s face it. When tempers flare, most people either fight or walk away. In both cases, it’s a Lose-Lose. Is there really training that can transform even the worse scenario into a Win-Win?

Beyond Life Coaching

Have you ever had a leadership training and coaching client whose business partner seemed totally out of control? No matter what boundaries your client drew, that person behaved in a completely irrational manner? Take the example of two business partners who are at each others’ throats. Your client’s perceived options include quitting the project or pissing his partner him off so that he leaves. There is a third option. If your client really wants to get through the project peacefully and profitably, he will have to step into the role of a leader.

Advanced Leadership Training and Coaching Tactics

These leadership training and coaching tactics are not popular, although they are often the only choice your client has to turn a Lose-Lose into a Win-Win. The conversation that will begin the process is for the bravest person to step forward and share what he or she is most committed to with regards to the project or the relationship. After that, your client must come along side of the other person and understand his partner’s view of the situation is. The key is without judgment. Only after coming to clear understanding of what that view is, which will usually require asking some clarifying question, should your leadership training and coaching client offer his opinion. When this opinion is offered, it should only be offered in a way that it is clearly a possible opinion among others. It’s ok to back up the opinion with reasons to support the opinion, but not to attempt to persuade the other into their own point of view or make the other person appear “wrong.”

This is truly the road less traveled, and the most challenging option. But when two people are really engaged in battle, it becomes impossible for either to back down. The secret is actually that whoever is the most flexible in his approach will win every time over someone who is rigid and inflexible. It’s often a matter of whether your clients want to win or do they want to be right. I’ll take the Win-Win every time.

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Colette Seymann
JTS Advisors Bi-Designated Strategy and Accountability Coach