Category Archives: Coaching

Learning with music

Posted on October 15, 2012 by

The following article is a collaboration between Julian and Sarah Ackroyd. Sarah is a director of the Centre for Mentoring and Coaching, as well as being a talented musician. Sarah and Julian are both passionate about music. It engages us … Continue reading →

Posted in Aesthetics, Coaching, Collaboration, Communication, Creative, Difference, Environment, Familiarity, Formal Spaces, Informal Spaces, Learning, Music, Performance, Songs | Tagged , | 3 Comments

If you don’t know, then who does? Reflecting on learning and training

Posted on October 4, 2012 by

Rich is taking a month long course to teach English as a foreign language. I’m impressed. It’s a notoriously challenging qualification and intense to do in a month. Back to the days of homework and late nights of study. Which … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Education, Grammar, Knowledge, Learning, Teaching, Training, Words, Writing | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Social learning: trust and integrity in a globalised workforce

Posted on June 20, 2012 by

The mercenary workforce: that was the term that came up yesterday in a seminar on trust and integrity in the global, virtualised workplace. It represented a point in our thinking when we recognised that people feel let down by their … Continue reading →

Posted in Authority, Change, Choices, Coaching, Engagement, Global, Integrity, Learning, Social Learning, Trust | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

What you want, when you want it: structuring information in the right way

Posted on June 19, 2012 by

I’m reading a great book at the moment, ‘Made to stick’ by Chip and Dan Heath. It’s about ideas, about why some ideas take hold and others just come unstuck. I like the conversational style, the wealth of examples and … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Just in time' learning, Clarity, Coaching, Effectiveness, Information, Instructional Design, Learning, Learning Design, Performance, Social Learning, Support | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mainstream Mentoring. Understanding the benefits of a consistent approach.

Posted on January 27, 2012 by

There is a difference between a ‘conversation’ and a ‘mentoring conversation’. As with so many things, it’s the nuance and detail that counts. The point of adopting a formalised mentoring programme is that it can give a consistent approach to … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, LGBT, Mentoring | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Learning Leadership: how doing nothing can be more powerful than trying to do everything.

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Leadership can be as much about creating space as it is about taking actions. It’s a hot topic at the moment: ‘what is leadership?’, ‘can you learn leadership’, ‘are leaders born or made’? But leadership is not always about doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Leadership, Learning | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Building a ‘Results Logbook’: an alternative view of the footsteps we take out of learning.

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

We often build ‘activity plans‘ to take out of a piece of learning: it’s a way of capturing actions that we hope will drive us to change behaviours. Sometimes, with sufficient motivation and coaching, it works! But a different approach … Continue reading →

Posted in Business Case, Coaching, Effectiveness, Footsteps, Instructional Design, Learning, Learning Methodology | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Personal Disclosure in learning. How empathy and experience can shape a very different form of storytelling.

Posted on October 26, 2011 by

Personal disclosure is often part of storytelling. It’s a way of opening up conversations, of building a bond, of setting a context for what’s being discussed. In informal coaching or mentoring situations, disclosure can be used to help individuals to … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Depression, Empathy, Learning, Narrative, Reflection, Stories, Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s the point of Coaching? Understanding the role of the formal and informal Coach.

Posted on July 4, 2011 by

It’s probably only fair to say from the start that i’m posing a question to which i have no answer. I think i know why Coaching is a good thing, but i can only tell you what the point of … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Virtual Coaching | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

MSN messenger. Unsung hero of the revolution? How we took our first steps into real time collaboration.

Posted on June 30, 2011 by

Messenger is like your favourite pen. It sits on your desktop for months on end, taking up very little space. you don’t really even notice it’s there, until you need it. Then, you pick it up for a moment, make … Continue reading →

Posted in Coaching, Community of Practice, Instant Messaging, Synchronous Communication | Tagged , , | Leave a comment