Absorb - Stefan’s Week-Notes 09/11/2024
Inspired by the weeknotes of friends and coachees including John Fitzgerald, Steve Messer and Nour Sidawi - I thought I'd give it a go.
Inspired by the weeknotes of friends and coachees including John Fitzgerald, Steve Messer and Nour Sidawi - I thought I'd give it a go.
Here's a dive in to the happenings of the past week. I start with what I’ve been up to, to frame the week and then the successes.
Why? Because it's easy to look into the dark rather than the light; isn't it?
Hope you enjoy it; comments, observations and thoughts welcome.
What have I been up to?
(Question inspired by @James_ Arthur_Cattell week notes). It's been a busy week.
Cycling and Strength and Conditioning
No cycling or S & C work this week; a trapped nerve in my neck put paid to that so it’s been a week of painkillers and stretches.
Inspite of the lack of exercise this week I have started a 6 month specialist nutrition programme with my friend and endurance performance coach Joe Staunton. This week we began to learn about carbohydrate periodisation and ATP. On top of this, we have begun to proactively plan our exercise and meals into the Hexis app which will begin to enable us to fuel and refuel effectively by balancing Total, Type and Timing of Calories against volume, timing and intensity of exercise.
Coaching, Mentoring and Inquisitive Sessions.
This week’s been has been a really rich week in terms of coaching and mentoring and i’ve felt incredibly purposeful as a result too. Sessions this week included:
A coaching session with a ‘head’ of seeking to influence organisational change by gaining license to bring two parts of the business together, under their remit. It makes sense from an operational perspective and will ensure that front end to back end and the entire product lifecycle will be sustainably focused. I can’t wait to find out if they’ve been able to make it happen, next week and build from the outcome.
A coaching session with a Charity CEO, looking at shaping culture change; creating an organisation and interpreting existing org values in line with future focus and need; more lean, efficient and less NICE and more impactful.
A coaching session with a coach within elite sport; helping them to rationalise what they want to be known for, balancing multiple dependencies and values; think ikigai.
A coaching session with an elite athlete and business partner; having created greater balance in their life and training; it was time to look at their offering and how to focus their time and conversations about business stagey with their business partners.
A coaching session with a leader in the public sector balancing life, work and play and creating strategies to maintain a healthy balance and drive even more impact.
A coaching session with a senior leaders within the public sector and transitioning into the c-suite whilst maintaining a clear sense of personal purpose.
First coaching session with an industry trailblazer focused upon delivering civic and social value through digital; making the goal tangible and beginning to think strategy.
A coaching review with one of my coachees; I hold these after every 3 sessions - a delighted coachee (and coach) - they’re finding it invaluable and we have agreed a set of ‘ring fenced’ sessions including ‘how do I create and maintain self propelling momentum within the team’.
Mentoring sessions on behalf of The Extraordinary Collective with a firm of Architects, a coaching psychologist, a high end cycle mechanic, a woodland retreat owner and a boutique training business. Key themes what do you want to be known for, is your worth being valued. Delightful feedback.
Testimonials
This week, I had the privilege of receiving the testimonial pictured from Dr. Kear Brain which makes me feel incredibly proud and blessed to have been taught to coach over 23 years ago.
Kear is a clinical psychologist and as intelligent and astute as they come, she listens, questions and analises people, behaviours and contexts for a living and her sensitivity to the human condition is almost second to none I've met; yet through coaching - not my subject matter expertise I was able to work with her and add real value to her in her field of influence.
Now; this also required Kear to be open to the process, to interpret my questions and examples with the positive intent I shared them and to be open to putting in the hard work and carry out the actions she identified between sessions - which she did.
The modern world needs people who are open and have a growth mindset, are able to think for themselves, pivot quickly, make decisions based upon multiple factors and cope without being the subject matter expert and the uncertainty of a rapidly changing world.
Modern life also requires leaders and managers to be able to help their people navigate life in and around work too - in order to support, develop and motivate the leaders of tomorrow.
And so with that in mind, I would also like to thank Kear for being one of the catalysts for the below announcement.
🔊 Announcement 🔊
A coaching and collaborative approach between a coachee and a coach is for me analogous to the way in which the most brilliant leaders work with their people and team members operate peer to peer.
Next year, I have decided to 'dust off' the notes from the courses I've run on coaching to begin developing coaches and leaders to coach again in 2025.
If you are interested in learning to coach and I mean really coach and make a real difference through coaching as well as use it in your leadership - drop me a DM here on LinkedIn.
If I can get 6-8 people together I'll run a programme in 2025 at reduced rates to enable me to get on the coach training horse again and for you to become the coach and leader I know our world needs going forward.
I look forward to hearing from you and thank Alex for introducing me to Kear.
This Weeks Writing
This week I just about managed to find the time to write my second journal piece on the 3rd of my four life pillars; PLAY.
In the piece, I talked not about play in the ‘activates done without care or purpose’ sense but instead about what I called ‘ANOTHER TYPE OF PLAY”.
The political games needed to get ahead, which create the opportunity for good people to lead great things and change. The games which are played every day in our organisations across the land, whether they be public, private, charitable, big or small but which good people are often too nice to play or dont realise can be played for good with integrity and authenticity. In essence the piece talks about how to lean into political game play because, quite simply, if you don’t, your great cause will be lost to the ‘bad guys’.
HOW TO CHOOSE A COACH - I also wrote apiece on how to choose a coach here:
NEWSLETTER - If you enjoyed reading that piece; consoler signing Up for my BE THE WAVES newsletter here:
What's been good about this week?
I’ve really enjoyed this week.
In particular, I enjoyed coaching two digital leaders - focused upon wider public and civically motivated goal.
Think, “I want to serve the country” and “I want them to have a service which serves their needs” kinds of good people and “I want to help the NHS be the service we all know and want it to be”.
I’ve always been driven to make a significant difference and i’ve done lots of work around getting large groups of people to get behind cause; in corporate life it was faulty easy - I bought into the riganisationla mission, vision and values and then went how do I get my people to feel as strongly about ‘doing this’ as I do.
The coaching sessions were an amazing opportunity to help the two coachees to feel authentically and powerfully attached to what they realised were not ‘fluffy’ dreams, but actually concrete goals which address intrinsic and exctrel motivating factors.
The first session also led the coachee to remark, ‘it makes me want to be the best I can possibly be” and “to help others be the best they possibly can be too” and the second coachee to say “I now see that so clearly” and “I feel like I could reach out and touch it”.
As part of the first coaching session, I shared an exercise I have used with all of the teams I have led and all the teams I have been asked to speak with. Designed to help to connect everyone in an organisation with their organisational purpose, I call it the “virtuous circle of impact”.
The aim of the ‘circle’ is to explore the difference your role and the organisation can make to the customer/end user and the positive impact that has on each stakeholder within the ‘circle’. Having worked all the way around the circle; you then conclude by looking at the positive impact, again, on the customer of all those stakeholders within the circle being positively impacted. it’;s helpful to look at the impact on each stakeholder if we dont serve the customer too.
It’s very powerful and as my coachee expressed - “we just dont focus upon this enough”.
The second coachee felt that they could reach out and touch their goal, after I asked them to “tell me what problem or challenge they would most love to help someone overcome?” and we explored “what they would be doing?” and “how” and “what that would mean to them"?”
I am excited by the impact both leaders can have and am in no doubt that their paths will cross in the coming months and years.
What am I grateful for?
This week I am grateful for a wonderful afternoon in Lyndhurst/Brockenhurst with my partner Dominique. The past couple of weeks have been so busy for both of us; we’ve had very little opportunity to see one another - which has been tough.
Wednesday afternoon was an opportunity to pause, talk and snuggle up with a coffee and cake, surrounded by fairy lights, in the outside coffee park of Boost Bike HUB.
This view…
I feel very blessed to be able to see this view either on my bike, or in the van, every time I travel from my home to the Little Boat Gallery; the military road with Freshwater Bay in the distance - even a poor photo of it makes me smile.
Social media gratitude…
This week I am grateful for some wonderful new connections here on linked-in including the fabulous @Andrew_smith who wrote a fabulously useful blog himself, in which he answers his friends question “How have you changed your outlook on life so much over the last year or so?” you can read it here.
Likes, comments shares and signs ups make these 3 main differences:
They help me get seen on linked and on instagram by ‘leaning into’ their algorithms.
They mean that others, outside of my immediate network, get to see my work, know I exist and contact me to find out more about my work, chat about the great thing they are leading, or wish to lead, and just maybe ask me to coach them.
They makes me feel valued and motivates me to do more.
Thank you all for helping me to do more of what I love.
What could have gone better?
This week I could have made more time for pause and more time for the outdoors; put simply I have let a lot of very purposeful writing, working and the trapped nerve in my neck takeover. How will I rein that in next week?
Timebox my work better would be step 1.
Make sure I’ve blocked out my lunches Step 2 and:
Step 3 - Keep doing my yoga based stretched so that the improvements in my neck continue.
AI and Coaching
Away from me and more generally, I think we could be having a much greater debate about the application and use of true Ai. This week I write this piece on linked in highlighting how I feel about AI in coaching; a view which I think applies to AI in all contexts.
AI and coaching*?
I'm not against it, but I am for it's refined usage.
At a time when I feel like our biggest threats to life on this planet are through our loss of humanity - I'm more for using AI to complete tasks to free up the humans to connect, to share space and kinetic energy and to be still, in the prescience of one another.
There's an empathy that comes from one human working with another.
There's a feeling that is created when two people move molecules of air within a box - or send those same molecules rippling through the air into infinity.
Everyday we cocoon ourselves in metal casings called cars - giving us a sense of invincibility and disconnecting ourselves from the world around us. Just watch how people drive, objectively - it's not about 'we' - it's about 'I'.
And that's not healthy for our world.
To put it simply, AI promises computing power we could use, but unfettered - true Ai - has the ability to create its own rules and its own moral compass - imagine that being used for moulding minds and shaping rather than informing strategy and someone's actions.
This isn't about self preservation it's about preserving 'we'.
To quote Spider-Man "with great power, comes great responsibility" and part of my responsibility as a coach is to work with my coachee in line with a code of ethics and a clear moral compass.
Can we say right now that we're doing enough to ensure that with true AI?
Discuss.
Stefan
*or management or leadership for that matter.
Ps - this is a brilliant Rich Roll episode with @yuval_noah_harari on the topic:
https://lnkd.in/ekKWqwsk
What am I reading?
This week, hasn't been a week in which reading, other than my coaching notes, has made it to the top of my to do list. No, this week has been more a week of podcasts and listening to YouTube casts.
I’m currently in plotting mode - aiming to identify which rides I will do alongside the solstice series and am looking for ‘marginal gains’, whilst I do it.
Art by Stefan www.thelittleboatiow.co.uk
Where better to start than with the 11 principles of endurance from World Record Holder, Author, and Speaker SEAN CONWAY. Not only has he multi disciplinary world records in triathlon, swimming, cycling and running but he also juggles a family, has written 7 books and stands for causes including Sports For Champions and True Venture. If anyone knows how to prepare and channel our energy for extreme endurance its him.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, for me - life, leadership and change are an endurance sport and the motivational factors, planning and resilience Sean espouses are applicable to all aspects of our working and none working lives. Here’s a quote from him:
“When you dare to dream big you’re gonna come up against hurdles and it’s really about pushing through them and not being overwhelmed by them. It’s how you deal with these hurdles and setbacks that sets you apart from everyone else”
I noticed he’s also available for speaking gigs next year and can also throitoghly recommend him as a speaker. If you are needing to inspire as well as identify some techniques for remaining resilient when delivering purposeful change - BOOK HIM HERE
What am I wishing for?
As the world gears up for #COP28, a climate reality check reveals worrying trends.
The world is on track for a 9% rise in emissions by 2030, falling woefully short from the critical 43% reduction target.
Despite global commitments, the relentless surge in fossil fuel production is derailing climate goals.
This year's extreme weather patterns serve as a stark reminder of the urgency for immediate, robust ClimateAction. And I am wishing that those attending and with influence over the outcomes starts to care enough to ‘put their money where their mouth is’ and really do something not just say they will.
There’ll be no need for market forces when we have no planet to hold a market on.
Read more about it and the work of UNEP who will be at #COP28 with activities on sustainable cooling, methane reduction, food systems, and more, showcasing cutting-edge science and highlighting solutions across various sectors to support the transition to a low-carbon path and a climate-resilient future here
A Last Word - Absorb
This week, I’d like to leave you with the word Absorb.
Many of my coaches have seen signofance success this week and like most people I’ve worked with - when you ask them what success they have had - the struggle at first to remember them or to be comfortable to speak about it; let alone absorb it.
Absorbing your successes and embedding the actions, behaviours and thoughts that got you there builds foundations for future exploits and raises the bar on what you can achieve next time.
Taking time to place these within your mental toolkit is key, and pictured is PLACE which I used with two of my coachees this week to help them absorb the success they’d seen
Hows it work?
Step 1 - List Successes that you’ve had
Step 2 - Acknowledge what you had to overcome, learn and or do to bring that about
Step 3 - Celebrate by exploring what achieving that means for you, your cause and those you care about
Step 4 - Absorb what you have learned about yourself, the task or your onward journey by achieving it.
Step 5 - Embed the success factors by defining how you will remember the success and how you brought it about by agreeing how you repeat and build on that success strategy next time.
Have a go by looking at your success this week and let me know how you felty or what it made you think by dropping me a message.
Stefan
Thank you for reading my week notes.
For now, let me leave you with 6 questions based upon Bill Moyers 4 roles of social movement I talked about above (have a read here).
What is the value you want to bring to this world?
What responsibility does that place upon you?
How well are you coping with that responsibility (on a scale of 1-10)?
What’s going well? (Use the PLACE process)
What could be going better?
How could you use what’s going well and how you make the good stuff happen, to address what’s not going so well?
If you’d like some help answering those questions get in touch via my contact page here; or via stefan@stefanpowell.co.uk
Have a great weekend and love to you all
Stef
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I’ll continue this in 4 to 5 Thursdays time when I continue the topic of ‘Rest” in my Thursday Journal.
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For now; thank you
I am…
An executive coach who specialises in helping good people lead great things.
Good people care about others, our planet and beauty. Great things are changes for the betterment of society and all that lives within an around it.
It sounds big and fun - it is.
I'm also an endurance racing cyclist and a go. getter.
You can read more about me and what I do; how I work here