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Index section
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1. Welcome to Elements!
2. Economy: Facts and Trends
3. Visioning the Unknown - An Exercise
4. Shared Learning International: Partners
Learning's
5. Links
6. Summer Places to Visit
7. Coaching Notes: Frequently Asked Coaching
Questions
8. Newsletter Notes
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Welcome to Elements! |
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This is the
second edition of the Elements newsletter.
The twofold purpose of it is awareness and sharing.
Elements is off to a successful start. You are one of 200 people
from my
professional and personal life who received the first edition of
Elements.
Feedback is a form of sharing that can lead to awareness and
learning. I
thrive on it and thank you all for so much of it! I have woven
your
feedback into this newsletter. The major areas of feedback from the
first
edition were on the Economy, Coaching, Website Favorites and the
Newsletter.
The people who tended to have more to say about the Economy were
those who
were most affected by it. What was common to everyone was how
dramatic and
fast the change has been. I was cleaning up my email yesterday and
ran across
a message from six months ago that stated that a major hi-tech
company had
10,000 jobs to fill. Now that same company is doing major layoffs!
Many people were curious about Coaching and wanted to know more
about it.
There is a section in this newsletter under "Coaching Notes from
Star" that
provides you with more information.
My coaching clients have described coaching to me as, "a necessity",
and also
as "a luxury". They have called it "a facial for the brain", and
everything
in between. Professional coaching has become a new profession and
it has
grown tremendously over the past 5 years. The estimate is that
there are
over 20,000 professional coaches in the USA today.
Thanks for sharing your favorite Websites. It is worth the whole
effort of
the newsletter to receive those gems of websites from out of the 90%
that
exist as junk on the Internet. I've included some of them for you.
Elements will become a monthly newsletter. It will be shorter in
length but
more frequent.
Feedback please!
Sincerely,
Star
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2. The Language of Knowledge Management |
The economy will
have an upturn again, sometime. When and what it will look
like is what we all want to know.
The downturn has affected many of us. It affected our savings and
investments
that were set aside for college or retirement. Or it took away from
our
security, our comfort zone, in knowing that we had enough to cover
expenses
for a planned timeframe. It has forced many of us to rethink our
priorities,
to figure out how to cover things for the short term, to question
purchases
and to ask for help.
The massive amounts of layoffs and company closings have caused the
obvious
job losses and the not so obvious added stress, more free time, and
the
rethinking of our careers and lives. The great plethora of open jobs
no
longer exists. Job seekers are now faced with a tight market.
Hundreds will
apply for the same job. And the job seeker will face waiting in line
for 2
hours at a job fair to talk to a recruiter. There is now stiff
competition
for very specific skills.
For those currently employed, the focus has switched to delivering
results by
increasing job performance and efficiency. For me, I've been
watching my
high growth 401K drop, coaching five clients whose focus is on
effective job
searching, and having working harder to land consulting jobs.
A source for New England data on the economy is:
www.masshightech.com/pulse.html
It is a quarterly analysis for decision makers from the publishers
of the
Mass High Tech. It measures workforce, innovation, capital and
confidence.
The workforce numbers are based on new job postings on
www.monster.com . If
you believe this is an accurate measurement of the workforce growth,
then it
supports what many, including me, believe to be are true--that the
jobs are
out there. The title, type and industries have shifted, and this
survey shows
job growth in Biotech 48%, non-tech 23%, and IT 4%. The decreases
have
occurred in these job sectors: Internet/E-Commerce -39%, engineering
-12%,
Science -12%, software -11%, Telecom -11%, hardware -10%.
Innovation numbers from the web site, which are based on patents and
don't
correlate to the economy. The difference could be the lag between
applying
for a patent and receiving one. However, New England remains an
innovation
hot bed of diverse patent types. The larger public companies are
still
obtaining more patents and Biotech and Medical Tech patents are up.
The data on capital roughly follows the same trend as the workforce.
The
number of deals and amount of venture capital has decreased
dramatically:
Internet -183%, Software -470%, Telecom -157%. Increases have
occurred in:
Biotech & Life Sciences +32%, Hardware +74% and IT services +9%.
Confidence data was based on a survey about expected job growth
projections.
The answers were evenly distributed from no confidence to very
confident,
with the middle of the road being 35% confident. The expected job
growth in
Internet Companies averaged 10%.
Change and the unknown is the common theme for anyone affected by
this
economy. Businesses and people must learn how to be comfortable
with it and
how to competently live and work in this type of environment. This
requires
learning new skills, new industries and new ways of doing things,
and
remembering to keep focused and being open to changes.
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3.
Visioning the Unknown - An Exercise |
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The economy
will change. Because of that, I've included this quick and fun
exercise for you to do when you are faced with an important unknown
in your
business, project, or life. This exercise helps you imagine what
some of the
outcomes might, or might not, be.
Step 1- State the Facts
What is going on in that area and related areas?
List as many as you can.
This is most effective when done with sticky paper so you can
rearrange them.
Look at the entire system, the relationships, the details, what is
overlapping, what is above and below. Step back and look at
everything that
surrounds you and that will feed into what you will do and also what
your
efforts will impact.
Step 2 - Discover the Patterns or Major Themes
Rearrange the papers by relationships, by similarities...
Look at them as a whole.
Are there similar groups or types?
Step 3 - Make 5 to 10 Guesses on the Possibilities
What might this mean; what will happen?
Does this remind you of something similar?
What is the timeframe?
What else might it cause to happen?
Are there related or new areas?
Step 4 - Select 3-5 Possibilities - Narrowing it Down
What do you believe is most likely to happen?
Go back to Step 1 and 2 to validate, check, and redefine these.
Step 5 - Simple Plan for Each
What would you do if they did happen?
Are new skills required?
Create new or updated model of the future vision.
Is it a new business or a new way of doing things?
Step 6 - Action
Review and Refine as you go
Try a first step of learning, research,
discovery, skill building...
Take some action towards one of the directions that you have
identified.
Step 7 - Repeat and Review
I have done this exercise with businesses, teams and individuals
(and for
myself). Sometimes the results seem obvious and at other times a new
insight
is gained or validation occurs. This exercise can be done in 20
minutes, a
week, or it can be put to use for several hours every few months.
Doing this
exercise causes you to spend time speculating about future
possibilities. It
can make you more comfortable, aware, and prepared for possible
outcomes.
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4. Shared Learning International: Partners
Learning's
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My first partners
meeting was in July with Shared Learning International
which introduced me to a group of diverse and interesting folks, all
having
something to say. Shared Learning International brings consultants
together
to form a loosely connected group of informal relationships. The
people who
are part of the group are called "partners".
The intent of the day long meeting was to build relationships for the
purpose
of exploring possibilities, for learning and for business
opportunities. The
agenda was intentionally nonexistent and it flowed following its own
path.
A belief of the group is that self-directed teams will follow the path
that
presents itself. It is similar to a river. The river follows a path
and
knows many ways to adapt as it encounters obstacles (in our case,
situations). It must flow due to natural forces and parts of the river
are
fast and dangerous. Other parts are slow and beautiful. It exerts
different
amounts of energy at different places to go forward.
As an avid planner and organizer, I quickly had to let go of my need
to see a
predefined agenda and structure to the day. So, I did and, amazingly
enough,
what emerged was satisfying to me. The group called it "appetizers for
continued conversations." When questioned about the lack of agenda,
one
partner drew on the board:
A self-directed team has:
Relationships
Shared Identify
Shared Information
From that will emerge:
Pattern
Structures
Processes
The next time your team (or a project) is struggling, check to see if
all the
elements of a self-directed team are present with all the members. To
learn
more read, "Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a
Chaotic
World", by Margaret J. Wheatley (Berrett-Koehler, January 2001).
The "appetizers" touched on some of these topics: Virtual Teams,
Executive
Coaching, High Performance Teams, Employee Developmental Gauge for
Organizational Effectiveness.
For more information on the partners, their areas of expertise, and
the
appetizers, go to: www.sharedlearningint.com
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5. Links
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Complete
and Comprehensive Weather -
http://www.weatherunderground.com
This is now my source for local weather. It has replaced the weather
channel
and "other" weather sources I used. Just type in your zip code and
get all
you ever needed to know and more. I like the rolling radar and the
allergy
reports. Thanks to Maura McCarthy for this site. Maura is the local
Billerica Webb Brook personal weather station.
A Starting Point - www.boston.com
Many people mentioned this site for different reasons. It's a great
starting
point for local information. When I worked in Cambridge, I used it for
live
traffic reports. Other uses are for entertainment information,
on-line
Boston Globe and the classified. Under the real estate section you
can check
out the recent house sale prices in your area.
Parenting Site -
www.parentsplace.com
This is a community where parents can connect, communicate and
celebrate the
adventures of parenting. It's very comprehensive and it has a
relationship to
www.ivillage.com and it
seems geared towards the younger kids set.
Buying and Selling - www.ebay.com
Everyone's heard of this! What has amazed me is that there is a
general
acceptance to use it. I've talked to sellers in which ebay is counted
as
part of their income.
There is a lot to the transactions, of what and how to sell and buy.
It's a
complex sub-world, with tricks and hints, almost a cottage-like
business.
One person scours flea markets and the Want Advertiser for "ebay"
material.
A close relative, will getup at all hours to make sure she has the
winning
bid, even if just by 25 cents, on items she collects! Next time you
have a
buying need for something unusual, try it. You might get hooked.
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6. Summer Places to Visit
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Boating without a
Motor - Nashoba Paddlers in Groton, Route 225
I bought a kayak last year and have started to explore the local
waterways.
The Nashoba Paddlers in Groton is a great place for beginners. Go
alone, or
go with a friend, to kayak or canoe on the easy-to-navigate,
nature-abounding
Nashua River. You can bring your own kayak or canoe or rent one. You
can
get instructions, or take a tour. For details call: 978-448-8699
Life size Maze -
http://www.davisfarmland.com/megamaze/megamaze.htm
This is fun! Get lost and learn to be comfortable with not knowing
where you
are. It is a life size maze and game, with over 3 miles of pathways.
It
just opened for the season. It opens towards the end of July when
the corn
is tall enough! This is not just for kids. The average time to be
lost is
about 1 hour. There are maze masters overseeing the maze to ensure
nobody is
permanently lost. It's in Sterling, right across from the Davis
Farmland.
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7. Coaching Notes Questions and Answers
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What is a
professional coaching?
Coaching is a powerful relationship for individuals and/or teams to
make
changes for success.
What types of coaches are there?
Coaching is a relatively new profession. The Coaches Federation
International (CFI) estimates there are about 20,000 professional
coaches
worldwide. CFI is the international organization with the role of
ensuring
that all coaches adhere to educational and ethical standards.
There are many types of coaching specialties: consulting, executive,
career,
executive, personal, spiritual and others. Sports' coaching is not
included
in this number.
How do coaches get trained?
Some coaching skills and knowledge come very naturally to some people
and
they have been using them all their lives. Certain skills, knowledge,
tools
and experiences must be taught and practiced to be effective.
There are many schools that teach coaching. I researched eight
coaching
schools before I chose the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). The
Coaches
Federation International recognizes the Coaches Training Institute as
one of
the schools that trains and certifies coaches. CTI teaches a model of
coaching called Co-Active Coaching.
I have been a coach and leader for much of my life on an informal
basis and I
started a training program over a year ago and am now a professional
coach.
What is co-active coaching?
The main criteria for a co-active coach is simple: one must be
fascinated by
human potential, inspired by individuals, and unwaveringly committed
to
holding others as grand and capable. The four cornerstones of it are:
#1 The client is naturally creative, resourceful and whole
#2 The client's whole life is addressed
#3 The agenda is the client's, with the coach guiding the client
toward
fulfillment and balance
#4 The relationship has the power and is custom tailored between the
client
and coach.
To learn more about Co-Active coaching read: "Co-Active Coaching:, New
Skills
for Coaching People Towards Success in Work and Life", by Whitworth,
House,
Sandahl, and Kimsey-House (Davis-Black, December 1998).
Where can I go to get more information about coaching?
There is a question and answer section at the link provided by the
Coaches
Federation:
http://www.coachfederation.org/67faq.htm
The following link has information on Executive coaching:
http://www.coachfederation.org/exec-coaching-summit.htm
What type of coaching do you do?
I use the co-active coaching model in combination with my experience
and
resources in software, project management and hi-tech based on the
needs of
the client. I use a four-step process called the Ideas to Implemented
which
guides individuals and teams to results. A future newsletter will
describe
the Ideas to Implemented process. If you want information earlier,
send me
email. I have a one-page summary of it.
I offer free coaching samples and provide a referral fee. I currently
have
openings for three coaching clients.
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8. NEWSLETTER NOTES
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Elements
August 2001
Written by: Star Dargin
Edited by: Ruth Gleba, gleba@aol.com
Advertising will be accepted.
Contact Star for rates at:
stars@stardar.com
Personal submissions will only be published with permission from the
submitter, who is responsible for ensuring rights to the material.
Based on
your preference, submissions can be published anonymously.
Elements will be published 12 times a year.
The deadline for the next issue is August 31, 2001
To subscribe or unsubscribe send email to
stars@stardar.com
The opinions expressed in Elements are the author's viewpoint. While
every
effort has been taken to verify the accuracy of the content, such
information
is subject to change without notice. Elements is not responsible for
inadvertent errors.
Star Dargin
34 Robinson Road, Littleton, MA 01460
978 486-4603
Star Dargin is an independent coach, consultant and trainer and is a
partner
of Shared Learning International: http://www.sharedlearningint.com
As a professional coach she collaborates with individuals and teams to
provide focus and balance in achieving personalized results. As a
consultant,
she specialized in bringing software methodologies and project
management to
life for business, teams and individuals.
*
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