The Coaching Toys Blog

Coaching Toys ICF/Holiday Sale Nov 30-Dec 6

Since we won't be at the ICF conference this year we are having a virtual booth and holiday sale starting today (Cyber Monday) and running through the ICF conference next weekend.

You can't have a Coaching Toys booth without Blinky Lights (our traditional  conference give-away) so every purchase gets a free blinky AND  a free book on Sacred Healing AND gets entered into a big grand prize drawing; a $50 gift certificate and 1 month of coaching from the founder of Coaching Toys, Marcy Nelson-Garrison.

Once you get to the sale and see all the great deals this year - you will be a happy shopper. You will get better deals than if we were at the conference and you don't have to worry about fitting it into your luggage.

Some of our most popular items are on sale and you will find free shipping (US and Canada only) on select items. Big savings on coaching tools like the Relationship Coaching Home Study Course, Essential Edge Self-Guided Coaching Workbook, Career-3 pack and on fun things like Thought Spots and Unfolding Your Life Vision Kit.

It's really the best sale we have ever had - it supports the coaches and counselors and trainers who create these cool products and it's a way to give gifts with heart and meaning.

The Coaching Toys annual sale starts today!

Roller Derby, Sky Diving & Skinny Dipping - Getting out of the box

When was the last time you challenged a client or yourself to really step outside of your comfort zone? Not just a tiny stretch but a really big, out of the box leap - something you have never done before, something that scares the bejebees out of you?

A recent Oprah show did when they led a group of women whose confidence had been under seige on an out of the box journey. The women participated in three daring activities: skating in a roller derby (fishnet stockings included), sky diving (attached to a trainer) and skinny dipping in the ocean (with Oprah's camera team shooting). check out the YouTube clip

What was truly exciting was the impact taking these risks had on the women. It was visible and even profound for some of them. Without a doubt, each woman felt more confident and powerful. Each woman was given a charm bracelet with a charm to remind them of each risk/stretch/leap they participated in.

What big out of the box leap is on the horizon for you?

I would love to hear about your of the box leaps (or your clients). What did you do and what was the impact?

Coaching "Toys" the good, the bad and the ugly

Did you know there is a 'coaching beat' reporter? His name is Mark Joyella and he has been hired by Coaching Commons to cover all things coaching.

  Mark Joyella recently interviewed me and wanted the scoop on coaching "toys" - the good the bad and the ugly. We talked for quite awhile and he took a few snippets of conversation and made a very fun and quirky little video. Check it out here

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the subject!

Orbiting The Giant To Do List

Are you orbiting a giant to do list and having trouble getting anything done? This happens to me when I get too many projects going at once - I think it's the bane of a creative person.

When this happens I return to a simple bit of time management advice I got many years ago;  choose the ONE thing that will move your project or your business forward and make sure you do it. It's so much easier to actually accomplish the ONE thing as opposed to a whole list of action steps and when done on a daily basis your most important goals are reached.

Because I have multiple projects going at once, I've expanded this bit of advice to help me identify the ONE THING per project and I've turned it into a visual worksheet. The worksheet helps you list a few key action steps and then narrow in on the ONE thing. You can even color in the worksheet  - use colored markers and  basically bring a little fun to the process - and on top of that coloring is great for reducing stress.

You can download the worksheet here; It's the Chunk It Down Worksheet  ENJOY!

How many items on your to do list right now will actually move forward an important project or grow your business? What is the ONE thing you can to today?

Metaphors - the possibilities are endless

Metaphors are a great way to engage groups or individuals in a reflective process. Whether used as an introductory icebreaker or for debriefing an activity, metaphors can take the conversation in new directions, add fun and very often create a deeper connection to the learning. Having images, words or objects on hand as prompts can make it really easy. Here's where it gets fun - prompts for metaphors are everywhere.

Here are a few ideas for your tool box

1. Look in your kitchen cabinet and pull out your spices.
You don't have to take the actual spice jars to your event, although you could.  Get pictures of them or create a set of spice index cards - one spice per card; pepper, salt, garlic, parsley, paprika, sage etc.

Sample instructions to participants;
Choose a spice represents a strength you bring to your work.
Choose a spice that represents something you would like to add to your marketing plan

Once each person chooses the conversation unfolds as they describe the meaning of their chosen spice.

2. Find pictures in magazines of common objects that show up in a broad variety of styles. It doesn't matter if it's chairs or shoes or cars or flowers, collect as many as possible with as broad a range as possible. Use them with icebreaker kinds of questions, or reflective debriefing questions. 

Sample questions
Choose the shoe that reflects something unique about you.
Pick a chair that represents your experience of the exercise.

3. There are lots of great places to look - your kids toy box might be a fun option. You can also buy ready made tools that act as metaphor prompts to elicit responses. Card deck types of products can often work well

Want to play?  Which chair best reflects your intention for today?

Share your thoughts and your favorite metaphor prompts.

Mind-Mapping Resource

Mind-mapping is such a great way to work with ideas it is becoming mainstream. Most mind-mapping programs are software downloads. I have so much stuff already on my computer I didn't want to download another program so I went in search of an alternative and found one - Mindmeister.com

Mindmeister is completely web based and offers lots of bells and whistles depending on the package you get. You can share your mind-maps with colleagues, do real-time collaboration and create brainstorming maps together and even publish your maps for the world to see. Oh, and yes, there is a free version that allows a limited number of mind-maps. Worth checking out!

If you have a mind-mapping program you love, I'd love to hear about it

A Story of Integrity

A client of mine, Sally (not her real name) was recently at her wits end. She was a middle aged graduate student and in desperate need of a job. She had been looking for months and with the difficult economy kept running into dead ends.  Needless to say her normally cheerful, positive attitude was taking a hit and her house was going into foreclosure.  Despite the desperation that was beginning to set in, she persevered. She kept interviewing and putting the word out to every contact she had. Her family members were doing the same on her behalf.

 

Finally she got a break! A friend of a family member got her an interview at a local high end restaurant – in fact the best restaurant in her city. Sally had experience in the food industry, made a good impression and got the job as hostess. You would think that would be the happy ending of the story, right – persistence rewarded... but it isn’t.

 

She came home from her first night of work, sat down and cried. She said the customer service was horrible and the staff was rude to each other and to the patrons of the restaurant. Sally felt that the atmosphere was so negative and toxic she could not possibly continue to work there, it went against everything she believed in. She called the owner the next day and resigned. When asked why, she courageously told the truth. The owner asked her to please to come in and at least have a conversation about it – she agreed.

 

In the conversation with the owner, Sally had the opportunity to be specific about what she saw and experienced. She described the chaos, disrespect and poor customer service. Sally was completely honest with him about what would need to change for her to work there.  As it turns out, the owner knew he had a problem and didn’t know how to fix it. In Sally he saw an answer to his problem. He offered Sally a job as guest services manager. She would answer directly to him and had full authority to make policy changes related to customer service as well as hire, fire and train staff.

 

Sally accepted and since taking that position the work environment at the restaurant has changed dramatically. There has been a turnover in staff, the owner gets a flood of letters raving about the great customer service and Sally has gotten two raises in as many months. Sally is ecstatic, her positive energy permeates the restaurant and she is learning tons about the business from the owner – a definite plus for the MBA she is working on.  

 

In spite of her truly desperate need for a job, Sally stuck with her values, courageously told the truth and her integrity was rewarded in a very big way. An awesome story wouldn’t you say. Sally is someone we can all learn from. What values would you take a stand on?

Workshop Ideas

I get calls all the time from coaches and counselors asking which creative tools would work best for a workshop they are creating. While it often depends on the market you are targeting and the topic at hand, there are two card decks that I refer people to alot because they are so adaptable to any setting.

The first is a deck called One Hat At A Time Momentum Cards. This is my all time favorite tool for perspective shifting, ice breaking and personal exploration in a group setting. The deck is comprised of whimsical images of hats; a miners hat, a jesters hat, a chef’s hat, you get the idea. Here is an example of just one way to use the deck. As facilitator, choose 4 different hats - put one in each corner of the room. Ask participants to go stand in the corner with the hat that most reflects how they see themselves relative to whatever topic you are discussing. Encourage discussion between participants gathered around the same hat. Next have them go to the hat that is most uncomfortable for them - more discussion. Ask them to explore what would be possible from this hat. You can see the coaching possibilities. There is also an excellent group facilitation guide available and it’s downloadable.

 

 The second most recommended deck is called Chiji Processing Cards. This is a deck of cards with simple graphic images on them which can help participants use metaphor. What workshop couldn’t be enlivened by a bit of metaphor – it’s a great way to open up expression and understanding. It’s a great tool to use for introductions. For example ask workshop participants to choose a card that reflects their intention for the workshop or that reflects something about them that is not readily apparent.. The images are also useful to process a group experience or exercise – have participants to choose an image that reflects their reaction to something or their experience in an exercise. Images tend to get past the language centers more easily and open up greater depth in the processing.

Remembering your own intentions

Do you ever set an intention and then conveniently forget it? Maybe the next day around noon you think – oh yah, I was going to only look at email only twice a day or I was going to drink 8 glasses of water today.  New habits, shifts in thinking or behavior take focus and frankly – reminding, to break the default grove. There are a lot of fun ways to remind yourself; wear a wrist band with a message, put up post it notes, add a reminder to your screen saver.  If you are like me – any given structure lasts about 2-3 weeks and then I don’t notice it any more – I’m always on the lookout for new ways to remind and inspire myself.

 Here is a brand new way that is fun and colorful – it’s a product called Thought Spots. These 'spots' are made out of that clinging vinyl material so you can use them over and over and they stick on glass, metal, plastic – any shiny surface.

The messages come in themed thought packs like self love and acceptance and motivation. Imagine having a message on our computer or white board that says “I am enough” or “live with passion” or “try something that scares you”

It’s a great concept and it’s now available in the Coaching Toys Store. 

 

Creative Brainstorming – Are you doing it right?

Dave Dufour –  the creative genius behind the very cool idea generation tool called watizit  has just started a creativity and innovation podcast series called Creative License. One of his first topics is on creative brainstorming and the most common pitfall to a good session.

We all think we know how to brainstorm, right, but how well do we really keep the critic out of the brainstorming room? You know, the voice of “reason” that says yes, but; we don’t have the budget for it, it won’t work, that’s a dumb idea, yada yada yada.  The truth is in a free flowing permission filled  brainstorming session, not all of the ideas will be great, not all of the ideas will work and it’s OK - really! The goal is simply to generate as many ideas as possible and let ideas bounce off each other. You have no way of knowing which seemingly bad idea will trigger a flash of brilliance – An effective brainstorming session needs the good, the bad and the ugly in order to land on the great!

This is true in a group and when working alone! Get the critical part of your brain out of the room, out of your head. Let your mantra be permission, permission, permission and PLAY.  Plenty of time for those valued critical skills to step in LATER.