What A Great Coaching Lesson
I recently visited Arizona to visit my friend and business partner Ron. One of his suggestions was to hike Pinnacle Peak which took about two hours. The peak had many trails that were steep going up and down, thus challenging anyone's stamina. I was really feeling it as the climbs at times were steep and really challenged me aerobically. As my legs weakened I thought "why the hell was there not a sign at the foot of the trail "Warning: Fat People from Wisconsin Should Not Attempt This"?
My partner suggested I could wait at half way point and he could bring car around. I thought would I let a client stop half-way? No Way! I pushed forward periodically stopping but mentally telling myself "You can do this". One factor that kept discouraging me as I look at Ron ahead of me I kept praying he would start to sweat because we looked like before and after models. As we entered the last mile we met a woman who said the first time she did the peak she was exhausted and red in the face but she assured me not as red as I was. I actually started to feel good and push myself a little to get done.
So why is this a great lesson? I kept taking short walks and stopping to gather myself and then proceed forward. Isn't this what learning and coaching is all about? Its not about getting it all done at once, rather pacing yourself and not expecting too much too soon of ourselves and our people. This does not detract from the fact we need to push forward. I learned about myself as I know I need to lose weight but my focus and commitment to pacing myself worked. So will coaching our employees as well as investing in ourselves from a learning perspective.
I sincerely hope this helps and if you are from Arizona could someone call the Arizona Parks and get that sign put up for Wisconsin People!
Free Whitepaper on Creating a Coaching Culture:
