How Coaching Skills Will Transform Education and Training in Record Time

There’s a lot of good education and training out there. No doubt! Devoted teachers. Amazing schools. Smart people. Sooooooo… Does education really need to take that long? Be that ineffective for all we invest in time and money?

How Coaching Can Change That

The recent rise of modern day life coaching, career coaching, leadership and even financial coaching will transform the education and training world in the very near future. It will make it take MUCH less time and produce MUCH better results.

Let me share just why.

Personally, I’ve experienced both traditional education and coaching from both sides of the table. I’ve logged 20 years of traditional education in top schools including an Ivy League degree and a 4- year Masters degree. I’ve preached hundred of traditional sermons (lectures) and taught many classes and seminars. AND… the results I’ve seen from hundreds of thousands of those hours in me and through me pale in comparison to the kinds of real growth, learning and empowerment that come from coaching as a way of equipping and educating young people, entrepreneurs, leaders, inventors, advisors, salespeople and even as a way to create spiritually alive individuals.

WHY WOULD THAT BE?

I believe it relates to what Daniel Coyle describes in his groundbreaking book, The Talent Code, Unlocking the Secret of Skill in Sports, Art, Music, Math And Just About Anything. In his fascinating book, Coyle delves into the mystery of why certain places become talent beds that far surpass other places in the world. Brazil in soccer. A one court tennis club in Russia. A small music school in the Adirondacks. His finding; the use of “deep practice” makes all the difference for fast growth and results. It’s intentionally creating the opportunity to solve problems in real time. Another way to phrase it is to create “laboratories of improvisation.” Most education and training applies very little “deep practice.” Very little opportunities to practice, improvise and make mistakes. “Deep practice" is where we focus on learning certain skills and actively repeat things over and over, even while making mistakes. Actually, especially while making mistakes. As Coyle has discovered, the opportunity to make mistakes is what makes progress happen at lightning speed. The lack of “deep practice” is why most of us in a bind if we were in the middle of a flight over water, the pilot were to say, “We have an emergency. Please put on and inflate your life vests.” We’d panic! No matter how many times we’ve heard, ‘Place the vest over your head. Fasten the buckle around your chest. Pull on the red tabs to inflate….” we’ve never done it! “How do I buckle this?! What are these red tabs?!” But… what if before the flight we were to practice putting on that vest? Even just once? OR… how many times are we introduced to people who tell us their name. Seconds later, we can’t remember their name! Why? We haven't practiced! We haven’t repeated their name and lodged it into our consciousness! And this is why so many “good schools” and training turn out mediocrity. AND why coaching skills bring something that can transform lives and produce skills in leaders, lovers, and creators in days or weeks! Our brains are not recording devices. But when we practice by

• thinking through scenarios

• overcoming challenges

• making mistakes

• having to share your “aha’s”

• going through sales scenarios

We grow! We get better… quickly! Even though I’ve invested tens of thousands of dollars in my own coaching, it’s still just a tiny fraction of what I paid for traditional education. Yet what I’ve quickly learned in my own leadership and growth has been beyond amazing.

And as I coach, I now employ deep practice… to unleash greatness.

• Having a client who’s a public speaker give her talk to me before she shares it with the audience. Do you think she’s MUCH more prepared to speak?

• Having other clients do a “mock interview” and reheard with me before going to her “big interview.” And though she’s nervous at first, she’s MUCH more prepared.

• Having a leader in network marketing rehearse his vision to our coaching MasterMind group and get feedback on how he handles objections and "pushback."

No, most schools and training groups aren’t beating down our doors to learn coaching skills to create greatness in record time…. YET. But, the wise ones will. And more and more wise educators will get coaching and learn to coach in order to be able to create amazing teaching…in record time!