Day One - ICF Converge 2021, Tuesday 26th October

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ICF Converge is a fully online event this time. I must admit I had mixed emotions about it. On the one hand, given that I work online most of the time, I am fully aware of how good it can be. The online format ensures us that we gather coaches from all over the world even though the pandemic still haunts us. On the other hand, an online conference makes it more difficult to spontaneously mingle while walking between sessions, lining up for a cup of tea or going for a walk in the surroundings.

But as it turns out I, ended up truly happy that it is online. Caught by a persistent autumn flu, the online format is the only way that allows me to be here. Phu! Don’t even want to think that I could have missed it due to sneezing, fever, and a sore throat. Nonetheless, here I am now, spiking from my cup of tea with honey and ginger, happily taking in new thoughts and meeting old and new friends.

To boost my own learning I summarize my reflections at the end of the day and for those of you who did not have the opportunity to attend or are simply curious about what coaches talk about when we dive into our development sphere, I’ll share it in my blog.

Feel free to follow here or on social media during the week and do remember – this is my choice of presentations from a parallel section of four themes, and my short take-aways as of today. I am afraid I will neither do the full event, nor the full presentations justice. Please consider this as simply a taste of a vibrant event.

Coaching & Change Management – Why we shouldn’t try to wear both hats at the same time

I kicked off Converge with a presentation on how coaches and change managers complement each other in supporting organisations through implementing a major change. ICF Global and The Association of Change Management Professionals discussed a shared study that they conducted.

It was inspiring to see how two organisations gather dedicated professionals through cross research to enhance our understanding of these two competencies.

To simplify their findings, one could say that the change managers work with the what and the how of change, while the coach works with the who, of the change (the people involved). Combine these two perspectives and you get a strong team for the times when you aspire to create organisational changes.

Often we see that coaches are called in during the final stages, when the change is formed, implemented, and not taking off. What the shared study shows is that adding coaching in the early to support in defining the changed wanted, identifying the goals and success criteria, assess the impact of the potential change, assess culture readiness, and formulate strategies is way more powerful.  

Actually, coaches and change managers working together on a change process in an organisation increases the success rate with 78 %. That is an impressive rate of investment and a number that makes me think I should be looking up the change managers around me to see how we can offer our services as a team. *smiling*

Graphic by Lauren Green at Dancing with Markers

Trust – Why we give it and how we earn it

As we all came together for our opening keynote, Rachel Botsman challenged us to rethink trust in through clear language, models, and stories. Most of us base our trust on a gut feeling. But guided by Rachel’s models we can get a grip on how to combine gut wisdom with intellectual wisdom. Failing to do so can often get us mislead by the symbols we have learned to associate with trust and may miss the signals that otherwise would have raised questions.

What are the real trust issues? The core that decides whether we give our trust or earn it from others? Rachel defines it as two categories with two components each:

To earn trust, adopting one trait in particular can be helpful: confident humility. That is the ability to own up to what we know and also to what we don’t know, with confidence. Being able to say “I don’t know,” without the need to cover up or feeling like we are losing ground will open us up to more honest relationships.

It is ok to not know. The question is what do you choose to do with it? Your choices are to hide this truth or face it. And this choice will be seen and have an impact on the trust you gain. As Rachel was speaking of this, an interesting discussion emerged in the live chat. Is this true in all cultures or is it culture specific? Some pointed out that there are cultures which are not as accepting of being wrong as others. In this case would it still earn a leader trust as they say “I don’t know, let me explore it,” or would it cost them trust?

Oh my!, how I missed the chatting in the hallway after that session. I would have loved to hear the thoughts of coaches from different cultures on that since it connects so closely to one of the components of leadership for innovation we are finding at Centre for Leadership in Småland; we call it celebrating failure. Basically introducing and withholding a culture of failure as a welcomed part of the journey, proof that we are moving outside the already known territory and experimenting with what we are still learning.

Wrap-up

Day 1 was then rounded off by an award ceremony recognizing organisations and coaches who have had a powerful impact on the development of coaching in their context. This year, The Prism Awards for both 2020 and 2021 were announced since last year it was withheld due to the pandemic:

Prism award winner of 2020, International Trade Administration

Prism award winner of 2022, TD bank group North America Contact Center

By implementing coaching programs these two organisations have noticeably increased not only their employees’ satisfaction, but also their results. In fact the 2020’s winner has counted in 225% return on investment on their coaching program. A pretty good payoff, I would say.

The honourable Circle of Distinctions collects coaches who have set a mark in the coaching community through years of dedicated work. This yea, the Circle was expanded by two dedicated coaches: Svetlana Chumakova MCC, who brought coaching to Russia and Marilyn O’Hearne MCC, from USA, who has contributed to the development of our industry in several capacities.

The 2021 ICF Young Leader Awards went to:

Joanna Alvarado, PCC from Costa Rica
Ester Landa, MCC from Russia (now living in USA)
Tomas Pesek, ACC from Slovakia
Lenka Zelingrova, PCC from Czech Republic

Congratulations to these inspiring role models!

Now it is time for me to finish my cup of tea and go to bed. I am fine with shifting to US time for a couple of days, but I am not able to convince my animals to do the same and so tomorrow is an early Swedish time rise as usual. I guess this week is a good week for taking daytime naps to stay energized for the next chunk of Converge learning and inspiration.

See you tomorrow!

- Lena

I’m not sure if I want to return to the office, but my manager says I must. What do I do? - by guest author Silviu Costea

This blog post is by guest blog author Silviu Costea

With a ramped up vaccine rollout, Europe appears to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The pandemic’s end is in sight, and some sigh with relief. But not everyone. Most companies are eager to bring employees back into offices as infection rates drop. But not all employees share their companies’ enthusiasm. In fact, some employees are more than reluctant to return to the office buildings. Some 30% of workers would go as far as changing jobs if forced to return an office permanently. These employees appreciate the flexibility, lack of commute, and other benefits associated with working from home.

Employees and employers will have to work together to find a win-win solution. Here are some ideas to support you if you are an employee and you can see a challenge coming.

My manager says I need to return to the office, but I don’t want that. What do I do?

What you need to know right off the bat is that communication it key. But before you can communicate your needs, you first need to know what those needs are.

1. Think about what the ideal scenario looks like to you. And then think about what an acceptable scenario would be. It is important for you to have a clear understanding of your own wishes and needs. You can write down lists with pros and cons of working from home and working from the office. Then you can weigh those lists against each other and figure out what you are willing to sacrifice, and what your non-negotiables are. Starting from there you can imagine your ideal situation: how would you like your work-day to look like, where and how would you be working and why is that important to you? Then you could imagine an acceptable scenario: what would you still be okay with, if your employer asked you to give up some elements from the ideal scenario?

It is important to have healthy conversations between employees and managers. Photo by Christina on Unsplash

2. Now, having a clear vision of what is important to you, you can more easily have a conversation about this with your manager. Talk to your supervisors about what your concerns and wishes are. Do not be afraid to bring this up even if your manager has not invited you for a conversation around this topic. Sometimes we tend to assume that others think and feel the same way that we do. And when caught in a whirlwind of emails and policies, managers might overlook consulting their employees about the changes that occur. So be brave and ask your manager to have a conversation with you about returning to the office.

3. Focus on working together with your team and manager, not against them. You are all in this together, and most people are trying to achieve the best outcome for everyone involved. However, when a lot of interests must be met (your interest, your colleagues’, your manager’s, your company’s), things can become complicated. However, adopting an open and inquisitive attitude can help you go a long way. Ask questions to those around you and try to understand their goals, wishes, and needs. For example, some employers do not necessarily want their employees to be in the office. What some employers really want is the certainty that their employees are engaged and focused. Therefore, in this case you could shift the discussion from “working from home vs in the office” to “how can I show you that I am engaged and focused while working from home?” Ask questions, listen to the answers, and guide the conversation towards that win-win solution.

Want to read more about the future of work? Check out this article: “Where will your staff be working a year from now?“

Silviu Costea

Silviu is a social psychologist in formation, completing his master’s degree from Utrecht University in The Netherlands. Using the insights he gained and the skills he developed through his social and organizational psychology education, he is dedicated to helping individuals, teams, and companies succeed.

How to give your worklife an energy boost? – by guest author Silviu Costea

This blog post is by guest blog author Silviu Costea

One result from our survey from earlier this spring was that many people feel stressed, fatigued, or overcome by anxiety. Although insightful, this finding was not entirely surprising. A surge in mental health struggles as a result of the pandemic can be seen throughout the world. For example, in the US, the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms rose from 1 in 10 before the pandemic to 4 in 10 nowadays.

In this article we will share 3 things which you can do to decrease the stress you experience and give your worklife a well-deserved energy boost.

1) Mind your breath

When we are stressed our body enters the fight or flight mode. This means that our heart rate and breathing rhythm increase. This in turn makes our thoughts even harder to control, as now we not only have the thoughts to take care of, but also an out-of-control breathing pattern. One proven way to restore your balance is to use breathing exercises. Taking deep breaths slowly and letting your mind focus on one objects such as an image or a sound will signal your body that you are safe. This will reduce the intensity of the stress response and help you reclaim control. You can read more detailed instructions on the Michigan Medical University website.

2) Check your routines

Routines are a useful tool for reducing stress. At the same time they help us free some mental energy to use for something else other than daily recurrent activities. Having strong routines help both reduce stress levels and build the resilience to take on new challenges in the future. Some helpful tips in successfully creating routines are: starting small, planning ahead, and rewarding yourself for small victories. You can read the detailed steps on the Mental Health America.

3) Open up to others

When we share our challenges with others we might be surprised to find out that they too struggle with the same feelings or thoughts. Studies show that having strong social support networks can make a real difference. Taking the time to talk to a family member or trusted friend about our feelings can not only make us feel less lonely and offer us comfort, but also energize us. It is therefore important to take the time to reach out to others: to receive and offer support. If your close ones are out of reach, nowadays there are a lot of tools which allow you to create new connections and friends. Meetups and Facebook groups focused on a subject you are interested in are usually a good place to start.

We hope that these tips give you the boost you need to stay on top of things. Head to our social media and let us know which tips you used or share with us other things that you are doing that help you reduce stress and stay energized!

Silviu Costea

Silviu is a social psychologist in formation, completing his master’s degree from Utrecht University in The Netherlands. Using the insights he gained and the skills he developed through his education and extracurricular projects, he is dedicated to helping individuals, teams, and companies succeed.

What we learned from you about the pandemic - by guest author Silviu Costea

This blog post is by guest blog author Silviu Costea

A few weeks ago we sent out invitations for a survey looking at people’s experiences with the Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking of which, many thanks to all those who took the time to fill it in! We were curious to hear from as many people as possible about how the pandemic changed their work life, how it challenged them, and how it made them grow. In this short post we would like to share some of the interesting things which we learned about the pandemic from this survey.

But before we begin, there is one caveat to be mentioned. Our survey contains a limited amount of responses, and most of our respondents were based in Sweden. With these being said, although the insights we gained cannot be generalized to the whole Swedish or European population, they are nonetheless valuable. Now let’s take a look at exactly what these insights are.

In the first section of the survey we were curious about the challenges that people faced in their work life due to the COVID-19 crisis. When reading the answers, we saw multiple themes emerging. Most of our respondents, who managed a business or had one of their own, indicated that it has become increasingly challenging to keep clients interested. The second theme that we identified was that of experiencing more pressure than before. We heard that many of people experience more stress, anxiety, and fatigue. And that they see the same in their employees. The third theme was related to working from home. A significant proportion of our respondents found it challenging to structure their work while being stuck at home, as well as compensating for the lack of social interaction.

The second question we were interested in was about the opportunities which emerged in the last year. Here, most of our respondents appreciated the incentive that the pandemic offered them to digitalize their business or work. Similarly, a lot of them were pleased with the decreased travel time, as many meetings moved online. This, paired with working from home, also offered a few of them more free time, which they likewise appreciated. One particularly insightful finding was that a considerable proportion of people felt like they got more new ideas and perspectives, both in their personal and professional life. The pandemic seemed to have taught a lot of us how to think in new ways.

On a similar note, we were also curious about the ways in which people experienced personal growth during this time. Most of those taking the survey answered that they became more digitally skilled. Some of them also took more time to reflect, spent more time with their families, and became more flexible.

Another question that we asked in the survey was about which skills people would like to develop. Here, the main themes were: getting better at managing online meeting platforms, honing one’s digital skills in general, and becoming even more flexible.

Lastly, we wanted to hear about people’s predictions about the future of the work environment in the next 5 years. Here too, multiple similar answers emerged. For example, many of our respondents agreed that remote work is here to stay, at least to a certain degree. Some of them thought that remote meetings will become more common, and the others thought that we will see a mix of online-offline work. Different people hold slightly different views on this topic. This highlights that now is the moment for companies to work out a strategy for where their staff will be working a year from now.

We hope that these results bring everyone closer. It has been quite a journey over the last year. We find it inspiring that so many of us share similar experiences. This allows more room for a community to be built, where we can support each other and help each other make the most out of the challenges that we are faced with. Keep an eye out on our social media, as we are preparing new workshops and programs built around this idea. We want to bring people together (safely, online) and help each other grow.

Silviu Costea

Silviu is a social psychologist in formation, completing his master’s degree from Utrecht University in The Netherlands. Using the insights he gained and the skills he developed through his education and extracurricular projects, he is dedicated to helping individuals, teams, and companies succeed.