Cathy Liska (from Coaching Perspectives V –5 of 11)
Fast-forward to the working world of Brendan and Kevin. They both work at a car dealership. Brendan is in car sales and he does well. He is a persuasive and has a talent for closing tough deals. Kevin handles the financing for customers. Brendan had fun for a while and then lost interest because the work seemed repetitive. Kevin found there were limitations on financing options for customers.
The sales manager, to motivate Brendan, said things like, “Keep going man, you should try and get back on track! Go sell another one!” Brendan thought to himself, “Yeah, I guess I should try… oh well, I sell enough.”
Customers told Kevin, “Thanks for your help.” Kevin felt good about helping and shared with his manager, “I really want to help people.” Kevin asked, “Will you support me in researching resources I can refer people to as an alternative when I can’t help them?” His manager said “Absolutely. Run what you come up with past me first.” Kevin went on to say, “I want to streamline the process.” His manager said, “If you can figure out a more efficient way to do it I will recommend a bonus for you!”
Brendan continued with decent sales numbers, enough to get him by on his earnings and maintain his position. His job was just a job. Kevin found ways to improve the process. He also found options for helping customers qualify to buy a car. Kevin built a reputation for helping people and earned more customers for the dealership.
Coaching Notes
Ask clients for possibilities. Ask questions in a way that invites clients to express their possibilities confidently, believe in their opportunities, and confidently commit to their goals. Model confident language and ask questions so that clients list possibilities with positive, confident words. Confidence is a way of thinking. Confident thinking is the foundation on which positivity effectively builds success. When clients think confidently and positively they are confident, happy, and achieve more.
Hints for Your Research: Research on confidence and positivity is available in Psyco-Cybernetics and The Benefits of Frequent Positive Affect. Confident thinking is based on confident language which supports healthy self-esteem.
