Reflections of a Path

Reflections on my journey in the Effective Coaching Path remind me of the experiences of Dorothy in the story of the ‘Wonderful Wizard of OZ’. Looking back and noting my lessons learned, has been an ongoing pursuit for me, as I worked my way through the preparation, the speeches, the feedback, the improvements and the completion of tasks in Base Camp. I am not sure that I have followed the ‘yellow brick road’ exactly as recommended; however I am positive that I have owned the process and learned how to reach my personal goal!

These are my lessons learned!

Lesson 1: Plan Your Path Smartly!

Just like the scarecrow in Dorothy’s journey, I learned that I already had a brain and I just had to think differently. I learned to plan my speeches according to one of the main objectives of the Effective Coaching Path – contribute to the development of others by coaching using effective interpersonal communication.

My journey needed guidance, something or someone, to enable me to plan for my projects in advance and keep me on the Path I had chosen.

I selected a simple tool for forward planning and tracking my achievements – a spreadsheet – my Path Planner. I also selected one or two mentors who would help me when I needed advice or to see what lay ahead of me – Pathways Champions who had the experience and knowledge.

I considered the clubs for whom I could present these speeches and projects over the next two months and approached each club with a request for a speech; – more or less following the project requirements in sequence. I needed to be flexible and to be considerate of the audiences in each club and the time available on their agendas, to match the purpose of my speech. I needed to maintain continuity and consistency!

Lesson 2: Select Electives Courageously!

Just like the cowardly lion who was encouraged by Dorothy to join her in the journey to the Emerald City and ask the Wizard for help; I was seeking courage.

Some of the projects in the higher levels of my Path, appeared daunting and challenging at first.  I was unsure of my ability to complete!

They looked very shiny and enticing sitting on the shelf of my Electives library in Base Camp. But once I had opened each curriculum and understood what I had to do, my courage grew. My own small inner voice reminded me to reflect on what I had achieved in the lower level projects and build on that – ‘try again tomorrow’.

I considered the Electives at a deeper level, and chose those that would complement my stories, my networking and help achieve the vision of improvement through positive coaching.

Connect with Storytelling – practice using a story within a speech or giving a speech that is a story. This is how my ongoing story of the Voyage of the Pathways Guide was created.

Write a Compelling Blog – post a minimum of eight blog posts in one month to increase the readership of my blog and entice more followers. This is where my ongoing story of the Voyage of the Pathways developed, and continued for 12 chapters.

Using Descriptive Language – adding colourful language to emphasize interest and impact. My literary research into Fantasy Fiction gave me a new way of telling a story in a speech. This is how my Thursday Next series of speeches were created with more flair and panache.

Make Connections through Networking – develop and practice a personal strategy for building connections through networking. (Note: this one is on the plan for the second Path Strategic Relationships, but one that has importance for me to build in to my Effective Coaching.)

Moderate a Panel Discussion – plan and moderate a 20 – 40 minute panel discussion. This project was most enjoyable and provided lots of lessons along the way. This was where I could focus on contributing to the development of others by coaching using effective interpersonal communication. Yes, it did stretch my communication skills and polished my facilitation skills.
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNjaSX7hFp0

Lesson 3: Complete Your Path with Passion!

The most important lesson of all is the passion you bring to the learning journey – from the heart!

For me the journey into a Path in Base Camp was a long awaited adventure, one that I really wanted to do. The anticipation of the rollout of Pathways in my District was the ‘driving force‘ behind that passion. The support that I received along my Path from a vast network of Pathways Champions gave me the ‘fuel’ to last the distance.

My role as a Pathways Guide was to contribute to the development of others – I took that on with a passion! I tracked my own progress and showed others what I had discovered along the way. This enabled me to build a series of resources that will go on to help yet more ‘pathways treaders‘ to achieve success.

My heart was in every project from the first Icebreaker to the High Performance Leadership project.

This is not the end of the Effective Coaching Path for me, yet! The HPL is ongoing for a few more months. However I wanted to ensure that I reflected on my journey here and now.

Reflections are the foundation for embedding your learning in your brain and heart, and provide the courage and conviction to move forward in your personal learning journey!