This is one of my personal favorite enlightening questions.

"What's at stake?" can take me from not knowing whether or not to move forward to being more sure of a next step. 

I've seen people I have been coaching get complete clarity when they talk out what is at stake if they do, or don't do, whatever it is they are thinking about.

The answer to "What's at stake?" is usually clear to me. It has to do with following the Spirit's guidance in my life. If I feel like God is leading me a certain way then what's at stake is my obedience to Him. Following that prompting, in turn, affects my ability to hear Him the next time He is guiding me.

Sometimes it is hard to know if a prompting is really God, or just us. 

Sometimes we feel compelled, but the circumstances don't line up quite yet.

Whatever your situation, if God is prompting you to consider coach training at this time, say "Yes". 

Here are 5 reasons why it might be time and also what could be at stake.

1- Coach...

Do you really want to help people?

You've heard the old adage, you can give a person a fish and help them for the day or teach them to fish and help them for a lifetime.

In coaching that sounds like, you can give a person your answers or help them learn to discern their own for a lifetime. (And maybe "your" answers aren't what they really need.)

Everyone can use the coaching paradigm!

Here’s 10 reasons why:

10) You don’t have to know everything for everyone.

Leaders who tell others what to do have to know what’s best for every situation and each person in order to be effective. That’s a lot of stuff to know! (And what if you aren’t right?)

9) People love it when you focus on them.

Active listening is the highest form of loving someone. When the focus is on the other person there is a lot less pressure on the coach to solve issues. It is way easier to be curious, trust the Holy Spirit and listen than to have to diagnose and...

Coaching isn't for everyone all the time, but it likely is the most underused tool in the adult learning process.

Let's start with a couple of quick definitions.

Telling is when one person has information the other needs and they pass it on. This is needed when the passer of information has knowledge or experience that is essential for the situation at hand.

Coaching has at least two definitions. The core of the word means to get from one place to another, like a stagecoach. Sports Coaches offer pathways to success by having their team execute a plan. Life Coaching is different. 

Coaching is a conversational tool that empowers adult learning. It facilitates "Aha" moments of self-discovery. It uses questions and conversations to help people move from one place to another. Christian coaching acknowledges the Holy Spirit is always guiding people toward what God has uniquely for them.

Ever wish the people around you would "get it" and move forward.

Ever wish you could...

SMART goals

Everything starts with an idea, but some of the best ideas never grow to become real. Having ideas is a great and important first step. Making quality goals changes outcomes and ultimately transforms lives.

It has been said that if you aren’t sure where you are going you will surely get there (nowhere) or if you fail to aim you aim to fail!

In order to have a step-by-step plan or leading from God you need to have steps. You can always change them as He leads, but having them keeps in in motion. It is always easier to turn a moving ship, car, bike, skateboard... whatever.

To quote American philanthropist Elbert Hubbard, 

"Many people fail in life, not for lack of ability or brains or even courage, but simply because they have never organized their energies around a goal."

Dreams are unrefined hope and cost-free aspirations that we might do someday. Converting a dream to a goal is a decision to take tangible steps to pursue it. Goals are specific future...

Looking for reasons not to make goals. Maybe I can help. If any of these are true for you, maybe it would be best to just stay the course.

#1 – You are right where you want to be in all the areas of your life. Open the 
Wheel of Life Assessment and do the project to be sure you are a 10 in every area.
 (Okay, maybe my reasons are tongue in cheek, but hear me out?)

 #2 – You’ve made goals before, and they didn’t work out.

This one hurts. I’ve been there. You get all pumped up about a dream becoming a reality, but then reality burst syour dream bubble.

Can I propose that making a SMART goal could be the cure for this one? Google it, hire a coach, or get the Traction self-coaching guide to walk you through goals that work for you!

#3 – You prefer to just “see how things go”.

This one could actually be a good reason if you really sense God asking you to let things go. It would probably be best said in...

What's your this?

Each new year is a gift! 

But unlike a gift you receive from someone else, each new year is a gift God gives us and what's inside of it pretty much depends on us! 

What will this year hold for you? 

• Will you finally start that ____________?
• Or finish that ______________?
• Ready to put ___________ behind you?

Traction can walk you through each step you need to take!

Or a good coach can help you define and achieve your goals!

The biggest question is: What is going to make this year different than last year? 

Hundreds of people have used the Coaching Culture practices to move forward themselves as well as learning how to best ask empowering questions, help people make SMART goals and walk them down the Bridges Coaching ROAD to nexts they would not have accomplished! 

Or maybe you aren't even sure what your "this" is? Our Destiny by Design course helps decode the cipher! Your unique...

Want to connect with your family and friends (and even yourself) in a meaningful way this New Year's? These three questions can help!

New Year's is a great time to reflect, connect and project! 

Here's a good place to start! Use these questions on your own, or with your spouse, family, friends, or in your small group!

1) REFLECT What are you most grateful for in the past year?

You can have more than one answer, but take some time and truly consider each month or season and what you have been through. Did you overcome an obstacle, make it through a transition, accomplish a goal, or celebrate a milestone?

Take some time and journal if you are doing this on your own, or take turns sharing if you are with others. Or both!

2) CONNECT What is a word you feel on your heart for the next year?

Spark off a hope you have, use a word picture, or start with an emotion. Sometimes it helps to talk it out or get input from others. Praying for a spark to start off is always a good...

Coaching isn’t for everyone. There are at least three scenarios, or people groups, where coaching would not be a good fit. 

#1) Ignorance or Immaturity

When someone is new to faith or unlearned in their faith walk it could be unkind to ask them questions beyond what they know or to leave them bumbling around when they simply need teaching.

People grow from discipling and teaching. They need help to know what quiet time looks like or how to study the Bible. They need to learn how kingdom ways are upside down from worldly ways. Selflessness does not come naturally to most. 

Yet – even in the midst of these scenarios how a person walks out their response is best found in coaching questions.

What a healthy quiet time looks like is different from one person to the next, even how best to read the Bible has multiple quality options. Relating in right ways to others could mean patience or honest confrontation.

Teaching shares good options. Coaching helps people discern...

You’re a person who wants to give meaningful gifts and we want to help!*

Who's on your list -  Adult Children, Co-Workers, Parents, Grandparents, Pastors, Small Group Leaders?

If you’re like me sometimes it can be hard to find something meaningful to gift. We don’t want to just get something to check someone off our list, we want to give something with real value. 

Here’s the line-up Bridges Coaching offers:

Traction: This beautifully inspiring workbook uses the same coaching principles from Bridges Life Coach training. Perfect for anyone interested in forward movement: the graduate, the retiree, your small group leader… pretty much anyone who wants to move forward in their faith. $29 

Soul Care Personal Retreat: These last couple of years have been rough on all of us. Know someone who may be feeling empty, overwhelmed, or hurting? Offer the gift of the Soul Care personal retreat so they can feel fueled, peaceful and...

[Book Review]

In his book The Coaching Habit,  Michael Bungay Stanier promotes a path to "Say Less, Ask More and Change the way you lead forever" in 10 minutes with 7 questions!

Pretty bold offer! Let's dig in, but first a couple of important definitions.

Coaching = getting from one place to another.

• solving problems
• reaching goals
• resolving interpersonal issues

A Coaching conversation, therefore, finds a way to get from here to there.

True coaching is not:

• Consulting – giving you my expert advice
• Mentoring – showing you what works for me
• Counseling – diagnosing what is wrong and prescribing what is right

Instead, coaching draws from the other person what is within them. It asks questions and creates confident forward-moving problem-solvers rather than dependent, stuck, blame shifters.

Sound good?

No more: “Just tell me what to do?” or “If only… then…” rather it is a partnering, releasing, cheering-on way of...