"What’s at stake?"

That’s a great question!

It could be the single straw that is the tipping point between ideation and implementation.

There are 4 basic reasons “What’s at stake?” could be the lever needed for forward movement.

Never trying.

Sometimes realizing what will not happen if the idea is kept in the “dream cloud” is just what is needed to help someone get started and stop procrastinating.

Rightsizing the risk.

Recognizing that if the outcome doesn’t end exactly where hoped, the forward movement is at the least good research, and at worst an idea can be crossed off the list to make room for more possibilities to try.

Naming the loss.

Someone needs whatever it is that is being considered! Realizing what could happen if this idea isn’t carried out could be just the motivation fuel to get the motion started.

Regret.

You’ll never know if you never try.

Sometimes the big idea works. Sometimes it doesn’t, but...

Okay, I gotta be honest.

I was surprised and thrilled when Dr. Walt Hastings helped take my coaching to a next level with this simple tip.

I first met Walt when he was assigned to assess the recorded coaching sessions I submitted for credentialing. If you know me you know I am a go-big-or-go-home kinda gal and I had it in my head I should go ahead and apply for CCNI Master’s level credentialing on my first go. Walt was so kind when he let me down easy that I needed a little more work before that level. (I am proud to say I have a CPCC credential now (Certified Professional Christian Coach) and am working toward CMCC this year.)

Walt’s assessment taught me so much that I hired him to do Mentor Coaching for our Bridges Next Level coach training.

In that course, he shared his coaching prep form which shared the simple key I want to share with you today.

Without an articulated outcome your coaching conversation is just a good chat!

A good chat allows the other person to...

Coaching is a straightforward and powerful tool for unlocking people's desires and dreams.

But it's not for everyone.

Some leaders are used to telling people what to do. In fact, some even enjoy the power and authority they have.

Coaching isn't for these people.

But if you want to...

• empower and enable those you lead to go farther faster
• multiply your impact by raising up mature believers who can hear and respond to what God is speaking
• free your schedule by not holding repetitive meetings with people who are dependent on you

Then coaching is most definitely for you!

Here are 10 ways coaching can help.

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

Leaders who tell 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...

Clarity seems to be a buzz word lately, especially in regards to goal setting.

I mean really, you absolutely need it to move forward well. No one orders an Uber but then fumbles with giving the driver a destination.

And yet...

Sometimes we do that with our lives.

It’s like the destination for our lives is more like a Sunday drive with no specific outcome clarified.

The Destiny by Design course includes an exercise that focuses on clarifying your Life Purpose Statement. When you have taken the time to drill down to your core and decipher your internal design, it becomes much clearer what your personal best nexts should be.

Clarity is a hoax when you fake it and pretend you have a clear next step.

Clarity is a hoax if you think it isn’t needed.

Clarity is a hoax if you feel it’s only general and not specific like you’re just supposed to be good all the time rather than knowing specifically what you are good at and how to invest in bringing your best self to the...

People often ask what is needed to actually launch a coaching practice.

The answer varies from state to state, but for most, the bottom line is that once you have completed the legal checkoff list for your state, you simply need to be good at your craft.

Most of us don’t check the credentials on the wall of the massage therapist, we just go back if they help us out.

Bridges Coaching Life coach certification is designed to help you do just that – actually help people out! While there is a Next Level Training that Bridges offers (contact us if you want to know more), the first level course was designed to be one-stop shopping. You will have everything needed (skills-wise) to set up sessions that actually help people.

Here are a couple of shout outs to a few of our alumni and their organizations!

Barb Ranck – Your Clear Next Step and Courageously Imperfect

"Barb shared, Hi Cindy! My site is https://www.cicandd.com which stands for CI Coaching & Development. CI...

We all have them, or at least we should.

Good leaders want to hit the mark. They want to make a difference. They want to be worthy of following. Good leaders want to help others toward achieving clear goals and helping them get there in the best way possible.

That being said – here are five fears all good leaders have.

1. Fear of missing the mark.
2. Fear of being status quo.
3. Fear of leading people in the wrong direction, or maybe just not the best direction.
4. Fear of nebulous targets.
5. Fear of a floundering pathway.

These healthy “fears” should fuel good leaders toward good leadership!

Yet most of us have probably had experiences where the goals were not inspiring and action steps were not actually clear. Sometimes, it seems we need to go back to a document or email to remember where we were going or what we supposed to be doing.

Good Coach Training will clear up these concerns and alleviate these fears once and for all!

Before understanding the coaching...

Do you know what an acorn grows up to be?

How about a kitten? Or maybe a tadpole?

Knowing what is “seeded” within you changes everything! And yet, many people don’t know what they are made of, or what they are meant to become.

When we aren’t sure of what’s in us, we run the risk of gambling with God’s intended destiny for our lives.

Psalm 139:13 says God knit us together in our mother’s womb. He’s the one who decided how tall you would be, what color eyes you would have, whether your hair would be curly or straight and so much more.

These external DNA markers make each of us unique, but wait - there’s more.

So much more.

We have an internal DNA that sets us apart from each other even more than how we look.

Our internal DNA consists of things like:

• Personality type
• Motivational gifts
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Five-fold ministry gifting
• 7 Mountains calling
• Personal passions and unique interest arenas

And the list could go on.

...

We don’t mean to, but it happens...

We set out to help people, but sometimes we end up not being effective at best, and possibly even hurting at worst.

Here are 3 mistakes well-meaning leaders make:

1. We tell people what to do.

In the long run, this approach can backfire one of two ways. One, if we are right, we have taught people they need to come to us in order to move forward. This puts a cap on our leadership potential to however many people we can meet within a day or week. Two, if we are wrong, it’s even worse. They can become bitter toward us or even toward God.

What if instead of telling people what to do we taught them how to discern for themselves?

2. We have the same conversations over and over.

Have you ever seen a person’s name pop up on your phone and had a little groan pop up in your heart? Be honest. Sometimes, we have the same conversations over and over with people who are stuck in some sort of way.

What if you were able to direct...

When I got my master’s degree I did these coaching “labs” on the side. Turns out they were optional, but I’m so glad I didn’t know that!

Let me explain.

The coaching “labs” were actually coach training and the education I received through them changed my life!

Coaching does not come naturally to most so when I was going through my coach training I really wanted a few things, so I really got seeped in the paradigm.

• I wanted to be coached, and experience what that felt like. I wanted to see if it really worked.
• I wanted to see others being coached so I could observe it being done well.
• I wanted someone to watch me coach and tell me if I was doing it right or wrong if need be. (To be honest, I was a little nervous about that, but I also wanted the affirmation enough to do it.)
• I wanted to have plenty of time to talk through the concepts with a certified coach and know I was heading in the right direction.

The training I took left me...

People can get stuck… some get stuck in a mood and feel depressed or just sad, some get stuck in an attitude and feel angry or confused. Others get in a rut and think there is no way out. Still others mess up somehow and believe there is no way to move on.

It’s not new.

Over and over we see Biblical characters getting stuck.

• Noah let his guard down and embarrassed himself and his family.
• Elijah felt alone and depressed right after he was involved in two major miracles.
• David got distracted and totally messed up when he wasn’t focused.
• Thomas doubted.
• Peter denied.

And the list could go on and on…

But thanks be to God – He always offers us a way out! 

So, whether it’s you yourself that needs an assist out of a pit, or you need tools to offer that assist to someone you are working with, here’s 4 key steps to moving forward.

The first one sounds religious, but hear me out!

Repent – It’s kind of a church word isn’t it....