February 13, 2009

Dear Colleagues,

It was a pleasure to have you join Unbound Ideas and Howard Morgan for Marshall Goldsmith’s February 12 webinar. Thank you for participating in the discussion and providing feedback on the event.

Marshall’s work is research and data driven and his extensive experience as a top executive coach has given him rich material to draw conclusions from.

But it is always a pleasure to listen to Marshall because his lessons have been distilled to simple observations and lessons.

Like many listeners, we were struck by the degree to which Marshall’s leadership teaching transcends the workplace and impacts personal relationships and family life. Marshall hit that note immediately when he described successful leaders as people who want to win too much, and don’t know “how to stop.” Many listeners indicated that they shared some of those characteristics and behaviors.

In Marshall’s coaching work, he often helps leaders who want to understand how to be a better CEO or executive and have a better life. The guidance Marshall provides such leaders is not complicated to understand, but it is often exceedingly difficult to follow through on because it is so hard for human beings to recognize their own behaviors and change them as required.

Marshall provided a number of linguistic clues to help us understand when our behaviors are having an unintended negative impact in others. And he gave us concrete strategies for gaining valuable feedback from those around us as to how our behavior needs to change for us to be better leaders, family members, and partners. In particular, his Feedforward exercise was an inspiring method for creating a more positive and productive experience than is typically gained by tired feedback systems. To follow up on such an experience, Marshall gave us tips for how we can engage our peers and partners in supporting our development and recognizing the efforts we are making.

Finally, Marshall talked about the role of a coach and the opportunities for peer coaching in the workplace. Marshall dispelled the myth that a coach “knows more, sees more, and is right more” than anyone else. In his experience, a successful coaching experience is measured more by the coachee’s willingness to change and discipline on follow-through. The coach, then, is the expert listener and facilitator, not the subject expert of perfect model. As such, it is possible for leaders in the workplace and at home to help others with the tools Marshall applies.

During the course of his discussion, Marshall mentioned several papers, models, and example questions that he graciously offered to anyone who would like them. We’re attaching them here and posting them at the Unbound Ideas website for your convenience. If you would like more information or have other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us or Marshall.

And please note that Marshall is giving another webinar on March 2 for his newly released book, Succession.

In addition, other members of the 50TopCoaches group such as Jim Kouzes, FG Ghadar, and Beverly Kaye are delivering webinars over the next few months.

On behalf of Marshall and Howard, we thank you again for joining us, and look forward to the next occasion.

Warm Regards,
Unbound Ideas