Having worked as a consultant, psychologist and counselor now for over 20 years, people generally want me to give them feedback, insight or help them figure something out. Mostly, I think they want advice.

I remembered hearing a rule to abide by: It's good advice not to give advice. When working with people, I can tell I'm doing a really good job when people respond, "that's really a good question" or "that's a hard question to answer." Now I know we're getting somewhere! Hard questions make people dig. It makes them squirm. It makes them think for themselves!

I like part of Seth Godin's blog this week entitled, You're Nuts If You Believe Me:

I'm the first to admit that compared to you, I have no idea what I'm talking about. You're there, doing what you do, and with skill. Let me be really clear: My job is not to tell you what to do. I don't know what you do. You do. Not just me but everyone with a blog or a book or an interest in your success. Don't do what they say. Listen to their questions instead. My job is to provoke you into asking really hard questions. Ask those questions to your boss, your co-workers, and yourself.

Don't seek advice. Seek someone who can ask you the hard questions! If you read about the life of Jesus very much he loved asking the hard questions. It made people squirm.

I also want to include a link to an article on Companies Turn to Coaching for Competitive Edge. In spite of the recession, companies are hiring coaches for several reasons. It's brief, but good information.

Keep your ears open for any possible coaching opportunities for me and let me hear from you.

rb