Improve your listening game. Learn to coach.

In the midst of the world crisis of the coronavirus, many of you are suffering unbelievable losses, whether it's the loss of a job, or the loss of a loved one, or the loss of rhythms and patterns of life that provided you with joy and stability.In the midst of a sea of loss, you are also facing a massive gain (whether you want it or not) of time at home. In the midst of this gain, there is the opportunity to connect with others online or with family or roommates. But another door of opportunity also opens for you in this season: the opportunity to learn.People everywhere are posting free learning opportunities online (my kids are learning how to watercolor). However long you will be at home, you don't want to stagnate. You want to grow and learn.As you consider the myriads of options available to you for learning, I wanted to advocate that you consider reading the book, The Coach Model by Keith Webb.I recently spent a week learning from Keith Webb on how to coach, and as I sat there in the training, I thought:

Everyone needs to learn how to coach. This is a life skill, and everyone needs coaching training.

Why would I use such hyperbolic language to talk about coaching?Because you are a listener, whether you like it or not. Some of us are good listeners, and some of us think that a good definition of listening is waiting for the other person to finish so we can speak.Whatever skills that you possess in the areas of listening, coaching is a unique way of listening that most people have never really considered. When you listen as a coach, you help people:

1. Discover what is holding them back from their goals,
2. Shatter their hidden self-limiting beliefs
3. Accomplish the goals that would have stayed in the "back of their minds" had they never had a conversation with you

The book "The Coach Model" lays out an easy-to-follow structure to have a coaching conversation. It was so easy that I was able to read the book and immediately start coaching others. The result: coaching has helped me to build an organization of leaders rather than of followers.You might be at a place where this book on coaching could help you improve your marriage communication, better empower and equip your children, be a friend who truly sharpens others around you, or lead in a way where people around you are significantly more productive.You can watch an eight-minute video on the Coach model on Keith's website.The best thing about what you learn is that you can use it immediately, even during the quarantine, through Zoom, or with the people in your house.Take eight minutes, or take the time to read the whole book to invest in yourself, as this investment in yourself will pay off in all the people that you will impact around you when you implement what you learn.