During the past year I have been involved in the wonderful experience of crafting and delivering check-out coaching sessions.
These individual sessions are the last part of a learning journey that starts from the completion of The International Preferences Indicator (IPI – click here to read more about this tool) and continues with a Global Agility workshop. The workshop is specifically aimed at helping the participants manage the key “trilemma” facing those who work internationally:
- How can I get things done by remaining authentic and true to myself (my way),
- But at the same time knowing how and when to adapt to others (your way),
- While remaining consistent with our values (the corporate culture way)
The workshop is run in a very experiential way leaving the participants with a new awareness of what it means to work globally both on an emotional and on a rational level.
The check-out coaching session takes the learning a step forwards and zooms into what it all means for the individual in their specific context and every day challenges.
How do the check-out coaching sessions work?
I run them virtually and they always last 60 minutes.
Within the 1 hour I cover the full cycle of getting to know the person, co-designing objectives, exploring options and drafting an action plan.
Being very visual myself, I prefer to explain what I mean using this graph:
Quoting one of my clients:
I had a wonderful time with Marianna and appreciated her ease and ability to capture information she needed to help me work through some of my opportunities I need to work on!
What can you achieve in one hour?
My sine qua non condition is to ensure that by the end of the session my clients are always in a state of more resonant connection with their best self. Only by doing this can they make choices and take action.
What does this mean practically?
Most of my clients report that the check-out session helps them to:
- Give them an unexpected insight into themselves
- Gain a different perspective on the international challenge they are facing
- Stop and reflect over issues they don’t normally think about
- Challenge them in their thinking and action when it comes to succeeding globally.
In conclusion…
Both myself and my colleagues in TCO International believe that nowadays it is not enough to end a training program with happy feedback sheets. It needs to be followed up by an individual coaching session in which the momentum is anchored to the specific context in which the individual is operating and to the challenges faced.
Moreover, offering a learning journey that blends the group dynamics of the training with the coaching approach of asking powerful questions enables to truly make an impact in the longer-term performance of the individual…and in their ability to become more and more skilful in thinking, acting and creating value in today’s VUCA world.
