Coaching Chronicle by Gerard O’Donovan

Hi everyone I just returned

Late on Sunday night from our most recent residential coach training programme held at Eynsham Hall near Oxford. 

http://www.eynshamhall.com/

It was lovely to meet so many people in such a wonderful atmosphere. We had a group from Poland, people from Romania, Ireland, France,Scotland, Spain and South Africa. In total about 30 people and 7 staff.

And just imagine how pleased I was to receive this e-mail the next day. It really does make it all so worthwhile.

 To: sadiehargreaves@noble-manhattan.com

Subject: RESIDENTIAL WEEKEND 26/02/-28/02/10

Hi Sadie,

 I attended the recent residential weekend and I feel that I really must express my gratitude to Gerard and all at Noble Manhattan for the hard work that went in to making it an enormous success.

From the very first day when I stepped into the training room, I felt like I was transported back to my childhood, the happiest period of my life. All the wonderful memories of love, care, attention, joy and laughter were bursting out from inside, so much so, that I was struggling to contain them.

 The entire three day training course was packaged and delivered, with such thought, care, attention to details and to the needs of all the students, that it reminded me of my happy childhood.  he select these David, Aina and Cherry did their jobs exceedingly well, from day one right through to day three and the facilitators, John and Chris were right up there with them. They made themselves available, approachable and willing to answer our questions and help us to overcome our anxieties and self doubt. But, most importantly, they were willing to share their knowledge and experience with us. I felt blessed.

 I think that Gerard is an amazing human being. I love his passion, energy, kindness, attention to the smallest detail, his giving nature, but above all, I love his massive heart. He is unique and a great inspiration.

 I made a lot of friends at the residential weekend and I am looking forward to keeping up with them and sharing our experiences for years to come.

 Thank you Noble Manhattan.

  Kindest regards

 Lyn

 This coming Saturday we are doing a one day ” Introduction to Coaching” in London for people who are considering training to be a professional coach and the next day Sunday we are going to be doing a very special day indeed.

A “ Build Your Coaching Practice” one-day training course in London. If anyone is interested in spending Sunday with me and learning the most incredible techniques on how to build your business then just let the Office know 

info@noble-manhattan.com

 or call  01305 769411

 Looking forward to seeing you all soon

Lots of love

Gerard

Although we are now only at the beginning of February it actually seems as if Christmas was many months ago.

Our International Distributors strategy is going very well.As many of you know we have opened offices in Romania within the last couple of years and also with our partners in Poland, Turkey and Canada and we now have the opportunity to partner with two more companies Internationally this year.

So if you know of any organizations or well-placed individuals that would be interested in talking to Noble Manhattan Coaching about partnering in their country, please let us know.

 Our support group division is growing extremely well with five new support groups starting in Romania and five new in Poland within the next two months as well as that we are on target to launch at least 10 to 12 more in the UK by late summer.

Allan in Canada is doing extremely well and has got 3 regular meet up groups getting together every month in different areas south of Toronto with a total of over 60 people committed to coming each month.

 The biggest stage of my recent book ” A Coach’s Story” is now complete. I am so glad that all of the writing has now been done.:-) Now we have to get it proof read, edited and then of course published. All being well it should be done and dusted and on the bookshelves by Easter.

 We are also delighted to be able to announce that we have partnered with ” Catalyst Coaching” in the London area. It has been a real joy working with Catalyst, and over the last few months I have got to know their owner Nick Horan very well, in fact we have become good friends.

So from this month onwards we are delighted to be able to shoulder the burden of taking on all of the delivery of coach training for Catalyst allowing them to develop even stronger in their learning and development arenas. A partnership made in heaven

 And as if all of that wasn’t enough we are just about to launch a most incredible face-to-face coaching course in London.

It will be 10 days face-to-face over a one-year period and we are calling it “A Coaching MasterClass with Supervision”

It will be suitable for All Coaches, All managers from organisations and even student coaches.

To find out more about this incredible course contact the office. ( very very special deals just for the first few!!)

 We are also delighted to be able to announce that we are taking on a new general manager for our Noble Quest.

http://www.noble-quest.com/

 Our Coach Radio Division is building furiously right now under the leadership of Greg Evaristo. www.coachradiointernational.com

 Greg is fast putting together an international team of business development associates,programmers, designers and professional broadcast trainers. It looks as if we will be able to launch properly at the end of this month.

 I have also decided to take on some new Personal Coaching clients over the next few months. I will be doing this in a highly dynamic interactive online group environment.( it really won’t be for the fainthearted ) This will be for people who really want to move forward and make 2010 the year when their life really starts to take shape and they achieve the success they wish to.

If you would like to find out about being coached by me for one hour once a month then please get in touch with Stacey Melvin at staceymelvin@noble-manhattan.com

 Lots of love

Gerard

Just got back yesterday from my two-week trip to Florida. I was there initially to attend a four-day coaching convention run by the ICF.

We usually take a booth there every year

It was held at the Convention centre at Rosen shingle Creek.what a huge magnificent place

I was there with my wife and two of my children who did the usual tourist things ( Disney World, universal studios etc) while I attended the conference.

At the conference when we first arrived it was interesting to see a whole group of SWAT people walking around all with their guns on their hips.

They were attending their own convention.

I found it very interesting that in a convention setting they were all wearing camouflage trousers and boots and carrying their guns, and so different to the UK.

 Later that evening we saw most of them wandering around in the bar drinking beer but still wearing their guns on their hips.( Only in the USA !!!!!)

Now, that’s an interesting combination, guns and beer.

One I don’t really want to see together.

 Coaches and SWAT teams, you really couldn’t get two more different types of people.having meetings in the same hotel.

I have to say the ICF ran a very well organised and structured convention,hats off to them.

 It was great to see a lot of old faces from last year in Montral and from the year before in Los Angeles.

Next year it is at Forth Worth in Texas,looking forward to that

In fact one of the most hectic times in the last year. I am currently at the residential training course at Eynsham Hall near Oxford .(http://www.eynshamhall.com/)  

We have fantastic men and women who have flown in from all over the world, Deborah from Canada Lavinia from Romania, Monica from the south of France,Lukasz from Warsaw in Poland to name just a small few.

As well as our intensive coaching residential program we also have a large exhibition happening at the Olympia in London being run by Emma and her team

while at the same time Vali and her team are running a five day exhibition in Bucharest.

The head office team are also preparing for our five day exhibition in Orlando in Florida which starts the day after tomorrow so I have to fly over early tomorrow morning with Gordon and Christopher and others to oversee that.

I have to say though that I am really looking forward to it. I am bringing my family with me so that we can also have some holiday time together and possibly go to Disney World etc.

We have three completely separate courses and seminars running simultaneously in London.

All at the same hotel.

 First of all there is the beginning of our new NLP Practitioner Programme being run by Aina Egeberg. This is happening on Friday and Saturday and Sunday at the Thistle Kensington Gardens Hotel on Bayswater Road in London.

 On Saturday I am running an “Introduction to Coaching” seminar for people who are considering coaching as a whole new career.

I have to say I really do love doing these days they are soul satisfying and rewarding.

Then on Sunday were doing a very special event. We are calling it a” Build your Coaching Business Day”

This is really going to be a jampacked day teaching Coaches how to raise their profile, generate business, increase their income, attract more clients, use effective networking and using cutting-edge IT online media techniques to generate a huge amount of enquiries.

I am going to be joined by George Metcalfe one of the U.K.’s greatest coaches and an absolute expert in networking, 

also by Mindy Gibbins-Klein

, one of the most successful coaches in the UK an accomplished author who is going to be doing a marvellous session on how to raise your brand.

 I’m also very excited by the fact that yesterday we took delivery from the publisher of our two new DVDs

1) The Seven Secrets of Super Achievers

2) Outrageous Marketing Techniquess to Build Your Business

 We will give these to every participant on Sunday free of charge ( a special gift for them )

 I am really looking forward to it

Gerard

Got up at 3 AM this morning in order to get a taxi to the airport and fly back to Luton.

Arrived back at the office at 12 noon. This has been my longest extended trip without a break for quite some time, (13 days) and it really is nice to be able to see everyone in the team again. ( even though I don’t suppose they really missed me)

Last night I attended the Coaching Support Group in Warsaw. I have to say it was the best run group I have yet seen. Adam, is doing a magnificent job. It was run like a military operation. In fact he had to turn people away, over 40 people wanted to come and there was only room for 35.

http://www.coaching-support.com/group.php?MemberId=596&Town=Warsaw&Country=Poland

He is demonstrating real organisational skills and great leadership.

I did a presentation on Shamanic Coaching and the power of energy when working closely with the client.

I also took the opportunity of letting everyone know that they can now have a free membership of Big Lif3e (www.biglife.ws)

And the fact that we will be launching Colour Coaching early in the New Year.that went down really well.

Well, here I am sitting in my hotel room in Warsaw slaving over a hot laptop dealing with my never ending stream of e-mails.

I went for a Thai massage last night in a place called the Thai house just around the corner from the MDM hotel ( where I am staying) it really was a great massage and very well priced 120 zlotys equal to about £25 

Today I had a really great experience, went out for a walk and a coffee this morning and found about five fantastic bookshops one after another. I couldn’t resist buying some more books. ( my wife will kill me) my suitcase is already verging on my airline limit !!

I will have to do some fast talking at the check-in J

 Looking forward to attending the Warsaw coaching support group meeting tonight.

I am going to do a presentation on Shamanic Coaching.

I am also going to give everyone a special gift. FREE membership of big life www.biglife.ws

I think that could really help them.

Then it’s up at 3 AM for a 6 AM flight ( deep joy!!)

Should be back in the office by 12 noon.

The first coach a child has in life is his/her parent. If the parent/baby interaction is a pleasant and satisfying one, the child will be likely to follow the parental example willingly. While the parent eventually would like to inculcate her/his own set of values in the child there are occasions when the child’s difference of opinion should be allowed and respected. Just as you would be considerate of another adult having diametrically opposed religious or political beliefs, you want to show tolerance for your child in making a decision to wear a mismatched outfit to school for example.

You don’t have to agree with the child’s choice of a red skirt and orange blouse; but being empathetic about her making a choice is part of building a good relationship. Perhaps showing her the value of empathy will teach her not to make fun of how other children dress. Developing empathy towards those who are different will prevent her from becoming one of those school bullies that cause so much emotional pain to other kids. A parent is “coaching” a child to teach her/him the values that are hers/his. But there must be some “wiggle room” in what decisions the child is encouraged to make on his/her own.

Children learn what they live and parents are “coaching by example” whether they analyze it as such or not. When Dad is able to show his sensitive side, so will his son. When Mom takes the time to explain why Tommy has to use a wheelchair instead of stopping her child from talking about it, she is helping her/him to develop empathy towards another child.

Her child won’t grow up making fun of kids who can’t play sports as well as most. When he is old enough to recognize the sad state of a homeless man, he/she won’t focus on the fact that he is dirty and unkempt instead of feeling empathy for his hunger and inability to cope with ordinary life. The little boy or girl who learns empathy at an early age will not be the playground bully or the person who feels no sadness at running over a pet while driving. He/she will not be one of those whose bullying behaviour was the root cause of a Columbine tragedy. Empathy breeds kindness in the human soul.

There are many different beliefs in the world.  Religious beliefs that is often being practiced by different people with different religions. And so, what are these beliefs that are being observed around the world?

There are many different belief based religions. The most common throughout the world are Islam, Judaism, Buddism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Jainism. We will briefly discuss what these religions believe.

Islams bases its beliefs on the following: God Angels,Scriptures, Prophets, Resurrection, and Divine Creed. While Judaism is a monotheistic religion which believes that the world was created by a single, all-knowing divinity, and that all things within that world were designed to have meaning and purpose as part of a divine order. Buddism believe that realization of the Four Noble Truths is the first step on the path to cessation of dukkha.Christianity believes in one God, while the central figure in Christianity is Jesus (or Christ). The core of Hinduism is the belief in Brahman, the underlying universal life force that encompasses and embodies existence.Jainism preaches that the fundamental purpose of life is to free oneself from the soul’s existing karma (action) by obtaining extreme asceticism in one’s life. Jainism teaches the purity of thought, ideas, soul, and body. The only way to achieve this is by the rejection of the desires of the materialistic world. These are only a few of the many practicing beliefs in the world today. There are other practices such as scientolgy. So while it is common for every living individual to have beliefs it is expected that their different beliefs will vary widely from person to person. Some people are even atheist. While is means they don’t believe in a higher power not believing in something is still a belief in and of itself.

Listening skills are a very important part of the communication process making them essential for your job and education. If you can improve your listening skills by following some of the strategies outlined below you. You will be able to see a major improvement in your day to day life. For example: if you are a student you should see improved grades due to your being able to retain more information. If you are in work don’t be surprised if you get noticed for the improvement in your performance.

So here we go, these are just a few very effective strategies you should try. Focus on content, not the delivery. Have you ever counted the number of times a teacher or boss clears his/her throat in a twenty minute period? If so, then guess what, you weren’t focusing on content. You also need to use the gap between the rate of speech and your rate of thought. You are able to think faster than the lecturer can talk. That’s one reason your mind may tend to wonder off on to other things. Avoiding emotional involvement is also a major part of listening skills. When you are too emotionally involved in listening, you will tend to hear what you want to hear not what is actually being said. Try to remain objective and open minded and maintain eye contact with the person you are listening to. Of course if you are using your listening skills for school then you will need to look at your notes to write down the key points, but eye contact keeps you focused on the job at hand and keeps you involved with the instructors content. All the above strategies will help you keep your mind occupied and focused on what is being said. You can actually begin to anticipate what the person speaking is going to say as a way to keep your mind from straying. Your mind does have the capacity to listen, think, write and ponder at the same time, but it does take practice.