We always enjoy hearing from master practitioners of The Birkman Method and recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with executive coach and author Robert De Filippis. With over four decades of experience consulting across multiple industries, we asked Robert to share some trade secrets on effective coaching from his latest book, On Coaching with The Birkman Method, to drive coaching and business success using Birkman. 

Check out these tips and tricks from our insightful conversation below:

Q: What is the first step in becoming an effective coach?

A: Dr. Roger Birkman, the creator of The Birkman Method wrote, “The reality of life is that your perceptions—right or wrong—influence everything you do. When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.”

The professional Birkman practitioner can and should use Birkman, in Dr. Birkman’s terms, to “get a proper perspective on their own perceptions” before attempting to assist their clients to do the same.

Good coaching starts with knowing one’s self. It continues with creating an operational awareness of subconscious decision processes in our clients. This way they can learn to make more effective life decisions and enjoy, as Dr. Birkman said, “how many other things fall into place.”

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Whether you are dealing with departmental growth or succession planning, it's always important to be developing the next wave of leaders in your organization. While there are several strategies to train employees with the knowledge and experience needed to successfully spearhead a team, one of the most effective and rewarding ways to address this situation is through a leadership development mentoring program. Specifically, preparing and training high-potentials in your organization to grow into a leadership position by pairing them with an experienced employee.

Besides harnessing the people you already have in your organization, an in-house leadership development program helps:

• Increase employee engagement and satisfaction
• Boost retention and recruiting efforts
• Provide the attention and training high-potentials need to excel
• Develop meaningful relationships between experienced leaders and those looking to develop new skills
• Allow seasoned employees to give back

Here are five steps to keep in mind when designing a leadership development program to equip your employees with the skills to make an impact on your organization.

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All leaders have a variety of traits in common that contribute to the growth and success of an organization. But what can separate a good leader from a great one is the ability to communicate and connect with teams. While this may seem easy to achieve, even the most respected leaders must continually practice and refine these skills.

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