News & Insights

Coaching Resources And Fun At Work

24th March 2022

In this episode of our short series on coaching Zia Savel shares her top 2 reading recommendations and reminds us of the importance of being human and having fun at work. 

Whether you'd like to read about coaching for interest, or you are looking for resources to support your everyday practice here are Zia's top picks:

Nancy Kline More Time To Think

Sir John Whitmore Coaching For Performance



Video Transcript

Jude: What's a book, resource or podcast that you'd recommend on leadership or leadership development?

Zia: So my absolute favourite and first go-to is always Nancy Kline, More Time To Think. And I listen to that on Audible, but it's equally available in a book. And Nancy talks about being present, not just showing up but really getting present, stopping, listening.

Making yourself available to listen.

One of the things I really took from it was I was a note-taker. I would scribble notes all day long. And Nancy said, if you're writing, you're not listening. And I then practiced that in everything that I do. So if I go to a meeting, it's not that I'm disengaged. I'm listening. And when there's a pause, then I'll scribble some notes. But it's being present and making yourself available to listen and not think about what you now want to say back as your response to what has happened so far.

So Nancy, making time to think through More Time To Think is a great book. And then I've got another one. This might be more practice-able. I think Nancy is a bit like, you talk about motherhood and apple pie or whatever it is. Nancy's a bit like, oh, she's got my heart. This one has everything in it that you can go away and it's got questions. My team has a problem. How can I fix it? What's the conversation I have with them? So this might be more practical. 

My team has a problem. How can I fix it?

Jude: More practical and more prescriptive?

Zia: Yeah, it would have a list of questions in it. I think at the back here this one's fab. This one is absolutely practical. It has got self-coaching techniques, it has got conscious working agreements. It has just got pages upon pages of questions.

That was beautiful and I listen to it on Audible, but then I had to buy it because there was too much good stuff in it I couldn't see. Do you know what I mean? It was fine for walking around the block at work but all those questions, there is no way that I could access them as I could in a book.

Jude: Last question. I love the twinkly lights in the background. What does that say about your personality and your coaching style?

Zia: If this is a question, I'm going to have real laugh because I've got a disco ball above my head.

Jude: What's the disco ball for?

Zia: I think if you're at work, you need to have some fun. 

Jude: I love that. 

Zia: We can go to work and be robotic and show up and do exactly what's prescribed in the job descriptions. And like you said earlier about finding energy from others. We have to have fun too. There has to be some energy that lets us release at some point. So if it's a disco ball or some sparkly light or just having a laugh with a colleague I think we should do it. 

I think if you're at work, you need to have some fun.