Rachel Fostergoing well or they are in transition or members of a team aren’t
reaching their potential. In many cases there is conflict in one form or
another. What I have come to learn about conflict is that that is internal
or external and both are equally challenging. If the conflict is internal,
th en as a coach my job is to help them unravel the issues and act as a
sounding board as they move through a process to achieve resolution
thro ugh action. This work is done individually or as a group. The issues
are often the same, it ’s the approach that differs.
In order to make shifts in our life we have to commit to action
otherwise it’s just a nice conversation, and that’s not doing the work.
It’s a bit like filling a prescription—the pills only work if you take them!
For me it’s the same. If I’m working with a team or an organization
facing a challenge, then as a coach I work with a group to peel back the
layers to understand perspectives and get to the core of what ’s going
on. Then I use an appreciative inquiry approach and a coach approach
to move the group forward to reconstruct possibilities and create plans
of action.
The other piece I have learned over the years is that every group is
unique. What I call boxed programs only work to a certain extent, so
it’s much more important to honor who’s in the room, then use a
combination of experience and tools to work the “magic” to achieve
results. I often say I’m in the construction business—the renovation
and r estoration work.
WRIGHT
Will you share with our readers and listeners some of the most
important tools you have in your toolbox?
FOSTER
Absolutely. I think the most important tool is listening. We h ear
about this all the time, we’re often not good at it, and it takes a lot of
practice. I ’m a lifelong learner and I’m always looking for new ways to
help people and l earn new ways to work with them. I’ve spent years
taking courses in the fields of interpersonal communication—
NeuroLinguistic programming or NLP, yoga, and meditation. I’ve
learned these skills from a variety of teachers, which gives me a large