There are many ways to help a person to develop. One approach is to encourage them to have the nerve to build on their natural talent. It is then to help them to develop their knowledge and, when appropriate, to add the nous.
Imagine that you want to follow elements of this approach to help a person to do fine work. If appropriate, you can focus on the following themes.
Natural Talent
This step starts by encouraging a person to have the nerve to be themselves and do what they do best. Such an approach may seem unnecessary, but sometimes it can be important to encourage a person:
To be true to themselves, to build on their natural talent and to become the best they can be.
This also calls for encouraging them to follow their core principles rather than to compare themselves to others. At the same time, it involves helping them to do what they do best, do their best and keep developing.
Sometime people need an outside talent spotter to help them to follow this path. One approach is to watch a person in action or see an example of their work. It is then to explore the following themes.
When does the person come alive? When are they in their element – at ease and yet able to excel? When do they have positive energy? When do they make complicated things appear simple?
What are their strengths? What are the specific activities in which they can deliver As rather than Bs or Cs? What is their successful style of working? How can they continue to follow this style and do superb work?
Looking ahead, how would they like to use their natural talent? What may be their professional goals? How can you help them to work towards achieving their picture of success?
Imagine that a person wants to build on their natural talent. If appropriate, you can then invite them to do the following exercise. This involves them focusing on the following themes. They can aim:
To clarify the specific goals they want to achieve;
To clarify their responsibilities in working to achieve the specific goals;
To clarify the help they would like to work towards the specific goals;
To clarify the specific things that will be happening that will show they have achieved the specific goals.
Here is a framework that a person can use to focus on how they want to develop their natural talent.
Knowledge
This step involves helping a person to add to their knowledge. There are many ways to take this approach. These include the following.
You can watch the person in
action and help them to improve
This is an approach taken by many coaches. They watch the person in action or see an example of their work. They may then use the following framework to help a person to improve.
If you wish, you can follow elements of this approach in your own way. Here is the framework you can use.
You can invite the person to clarify the
knowledge they want to develop and
then pass on this in a coaching session
This approach involves the person doing some prework before having a coaching sessions. It invites them to complete the following framework.
The specific topic I would to explore is …
The specific background to this situation is …
The real results I want to achieve in this situation are …
The specific things I have tried and the results of these have been …
The specific ideas and practical tools I would like your thoughts on regarding the possible options in this situation are …
The person can send this prework to you before the session. You can then share your knowledge and ideas in a way they can use.
Nous
This step involves helping a person to add the nous required to make the best use of their talent. There are several definitions of the word nous. These include a person using their experience:
To apply common sense and practical intelligence to get the desired results in certain situations.
A person may show talent during the early part of their career but may not always use this properly. They can be helped to develop their nous by learning by educators, coaches or mentors.
Here is an exercise a person can do before meeting with you – or another coach or mentor. This involves them aiming:
To clarify the situation – such as a recent or past experience – they want to explore and to give some background;
To clarify what they learned from the situation – such as what they did well and what they could do better in the future;
To clarify the specific knowledge they would like to get about how to manage such situations.
Imagine that a person has sent this prework to you. If appropriate, you can then pass on practical ideas the person can use to manage such situations in the future. This can help to develop their nous.
Here is the framework the person can use to do some prework and then, after the session, focus on their future action plan.
There are many ways to help a person to develop. One approach is to encourage them to have the nerve to build on their natural talent. It is then to help them to develop their knowledge and, when appropriate, to add the nous.
Let’s return to your own life and work. Looking ahead, can you think of a situation where you may want to follow elements of this approach? How can you do this in your own way?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentences.
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