| This is a second of two articles on Coaching: See also “Coaching Fundamentals” in the September HR Dimensions. Coaching Skills for HR Professionals Human Resource professionals take part in some of the most difficult conversations that exist in any organization – discussions about sub-par performance, dismissals, policies and procedures, and about saying, “no” more often than saying “yes”. These discussions can be tough! However, with a few coaching tools, HR Professionals can develop the skills to manage the conversations and their own energy. People choose coaching to help them achieve performance, learning or fulfillment goals. The role of the coach is primarily to help the client-employee see things more clearly through awareness, choice and trust in self. In some situations, this is also the role of the HR professional. So what are some coaching tips and tricks that HR professionals can use? Here are a few to think about: Plan for the conversation – think about what the desirable outcome is. What would success look like for you? In this planning stage, think about what you can control, what you can influence, and what is outside your scope entirely. For example, you can control your own body language and tone of voice. However, the other person’s reactions are largely outside your jurisdiction. Admittedly, you might have some influence in that different approaches are more likely to elicit different reactions. The best place to focus your energy is on how you want to be in the conversation – what image do you want to project? How will you stay calm if the conversation gets out of hand? How will you show compassion in a professional way, if required? How will you ensure that you have enough energy to draw on for a long, difficult conversation? Listen – actively. In the words of Stephen Covey, “seek first to understand, then to be understood”. You may have a point to get across, but if the person sitting on the other side of the desk from you is upset or angry, they are not going to be able to hear it at all. You need to pick up on the emotional tone, and get a sense of what they are feeling and thinking at that moment. In order to do that, you need to… Ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are those that cannot be answered with a “yes” or “no” and I would even go one further – they are questions that are thought-provoking. Some questions will cause the listener to pause and think. The room will go quiet. You may be tempted to jump in with another question, or to propose some alternative answers. Please don’t! Let the other person think and consider. The answer will come, and it will be meaningful – trust in them and trust in the process. Be comfortable with silence. It means you asked an excellent question, and the conversation is moving ahead in a productive direction. A coach-approach to an human resource discussion can open doors that were previously bolted shut. People appreciate being listened to and profoundly heard. The human resource professional’s office can be a meaningful environment for that to happen. LVS Consulting - Leadership Coaching, Team Facilitation, Effective Communications, Change Management Kingston, Ontario 613.547.6805 lisa.sansom@gmail.com www.linkedin.com/in/lisasansom |
Human Resources Professionals
Association - Kingston District Chapter
Association - Kingston District Chapter
| HR Dimensions |
| You’ve Got Mail Attention All Members KD-HRPA Goes Paperless! We are making efforts to reduce the amount of paper that we use. Communications for events, invitations and membership correspondence will be arriving by email, and posted on our website. To ensure that you receive information and are updated on local events please have your email address updated with the Human Resources Professional Association and check your email filters to allow mail receipt from KD-HRPA. Problems? Concerns? Let us know. |
| • For further information on advertising in the HR Dimensions Newsletter, please contact Lori MacPhail at (613) 547-2962. • Design, Layout & Production by: KD-HRPA, Kingston, ON Tel: (613) 547-2962 • Fax: (613)547-8265 Email: hradministration@cogeco.ca • The Kingston District - Human Resources Professionals Association makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this e-newsletter but cannot accept responsibility for errors and omissions. Readers are urged to obtain professional advice before acting on the basis of the material contained in this e-newsletter. Call (613) 547-2962 for membership information |
| Nutrition Advice provided by Sheila Napier Sheila is a Natural Health Care Consultant and has worked at Sigrid’s Natural Foods in Kingston for 6 years. She enjoys teaching people about natural health care. Does your Diet Measure Up? The importance of Omega 3 Essential Fatty Acids Omega 3 is called “essential” because our bodies can’t make it, requiring us to achieve this from our diets. There are very few foods that contain omega 3, though it can be found in deep sea fatty fish, like salmon, eggs, nuts, green leafy vegetables (spinach) and ground flax seeds. However, consuming these foods daily is often not enough. We are cautioned on how many eggs to eat weekly and how much fish and what kind to eat, due to its possible high mercury content. Also, the way that omega 3’s is being promoted and their suggested use has become somewhat perplexing. We now find that orange juice, eggs and even junk food are being labelled as containing omega 3 which can be confusing to the consumer. The increased awareness of omega 3 consumption developed soon after a World Health Organization report suggested the average person eats an ‘out of balance’ ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats and suggested that this was linked to serious health problems. We often ingest a ratio that is in the realm of 20:1 which means that 20 times more omega 6 is being consumed than omega 3. The ideal ratio for human consumption for optimal health is 4:1. Inflammation, contributing to joint pain, was one of the chief health concerns the report cited that may result, but the list of potential disease risks was long and varied. Difficulty sleeping, general mental and physical fatigue, sugar cravings, and inability to burn body fat effectively, dry skin and poor memory were all suspected of possibly being a result of this off-balance ratio. Consuming too much omega 6 is not necessarily the problem unless it comes from the wrong source. Highly processed forms of fat containing omega-6 have been determined to be the problem. A study found that eating food fried at high temperatures and the use of denatured oils and manufactured fats (common in many some baked goods to increase shelf life) and hydrogenated fats such as those found in some margarine or trans fats, are at fault. We should reduce our intake of these foods. Simply adding an omega 3 supplement is not enough. The key is to consume a well balanced diet including sufficient amounts of fruits, vegetables, protein, grains and fibre with little or no processed food and including an omega 3 essential fat, is a great way to get your diet on the right track to better health! |
Editors News – November / December 2008 Welcome everyone to our new format at our website. I have been enjoying the warm weather and thinking how lucky we are to have this extension of good weather. I was also thinking about how fortunate most of us are. Canada is a great place to call home. We live a relatively safe and comfortable life with many opportunities to achieve our goals. We also have the opportunity to help others achieve their goals. Human Resource professionals are leaders and role models. We are in a position to provide coaching and mentoring to our colleagues, peers and students. I encourage everyone, if you can, to take a student placement in your organization. These students bring enthusiasm, insight and creativity to the workplace and in return ask only for an opportunity to learn more about their trade. From my experience, you will not be disappointed. Thank you to St. Lawrence College for the high calibre of their graduating human resource students! Looking for coaching information? Lisa Sansom’s article on coaching tips for HR Professionals provides some tips for those “difficult” discussions. Enjoy! The September networking event on the St. Lawrence River was a great success. The weather was perfect and the sunset incredible. Thank you to our sponsors – Empire Life, King Reed & Associates Inc., Palmer and Associates and Co Tal Co Inc. What a great event and opportunity to Network. A few photos of the beautiful 1000 Islands. Another reason we are so fortunate. |
Winter’s coming – are you ready! DON’T MISS THIS - KD-HRPA Dine Around! Have Dinner with us on January 22, 2009 at the Days Inn Kingston, 5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Table Speakers will be announced in early January. Register by email to: hradministration@cogeco.ca or call 613-547-2962 If you would like to submit an article, photo, book review, best practice or comments for our website please send your submission to me at frog@cogeco.ca Karen Matthews |
| Fact: Human Resource Professionals are morning people Fact: Human Resource Professionals who are not morning people are truly dedicated to learning. The November 13th Breakfast event “What are you doing about Web 2.0?” was a hit with 87 attendees. We found out about the world of on-line social networking and how as an employer you can ensure your workplace is prepared. You may not want to “twitter, be a regular on Facebook, or post something on Utube but you can be sure that some of your employees do and will. Does your workplace have a policy for on-line behaviour? Are you prepared? Thank you to our speakers Mary Beth Saulnier, Corporate Communications Specialist from Empire Life and Colin Youngman from Hicks Morley for sharing their expertise and knowledge with our members. Well done! Some comments from our members: “This event was a great experience...timely and useful information..”; “…very relevant to bring HR up to speed….”; “Good insight into some new trends”. In summary, 65% said that overall, they were extremely satisfied and 56% said that this session was extremely helpful. Location, location, location….The breakfast event was held at RMC, Yeo Hall, a wonderful, fully accessible historic location. Did attendees like the venue? 56% of attendees said they were extremely satisfied and 44% were satisfied with this venue. Perhaps this might be a location for future events? Comments always welcome. Cheryl Couper, Chapter Chair noted that our Chapter has a very high attendance rate in comparison to similar events held by larger chapters. Kudos to our members!! Thank you to Judy Wooten of Indigo Books, for joining us for this event and bringing along some interesting human resource and management books. Your selection of books focusing on short, quick reads for busy professionals was great! Do you want to see vendors at future events? What and whom would you like to see? Send your comments to frog@cogeco.ca |
| Photos from November 13, 2008 Breakfast Event |
