likely to blow up at the people around him. Steve’s
coach asked him to think about these emotional
triggers and consider his usual reaction, as
well as the impact this reaction had on people
around him. (The 360 assessment provided useful
context here.) Steve observed that his frustration
first showed up in his body, with a tensing of the
shoulders followed by a clenching of fists, and
he was able to come up with several new, more
constructive ways of responding to his triggers.
Richard tracked his emotions on an hour-by-hour
basis over the course of the week. Like Steve,
he identified some patterns to his emotional
responses, and came to the session feeling that
his self-awareness was significantly heightened.
He realized he felt resentful when people asked
him to do things outside his job description,
manipulated when asked to tackle low-priority
tasks and paralyzed when asked to take on other
people’s responsibilities. Richard and his coach
brainstormed together to explore new responses
to these requests and design new actions, such as
setting boundaries and priorities. He even began
to experiment with saying “no.”
well-developed, while also working toward
a theoretically sound coaching practice that
empowers our clients’ own S+EI growth
and development.
Dr. Laura Belsten, MCC, is a Leadership and
Executive Coach; a Social + Emotional Intelligence
Certified Coach; and a graduate of the Coaches
Training Institute, Coach U and Corporate Coach
U. She is the founder and executive director of the
Institute for Social + Emotional Intelligence, and
the author of the Social + Emotional Intelligence
Profile (SEIP)® and the “Sage & Scholar’s Guide to Coaching Emotional
Intelligence.” She is also the co-editor of the “Proceedings of the First ICF
Coaching Research Symposium.”
Laura’s work in S+EI is based on the latest research, and all programs,
tools and exercises available through the Institute are evidence-based,
grounded in research, and scientifically validated and tested. In
addition to her work with the Institute, Laura coaches executives and
leaders to reach their highest levels of success through her private
executive coaching practice of 15 years, CEO Partnership—Coaching
Executives + Organizations.
Connect with Laura on her website at The-ISEI.com; via email at
[email protected]; on LinkedIn or Facebook. You can also
call her at +1.303.838.1100 or toll-free at +1.888.804.COACH (2622).
S+EI is squarely in the public consciousness and
offers a promising area of growth for coaches.
With literally hundreds of tools for assessing
and developing S+EI at our disposal, coaches
can ensure that our own S+EI competencies are
In a 2007 case study published in the journal
Salespeople at L’Oreal trained and coached in S+EI
“Organisations & People,” Sue Jennings and Dr.
brought in $2.5 million more annually in sales
Benjamin R. Palmer report that Sanofi-Aventis, a French
than their counterparts in a control group that did
pharmaceutical company, saw a $2 million-plus-per-
not receive coaching, Lyle M. and Signe M. Spencer
month increase in sales after providing S+EI training
report in “Competence at Work: Models for Superior
and coaching to sales representatives in a development
Performance” (1993).
group as compared with sales reps in a control group
which did not receive the training and coaching.
FOR COACHING AND TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT ADDRESS S+EI?
Coaching World |
August 2013
43