Annette GrayLeadership Coach and facilitator

Finding what works and doing more of it!

Who am I? ✓ Coaching since 2001

✓ Passionate about Solution Focus

✓ Mentor ocean swimmers

✓ Live in Sydney – husband & 2 daughters

✓ Advisory Board – Health and Safety Index

7,500 leaders1,500 coaching hrs

What happens in your interactions?

• In pairs - Warm up – What are you most please about with your mentoring relationship? And best hopes for today’s session?

• Debrief in full group- what are your best hopes from today’s session?

• Check in - In groups of 4 – What has worked so far? List 20 things! All the detail!

• Debrief in full group

• New groups of 4 - What questions do you have?

• Full group – your questions – things to clarify

• Being solution fcused – Where do you focus the conversation

Agenda

Problem talk creates problems, solution talk creates solutions.

Steve de Shazer

Today

• Problem talk versus Solution talk – what is the difference?

• What is Solution Focus?

• Where do you orient your conversations?

• How do you listen?

• Your reflections

• In pairs - Warm up – What are you most please about with your mentoring relationship? And best hopes for today’s session?

• Debrief in full group- what are your best hopes from today’s session?

• Check in - In groups of 4 – What has worked so far? List 20 things! All the detail!

• Debrief in full group

• New groups of 4 - What questions do you have?

• Full group – your questions – things to clarify

• Being solution fcused – Where do you focus the conversation

Agenda

Before we begin…..

• How will we know that today’s

session has been useful?

• What are you curious about?

Put in chat

Let’s See It in Action!

➢

➢

➢

➢

➢ What would you like to achieve

in relation to this?

➢ If this was working well what would be happening?

➢ Can you think of a time, in the past, when you handled this challenge, or something similar, successfully?

➢ What would others notice if you were managing this challenge?

➢ If you could take just one single action to move this

What did you notice happen in this conversation?

“People live inthe worlds our questions create.”

Where do you focus your conversations?

PAST FUTURE

Timeline axis

Where do you focus your conversations?

Where do you focus your conversations?

Good Stuff orWhat’s wanted

Not so good stuff or What is not wanted

Content axis

POSITIVE CONTENT

NEGATIVE CONTENT

PAST FUTURE2 1

3 4Dialogic orientation quadrant (DOQ) (Moon, 2017)

Where do you focus your conversations?

What works well already Resourceful past

2 1

3 4

Preferred Future

Causes of unwanted –Problem past

The unwanted continues

Dialogic orientation quadrant (DOQ) (Moon, 2017)

Where do you focus your conversations?

List top 3 things you were pleased about in how you managed in 2020?

How did you do that?

What is Solution Focus?

“Change is happeningall the time…The simple way to change is to notice the useful change and amplify it.”

McKergow & Clarke (2007)

• What’s wrong?

• What needs fixing?

• Blame and control

• Causes in the past

• The expert knows best

• Deficits and weaknesses

• Complication

• Definitions

Problem Focus

• What’s wanted

• What’s working

• Progress

• Influence

• Collaboration

• Resources and strengths

• Simplicity

• Actions

Solution Focus

Problem Focus or Solution Focus?

Solution Focus Assumptions

➢The other person has competence, strengths and resourcefulness

➢The other person is the expert in their own context/world

➢We focus on what is right, not what is wrong: it is about finding

what works.

➢Emphasis on application: noticing exceptions and useful change

➢The conversation is about learning it occurs through action,

noticing and reflecting on action

• In pairs - Warm up – What are you most please about with your mentoring relationship? And best hopes for today’s session?

• Debrief in full group- what are your best hopes from today’s session?

• Check in - In groups of 4 – What has worked so far? List 20 things! All the detail!

• Debrief in full group

• New groups of 4 - What questions do you have?

• Full group – your questions – things to clarify

• Being solution fcused – Where do you focus the conversation

AgendaSolution Focused conversations

Problem talk creates problems, solution talk creates solutions.

Steve de Shazer

What is resonating with you?

Put in chat

“The way you viewpeople impacts the way

you show up in the conversation.”

Elliott Connie

• Listen - they have a problem

• Listen - they are a problem

• Listen for their brilliance – listening for the superhero!

How do you listen?

• Facial gestures

• Hand gestures

• Gaze

What matters the most in Conversations?

FrogForever

Recognise

Other’s

Greatness

Brenda Zalter Minden

In summary

•Simplicity

•Working with what is there

•Validating and highlighting already good practice

Solution Focus tools

Annette Gray Leadership Coach, Facilitator and Speaker

* annette@annettegray.com.au

0410 615 889Annette Gray Consulting

www.annettegray.com.au

✓ Leader as Coach programs✓ Mentoring programs✓ Group/Team Coaching✓ Individual Coaching