‘That resume was clearly written by AI’, said one of our clients recently. ‘The issue is that when the candidate interviewed, they were terrible….that’s where good coaching questions come into it’. Last week we kicked off a new round of discussions in the Coaching Cafe specifically thinking about the impact of AI on coaching. This week we explore the intersect between AI, HR and quality coaching questions. By the way, we are not trying to catch people out.  We are trying to maximise the...

In discussing key trends for 2024 in coaching we agreed that the use of AI in coaching is in the top three. Luckily, you do not have to be a ‘technological guru’ to understand how artificial intelligence is influencing coaching, and we feel it’s not something that we can ignore.  So this week we kick off a new round of discussions specifically thinking about the impact of AI on coaching. Join Natalie and Paula for this Coaching Café discussion as we explore and pros and cons of the use of AI...

In discussing key trends for 2024 in coaching we agreed that prevalence of mental health concerns and burnout in the workplace will be a major concern. In addition, the legislative response that enshrines the ‘right to disconnect’.  And last week Paula introduced us to this discussion.  However, fresh from a week away (yes that’s a photo from her holidays above), it occurred to Natalie, with all this discussion and ‘prevalence’ what are we actually doing about it? What steps are we taking to...

Welcome to the Coaching Café series for 2024! Not long ago we signed off for the year, with a recap on the trends in coaching that we predicated for 2023.  And now here we are, gazing into our re-usable coffee cups and thinking about the important topics that we are likely to influence our workplaces and coaching this year. The good news is that you don’t need your double shot espresso for inspiration – there are several trends that we are seeing in our research and through conversations...

Wow where did the year go?  It feels like we blinked and now it’s December 😊 But we have achieved a lot together as an Alumni. Including: 30 Coaching Café’s, 7 guest speakers, and 20th Birthday celebrations. In addition, we reviewed the ICF Global Study and focussed on building workforce engagement. Not to mention, great discussion and a focus on our development. As we wrap up the year in Coaching Café’s, we take the time to revisit the trends that we saw throughout the year. In particular,...

At Open Door we are keen to learn from the leaders in our workplaces who are making a difference.  And we continue our conversation this week around building engagement in the workplace, by welcoming back to the Coaching Café, Leisa Bowness, Manager Organisational Capability from Resources Safety & Health Queensland. We have shared Gallup’s recent report on the State of the Australian and New Zealand Workplace which says engagement in our workplaces is only 20%, with 67% of employees in...

At Open Door we are keen to learn from the leaders in our workplaces who are making a difference.  In particular, we continue our conversation this week around building engagement in the workplace. Therefore, we welcome back to the Coaching Café, Andrew ‘Figgy’ Figtree, former Group Captain with Air Force. Open Door has had a long association with Air Force building a coaching culture and delivering the Air Force Coaching Leadership Program. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog...

We know that coaching can achieve a 73% improvement in engagement and 36% uplift in performance using strengths-based conversations.     And this is really important, when you consider Gallup’s recent report on the State of the Australian and New Zealand Workplace says engagement in our workplaces is only 20%, with 67% of employees in Australia and New Zealand ‘quiet quitting’ and 13% actively disengaged.     We know that the 67% of our workforce who are quiet quitting are ‘winnable’. But...

We know that coaching can achieve a 73% improvement in engagement and 36% uplift in performance using strengths-based conversations. And this is really important, when you consider Gallup’s recent report on the State of the Australian and New Zealand Workplace says engagement in our workplaces is only 20%, with 67% of employees in Australia and New Zealand ‘quiet quitting’ and 13% actively disengaged. We know that the 67% of our workforce who are quiet quitting are ‘winnable’. But what does...

If you managed to take a holiday over the past few weeks, we hope you’ve had a refreshing break and we are pleased to be back after ‘spring break’ for our Coaching Café. Tuesday 10th October marks World Mental Health Day 2023 in Australia and the WHO states that World Mental Health Day is ‘an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind the theme ‘Mental health is a universal human right’ to improve knowledge, raise awareness and drive actions that promote and protect everyone’s...

This week on the Coaching Café we have inspirational story to share with you, around how coaching can work across different environments, cultures and people. A story of where coaching meets hope for the future, through coaching young people at risk. We often hear ‘I don’t think coaching will work’ in this situation, for those people or in our organisation. And wherever we hear this, we just think about Melbourne City Mission. The coaches at Melbourne City Mission are coaching young people at...

This week on the Coaching Café we speak with Ian Scott, a distinguished leader with 36 years of experience in the Royal Australian Air Force to explore the intricacies of building a coaching culture across very different environments and the remarkable impact it can have. In this inspirational Coaching Café, Natalie interviews Ian Scott. Ian Scott’s career journey is nothing short of impressive. He has spent 36 years in the Royal Australian Air Force, holding diverse roles in operations,...

Best practice suggests that the implementation of a Leader as Coach or Manager as Coach program into organisations, provides the essential catalyst for the rollout of coaching. Air Force call it the ‘force multiplier effect’.  Coaching a group of people to go out and implement coaching conversations in the workplace. So this week on the Coaching Café join Natalie and Paula as we continue our discussion around implementing a culture of coaching by looking at a very important element – the...

This week on the Coaching Café we have inspirational story to share with you, around how coaching can work across different environments, cultures and people. A story of where coaching meets hope for the future, through coaching young people at risk. We often hear ‘I don’t think coaching will work’ in this situation, for those people or in our organisation. And wherever we hear this, we just think about Melbourne City Mission. The coaches at Melbourne City Mission are coaching young people at...

This week in our Coaching Café we kick off a series of looking at best practice in building a culture of coaching within our organisations.    Many of us across the Open Door Coaching Alumni are involved in introducing coaching into teams, business units and into the organisation, with the view of creating a culture of coaching in the workplace.  However, some people ask:  ‘is it even possible’ or  ‘is that what we should be aiming for?’  and ‘if that’s what we want…well how do you go about...

I’m juggling so many things (mental health conversations in the workplace) ‘I’m just juggling so many things’, is a common comment that we hear in coaching conversations. We are all juggling work commitments, on top of looking after our teams, home, family, physical and mental health and the list goes on.  Add the pressure of competing deadlines and priorities and the juggling becomes even more challenging.  For some, there is a feeling of not even having 10 minutes of time for myself. And we...

‘I’m not sure it’s my role’, was a comment we received recently during a presentation on mental health converastions in the workplace. We may notice that a work colleague or client is not their normal self. Perhaps their behaviour has changed or the language they are using and their demeanour is different. But the person in the workshop was worried that they didn’t really ‘feel it was their place’ to approach the person. It’s not uncommon to wonder whether it’s your job to start a mental...

Research suggests that when managers focus on strengths during performance this can lead to an uplift of 36.5% in performance. In addition, engagement increases, productivity increases and absenteeism decreases. When we first heard these statistics many years ago now, we simply said, ‘tell me more!!!’ and it opened the doors (pardon the pun) to developing our strengths-based approach to coaching. Today, a strengths-based approach to coaching has never been more important. There’s a lot of...

We continue our focus on getting ready for annual performance reviews during our Coaching Café this week.  Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve looked at key tips and a framework to set those conversations up for success.  This week we turn our attention to the trickier performance conversations. We were recently asked by a frustrated manager: What do you do about the people who think they are meeting expectations, but they aren’t? Or they don’t have goals? Don’t really care? Aren’t prepared...

This week we continue our Coaching Café series on coaching for successful performance conversations. There is a lot we can do to coach our managers and team members to have successful annual performance conversations. Performance conversations that lead people to feel proud and energised about their work; rather than dreading this time of year and for some thinking about all the extra work that it may involve – on top of everything else in your plate. And we know that success during this...

For many people getting what you need out of a performance conversation can be really challenging. Especially if those conversations are linked to salary increases. And let’s face it, given the gender pay gap, the challenge is greater for women. So we’ve called in the expert to assist us with this conversation. Join us for the Coaching Café this week, where we interview Anneli Blundell, author of The Gender Penalty: Turning Obstacles into Opportunities for Women at Work. Anneli will share...

The change of season from Autumn to Winter brings the cold, rain and dark nights here in the Southern parts of Australia and it’s also about this time that organisations enter the performance review season. But it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom for performance conversations this year (especially if you’ve implemented our ideas from last year!).  At Open Door we are bringing back our most popular set of Coaching Cafes to help you coach your team to set up and deliver successful annual...

This month we are celebrating Open Door’s 20th birthday and we want you to join us for a range of inspirational Coaching Cafes; with a few flashbacks thrown in. And one of the most inspirational and experienced people we know is our very own Brigitte Calvert, Learning and Development Manager at Open Door. For 20 years, at Open Door we’ve focussed on the vision of: creating workplaces we can all be proud of by bringing a culture of coaching to our workplace. And to achieve that vision we...

Join Natalie as she interviews our Resident HR Specialist Paula-Jones Hunt on how HR is leading the way in coaching. Including her role in championing coaching across a range of organisations, from the highly industrial to not-for-profit and indigenous work. Watch the webinar of this episode or read the blog by visiting our website. Contact The Coaching Café Podcast Stay up to date on our socials @Opendoorcoaching Tweet at us @theopendoorcoach Email us at [email protected] ...

Back in 2003 singer Beyonce topped the Billboard charts with ‘Crazy in Love’.   The number 1 song in Australia was ‘Lose Yourself’ by Eminem.   And a coaching company with a big vision was founded!    For 20 years, at Open Door we’ve focussed on the vision of: creating workplaces we can all be proud of by bringing a culture of coaching to our workplace.  This month we are celebrating Open Door’s 20th birthday and we want you to join us for a range of inspirational Coaching Cafes; with a few...