The conversation is as clear in your mind today as it was twenty years ago. It was early in your career and at a time when your confidence was low and your future appeared quite unclear. You were experiencing serious doubts about your chosen profession and considered other alternatives. During that time, a conversation took place that completely changed your life. On a warm spring afternoon your boss dropped by your office unexpectedly and proceeded to ask how things were going. After some brief small talk, he pointed out several specific positive observations about your work. He told you that you had great promise and a bright future with the organization. To back up his comments, he asked you to lead a small team exploring a new area of business for the company. From that day forward things were never the same for you. A fire was ignited that would take you to heights never imagined.

Is this fact or fantasy? In recent interviews with business executives and highly successful professionals, I have discovered that such transformational conversations have played a powerful role in accelerating the careers of many individuals. Time after time, these highly successful people described conversations that permanently changed their lives.

Pamela Waite is a qualitative researcher for Critical Question Research. She talked to me enthusiastically about a professor at Harvard University who forever changed the way she viewed her herself and her approach to work. After becoming familiar with Pamela's writing, the professor commented to Pamela that she "was as bright as anyone he had ever had as a student." Considering that Pamela had only average grades as an undergraduate, this statement caught her totally by surprise. She stated that this transformational conversation was "the beginning of a belief that she could succeed at a high level in life." The following fall the professor asked Pamela to become his teaching fellow and the lessons in life and work continued. Today Pamela has a doctorate from Harvard and a national reputation in her field. She has made it her business to coach younger colleagues much the same way the professor coached her many years ago.

 

In my interviews with executives who have a history of developing people, I have found that these individuals employ the following sequential process centered on transformational conversations:

1. View talent identification and development as a critical part of their job.
2. Determine through observation, inquiry and casual conversation, which people are open to being coached and developed.
3. Identify assignments and development opportunities for individuals that connect directly to the leader's vision for the organization.
4. Follow-up periodically with these individuals and offer ongoing support

You naturally want to become a successful leader and expand your horizons. By investing in less experienced colleagues, team members and direct reports; you will not only accelerate their growth but also your own success. Who will you select to have a transformational conversation with today?

Recommended Reading:

Masterful Coaching Fieldbook by Robert Hargrove, Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer, paperback, 2000. Professional coach and manager alike will value this substantive book. It is strong on practical advice and techniques. Hargrove's advice is solid. A special feature of this book is the section on interviews with managers from a variety of industries describing how they apply coaching in their work. If you are serious about coaching, you need this book in your library.