!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE GRAFT SESSIONS KEEP YOUR COACHING MOJO ALIVE AND KICKING

Page �2

WELCOME TO GRAFT"!HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM… "!You've completed the Coaching for Great Work workshop."!Congratulations - these days it's no small thing to put aside a day and focus on tools, skills and structures that will add to your (and others’) impact, productivity and general happiness."!And yet, you know the danger."!As soon as you leave the training room, the new insights, excitement and motivation start to drain away."!A week out, you can barely remember the key things you learned. And a month out? Forget it."!This resource will help change that for you."!!THE DOJO"!You may know the martial arts concept, the dojo. It's the name for the place where practitioners gather for deep practice. At its heart is repetition, community and regularity."!Now, while we can't create a room of Zen-like beauty and dress you in fighting clothes, we can help provide some of the structures that will significantly increase the likelihood that some of your new coaching and leadership skills will stick."!

Page �3

!!!This is your dojo, a way to:"!

• Practice through repetition some of the tools you've learned"• Give and receive support from your peers"• Keep the insights, commitment and tools you've learned fresh and

relevant."!Read on to learn more."!With warm wishes,"!

� "Michael Bungay Stanier, Founder of Coaching for Great Work

Page �4

HOW IT ALL WORKS"!1. THE SET UP"!You will be assigned to a 'pod' with three or four other colleagues who've taken the same program."!You're expected to meet for an hour, at least four times over the next 90 days. You're welcome to meet longer, and meet more often. That's for you as a group to decide."!The first session is a set-up and check-in session."!The next session looks at a part of the program that’s essential to really get “in your bones”: Blue Card Coaching."!After that, it’s about the second coaching moment: Green Card Coaching."!The final session helps you decide what additional support you want to put into place to help you keep the coaching skills going."!!2. THE “FACT” ROLES"!Everyone in the pod is expected to arrive at the meetings on time, willing to participate and having spent a little time refreshing their understanding of the topic."!F: Facilitator"You open and close the meeting and manage the timing of the session."!

Page �5

A: Actor"You're the person to be coached by the Coach."Your job is to arrive with something to be coached on."!C: Coach"You're the coach during the practice part of the session."You'll be coaching the Actor using the coaching tool the session is focused on."!T: Teacher"You're responsible for leading the teaching session of the meeting."You're expected to have revised and prepared the relevant content."!Depending on the size of your pod, you may play more than one role in a session. More details on the roles can be found on Resource Sheet One (page 26)."!!3. THE GRAFT STRUCTURE"!Each session has a set structure, designed to take no more than an hour and summed up by the acronym GRAFT. (Conveniently, “graft” means both “hard work” and “adding on for greater productivity.”)"!G: Greeting (5 minutes)"

• The group quickly checks in with one another. Led by the Facilitator."!R: Review (about 10 to 15 minutes)"

• Led by the Teacher, the assigned topic of the session is reviewed."!A: Action (about 10 minutes)"

• To role model and practice the skill, the Coach works with the Actor."!

Page �6

F: Feedback (about 10 to 15 minutes)"• The Coach gets feedback from the group on what went well and what

could have been different."!T: To-Do's (10 minutes)"

• Each person commits to actions they'll take between now and the next session."

• The topic, roles and the date of the next session are confirmed."!!4. ACTIONS TO TAKE NOW"!On Work Sheet One (page 23):"

• Capture the contact information of your colleagues"• Schedule the first session"• On the next page, review the actions you need to take before the first

session (page 5)."

!!5. PREPARING FOR YOUR FIRST SESSION"!Here’s what you’ll need to do before your first session."!Prework"!

• Review your coaching cards"• Review the “A-Ha’s” section of your program workbook"• Review the Actions section of your program workbook"• Decide what is the most useful part of the Coaching for Great Work

program for you. What would you like to begin to master?"

Page �7

!!What you’ll need to bring"!

• Pen"• Your calendar/schedule"• Your coaching cards (the blue, green, red ones)"• Your worksheets from the workshop"• This GRAFT document."

!!!!!!!!!!!

Page �8

!!!!!!

SESSION ONEGET STARTED

!

Page �9

SESSION 1: GET STARTED"!!BEFORE"!Prework"!

• Review your coaching cards"• Review the “A-Ha’s” section of your program worksheet"• Review the Actions section of your program worksheet"• Decide what is the most useful part of the Coaching for Great Work

program for you. What would you like to begin to master?"!What you’ll need to bring"!

• Pen"• Your calendar/schedule"• Your coaching cards (the blue, green, red ones)"• Your worksheets from the workshop"• This GRAFT document."

!Overview"!

• For this first meeting, you won’t be formally playing the various roles (Facilitator, Actor, Coach, Teacher). You’ll need to self-facilitate this process as a group."

• This first session may take less than the allotted hour, because you’re not revising any specific coaching tool."

!

Page �10

PROCESS"!!1. Greeting (about 10 minutes)"!Agree on confidentiality about personal information shared during the session."

!• The tallest person goes first."• Don’t make your check-in so brief that it’s cryptic. Flesh things out."• Equally, you’re not down at the pub telling an epic story. Spend just a

couple of minutes each on this.""

!!!!!

This is a fast and powerful way to check-in with someone. "It quickly uncovers possible areas in which "

they may need support, encouragement or coaching."

Go around the group and share: !What was the high point and low point of the last week?"

Page �11

2. Review (about 10 minutes)"

!• Go in reverse order from last time. (The person who went last

now goes first.)"• Be as specific as you can."

"

!!!!!!!!

It’s useful to hear what other people are trying and where it’s working.!It means that there may be an opportunity to try that tool or approach

yourself.

Go around the group and share: !Thinking about the program, what have you tried so far?"

!What’s working? (Give an example if you can).

Page �12

3. Action (about 15 minutes)"

!• Someone who hasn’t gone first yet, goes first."• Be as specific as you can."

!!4. Feedback (about 15 minutes)"

!• Someone who hasn’t gone first yet, goes first."• Be as specific as you can."

Go around the group and share: !What was useful about the exercise of selecting"

one thing to focus on?"!

What can I use about this exercise in my own coaching?

Go around the group and share: !If you could focus on one tool or skill from the coaching program between now

and the next meeting of this group, what would it be?"!

Specifically, how would you practice this?"!

Are there any particular situations? Are there any particular people?

Page �13

!!!5. To-Do’s (about 10 minutes)"!There are a number of decisions and actions to take before the session is complete."!1. Debrief the session from today"!

• Write down at least two A-Ha’s you’ve had from this session on Worksheet Two (page 24) and share with the group."

• Write down at least two actions you’re going to take related to Blue Card Coaching on Worksheet Three (page 25) and share with the group."

!2. Prepare for the next session"!

• Confirm the date and time you’ll be meeting (Worksheet One, page 23)."• Confirm and write down the roles you’ll each be playing (Resource Sheet

One, page 26, Worksheet One, page 23)."!

Page �14

!!!!!!!!!!!!

SESSION TWOBLUE CARD COACHING

Page �15

SESSION 2: BLUE CARD COACHING"!!BEFORE"!Everyone"!

• Review what’s expected from you in your role (Resource Sheet One, page 26)"

• Review your notes and the Foggifiers"• Review your Blue Card"• Review the Blue Card video on the Keep It Going Portal in the Video

section (BoxOfCrayons.biz/CoachingBoost)"• Review your experiences trying Blue Card Coaching over the previous

couple of weeks. What’s worked? What has been difficult?"!Facilitator"!

• Send a reminder to the group about the time & date of the meeting, and people’s roles 48 hours before meeting."

!What you’ll need to bring along"!

• Pen"• Your calendar/schedule"• Your coaching cards (the blue, green, red ones)"• Your worksheets from the workshop"• This GRAFT document."

!!!

Page �16

Overview"!

• You’ll remember that one of the key learnings when you did Blue Card Coaching was just how much of a finely-tuned advice giving machine you really are."

• One of the points of Blue Card Coaching is for you to resist leaping in with advice, solutions or an action plan."

• Your goal is to stay curious about what the real challenge is for the person you’re coaching."

!

Page �17

PROCESS"!!1. Greeting (about 5 minutes)"!The person playing the Facilitator role leads this session."!The Facilitator picks a check-in question that they’d like to use to start the session (Resource Sheet Two, page 28). Agree on confidentiality about personal information shared during the session."!!2. Review (about 10 to 15 minutes)"!The person playing the Teacher role leads this session."!The Teacher revisits the core learning points about Blue Card Coaching. They should cover:"!

• The Foggifiers and where people get trapped in not helping people Get Clear"

• The most useful coaching questions"• The basic rhythm of Blue Card Coaching."

!This will most likely work best if it’s more of a conversation with the group, rather than a lecture. You can review much of this material on the Keep It Going Portal (BoxOfCrayons.biz/CoachingBoost)."!!!!

Page �18

3. Action (about 10 minutes)"!The people playing the Actor and the Coach lead this session."!The Actor:"!

• Brings a real challenge that they’re facing"• Doesn’t try and make the Coach’s life any more difficult than it will

already be."!The Coach:"!

• Coaches for six minutes"• Starts the coaching by saying “What’s on your mind?”"• Sticks to the questions on the back of the Blue Card as much as possible"• Practices “what’s the real challenge for you here?” (and variations) and

“and what else?” (and variations) as much as possible"• Asks for help from the others, but only if they’re really and truly stuck."

!

Page �19

The Facilitator:"!

• Times the coaching and stops it after six minutes."!Everyone who’s not the Coach or the Actor:"!

• Observe the coaching between Coach and Actor"• Notice what went well. What were the best questions the Coach asked?"• Notice where things went less well. Where did the Coach rush to advice,

solutions or action?"• Avoid jumping in to fix things, unless they’re specifically asked by the

Coach."!!4. FEEDBACK (about 10 to 15 minutes)"!The whole group participates in this section. The Facilitator keeps an eye on the time."!The Coach begins by talking about what she or he thought went well in the coaching, and then where they got off track."!The rest of the group then shares their observations and opinions."!Make your feedback as specific as possible:"!

• Point to specific questions or statements that worked or didn’t work."• Articulate other behaviours that the Coach did that made a difference."

!!!

Page �20

5. To Do’s"!The Facilitator leads this section."!There are a number of actions and decisions to take before the session is complete."!1. Debrief today’s session"!

• Write down at least two A-Ha’s you’ve had from this session on Worksheet Two (page 24) and share with the group."

• Write down at least two actions you’re going to take related to Blue Card Coaching on Worksheet Three (page 25) and share with the group."

!2. Prepare for the next session"!

• Confirm the date and time you’ll be meeting (Worksheet One, page 23)."• Confirm and write down the roles you’ll each be playing (Resource Sheet

One, page 26; Worksheet One, page 23)."!

Page �21

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Page �22

!!!!!!!!!!!!

SESSION THREEGREEN CARD COACHING

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Page �23

SESSION 3: GREEN CARD COACHING"!!BEFORE"!Everyone"!

• Review what’s expected from you in your role (Resource Sheet One, page 26)"

• Review your notes and the Possibility Liberators"• Review your Green Card"• Review the Green Card video on the Keep It Going Portal in the Video

section (BoxOfCrayons.biz/CoachingBoost)"• Review your experiences trying Green Card Coaching over the previous

couple of weeks. What’s worked? What has been difficult?"!Facilitator"!

• Send a reminder to the group about the time & date of the meeting, and people’s roles 48 hours before meeting."

!!What you’ll need to bring along"!

• Pen"• Your calendar/schedule"• Your coaching cards (the blue, green, red ones)"• Your worksheets from the workshop"• This GRAFT document."

!!

Page �24

Overview"!

• You’ll remember from the Green Card Coaching session that “nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it’s the only one you’ve got” (Emile Chartier)."

• With Green Card Coaching we’re looking to expand our ability to quickly and effectively generate new ideas, possibilities and options."

• Your goal is to quickly generate new ideas using the Possibility Liberators and the Possibility Questions on the back of your Green Card."

!

Page �25

PROCESS"!!1. Greeting (about 5 minutes)"!The person playing the Facilitator role leads this session."!The Facilitator picks a check-in question that they’d like to use to start the session (Resource Sheet Two, page 28). Agree on confidentiality about personal information shared during the session."!!2. Review (about 10 to 15 minutes)"!The person playing the Teacher role leads this session."!The Teacher revisits the core learning points about Green Card Coaching. They should cover:"!

• The Possibility Liberators and how to help people quickly and effectively generate new ideas and possibilities"

• The basic rhythm of Green Card Coaching: diverge and then converge"• The four questions that help you focus and narrow down your options,

before you would answer “what will you do?”"!This will most likely work best if it’s more of a conversation with the group, rather than than a lecture. You can review much of this material on the Keep It Going Portal (BoxOfCrayons.biz/CoachingBoost)."!!!

Page �26

3. Action (about 10 minutes)"!The people playing the Actor and the Coach lead this session."!The Actor:"!

• Brings a real challenge that they’re facing and that they’d like to help figure out with new ideas, options and possibilities"

• Doesn’t try and make the Coach’s life any more difficult than it will already be."

!The Coach:"!

• Coaches for six minutes"• Starts the coaching by saying “What’s the challenge you’d like to have

some new ideas about?”"• Decants the ideas that are already there"• Generates new ideas by using the questions on the back of the Green

Card (including the ever-useful “And what else?”)"• Uses the Possibility Liberators (such as “Add Your Ideas to the Mix”)"• Asks for help from the others, but only if they’re really and truly stuck."

!

Page �27

The Facilitator:"!

• Times the coaching and stops it after six minutes."!Everyone who’s not the Coach or the Actor:"!

• Observe the coaching between Coach and Actor"• Notice what went well. What were the best questions the Coach asked?"• Notice where things went less well. Where did the idea process dry

up or get stuck?"• Avoid jumping in to fix things, unless they’re specifically asked

by the Coach."!!!4. FEEDBACK (about 10 to 15 minutes)"!The whole group participates in this section. The Facilitator keeps an eye on the time."!The Coach begins by talking about what she or he thought went well in the coaching, and then where they got off track."!The rest of the group then shares their observations and opinions."!Make your feedback as specific as possible:"!

• Point to specific questions or statements that worked or didn’t work."• Articulate other behaviours that the Coach did that made a difference."

!!

Page �28

!5. To Do’s"!The Facilitator leads this section."!There are a number of actions and decisions to take before the session is complete."!1. Debrief today’s session"!

• Write down at least two A-Ha’s you’ve had from this session on Worksheet Two (page 24) and share with the group."

• Write down at least two actions you’re going to take related to Blue Card Coaching on Worksheet Three (page 25) and share with the group."

!2. Prepare for the next session"!

• Confirm the date and time you’ll be meeting (Worksheet One, page 23)."• Confirm and write down the roles you’ll each be playing (Resource Sheet

One, page 26; Worksheet One, page 25)."!

Page �29

!!!!!!!!!!!!

SESSION FOUR KEEP IT GOING

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Page �30

SESSION 4: KEEP IT GOING"

!!BEFORE"!Everyone"!

• Review the coaching tool or model you’ll be summarizing and teaching for the group."

• Review your experience of trying this or some of the other coaching tools and models."

• What’s worked? What has been difficult?"!!Facilitator"!

• Send a reminder to the group about the time & date of the meeting, and people’s roles 48 hours before meeting."

!!What you’ll need to bring along"!

• Pen"• Your calendar/schedule"• Your coaching cards (the blue, green, red ones)"• Your worksheets from the workshop"• This GRAFT document."

!!!!

Page �31

Overview"!

• As this is the last time you’re expected to meet as a group - although you can of course agree to keep meeting if you’ve found this useful - the purpose of the final meeting is to do a final review of core content and set up any additional structures you’d like to help keep your commitment to coaching going."

!

Page �32

PROCESS"!!1. Greeting (about 5 minutes)"!The person playing the Facilitator role leads this session."!The Facilitator picks a check-in question that they’d like to use to start the session (Resource Sheet Two, page 28). Agree on confidentiality about personal information shared during the session."!!2. Review (about 15 to 20 minutes)"!Each person contributes to this section as a Teacher."!Each person shares a summary of the key elements of a coaching tool or process with the rest of the group. (About 3 to 5 minutes per person.)"!!!3. Action (about 15 to 20 minutes)"!Each person contributes to this section as both Coach and Actor."!Each person articulates two specific actions they want to take to move their coaching expertise forward. It most likely will be connected to the coaching tool or process they taught in the Review session, but it doesn’t have to be."!

Page �33

The rest of the group coaches them to increase the likelihood of them completing the tasks. You should think about:"!

• Using the Blue Coaching Card to make sure they’re clear on what the challenge is for them in getting this done"

• Using the Green Coaching Card to help generate other options they could consider for getting it done"

• Using the Red Coaching Card to create a plan and accountability."

!!4. Feedback (about 10 minutes)"!The Facilitator leads this session. The Facilitator asks the group:"!

• What was most useful about these three sessions we’ve had?"• What do you want to remember from these three sessions?"• What will be different as a result of these three sessions?"

!!5. To Do’s (about 10 minutes) "!The Facilitator leads this section."!There are a number of actions to take before the session is complete."!1. Debrief today’s session"!

• Write down at least two A-Ha’s you’ve had from this session on Worksheet Two (page 24) and share with the group."

Page �34

• Write down at least two actions you’re going to take to practice your coaching on Worksheet Three (page 25) and share with the group."

!2. Decide if you’d like to continue to support each other in your coaching"!

• Studies show that the most effective way to change your behaviour and embed learning from training is through peer support - exactly what we’ve been doing as part of the GRAFT process."

• Some or all of you might chose to continue to support one another with your coaching goals."

! Options include:"!• Meeting again in person to practice coaching. (It could be every week,

every month, every quarter - you can decide what timing makes best sense to you)"

• Meeting on the phone to practice coaching or to coach each other"• Sharing coaching goals on email, to help drive accountability"• Creating “accountability buddies” to help with difficult coaching

situations."

!

Page �35

!!!!!!!!!!!!

WORKSHEETS & RESOURCES !

Page �36

WORKSHEET 1: LOGISTICS"!!GRAFT Program Dates"Start date:"Completion date (90 days out):"!!Pod Members (Name, Phone number, Email)"!1."!2."!3."!4."!5."!!MEETINGS"!1. GET STARTED"date & time:"location:"my role:"!!

Page �37

!2. BLUE CARD COACHING"date & time:"location:"my role:"!3. GREEN CARD COACHING"date & time:"location:"my role:"!4. KEEP IT GOING"date & time:"location:"my role:

Page �38

WORKSHEET TWO: A-HA’S"!!What do you want to remember from these GRAFT sessions? What’s worth capturing?"!!

Page �39

WORKSHEET THREE: ACTIONS"!!What will you do? By when?"!

Page �40

RESOURCE SHEET ONE: ROLES AND EXPECTATIONS"!!What makes these sessions useful and successful is the clarity of roles and expectations in the meeting."!There are three things for everyone, every time"!

1. To show up to the meeting on time - and preferably, five minutes early."2. To have reviewed the core material required for the relevant topic."3. To participate fully by preparing for your role in the meeting and by

offering constructive feedback."!!FACILITATOR"!

• You send out a reminder to your podmates 48 hours before the meeting."• You open and close the meeting (the "G" and the "T" sectors)."• You manage the timing of the session, to make sure that everything is

done in the hour allotted."!You prepare for a meeting by:"!

• Scheduling a reminder to yourself to send out the reminder to your podmates 48 hours before the meeting."

• Reviewing the generic structure of a GRAFT meeting, including the basic timing."

• Picking a check-in exercise from the Greeting worksheet (page 28) before the meeting and managing the process at the start of the meeting."

Page �41

• Ensuring at the end of the meeting that a next date is set, and that people have made an explicit "Red Card: Spark Action” commitment on what their actions will be."

!!ACTOR"!

• You're the person to be coached by the Coach."

!You prepare for a meeting by:"!

• Arriving with one or two real topics that would be useful for you to get coached on."

!

Page �42

COACH"!• You're the coach during the practice part of the session."• You'll be coaching the Actor."

!You prepare for a meeting by:"!

• Revising the topic on hand and feeling as comfortable as you can with the coaching process."

• Being open to feedback from the group on your coaching, knowing that you can choose what to use and what to ignore."

!!TEACHER"!

• You're responsible for leading the teaching session of the meeting."!You prepare for a meeting by:"!

• Revising the topic on hand and feeling as comfortable as you can with the teaching process, as set out in the relevant worksheet."

!

Page �43

RESOURCE SHEET TWO: GREETINGS AND CHECK-INS"!!As the Facilitator, you can choose which of these check-ins you'd like to use."!!1. High/Low"What was the high point and the low point of the last week for you?"!2. Excited/Anxious"What are you most excited about at the moment? What are you worried about?"!3. Positive"What's working well for you right now?"!4. Focus"What's on your mind?"!5. Different"What's shifted since we last met?"!

Page �44

RESOURCE SHEET THREE: THE KEEP IT GOING PORTAL"

!The Keep It Going Portal includes:"!

• Certificate of Completion (on to which people can add their own names)"

• Download of key posters, slides and worksheets from the program"

• Videos of the program creator, Michael Bungay Stanier, teaching the key learning points"

• Videos about how to build strong habits"

• A Resources list of additional reading and watching"

• Sign up for the Box of Crayons Alumni LinkedIn group"

• An "Ask the Expert" inquiry form (answered by the Box of Crayons team)"

!!Please do make the most of it!

BoxOfCrayons.biz/coachingboost

Page �45