6th Edition: Coaching Superpowers, Expert Guests & The Good Kind Of Stealing
Thanks for being here
Hey L&D fam, hope you’re having a wonder-full week!
I always laugh hearing people’s first impressions of Montreal.
American visitors marvel at the city’s “European” vibe, while Parisians bluntly claim it’s exactly like the US - but people speak French (which baffles them 🤨).
I’d say we’re a mix of the two. The most hilarious example being Quebec Costcos serve wine samples - which “totally refines the experience” according to Ontarians, ha.
Costco jokes aside, arts and culture are the lifeblood that bring vitality to our little cosmopolitan. Unique restaurants, wine bars and colourful murals breathe authenticity throughout. Plus we have an impressive festival line-up (100+ annually) ranging from the Jazz Fest, to Just For Laughs and Startupfest.
But the landmark cultural move I find most impressive?
The city has renewed an agreement to protect 280K square feet of affordable studio and loft spaces for artists in the Mile End neighbourhood. Meaning 900 artists have been guaranteed affordable work spaces until 2046. (📖 Read the full article.)
Pretty cool, right?!
I hadn’t spent much time in the Mile End until I joined Ubisoft in 2018. Though I was based in Paris, I spent a fair bit of time working from the Montreal offices.
The first thing I noticed about the neighbourhood was the abundance of art galleries. I wondered how on earth artists could afford such highly coveted spaces when there was barely anyone ever in them.
That’s when someone first told me about the cultural protection laws. Mystery solved!
Anyway, if you’ve visited Montreal before, I’d LOVE to hear your impressions. And if you plan on visiting, let me know and I’d love to catch up in real life!
Okay, back to business: here are three gems I want to share with you:
An Experience To Inspire: A Masterclass On Activating Coaching Superpowers
Last week Misfit to Maverick Founder Allegra Stein launched her 12th cohort of her Activate Your Coaching Superpowers masterclass. I’m so thankful I got to be part of it!
Allegra and I connected through Maven and I was instantly blown away by her incredible energy and unique approach to coaching - in which our authentic strengths guide our practices.
I left Allegra’s course with clarity on both my strengths and potential kryptonites that could show up to counteract them if I’m not careful. For example, my strengths in strategic thinking and ideation generate lots of potential solutions to problems.
The downside to that? My enthusiasm to share my ideas might blind me to the fact that others need more time to process and solve their own problems. So I need to be conscientious of asking guiding questions without being too prescriptive (and this applies as much to coaching as it does any other relationship).
Whether your work involves coaching others, or you simply want better language to articulate your strengths, I highly recommend Allegra’s course.
📨 Her next cohort is scheduled for late January. Join the waitlist to be notified for further details.
A Resource To Consider: Managing Expert Guests + More
Expert guests can be a huge asset to your course. Whether it’s bringing in someone with a big(ger) following to gain more attention from prospective students, or to drill down into a sub-topic you’re less proficient in. Both add to your credibility.
The question is, how do you go about incorporating these people into your course?
Enter Julia Saxena to the rescue!
👇 Julia has created a quick checklist below. And FYI most people drop the ball on thanking their guests (similar to how people drop the ball on offboarding). Don’t be one of those people!
Ask yourself, what’s next? At minimum say thanks, get their feedback - how was it for them? what would they do differently next time? - and confirm whether they’d be interested in coming back or not (read the last section for a tip on how to frame this request objectively 😉).
By the way, I stumbled across Julia’s work a few months ago and I’ve been blown away by her consistency in pumping out helpful resources around course creation.
What’s really cool? She recently consolidated everything she’s created in the past 18 months (since she started working with course creators) into one place.
🔥 Check out her new site packed with resources to launch, run and scale online courses. And spread the word to fellow course creators!
A Question To Ponder: The Good Kind Of Stealing
Instructional design is one of the few fields in which “stealing” is encouraged. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not encouraging you to copy others or present someone else’s ideas as your own - I’m saying you should constantly be poised for inspiration as to how you can incorporate things you like into learning designs of your own.
For instance, in the coaching masterclass I mentioned earlier, Allegra encouraged us to accompany requests like “Would you be open to connecting me with X person?” or “Would you be willing to provide a testimonial for Y?” with “both yes and no are perfect answers!”. This alleviates pressure on both the requester and the requestee. Which is something I plan to implement going forward.
💭 My question to you is, what’s one thing you’ve come across recently that you’d like to incorporate into your work practices and why?
Thanks for reading my *sixth* newsletter
My goal is to prompt reflection within this vibrant community of ours, so I’d love your feedback on how I can make future editions beneficial.
Got an idea or burning question I could address? Hit reply and we’re off to the races!
Have a wonder-full week,
Packed full of good information. Keep it up!