“The process of configuring an instrument to provide a result for a sample within an acceptable range“
I have spent my career working in the automotive industry and the word calibration is something that we all are very familiar with. For anyone who is not from the world of crash repair calibration is what we do to make sure various pieces of equipment give us the correct reading – that they are balanced and fit for purpose.
Calibration is a word I use a lot when coaching, but instead of this being in relation to a set of torque wrenches or paint scales, it’s in relation to the person I am working with.
Think of it this way. Why does the paint scale automatically reset to zero between every use? Or, if you are making a cake, why do you need to make sure your scale is set to zero before you measure your ingredients?
It’s because the scale needs to be balanced to get the mix spot on. What’s the difference between a scale and you? Had a crappy meeting or a tough conversation? Or.. a great meeting with your next one being disciplinary. You need to balance yourself before you go into differing situations or go from work to home to have dinner with your family. This is what I would term personal recalibration.
Taking the time to reset yourself between meetings, after significant conversations, or when you go through the step change from home-you to work-you and back again means you will be more fit for purpose, whatever it is you are doing. You’ll handle challenging conversations better, you’ll manage your meetings better, and you might even find it easier to slip off the work shoes and settle into that family thing that you were not quite looking forward to because you were still in that work mindset.
There is no one-size fits all in terms of personal recalibration, either in terms of how you do it, or how long it takes. A couple of coaching sessions can really highlight when you would benefit from this kind of practice, and how you can build this into your daily habits.
Drop me an email if you’d like to explore this in terms of how you could develop this as part of your personal toolkit.
#coachingisnotjustaconversation #coaching #selfreflection
