The road to a better version of yourself is not just paved with things you should stop doing. There are also new behaviors you should add and there are behaviors that you certainly should continue. These behaviors are not always easy to identify yourself, simply because it is difficult to be objective about your own behavior. Let alone to identify which of your behaviors are helping you and which ones are in fact hurting you.
As the name suggests, in the Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching methodology we involve your stakeholders in the process. Your stakeholders observe your behavior from a different viewpoint than you yourself can ever do. Involving them in a safe environment for you and your stakeholders to solicit their input, will allow you to grow and to reach your results even faster.
One of the set of questions I like to use in my coaching, and that you can ask your stakeholders, is the Stop – Start – Continue exercise. In this exercise, you will simply ask your stakeholders what behaviors you should stop, start or continue. You can frame it like “You know that I am working on improving my leadership skills. What behavior that I am expressing should I stop to become a better leader?” You can ask them a similar question about behaviors that you should start and should continue.
When you ask these questions to a number of stakeholders, you will be provided with valuable input about your behavior and about a possible road ahead to a better version of yourself!