A few days ago, I was talking with a friend about a recent automobile accident. I told her the driver veered off the road into a barrow pit. “A barrow pit?” she asked. After a chuckle, I explained that a barrow pit is a wide, deep gutter dug along the roadside by the transportation department for drainage purposes - it is usually dry. “Oh,” she replied, “we call those ditches.” “Ditches?” Well, okay, but when I hear the word, ditch, I think of a channel or canal used for the moving water primarily for irrigation. So, when I told my friend, “the driver ran into the barrow pit,” I meant it was a dry accident. If I had said ditch I would have meant the driver went into the water.

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At CMOE, coaching is a big topic. Essentially, our team eats and breathes coaching. The Coaching Skills workshop is our flagship product, and our book, The Coach is one of our best sellers. The skills, tools, and concepts are engrained in our work culture and personal lives because of the benefits and results it offers.I had guessed that all of this exposure to effective coaching was what made me so surprised and disturbed when I saw an example of very ineffective coaching while watching the Olympic Games this summer, but now it seems I wasn’t the only one bothered by this particular example. When the American women’s pole vaulter, Jenn Stuczynski, won the silver medal, her coach, Rick Suhr, responded with criticism, indifference, and no support. If you haven’t seen the clip, click on this link: Stuczynski Hears Harsh Words From Coach. - (you’ll be forced to watch a short ad).

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Life’s greatest joys and its greatest sorrows often come from the relationships we have developed with others. In fact, our existence is quite dependent upon this interaction with other individuals and groups of individuals.

In our world today, it seems that most people strive for happiness through pleasant physical surroundings and economic security. These are great, but if there is discord in human relations, these things do not bring happiness. Think about the last time you were having an argument or a disagreement with one of your co-workers, your boss, your friend, or a family member. Was it easy or difficult to focus on your priorities? Even though you might have been having some success in many areas of your life, did you find yourself still feeling some discomfort due to the stress in that particular relationship? Conversely, you may know people who are happy in abject poverty and/ or with physical stress if they have meaningful, pleasant relations with those around them.

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