Coaching, feedback and behavioural tools - MBTI

So what tool or method do you use for your coaching practice or other organisational and improvement work?

Over my career I've been on the receiving end of a number and also tried a variety with different clients.  I've ended up using MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) as my main method for helping others - to help themselves. My main reason is this tool is well evidenced, has been in place for decades and is used successfully in many countries. The evidence base is important for me as I believe it is necessary for healthcare to demonstrate the use of evidence-based techniques and tools.  The techniques can't be administered or debriefed unless you've been accreditated which means there is a consistent standard world-wide.

Other reasons I prefer MBTI:

• it is more than a one-off
• it can be scaled from individual through the team and organisation
• it works well to support change processes
• the evidence base, being huge, allows greater depth of understanding
• it is common enough that it provides a "language" for staff to use in times of difficulty

Do you know of or use other behavioural techniques which have an evidence base similar to MBTI and can also be scaled up in their use?

Readiness diagnostic tools for spread, scaling up, dissemination

So how do you know whether your organisation is ready to embark on a program to adopt existing good ideas / evidence in a systematic way?

As in previous posts, most of the answer to this question is a no-brainer - you know the answers already (see previous posts).  However, sometimes it's nice to have a checklist or set of tools to help you check whether what you know about is actually in place.

There are many general tools / checklists available which check whether your team or organisation is ready to do something different.  Most of these assess the culture of the group. The disadvantage here, which is why I suspect many people avoid these types of tools, is if you find out that your culture is not ready, many people lack the patience to go through the necessary cultural change - or they just don't have the time for this "pre-work".

Generic tools can be useful for learning about your organisation though they can be a good (and time-wasting) displacement activity by organisations.

The best types of diagnostic tools are those which are specific to the change in hand.  Specific means they are designed around and for the type of change proposed.

1. One of the best examples I know of specific diagnostic tools come from, the US National Council on Aging. For their Chronic Disease, Falls and Depression scale up plans they have open access tools which can be completed online or you can download the PDF to read through.  Each of these is specific to the adopting community and the type of innovation proposed for scale up / spread / dissemination.
2. NICE - yes, the National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence (NHS) has been at the forefront of providing tools that support the introduction of evidence. These are excellent spreadsheets, populated with the NHS data and ready to use.  Unfortunately, I don't hear about them being used on a regular basis - especially by commissioners.

The problem with tools and diagnsotics is no difference than the problem with any other thing we want to spread or be adopted - most people would prefer to create their own because the credibility for many members of staff lies in the excitement and status of creating their own, rather than using someone else's. If you're offered a diagnostic tool - have a good look at it - if it is specific to the innovation it may be very useful for you.

Self Management Support Tools and Resources

Hoorah! We're finally moving from what often feels the patronising approach of "empowering patients" to finding ways to truly be partners in their care process.  There are multiple projects and programs round the world which demonstrate what can be done.  I've put together a list of resources which you may find useful.

1. My favourite are from The Health Foundation. Their package is comprehensive and includes materials for training staff so is excellent for getting the message out there in a practical way. They've also got resources for improving patient skills.

2. The Institute for Improvement has a short guide which is useful if you want to check what you may need to do to get some benefits.

3. There's an excellent write up about the long term conditions collaborative in Scotland where they identify the top high impact changes you can make.

4. Selfmanagement,.co.uk also has resources and it's one of the few places I've seen where there's information on relevant published literature.  In fact, the more I look at this website, the more I feel it is perhaps the most comprehensive and useful...

Do you have any favourite self management support resource links you'd like to share? Please comment below and I'll add to this blog.