Integration Coaching Unlock your full potential with Integration coaching Fri, 14 Dec 2018 22:53:28 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 Integration Coaching 32 32 156664154 4 TRAITS of HIGHLY COLLABORATIVE TEAMS. Fri, 14 Dec 2018 22:53:28 +0000 http://INTEGRATION.COACH/?p=454 If you are reading this article, you already understand that working collaboratively is essential to the success of your business, ...

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If you are reading this article, you already understand that working collaboratively is essential to the success of your business, your organization, or your agency. You understand that you are a part of the team but not the team itself. You understand that collaboration is a verb and not a noun. It requires commitment and it requires trust. Though you deeply understand these dynamics, you know that your team is more cooperative than it is collaborative. What is the difference you ask? The difference is rooted in these five(5) highly effective traits that are common on HIGHLY effective collaborative teams.


Cooperative teams understand confidentiality but may not commit to confidentiality.  There is a general understanding that team members will respect what is being said in a meeting and that the purpose of the meeting is largely intended to share information.  That said, highly collaborative teams not only understand confidentiality, they COMMIT to confidentiality.  Highly effective collaborative teams set “norms” and expectations at the onset of a meeting and discuss what confidentiality looks like.  Rather than state or imply: “what is said in this room, stays in this room”; highly collaborative teams will ask the question:  what does professional trust look like?  Asking this question, minimizes the possibilities of passive aggressive parking lot conversations that can quickly erode the professional trust in any meeting room.


Too often the person with the most positional authority on a team carries the most influence( ie. the chair, the position ect…) which truly undermines the highly effective collaborative team.  Team members quickly anchor themselves in what the person is saying and because of their influence, collaboration is erodes and influence becomes the currency of the conversation.  In this environment, teams get seduced into a conversation about being right, thinking it is collaboration, and in reality they are handing over their collaborative power to the the person who has them most influence.  Collaborative team members approach meetings with no political agenda.  Collaborative team members, in essence, are focused on the collective purpose of the team as opposed to their organizations’ “ego” or mandates.  They are committed to serving the mission of the team first and their organization second.  Highly collaborative teams have a collective purpose.


The true enemy of collaboration is politeness.  Sounds bold doesn’t it.  I am not suggesting that we go to our team meetings on the attack or packed with “agenda aggression”.  What I am suggest is that highly collaborative teams commit to promoting a culture of learning as opposed to a culture of nice.  Being “nice” gets us no where.  Leading with a curiosity that challenges the status quo of the team promotes a culture of learning.  Here is a great visual on some other differences between cooperation and collaboration (Spencer, J.) 


Having a collectively clear and defined understanding of the teams purpose is the conduit to ensuring a team is collaborative rather than cooperative.  I like what Spencer has suggested in the above picture.  Collaborative teams are in a constant state of interdependence.  To achieve this, teams must spend and dedicate time, preferably at the beginning; to decide it’s purpose.  One of the team members has to ensure that political agendas are not driving the purpose, but rather; what is it that “we” want to accomplish by the end of the year.  What do those accomplishments look like( describe the actions associated with it).  I have coined a phrase that is critical to this process: “surgeons cannot operate on themselves”.  If your team is too close to the politics, I humbly suggest that coaching can bring you to your collective purpose in a laser like way.  Have a look at this website and see how I can help you and your team with this.  Better yet, take me up on my free twenty minute integration coaching consultation.


Too often teams forget to create the time and space to celebrate their collective victories.  I am fortunate to work with highly collaborative teams across Canada who are committed in making their respective communities safe( NACTATR.COM). The teams that sit back and celebrate their small victories are the teams that are highly functional.  Celebration reinforces the teams’ purpose, the individual commitment of the team members, and most importantly provides a sense of community purpose for those members.  Team members, consciously and unconsciously want to belong and be validated in a team.

Patrick Rivard is a highly respected INTEGRATION COACH rooted in his purpose to integrate team members “will and and skill” in creating safe and inclusive communities for children.



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Do you feel inadequacy in this work/life balance pendulum Mon, 03 Dec 2018 21:33:38 +0000 http://INTEGRATION.COACH/?p=435 Welcome Colleagues This is the second Integration Coaching article for educational leaders. Congratulations! You are nearing the end of the ...

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Welcome Colleagues

This is the second Integration Coaching article for educational leaders. Congratulations! You are nearing the end of the 2017-2018 school year and while the light at the end of the tunnel is no longer coming from a train, I know having sat in your chair for 18 plus years, that there is still lots to do. There is no choice but to ignore the exhaustion you feel as the demands of your staff and your community are really no different than yours- everyone is tired.

I realized really early in my education career that the notion of work/balance was inherently flawed, particularly for educators. Commencing in August, educators hit the floor running in their respective schools. This marathon usually continues to the end of June. For those of you who know anything about marathons, the concept of “sprinting a marathon” is not possible. You would simply run out of fuel. Yet, we ask that of our educators consistently. We demand that you run to the end and we spend very little time really understanding that it is the consistent pace that wins the race. It did not come as a surprise to me when I polled educators with this question: “What are top three challenges you currently face in education as a leader?” The number one reply by far was: “work/life balance”. Here are some tips on designing your wellness in a INTEGRATED way as opposed to chasing the feeling of inadequacy in this work/life balance pendulum.

  • Design each day to create some energy for yourself. This could be exercise, this could be meditation, this could be some quiet time with no demands- these techniques are unique to all of us. Do you know yours?
  • Create wellness boundaries. This is an “inside job” whereby you spend time deeply understanding that it is the integration of your strengths that anchors true wellness. Wellness does not exist in a program. It is your inner voice that says: “when I do this, I feel absolutely energized”…
  • Be active in your choice of recreation. Really understand that the word recreation, when broken down, means to “RE- CREATE”. What are you doing this summer to “RE- CREATE?


Allow me to use a sports metaphor as I describe the INTEGRATION COACHING ADVANTAGE. June is always met with the ending of two major sports championships. The NHL celebrates its Stanley Cup champions and the NBA celebrates the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Behind each of these championships are talented and very skilled athletes who tirelessly battle for the ultimate representation of their success. Behind each of these multi-million dollar athletes are COACHES who challenge them, who support them, and strategize with them in accomplishing their common goal. In the education world, we demand the same leadership from our administrators and teachers with little if any coaching whatsoever. Our most effective HR teams attempt to act as a coach daily; yet the competing demands of time erode the best of intentions. The inherent duality between being your boss (directing your evaluation) and your support is often confused. Honestly, it stifles your professional growth. Also, I have had some of the best professional development one could get as a superintendent, principal, and teacher; but what I did not get was a way to INTEGRATE that learning into my leadership. Bridging these gaps is the INTEGRATION COACHING ADVANTAGE.

To that end, I have had two events present themselves to me that changed my leadership exponentially. The first was a failure. One March afternoon, shortly after completing a very dynamic interview, I received a call from the national executive recruiter stating that I was not the successful candidate for the leadership position. This day will never leave me. I remember sitting by the side of a road in rural Alberta, yelling out, from the top of lungs, “I am tired of being in second place!” It was this failure that made be realize that something had to change. I wanted to be a champion to myself. I am grateful to a mentor who once told me, when you’re climbing the ladder of success, be careful which wall you put the ladder on. That was the day I hired my own executive coach to reinvent the champion in myself. Stay tuned for the rest of this story in future articles on how my coaching experience transformed my leadership.

It was through the coaching process that I truly became an INTEGRATED leader. I unmasked so many aspects of my leadership, unveiled leadership blindspots that I did not know about myself and celebrated the greatness I already had during this coaching process. I want to share with you, as your INTEGRATION COACH, the integration coaching advantage.

CONTACT ME AT: EMAIL: and let’s set up a free thirty minute discovery consultation.


  • Dov Baron(2015). Fiercely Loyal- Dov shares a riveting and practical leadership book on how to establish and maintain loyalty in our organizations.
  • Botelho, E.L., & Powell, K. R.(2018). The CEO Next Door- Base on a breakthrough study of over 2600 leaders, these researchers dispel the myths surrounding CEO leadership across many domains.
  • Scott, K. (2017). Radical Candor. A great no nonsense book on how to run better meetings, how to be a better boss, and ultimately how to be a great leader. ” do not cut dogs tail off one inch at the time” was some of the best advise she gave around difficult decisions.
  • Senge, P.(2002). The Fifth Discipline- The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization. I asked the question in my last article. Does the system you are currently leading have a culture of “nice” or a culture of “learning”? Senge does an excellent job of distinguishing the two. Remember: Your leadership is perfectly designed to get the results its getting!


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PLAYGROUND LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP Mon, 03 Dec 2018 21:00:38 +0000 http://INTEGRATION.COACH/?p=431 What does a playground and leadership have in common you ask? Researchers studied the play activity of children on two ...

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What does a playground and leadership have in common you ask? Researchers studied the play activity of children on two differently designed playgrounds.Playground A was an open field with its play equipment spread out on the playground. Playground B had a similar configuration, with similar play ground equipment; except surrounding the playground was a clearly outlined meshed fence. If you were asked to predict the play behavior of students on these two playgrounds, what would you predict? Counter-intuitively to what we might have expected, student playing in playground A( no fences) were much more conservative in their play. Students in playground A had a tendency to play near the school building and their level of activity was less engaged and much more cautious. Conversely, students in playground B( with fences) were much more active, testing the limits of the fence and much more engaged. Interesting, isn’t it. Clearly defined boundaries result in safer environments which promote more creativity and more risk taking.

The playground metaphor traverses the landscapes in many aspects of school leadership, and leadership in general for that matter. The first starts with your leadership. What the INTEGRATION COACHING process does for you is takes that limiting internal voices that handcuff us and keeps us imprisoned in state of mediocrity. INTEGRATION is about rebuilding new fences so that you and your teams can grow personally; thus empowering those around you to grow. INTEGRATION is also about establishing fences where they do not exist. I am grateful for the testimonial I received from one of my coaching clients where he stated the INTEGRATION PROCESS ” helped me look at those erroneous beliefs I was clinging too”. He goes on to state, “I was able to let go of those beliefs that prevented my professional growth. POWERFUL!

I am intentional in having you reflect on your own leadership and to ask yourself, what fences do you manifest in your leadership. Leaders with clearly defined boundaries have staff’s that have clearly defined boundaries which results in a playground(culture) that is safe while promoting risk-taking and growth. Open organizations with clear boundaries are known to not only reduce absenteeism but substantially increase presenteeism. Supporting you in your organizational growth is another aspect of the INTEGRATION COACHING ADVANTAGE.


  • Your leadership is perfectly designed to get the results you are getting! What are the top three things you do daily to ensure your your organizational fence is clear? Suggestions for you and your leadership: Is your vision and mission clear? How do you communicate your organizational mission? Is it visible?
  • How do you know that your staff are playing along the fence and not so close to the building? Who are your risk-takers who promote growth?
  • What is your belief system around growth and progress. Susan Scott in her book, Radical Candor; says one of the missed opportunities in leadership is we leave our “rock-stars” alone in our organizations; thinking they will strive on their own.
  • Do you have a movable fence line? Innovation and growth will only occur if the fences we build are strategically temporary. When the critical mass in your organization has grown, its time to move the fence.
  • How does my leadership positively impact professional growth. Is it more important for me to be “liked” as a leader or do I do what is needed to promote growth with my colleagues.


In my last article, I spoke about the INTEGRATION ADVANTAGE around our wellness. I spoke of the importance of designing our wellness not in the paradigm of work/life balance but in the INTEGRATION paradigm. This simply means designing something everyday that will contribute to your wellness. This easier said than done.

To provide you with some insights on designing your wellness, I will bring you back to the lessons learned from the playground. The struggle I hear from my coaching clients, which includes my own struggle with wellness, is that we generally have no fences when it comes to establishing wellness. Because we have no fences built around our wellness, we have a tendency to do what is comfortable, and for some, this means to continue to exist in our defeating beliefs around our wellness.

Here are the top 5 defeating beliefs : a) I am too busy b) I have too much to do C) I will start tomorrow d) I will TRY e) What’s the point at my age.

The INTEGRATION ADVANTAGE does this very thing. We build WELLNESS fences together. Building a wellness fence consciously and unconsciously designs a parameter for you to take care of yourself. It sets the boundary where you stop chasing the inadequacies others in your organization by INTEGRATING the very thing you possess- unlimited strength to lead. In a powerful testimonial by another principal I coached, she simply established a 10 minute wellness routine. She reported that her ability to make decisions more clearly was amplified by building this simple fence. She reported an increase in energy. The playground lesson she taught us is that building a wellness fence is not as complicated as it needs to be.

Giving in to the narrative that allows you to remain mediocre robs you of your true LEADERSHIP GREATNESS. (


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Integration Coaching Advantage- When “titles” become more important than people! Mon, 03 Dec 2018 20:58:36 +0000 http://INTEGRATION.COACH/?p=428 Whether you are an educational leader or someone who supervises people in a business, this article is for you. Here is ...

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Whether you are an educational leader or someone who supervises people in a business, this article is for you. Here is the absolute challenge we have in promoting employee growth in our organizations.  The challenge is we largely supervise our colleagues in the same way we were supervised prior to becoming the so call boss. I am no different than you. Whether I was the principal of the school, a director or a superintendent, one of the responsibilities that came with those titles was the supervision of employees below you. BELOW you- isn’t that an interesting way to put it, however; the organizational structure of most of our organizations be it a school board, a school or a company; is hierarchical. By way of design the task of supervising employees in inherent to that structure.  It’s all in the word SUPERVISE. You see, the word itself implies that I am above the person I am providing feedback too. I also have a positional authority of the person I am supervising, which creates a dynamic on its own. I had this illusion that my direct reports would gather evidence of their accomplishments and I would then listen to their accomplishments and would objectively( is that really possible) determine if they had met the expectation of the organization. This dyadic dialogue really boiled down to one thing if I were honest.  Did the employees I was supervising make me “happy”. Though I had accomplished many admirable organizational tasks in my career, I reflect on the evaluation process and it came down to whether or not I made the boss “happy”.  What the hell does making your boss happy have anything do with your own professional growth? The answer is simple: NOTHING.

It was not until I became an Integration Coach, that I realized the flaw that exists in many of our organization and the flaw is this: many of our HR processes, though well intended, gather ample evidence that our employees are serving the organization in productive ways. This is necessary, I get it; but does little to promote the growth of the employee. The employee’s response is generally: ” I feel good that I done a good job”. “I feel good that I am contributing to the organization”. However, there is this void the sits in the pit of your stomach that says: “I need more”.

This is where the INTEGRATION COACHING advantage zero’s in on promoting employee professional growth. That void that people are feeling need not be filled with the latest and greatest program on instructional supervision. You have heard me say it before, the higher our inadequacy the more we feel we need more, however the truth of the matter is that we have all we need. What we need is INTEGRATION? Let me share an example with you from one of my clients who is a Principal. I remember our first session where she identified her frustration with not being able to shift one of her teachers. Despite all of her efforts, the teacher would passively agree to the implementation of the program but never really did. The teacher would just do enough to what, I ask: “make her Principal happy”. While the changes the teacher made may be perceived as a minor victory. How do you think both the teacher and Principal felt? Well they both reported that there was something missing.

In about the third session with me, the Principal had “a-ha” moment in her leadership as we were discussing some of her limiting beliefs. You see, like her teacher she was in the last years of her career and when she got real honest with herself, she really did not want to ruffle any feathers and wanted to end her career on a smooth note.   Her limiting belief was “ what’s the use of putting all this effort in, I will be done in two years anyhow”?  As any coach would do, I changed the question from what would make it worth your effort, to what legacy do you want to leave in the school? It was then she changed her whole outlook on her leadership and consequentially the teacher she was supporting. She shifted her mindset from Leader as SUPERIVISOR, to LEADER as coach.

Simply switching from SUPERVISOR to COACH requires deep inquisitiveness. It’s an inside job that is largely misunderstood because coaching does not mean you are a cheerleader nor does it mean therapy. A skilled coach will recognize the blindspots that prevent you from being the leader you want to be to only make them shine into greatness. A leader who understands his leadership strength will bring that out in their employees. As Aldrich( 2018) states in the study How do you improve schools? Start Coaching Principals, “This( coaching)approach is about support, not compliance.” Here are some important considerations in understanding coaching:

1) To the employee, be it a Principal or teacher, be clear in understanding your coaching role. Regardless of your ability as a coach, if you are coaching someone that is lower in the organizations’ hierarchy; subjectivity and bias will creep in. Consider contracting an external coach to train you.

2) Peer coaching is great and works well. Again, ensure that the coaches you put in place understand what coaching entails. There is a tendency to coach like we have been coached, be it sports or other activities whereby you had a coach.

3) Understand how to bring equal balance to the coaching relationship. This requires vulnerability, passion, and intuitiveness.


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