Considers the implications of Carol Dweck’s Mindset: The New Psychology of Success for innovation:

• A fixed mindset is an important source of risk aversion. Risk aversion is one of the biggest innovation obstacles that we face.  You can see how a fixed mindset leads to avoiding taking a chance on new ideas.  If we work on building our growth mindsets, we can start to work our way around this problem.  Which leads to:
• We can change our mindset. Dweck and her team have done a huge amount of carefully constructed research on this topic, and they have consistently shown that you can change your mindset.
• We can grow our talent. The outcome from all of this is the idea that talent is something that can be developed.  This means that it is not the case that you are either creative and innovative or you are not.  You can build these skills

Looks at the knowledge and understanding you need to begin negotiations and how to build up a sense of trust. Basic principles include:

• Putting yourself in their shoes.
• Remember your own values.
• Make sure you ask questions.
• Make sure you don’t wing in – put the preparation in.
• Don’t copy aggressive behaviour, but make sure you stick to your goals.
• Don’t depend on a single strategy.

Case studies on a preparation and knowing your own values are provided.

Research indicates that effective coaching raises employee commitment and engagement, productivity, retention rates and perception of the strength of upper-level leadership. Not all managers are natural coaches though. This article provides tips on how managers can improve their coaching techniques.