Along the way, Lynn’s discovered fresh insights to help navigate the complex challenges leaders and their teams are facing. Her current practice helps senior clients stay grounded and focused when they need to address practical leadership issues.
And this is what we’ve come to talk about today.
The consulting and coaching community is taking notice as Lynn’s authored a powerful and discerning framework that cuts through the complexity of honing and building new skills – to make a compelling difference in the lives of many of her executive clients. She explains, “I made a discovery of something I now call the 3C’s© in my work with leaders. Starting twenty years ago, I realized these clients all faced similar challenges when they had to take on something new. And I’ve grown this framework to allow today’s leadership clients to get the biggest and most strategic benefit out of not just their work lives but their personal lives as well.”
Lynn admits that the 3C’s© might sound a bit mysterious at first. She continues thoughtfully, explaining that, “the 3C’s© are a set of coaching techniques woven around the key concepts of capability, capacity, and confidence.”
She starts by explaining the backstory. “Twenty-five years ago, I faced my big career challenge. I realized that I had all the corporate skills and competencies that I needed to do what I loved doing, but I wasn't sure how to get to the next place. It was a real challenge for me to find the exact point of leverage that I needed to build the future I wanted. A future where I could stand confidently in the knowledge that I was on solid ground.” As a result of her efforts trying to find the signal within the noise, Lynn discovered that a recurring pattern of work circled around the key issues of capability, capacity, and confidence. “And I have found and believe that these 3C’s©, when used together, are quite different from other approaches to honing and developing skills and competence.”
Let’s find out more about what makes this fresh approach so effective.
Used in tandem, the 3C’s© promise both immediate results and the deep and lasting benefits of learning to direct ‘the self’ in a more intentional and focused way. Lynn Bennett’s discerning approach allows clients to, “more fully explore, be truly present, and remain laser sharp on what they envision for themselves.” She adds, “My senior leadership clients come to me wanting to step forward. They come wanting more and better ways ‘to be’. At this point in their careers, they are committed to make an investment in feeling better prepared and more resilient.” And Lynn makes it clear that, “I make sure they don't just ‘get it and forget it’ but rather build their outcomes into something more meaningful than just solving today’s problem. Together, we work towards something deeper – our goal is to anticipate and deflect barriers from happening in the first place. It’s this wisdom that’s the true power of the 3C’s© in action.”
Let’s break it down and take a closer look at how the magic works.
When asked to explain her process, she says it all starts by asking the client to assess their degree of capability. Lynn notes, “first of all, I ask if the task or challenge at hand is something that the client is actually capable of doing? So often people take on new work that they are not ready for, or lack the confidence to do, or don’t seem to be able to focus their attention. Let’s be clear, I am not saying you can’t take on a new challenge! What I am saying is to invest the time to assess and acknowledge any gap in your capability. The answer can sometimes be as simple as realizing that you need to find resources like a strategic partner with the specific talents that you might lack.”
Next, she says, “I focus on capacity. Quite simply, do you have the time and support you need to devote to acquiring the new knowledge, skill or ability needed to take on this opportunity or meet this challenge? Do you have the personal energy available at this moment? Do you have the resources you need? Do you have the desire to make this work the centre of your attention? Or are you being pulled by other, equally pressing issues? And, if this is what you really want to do, what are you now willing to get a firm agreement on – both with yourself and with others?”
Lynn continues, “Last, but by no means least, we focus on confidence. As a senior leader, do you and the others on your team actually have confidence in the particular knowledge, skill, or ability that you need? And, how will you go about building confidence?”
She emphasizes, “Confidence is anchored on the first two C’s of capability and capacity. Working all together, they support the client in the wise art of self-directing.” Lynn adds, “Now, you can actually take on this new role and responsibility. The client can honestly say and own that ‘I’ve done my homework and I’ve made a conscious decision to focus my energy and invest my time in development.’ At this point the leader can recognize the new capability and actively seek out feedback from others that leads to a powerful increase in confidence and maps out the next phase of their learning journey.”
Lynn makes it clear that in her leadership and team coaching, the 3C’s© work both in sequence and then all together. They operate as a kind of repeating and deepeningchecklist. “If you want others to have confidence in you, they have to see that you are resolute in working on this for yourself.”
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A personal development plan focused on building each of the 3’s -- Capability, Capacity, Confidence – is one of the best ways to earn credibility with others.
In talking with Lynn, it becomes apparent quickly that the 3C’s© will ask the client for a deep commitment. Not just for today, but one that they can hold for the long term. The 3C’s© are not a quick fix, though they can yield great results quite fast. In her experience they provide the most richness as an intentional and sustained investment by the client, resulting in ongoing increase in both depth and quality.
Who benefits most from the 3C’s©?
This approach has been proven by Lynn in work with high-functioning leaders and their teams throughout the corporate worlds and government, it’s also clear that the 3C’s© could also become essential for any leader who might suffer from a degree of ‘imposter syndrome’. Though these people are seldom willing to admit it publicly, in private discussions with a trusted coach they say they can’t shake the feeling that somehow, they don’t belong in their roles. Lynn’s found that here the 3C’s© can go a long way to help this sort of client avoid the traps of confusion, build trust in their personal knowing, and regain a strong sense of confidence.
In her role as founder of a boutique consulting and coaching company Leadership Intelligence Inc., Lynn Bennett has taken steps to formalize the 3C’s© framework and freely shares it with the experts in a community of thought leaders.
And the impact?
Client and colleague feedback has been off the charts, with clients in particular finding it a refreshing and clear way to cut through the clutter of competing and overly complex approaches and get the kind of sharp focus that brings results and personal growth. Work with the 3C’s© helps her fellow coaches go above and beyond in client support and enables clients to achieve and sustain quite stellar achievements time after time.
Putting it all together, Lynn says, “I want clients to ask, ‘what’s in it for me, my team, my organization?’ This is a healthy place to start and they need that kind of focus in order to build sustainable results. Using the 3C’s©, capability, capacity and confidence – I get clients up to the next level in their roles and careers.”
Lynn emphasizes, “It happens every time. By using the heartfelt insights of the 3C’s© I can help clients think about their own development in a new and personalized way.” She sums up, “You can’t just take a short course to increase your long-term capability, capacity and increase your confidence. You have to build them slowly, respectfully, and intentionally.” Lynn Bennett demonstrates that this work leads directly to increased resilience – in addition to a fundamental sense of kindness and care for both the self and for others who seek to rise to that next level they previously believed undoable.
Some might call the 3C’s© the best way to build and sustain personal credibility.
