Professional Coaches » Business Coach

No More Mr. Nice Guy (or Ms. Nice Girl)

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:46:17 +0000

In the last job I worked at before starting my own business, I had a manager who was – ahem – not a great person to work for. When he wasn't yelling or making rude or obscene comments, he was harshly critical of everyone in the office. It's no wonder that during my 9 months of tenure in that office, our staff went from 7 full-time and 5 part-time staff to 3 full-time staff only. After I left, leaving the office with the same amount of work for 7 full-time and 5 part-time but only 2 people, my manager was finally let go. It's a shame that it went that far.

It's difficult to pinpoint just one problem and there were other issues at play here (such as how the company didn't seem to notice that the office went from 7-plus-5 staff down to 3). But clearly, leadership was an issue. The manager thought he could lead but he relied on a leadership model of berating, humiliating, and yelling.

If you are a leadership coach, your clients are facing the challenge of how to lead effectively. It was while thinking about this that I came across an article in a Harvard Business School blog that talks about humility as a leadership trait. It was a great find – particularly as I read it in light of my previous negative experience – and considered how different the office would have looked with that kind of leader.

Humility is a terribly misunderstood trait. When we think of humility we often associate it with weakness. After all, a strong, dominant, persuasive Type-A personality may be successful and may be able to dynamically lead the troops but is probably not humble. (Gosh, if I had a nickel for every time that has turned out to be true in my experience…).

Humility, however, is not weakness. Sure, one can go too far to the other side of the spectrum and become a weak and dithering leader who can't make a decision or convince a stapler to staple. But humility done correctly is compelling and magnetic and people want to be around those who are "correctly" humble.

You can read the Harvard blog post here but I'll summarize it quickly for you:

First, they point out that just because a leader has authority doesn't mean that they need to wield it with full force. Second, promote others. This is a great piece of advice to leaders and it makes sense: If leaders take all of the credit for things, they look good. But if their team hits one homerun after another, they look even better. Third, acknowledge others. This was an interesting one and they brought in a great sports analogy to illustrate it.

This blog was a great read and should be on the "must read" for all of your leadership clients.

Brought to by you by: Contemporary VA - Run your business instead of running in circles.

@ContemporaryVA on Twitter. Follow the team to stay updated on business resources we deliver that cover strategies and tips, social media and more!

Similar Posts:

Share and Enjoy:

The Top of The Stairs

admin — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:37:47 +0000

Recently, a client told me that he had been bumping his head on the ceiling. He wasn’t any taller since I’d last met him and the context of the conversation was about business. His business, specifically. He was an entrepreneur who had built a successful business but now, he told me, he was bumping his head on the ceiling of growth. He knew he needed to grow but he didn’t know what the right next step was.

We chatted about this for a while as I inquired about what he thought the next step of his business was and what had been the experience of others who had done similar things. Finally we discovered together what the right next step was. It turns out, without realizing it, he had recently achieved his goals in business.

When he started his business he had wanted to create a growing, successful company that was enjoyable to work in and that provided him and his family with a sustainable income. Nothing elaborate, just the good honest hardworking dream of an entrepreneur. He wasn’t seeking fame or fortune, he just wanted to do his own thing and provide for his family.

What he needed, we realized, was a new vision; not just a next step but an entire next staircase!

So together we started creating a roadmap for the future. Rather than looking at the next step for him (which was unclear because there was nothing more for him to achieve) we started looking at what was at the top of his dream staircase. Did he envision an even more prosperous business that he could sell before retirement? Did he want to create something to pass on to his children once they’d grown? Did he want to achieve fame and fortune after all?

It turns out, in his particular case, he wanted to create a business that was somewhat automated, not so he could leave it for weeks and sit on a beach, but just so that he could start spending more time with family as his children got older.

As soon as he said that, it all started to click into place. By looking at the top of the staircase, we could immediately see what steps needed to take place to get there. In his case, he needed to start exploring various automation software, employee training, and (in a little while) a business manager.

Rather than thinking that he had reached the top of the staircase, we changed his thinking so that he had just reached a landing in a much larger staircase.

Now it’s your turn. You might not be there yet. But you may eventually get to that landing. It would be helpful now to consider what the top of the staircase is for you and what steps you need to take to get there.

Is the vision you have for your ultimate business success achievable through the steps you’re taking now? In some ways, this entire "staircase" exercise is an exit strategy exercise but it involves a greater emphasis on the steps you need to take today to get there. Spend some time with your clients working through this process to help them envision what’s at the top of their staircase.

Contemporary VA

@contemporaryva on Twitter. Follow us to stay updated with our many resources that include business, accounting and bookkeeping, social media, and much more!

Similar Posts:

Share and Enjoy:

Three Skills Everyone Should Have

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 02:53:58 +0000

Murphy’s Laws says that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Recently, I was reminded of this during a particularly crazier-than-usual week. It was a veritable flurry of mini-disasters. Now, I realize that in the big scheme of things, my flat tire or missed appointment or forgotten tasks are minor compared to the struggles and trials of other people in the world. However, when taken together, it was still an exhausting week for me!

It’s funny that we know things and then forget about them only to be reminded of them again. (If only it would stick!!!). During this past week I was reminded of 3 skills that everyone should have. And believe me, I covet these skills and wish that I reflected them more often!

Skill #1: Acceptance of adversity. When things go wrong – and they will – we need to accept it. That doesn’t mean that we have to like it, but it does mean that we have to simply acknowledge that it has happened and move on from there. There have been plenty of times in my own life and in the lives of people I coach where we face adversity and fly off the handle. Tempers flare, frustration mounts, and there’s yelling, swearing, and tension. It happens and I admit it here because I know this happens to other people, too.

But our lives will dramatically improve when we respond in a more constructive, accepting position when we are face adversity. Rather than flying off the handle, we need to accept that something challenging has happened and then we need to move on from there.

Skill #2: Flexibility. When things go wrong – and they will – we need to get flexible. Once we’ve accepted the adversity as having happened (skill #1) we need to move off of it and start working toward a solution. Flexibility means that we get creative to develop a solution to solve the problem or at least to keep us going in spite of it.

Flexibility in the face of adversity also means that we need to continue on with other things in life, too, even if part of our life is impacted by adversity. (For example, when I got a flat tire last week, I still had to get dinner ready and get the kids to bed regardless of the added tire stress).

Skill #3: Asking "What can I learn from this?". When things go wrong – and they will – we need to ask ourselves "what can I learn from this?". I was reminded recently during a huge rainstorm we had when our neighbor’s pool overflowed and ran down our sloped backyard and into our basement. Until then, we didn’t even know that our backyard sloped ever so slightly toward our house. So we did something about it.

In trying to figure out what you can learn from each situation, you can transform every experience into a personal coaching experience and you will grow from it.

Possessing these three skills – accepting adversity, being flexible, and learning from the situation – will transform how you face challenges. These skills are must-have skills for anyone and they make ideal coaching topics to help your clients, no matter what kind of coaching you might do.

Contemporary VA

@contemporaryva on Twitter. Follow us to stay updated with our many resources that include business, accounting and bookkeeping, social media, and much more!

Similar Posts:

Share and Enjoy:

The economy: What’s going on and why it matters to you

admin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:12:07 +0000

No one needs to tell you that the economy is in rough shape right now. It doesn’t take an economist to give you the news! You may have seen it in your own coaching business, perhaps as fewer people respond to your marketing, or perhaps as potential new clients seem reluctant to pay your fee.

It’s also likely that many of your clients are feeling stressed by the economy and are looking to you for guidance. You might be a productivity coach helping a client who now feels like they need to be more productive than ever, or you might be a small business coaching helping a client start a business in a time when buyers seem to have disappeared, or you might be a life coaching helping clients set realistic goals in the midst of (or manage stress related to) the economy.

So this post is a quick primer on the economy itself. This blog just paints the economic picture in broad strokes to give you the foundation you need so you can do research that is appropriate to your clients’ needs.

The first thing you should know is that the economy moves in waves that look a lot like waves or biorhythms: there is a period of growth, there’s a peak, there’s a period of decline, and there is a valley. The cyclical nature of the economy is as certain as the cyclical nature of the seasons (but just not as clearly tied to time).

Two of the biggest factors during periods of economic growth or decline are the principles of:
* Supply and demand
* Availability of money

A lot of demand and little supply gets people working to make more to meet demand. That’s a good thing. But at some point, right at the very peak of the economy, supply outstrips demand and that’s when we enter a period of decline as people have to lay off workers and lower prices to clean out their inventory.

And, during periods of economic growth, money is readily available and people seem to be making it hand over fist. Interest rates are low so people can borrow a lot. (This is one reason that the Federal Reserve keeps lowering interest rates – to try and "kick-start" borrowing). There’s a certain amount of irony during periods of economic downturn because people are scared to spend their hard earned money on things and they save their money for better times… but it is the spending of money that helps put cash back into the system and gets the economy moving again.

So, what gets the economy moving again? The most basic answer may surprise: consumer confidence. When people are confident that their dollar is worth something and that they will have a job tomorrow, they are willing to spend their money on items today. And that expenditure, on a national scale, will put more people to work and get things moving again.

So, what does it mean for your clients?

1. The economy will come back. That doesn’t mean it’s business as usual right now but it does mean that they should worry less about next year and just try to make it through the next week.

2. It they are looking to get into a well-time business, the economic valley is a good place to start: If they can find customers here, and learn to run an efficient business with low expenses, they should do really well in the long term when growth returns.

3. If they run a business right now, they need to think about how things will change when growth comes. Will they be ready for it? Lots of businesses fail during growth periods because they don’t have the capacity to meet demand and they don’t have the capital resources to invest in more equipment or raw materials.

4. Setting realistic goals is important right now. Don’t set the same goals as when the economy was ablaze with success.

5. This is not a disaster. Even though buying is down, it’s still happening. There are still many, many businesses out there doing business (and they need suppliers and raw materials), and there are many industries that do VERY well in a recession (including educational and discount retailers).

The above tips are mostly geared toward business coaches, but it’s likely that most of your customers (no matter what kind of coaching you do) have concerns about the economy and need your knowledgeable guidance to get them through.

Contemporary VA

@contemporaryva on Twitter. Follow us to stay updated with our many resources that include business, accounting and bookkeeping, social media, and much more!

Similar Posts:

Share and Enjoy:

A Place for Professional Coaches

admin — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:53:26 +0000

(Our "Welcome Mat", sticky post. You’ll always be welcomed here with this post when you visit!)

Professional-Coaches.com is a place for professional coaches to find and share tips, information, resources, strategies, and even just casual exchanges.

The business of professional coaching is a growing one and one that requires continuous learning, sharing and networking. We encourage coaches to stop by and see what’s new, share their thoughts and resources, and learn and discuss.

With the support and knowledge of others, we can all foster our goal of helping others reach their goals.

Do you often find yourself Googling to assist you in your coaching journey? Wouldn’t it be great to have one primary place to find many resources and thoughts for professional coaches? That’s precisely the goal of Professional-Coaches.com but we can’t do it alone.

Nuestro Casa es Su Casa (Our house is your house). We invite you to make yourself at home and share with other coaches. We would love for you to be our guest blogger, as well as comment with your thoughts and share your resources and strategies.

Welcome home. We look forward to your arrival each and every time.

Karen J. for Professional-Coaches.com

Similar Posts:

Share and Enjoy: