The most common theme I hear from my executive coaching clients is that they might be ‘found out’… One day, someone is going to call you out and then everyone will know that you don’t have the skills or capacity that your organization demands.
This is a common theme that I empower my executive coaching clients to reframe on pretty much a weekly basis. It isn’t that you don’t have the skills, experience or ability. It is that you haven’t had the resources to silence your own internal doubts about your capabilities. It is old stuff (significant emotional events, limiting beliefs, non-beneficial triggers) that holds you back.
My approach to business coaching is designed to move my clients towards S.M.A.R.T. professional goals, while facilitating their personal development growth. I believe that what happens in the boardroom, with staff, or with clients and customers in many ways relates to the unsettled issues regarding your self-perception, perceived identity, purpose, values and motivation.
Improved performance at the executive level occurs when the individual first experiences congruence in his or her personal identity and individual sense of well being – only then can this individual free the emotional and mental necessary for peak performance. Common topics addressed during executive coaching sessions are covered below.
Do you have executive presence? Do your coworkers perceive you to be a leader? Do you exert power and influence in the workplace? Executive presence is a blend of communication, appearance and dignity. An executive presence allows you to command the room and causes people to stop, listen and take action after you speak. The characteristics associated with executive presence such as magnetism, communication, presentation, assertiveness and foresight can be learned, refined and perfected.
Specific body language factors such as posture, mannerisms, micro-movements and a tone of voice that implies authority add up to make a massive difference. Executive presence is worth developing regardless of whether or not you are an entrepreneur or a Fortune 500 level executive. In either case, the success of your organization depends upon your ability to motivate others towards action whether these are your employees or your clients.
In my executive coaching services, we can focus upon the following aspects that will ensure you developed a powerful executive presence:
1. Integration of authenticity and character – you will develop a strong sense of your core values and an understanding of what you stand for, desire and tolerate.
2. Enhance communication skills – you will learn to use language differently by understanding the dynamics of various NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) communication models and the premise of how conversational hypnosis is constantly occurring in all communication.
3. Present in the moment – you will learn science based techniques to calm yourself and manage stress based upon the latest scientific studies conducted by the HeartMath Institute.
4. Develop rapport – you will practice various techniques designed to build rapport and ensure that you are communicating to people in their preferred form of communication. You can be open and welcoming while still commanding authority, instilling respect and inspiring positive motivation.
5. Presentation skills – you will understand the dynamics of public speaking and learn to give riveting presentations with calls to action that generate instant results from your audience.
The psychologist Carl Jung introduced the terms persona as the mask or appearance that one puts on for the rest of the world. A persona is recognizable in that it can be categorized as a psychological archetype which is a recognizable form that we perceive in society. When you interact with your employees, you don the persona of the “boss” and play into this archetypal role.
Think for a minute about the following characters that come to mind when you read their descriptions: neural surgeon, family chiropractor, divorce lawyer, residential real estate developer, small business accountant, online marketer, Wall Street stock broker, day trader…
In these situations you probably thought about someone you know who played such a role (profession) or imagined how such a person might look. Each one with their particular mannerisms, clothing, and way of professionally conducting oneself. The question to now ask yourself, as an executive, business owner, or entrepreneur… do you play the part?
Are you congruent in the way that you present yourself, communicate, your clothing, your mannerisms, etc? In this day and age, our judgements are heavily influenced by media and in some circles it is good to go against the grain and in others it might be the death of one’s career. What is changing though is the era… It is now more important to deliver results than to look a specific way. Just be aware of your employees and clients preconceived notions and take them into consideration.
There are two constants in life: chaos and change. The best that any human being can do is learn how to swim in the churning ocean of unforeseen change. An old maxim says, “man makes plans and the gods laugh…” There are really only two options in life: sink or swim.
Undesired career transitions, have a tendency to shake up our beliefs about who we are and where we are going. Intentional career transitions can bring up old and new insecurities about our capabilities, skills, and effectiveness. When it comes to managing career transitions often we forget that it is we who are in charge; not of the external environment but of our internal environments.
We have the choice to look for new possibilities and opportunities or stay with what we have been perceiving to be as safe old presuppositions about the way the world works and how we react to it. Career transitions require state management and the ability to move through fear and anxiety into greater possibilities and opportunities.
Team building requires vision, unity, constructive communication and leadership. The problem within many organization is that the employees feel isolated in their roles and that their individual struggles and accomplishments are inconsequential in the bigger picture. When an organization is comprised of individuals with “can-do” attitudes the culture shifts to one of camaraderie and openness.
A team must be able to trust that the leadership is capable of doing and will do anything that they ask the team to do. Within the team, their must be a spirit of rapport and a willingness to urge all members on toward greater goals. I approach team building from a perspective based in individualism – each individual is responsible for his or her own welfare and that no one should be forced to look out for the welfare of another.
The author of Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand had the following thoughts on individualism (source):
Individualism regards man—every man—as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being. Individualism holds that a civilized society, or any form of association, cooperation or peaceful coexistence among men, can be achieved only on the basis of the recognition of individual rights—and that a group, as such, has no rights other than the individual rights of its members. ~ “Racism,” The Virtue of Selfishness, 129
Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: “I’ll do as I please at everybody else’s expense.” An individualist is a man who recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man—his own and those of others.
An individualist is a man who says: “I will not run anyone’s life—nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule nor be ruled. I will not be a master nor a slave. I will not sacrifice myself to anyone—nor sacrifice anyone to myself.” ~ “Textbook of Americanism,” The Ayn Rand Column, 84
The mind is an attribute of the individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain. There is no such thing as a collective thought. An agreement reached by a group of men is only a compromise or an average drawn upon many individual thoughts. It is a secondary consequence. The primary act—the process of reason—must be performed by each man alone. We can divide a meal among many men. We cannot digest it in a collective stomach. No man can use his lungs to breathe for another man. No man can use his brain to think for another. All the functions of body and spirit are private. They cannot be shared or transferred.
We inherit the products of the thought of other men. We inherit the wheel. We make a cart. The cart becomes an automobile. The automobile becomes an airplane. But all through the process what we receive from others is only the end product of their thinking. The moving force is the creative faculty which takes this product as material, uses it and originates the next step. This creative faculty cannot be given or received, shared or borrowed. It belongs to single, individual men. That which it creates is the property of the creator. Men learn from one another. But all learning is only the exchange of material. No man can give another the capacity to think. Yet that capacity is our only means of survival. ~ “The Soul of an Individualist,” For the New Intellectual, 78
S.M.A.R.T. Goals in the context of business coaching signifies:
S-pecific – focus upon specific areas of improvement or change
M-easurable – if it can’t be measured it doesn’t matter (in business operations)
A-ttainable – have a goal that is achievable using current resources
R-ealistic – verify the achievability of the goal(s)
T-ime Related – set time-based goals using specific dates
These critiria establish a powerful means of goal achievement within business operations and business / executive coaching.
There are plenty of executive coaching programs in the marketplace, but I believe my approach is unique in the sense that my primary purpose is to inspire you to be a leader not just within your industry, but within your lifetime.
In my opinion, a lack of leadership is a major reason why the world economy is in its current state; excessive profits and a general lack of accountability have damaged not only our economic stability but also our ecosystem. My goal is to empower my business coaching clients to not only excel professionally but to champion a cause and develop their latent leadership abilities.
A Business Coach is a person who provides guidance and advice to business owners in order to help them become successful in their businesses. Typically, a Business Coach is a person who has become successful in a particular business niche. A business coach is beneficial to a wide range of business owners. All types of business owners need a business coach. This includes business owners in the manufacturing industry, services industry, sales, marketing e.t.c
1. Professionally trained in coaching skills:
One of the characteristics of a good business coach is that he or she should be professionally trained in coaching skills. There are several training institutions that provide training to people who intend to become a business coach. This training and certification is very essential in determining if a person is a good business coach.
2. Experience in identifying and solving problems:
Another characteristics that would determine if a person is a good business coach is that such a person must have experience in identifying problems and proffering solutions to them. A good business coach must be able to proffer solutions to the business problems of the people he or she is mentoring.
3. Patient and Persevering:
A good business coach must be patient and persevering. A good business coach must be willing to stand by a business owner for as long as it takes for the business to become successful. Not all advice and strategy would work immediately, even if they work, not all will mature to a one hundred percent position immediately. A business coach must be patient and persevering till a business owner starts getting positive outcomes.
4. People Oriented and a desire to help others:
A business coach must be people oriented, he or she must have a genuine interest in people and the desire to help others. A business coach must be willing to sacrifice his or her time to develop business owners to succeed in their respective endeavors.
5. Good Motivator and Effective Teacher:
Another essential characteristic of a business coach is that he or she must be a good motivator and an effective teacher. This will ensure that such a coach is able to bring out the best in people.
There are four stages involved in business coaching. They are as follows:
1. Prescriptive Stage:
The first stage is the prescriptive stage where the coach adopts the style of a teacher and motivator thereby helping the entrepreneur to build confidence.
2. Persuasive Stage:
The second stage involves a coach persuading the business owner to take on new tactics and implement new ideas that would move a business forward. At this point, an entrepreneur may have some experience but need a firm direction in order to take bold steps.
3. Collaborative Stage:
This is the stage at which the coach works with the entrepreneur in order to solve business related problems and implement business ideas.
4. Confirmation Stage:
This is the stage where the business owner has acquired a lot of experience from the coach. At this stage, the coach works with the business owner to become independent and define future goals and objectives. At this juncture,the coach provides a business owner with links to industry resources in order for the business owner to operate more independently.
1. Knowledge from experience:
One of the benefits a business owner would receive from having a coach is knowledge from the experiences of the business coach. A business coach can provide the much required knowledge for a business owner to succeed.
2. Increased Confidence:
A business coach helps business owners improve their confidence. This is because a business coach is usually an authority in a particular field of business. This authoritative advice and guidance can greatly increase the confidence of business owners when making business decisions.
3. Improved competence:
A business coach helps business owners improve their competence. This is an essential benefit of having a business coach. A business coach would impact his or her own wealth of experience on a business owner, this would improve the competence of the business owner.
4. Increased profits:
Another essential benefit of a business coach to a business owner is that such a business owner will see profits increase. The guidance provided by business coaches to business owners would help increase profits substantially.
There are numerous niches for coaching, but in my perspective, there are typically two major categories: personal and professional coaching. Interestingly, I believe that both overlap as it is nearly impossible to separate one's personal life from one's professional life. Below are common coaching niches that my services cover.
Business coaching helps to cut through distractions, increase your performance, find your focus, define the scope of your role, and pinpoint your reason “why” you’re doing what you're doing.
Executive coaching helps the coachee utilize coaching techniques to facilitate the individual growth of team members while improving workplace performance and goal-achievement.
The role of a life coach is in many ways to be that of a cheerleader or an avatar that keeps you encouraged, motivated and with your primary objectives and goals in mind.
Personal development coaching focuses upon improving self-awareness, create an empowering identity, enhancing one’s quality of life, determining one’s primary life purpose, and developing necessary resources.
Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) coaching is focused upon self-awareness enhancement, goal achievement strategies, interpersonal communication, and understanding human behavior through flexible, subjective perspectives.
Leadership coaching is primarily focused on helping organizational leaders to gain a solid sense of identity, purpose, motivation, empowering resources, goal setting strategies, and synergistically using coaching to realize one's full potential.
