Who is the Ideal Executive Coach?

Ideally the best executive coach is our own manager who is well placed to get to know our strengths and areas for development and who can be consistently providing feedback and coaching in the reality of the day to day.

In an ideal world, managers and executives would be able to squeeze everything they want to do into their working week.  But the reality is that we don’t have ideal conditions.  The reality is that we work in organisations that have fewer levels and fewer managers in the hierarchy.  Managers are pulled in a hundred different directions.  Few managers therefore have the luxury of time and space to provide executive coaching and mentoring for their emerging leaders. 

 

 

Noticing and coaching in the moment is time-efficient and effective.

 

People Results’ philosophy is that any coaching from the manager is preferable to none at all.  Here are three ways that executive coaching can be integrated and time-efficient for managers and executives day by day:

1.   Look for coachable moments which arise on an ad hoc basis, i.e. when we are not expecting to “perform” coaching.  Effective coaching can be brief and impromptu rather than formal and taking up a lot of valuable time.  Coachable moments happen in the corridor, on a plane, at a conference or on the way to a meeting, etcetera.  Something said or done will trigger a coachable moment.  Provided it can be done discreetly, take the opportunity to coach then and there. 

 

2.   Stop telling and leave room for your people.   Leaders are often forthright, self-assured and believe they know what’s best, i.e. they tend to be tellers.  When leaders are upfront and tell others what to think and believe, they stifle an open discussion and sharing of different views and experience.  They prevent others having their voices heard, acknowledged and modified.  It follows that there is little chance of consensus and true engagement.  A great recent article on how George Washington led in the most extraordinary way using this principle.

 

3.  Every single person in your team is craving your attention.  “Look at me!  Look at me!” we are saying although you cannot actually hear our thoughts.  As leaders, we must notice their good and their poor behaviours and give feedback.  Rarely will she/he express their needs, but even the most self-sufficient introvert wants to be noticed by their manager.  If we notice them doing good things, and give them positive reinforcement of their behaviours, then they will continue to do those same things and even more so.  

If we notice them saying or doing the wrong thing, the same principle applies except that we can reinforce the behaviours that we do approve, without castigating them over their poor behaviours.  If we ignore poor behaviours, unfortunately they will not fade away but will escalate in the person’s desperate efforts to gain our attention.  

In our executive coaching and mentoring programs, PeopleResults understands the importance of informing and involving the manager’s manager as the key stakeholder who is the best internal and continuing coach for their direct report.  

 

We welcome your comments and feedback on this article.

If you would like information on our executive coaching and mentoring programs, please download our executive coaching and mentoring brochure from the People Results' Home Page.  We look forward to speaking to you or receiving your email at People Results. 

 

 

 

Lynne Lloyd

Managing Director

People Results

Executive Coaching and Talent Development Workshops

Telephone 1300 167 981

Email enquiries@peopleresults.com.au

Web www.peopleresults.com.au

 

How to decide if executive coaching is right for us?

 

No more self-limiting beliefs, I know that I can adapt, lead and succeed!

Is an executive coaching program the best approach to develop your senior managers and leaders and meet your team's and organisation's goals?  Is now the right time to introduce executive coaching into your organisation? 

People Results has five questions for you:

1. Are significant changes in structure, roles and responsibilities happening now or in the near future?

2. Who is responsible for navigating the risks and achieving the large goals in your business?  Does he/she have a track record of success at this level?

3. Do your emerging leaders have gaps in their leadership skills, experience and maturity?

4. Who has recently moved into a senior role with higher responsibilities?  Is there a risk that he/she could fail at this level?

5. Are you implementing a strategic human resource initiative such as succession planning or increasing diversity at senior levels?

If you answered “Yes” to any of the above questions, it is highly likely that the timing is excellent for planning and implementing an executive coaching and/or mentoring initiative in your organisation.  Obviously the greater number of “Yes” responses to the five questions, the stronger your business case becomes. 

If you would like information and insights on executive coaching and mentoring, we would be delighted to talk with you and/or receive your email.  Our contact details are hereunder.

Best wishes,

Lynne Lloyd

Managing Director

People Results

Telephone 1300 167 981

People Results is a leading provider of executive coaching and mentoring programs and professional development workshops for public and private sector organisations.  For more information on our approach and programs, please go to the HomePage and download our Executive Coaching and Mentoring brochure.  To speak to a senior consultant at People Results, please email us at enquiries@peopleresults.com.au

Frogs need it and so do we!

Last night I rescued a tiny frog from the inside channel of the kitchen window.  It was a delicate operation because the frog didn’t realise he was being rescued and was clearly anxious about what this large creature was doing so near to him.  Poor little guy, he was very dehydrated and lethargic and his natural light green colour had faded to a dull grey. 

Splashing a little water into a dustpan, I brushed the tiny frog into it and he plopped obligingly into the water.  Out to the patio and with my gentle encouragement, he leapt with surprising energy into the wet ferns and was gone.  

We all need the right conditions to nourish us and support our well-being.

Reflecting later on this small rescue operation, how incredibly important it is that we humans, like all living creatures, are in the right environment to nourish and support our lives and happiness.  Like the little frog, we barely exist in the wrong environment at work, our respiration slows and we become lethargic and fade away.  To survive, we need the right conditions around us; to thrive and be at our best, we need optimum conditions. This translates into different things for different people although having a manager/leader you respect, trust and find inspiring is universally important.

Would you like to diagnose whether your current work environment is right for you?  Here is a short (non-scientific) quiz.  Evaluate each of the following 8 statements, and if you agree that the statement is true for you,  put a tick against it.  (Go with your first thought - it's usually spot on!)

1.  My energy is depleted.            

2.  My enthusiasm is gone.

3   I am faking it every day.            

4.  My creativity has drained away.

5.  I am not valued.

6.  I have no room to move.

7.  I look for reasons not to show up.

8.  My heart is not in it. 

Quiz Feedback:   How many ticks do you have? 

  Ticks

   0 – 2   You are in a good environment for you but not everything is wonderful.  What are the         issues that worry you?  What would you like to see happen?  Make a time to speak to your manager soon.

   3 - 4    There are some negative things in your environment that are affecting your well-being.          The situation is not irretrievable at this stage but if you don’t do something quickly, your morale and motivation will continue to slide.

   5 – 6     You are a frog in the Sahara and your current environment and your reaction to it is         going to kill you.  There is a small chance of turning things around but only if you face the issues urgently.  What will work for you, short of resigning your job?  Can you transfer to another Department or location?  Can you report to someone else in the business?  Look for workable solutions and do not delay taking action.

  7 - 8      Your life signs have faded and you are barely clinging to a life raft that is breaking         apart.  This working environment is definitely not right for you.  Is the problem a big one such as the whole culture is wrong for you and your personal values?  Be aware that unless you sit at the top levels of your organisation, you will not be able to change the culture.  If the problem is situated closer to “home” such as you don’t like (to put it  mildly!) your manager, you may be able to find some alternatives within the company.   Failing that, it is past the time to look for another job in another environment.  What have you learnt about yourself and the kind of environment that is not right for you? What kind of industry, company, culture, vision and values are right for you to not just  survive but to thrive?

As always, we invite and appreciate your comments and feedback.  What is your work environment like?  Is it nourishing your life systems or do you often find yourself short of breath and reaching for life support?    

Looking forward to your responses,

All the Best,

Lynne 

Lynne Lloyd 

People Results 

Telephone 1300 167 981

People Results provides executive coaching and mentoring programs and professional development workshops.  If you would like more information on our programs and services, please visit our website www.peopleresults.com.au   If you would like to talk with a senior consultant at People Results, please ring us on 1300 167 981 or email us at enquiries@peopleresults.com.au 

The Top 10 Leadership Issues that Arise in an Executive Coaching Program

Have you ever wondered what executive coaching is all about?  Would you like to know what is involved, how the process works and what the benefits are?  In the coming weeks, we will focus on this topic of executive coaching and mentoring. 

It is an interesting point that the executive coach is rarely as expert as you are in your industry, enterprise or profession.  Invariably the manager or executive being coached already knows most of what he/she needs to know to achieve their business goals.  They just don’t know that they do!

There is a “but,” and it is that the manager or executive being coached will be experiencing a number of significant personal challenges in moving from, say, point G to point P in terms of their leadership confidence and capabilities.  It is during these times of exacting personal growth and development that the power and value of executive coaching lies. 

Executive coaching enables managers and executives to adapt, lead and execute.

 Change and growth is never straightforward and predictable.  Organisational change and development strategies invariably look good and totally workable on paper.  When it comes to implementation, a different story unfolds and, unless there is confident, resourceful leadership, the flow-on effects from poor leadership will be painful, damaging and costly to the business’ results.

Through executive coaching and mentoring, leaders gain the thinking skills, practical strategies and solutions for leading and managing themselves and others and bringing in the desired business results.

The following are the ten leadership issues that come up all the time for managers and executives in a People Results’ executive coaching program (not in order of importance):

1. Developing greater personal insights to manage self and one’s impact on others

2. Identifying and closing the gaps in skills and strategies in a new or expanded role

3. Letting go of being “the doer” and becoming a leader who enables and inspires others

4. Gaining focus and clarity on what’s important instead of feeling overwhelmed

5. Implementing change processes with an emphasis on managing the people issues 

6. Needing an open, non-judgmental space to discuss issues, ideas and options 

7. Building influential networks, relationship-building, forging strategic alliances

8. Becoming a more capable and confident communicator at senior levels

9. Changing old patterns of thinking and acting to be more effective in a senior role

10. Setting personal boundaries to maintain vigour, well-being and life/work balance

 

Which of the above leadership issues are current and relevant for your key managers and executives?

Please distribute this article to others who may find it useful in your organisation and network. 

We look forward to bringing you further articles on executive coaching in the coming weeks.  These articles will be published on the Leadership in Action blog if you would like to sign up to receive notifications at http://peopleresults.blogspot.com.au/

Lynne Lloyd

Managing Director

People Results

Telephone 1300 167 981

11^th March 2013

People Results is a leading provider of customised executive coaching and mentoring programs for public and private sector organisations.  For more information on our approach and programs, download our Executive Coaching and Mentoring brochure from the Home page of our website at www.peoplersults.com.au.  To talk in confidence with a senior consultant at People Results, please ring us at 1300 167 981 or email us at enquiries@peopleresults.com.au

My One Extraordinary Manager – Part 3: Consistency

The sky is blue and your day is going beautifully.  Suddenly the sky turns dark and gloomy as your usually-pleasant manager snaps at you.  Little did you know that she/he was in a bad mood!  Unfortunately you happened to cross their path and came under attack.

We have all had the experience of approaching our manager with an idea or a problem and rather than the manager listening or helping, we are confronted by a dismissive remark, a harsh criticism or coldly ignored.  Where did this come from?  Is it our fault?  Why am I being treated like the enemy?  Questions like these flow quickly through our minds and we are thrown off balance.  

Act fairly and consistently to win the respect and trust of your team members.

Usually your manager is OK, but every now and then, he/she is bad-tempered or moody.  You respond by staying out of their way as much as possible for the rest of the day.  You tip-toe around, realising that they are under a lot of pressure due to the impossible work-load, deadlines and other stuff. 

We tend to make allowances for others because everyone is human and variable even though their behaviour has a negative impact on our own mood and motivation.  After all, the extremely bad day at the office happens to even the best managers, does it not?

Perhaps to most, but not to absolutely everyone!  To round out the three characteristics of my one extra-ordinary manager, I would highlight his consistency.  While it is rare for a manager to be entirely consistent, no matter what is going on at work and at home, Pat’s work persona, his mood and his fair-and-firm management techniques were consistent from one day to the next, from one year to the next.  He always walked his talk. 

Pat was constant; he was consistent; he was dependable.  The great advantage for everyone in Pat’s team was we knew we could expect to be treated in the same “fair and firm” way he consistently dealt with everyone and every situation.  So if you had a major issue and it was your fault and you felt like a total goose, you could still go and see Pat or ring him and explain it to him.  He would not blow up at you. 

We knew what to expect from Pat and this certain knowledge gave us a sense of reassurance that he would apply the same standards to you as he would for anyone else.  There were no sudden transformations or surprises.  Consequently we did not have to live in fear of him or keep things from him.  

How can we become more consistent in our own managing and leading behaviours?  Here are some stages to follow:

·         Look inside yourself and know yourself really well.  Know where you excel (your strengths) and where you have flaws or failings.  Be honest and don’t deny what you will need to change.     

·        Develop a composite picture of who you want to become as a manager/leader.  To start with, some pieces of the jigsaw will be missing or fuzzy.  Don’t worry because all the pieces will gradually come into focus and be clear. 

·         Start moving towards your composite picture, firstly, through asking yourself questions like the following:

o       What do I need to do more of?                       

o       What do I need to do less of?

o       What do I need to stop?

Secondly, focus on making one or two changes of behaviour at any one time.  Repeatedly do them until they become your good habits.

Like the duck swimming serenely on top of the pond, yet paddling fast under the surface, once comfortable and secure in our composite picture, we will become confident and consistent manager/leaders who are respected and trusted by those who count on us:  our people.

All the very Best,

Lynne 

Lynne Lloyd 

Managing Director 

People Results 

Telephone 1300 167 981

Note:  People Results provides a suite of executive coaching and mentoring services.  If you would like more information, please go to www.peopleresults.com.au/executive-coaching.  If you would like to talk with a senior consultant, please email People Results at enquiries@peopleresults.com.au.

Only One Extraordinary Manager - Part 2 - How to Communicate

My one extraordinary manager – Patrick Walsh – was (and is) a great communicator.  In his role as National Sales Manager, he managed a sales team of around 13 strong individuals who were scattered across Australia and New Zealand.

With such a geographic spread, there was no way he could check up on us and know what we were doing from day to day.  He could not micro-manage us even if he had been inclined that way.  Pat firstly had to select his sales people very carefully; he needed to be able to first, trust us and second, control us yet with a light touch.  After all he was located in Melbourne thousands of kilometres from most of his 13 direct reports.

Pat’s preferred method of communication with each member of his team was the telephone.  He reserved emails for purely administrative matters.  If he wanted to know how we were doing, Pat knew he had to make a personal connection.  On the telephone, he could easily tell if we were happy and working well, or if we were discouraged and lacking motivation.  It was all there in the tone of our voice and in the words we used as we responded to Pat’s perceptive questions. 



Managers can earn respect, trust and admiration from their team members.

 

Mostly we held nothing back from Pat.  We complained; we blamed; we vented our frustrations.  Pat listened and asked more questions, and listened.  Where he could fix something for us, he took it on to his own task list to do so.  He took notes during the conversation and followed up on every issue.  In the following week, he would ask about the progress of an issue or how was a particular prospect working out.  After we had spoken to Pat each week, we felt relieved and less worried as he had somehow taken the load off us simply by listening and understanding. 

 

Like every senior manager, Pat had a massive workload in addition to his management of a team of 13 sales reps.  Yet the area on which focussed most of his time and energies was his people.  I think there were two main reasons why he focussed so much on managing his people:  first, he was acutely aware that our individual success would ensure the success of the whole team and second, his No. 1 responsibility was the achievement of the national sales budget.  He knew that getting to and above budget kept his masters at the executive level happy and effectively out of his hair.  They would forgive other irritants so long as Pat consistently brought the numbers home year after year. 

It has to be said that in his people management skills, Pat was blessed with a natural aptitude for getting to know people quickly and accurately.  He knew each individual’s personality and what made us tick.  He related to each person in his team differently because he was conscious that the words and actions that would be effective to manage one individual would not necessarily work with another.  He was able to suit his message to each individual and yet remain true to himself.  In this way, he was able to gain the best performance from each member of his team.

Pat practised a very practical style of leadership.  He was a servant leader.  Certainly no one in his team would have thought of Pat as a “servant” to our needs and wants.  Yet subtly Pat managed us in a supportive and encouraging way, listening and responding to our problems and concerns and being there to help.  One question that Pat often asked each of his team members was, “How can I help you to do your job better/easier?”  He did not demand, he did not blame; he asked what he could do to help.  And in so doing, he built the amazing respect and trust that each of us developed for him.

In the ways this extraordinary manager/leader communicated, there are three lessons: 

1.   Communicate with your team members in personal ways and regularly.  An email is not personal, a text message is not personal; a face-to-face conversation or on the telephone is personal.  Don’t leave it too long in between conversations.  To make it a habit, book it in to your diary for once or twice a week. 

2.    If you know you are poor at relating to people, recognise this deficit in your skills-bank.  Do something about it because it is vitally important to your success as a manager.  As a manager, you can no longer produce all the results yourself.  You must work through your people by understanding them, responding to their different needs and encouraging their efforts.  Actions that will be effective include doing more reading on the topic of managing people, attending professional development courses and asking your manager if you can have some coaching.

3.  To borrow a famous quotation, “Ask not what your people can do for you; ask what you can do for your people.”*  Does the servant-leader model of leadership hold some insights for you?  By listening, responding and offering to help the different people in your team in real, practical ways, you can build their respect and trust over time.  From being trusted, it is only a short step to being the kind of leader that engenders admiration and devotion from their followers.

 * John F. Kennedy, 35^th President of the USA

Our next article in this 3-part series – Only One Extraordinary Manager - will look at consistency as an attribute of great manager/leaders.

 

Please note: People Results provides tailored Executive Coaching and Mentoring programs for managers and executives. For more information, please click here. 

 

To your Out-Standing Success,

 

Lynne

 

Lynne Lloyd

Managing Director

People Results

Executive Coaching and Talent Development Workshops

Level 24, 10 Eagle Street, Brisbane, 4000.

PO Box 10073, Adelaide Street, Brisbane, Qld.4000

T  1300 167 981

E  lynne.lloyd@peopleresults.com.au

W  www.peopleresults.com.au

 

 

 

 

5 Effective and Do-Able Strategies for Business Networking

1. The Like-ability Factor

For networking success, it helps to be likable.  Let that warmer side of your personality out and smile. Networking is not a direct form of persuasion like selling.  Instead, networking is indirect and depends on building rapport and getting to know someone person-to-person.  Develop your charm quotient and be like-able to attract and engage others.

2. Focus Your Efforts

Focus comes from developing a sense of purpose and an overall plan for networking.  Planning lets you be crystal clear about whom, when and where you will network in order to achieve your goals.  Often we network in a rather haphazard fashion without a clear purpose and direction.  Little wonder if our networking time and efforts feel like we are spinning our wheels and getting nowhere.




Who do you need to know?  Have you got a Networking Plan for 2013?

3.     Diversity

Of course there are many different possibilities for networking.  Before the start of each month, decide and book your chosen networking activities into your calendar.  Naturally you will choose the place and time that is most appropriate to the person or group you are meeting.  Sometimes it will be a formal gathering such as a business luncheon, conference or industry event.  At other times, you will choose an informal setting such as meeting over a coffee or drinks. 

4.     Consistency

Make business networking a regular part of your weekly and monthly schedule.  Being a consistent networker means that you are planning and attending a set number of personal meetings and functions per month.  Consistent networking is far more effective than a pattern of intensively networking for a few months stopping for a few months, and then starting up again.

5.  Give Before You Get

Business networking is all about building and managing relationships.  If we approach it purely on the basis of what we can get out of it, our self-interest will inevitably show up in our verbal and non-verbal behaviours. 

Instead of self-absorption, look for ways to help the people you want to get to know before you ask them for something for you or your organisation.  What should you give away?  Give items that are important and will add value for the other person or group such as information, resources and qualified referrals.  These are items that don’t cost or disadvantage you, apart from your time.  When you give, you will be remembered and appreciated for your thoughtfulness.

To your Networking Success,

Lynne

Lynne Lloyd

Managing Director 
People Results 
1300 167 981 
enquiries@peopleresults.com.au 
www.peopleresults.com.au 

p.s. Would you like to develop or refresh your networking strategies and skills? Join us for the People Results’ Networking Plus Half-Day workshop in Brisbane on Tuesday, 12th March 2013; click here for details and how to register.