Executive Coach and Executive Coaching Articles

When you have a board of directors, it is always a good idea to have a Board Member Manual. A Manual is a great tool for board members to use when they need quick and easy access to critical information about the organization. It compiles important documents into one binder, so they don't waste time and energy looking for what they need in several files or locations. Most board member manuals include some or all of the following sections:

Does Employee Engagement Really Drive Productivity? The subject of employee engagement as a measure of productivity and management strategies to increase engagement have been hot topics since the original Gallup organization research was published.

Very few people rise to the top of the corporate world. Of those who do, proportionally even fewer of them are women. So what’s special about the women who do make it to the top? As they say in ballroom dance, “Both partners make the routine look effortless, but the women do it ...

It can be argued that no organization in the National Football League has had more success than the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the “modern era” of professional football, your organization’s accomplishments are measured with one metric – winning the Super Bowl. Nobody’s done that more than the black and gold.

Leaders need to instill confidence in others; they need to be positive about the vision, mission, strategy and goals of the organization. The best leaders convey confidence in the face of adversity, change, and in the midst of uncertainty. This confident way of being helps those around the leader stay positive in the face of uncertainty. Leaders are able to convey confidence when they use compassionate self-talk, when they play to their own strengths, rely on and engage thos

Life is accelerating. Product life cycles are shrinking. Corporations must re-invent themselves every 3.5 years. Innovation is not a nice-to-have but a must-have. Historically new product development has been driven by marketing or engineering. There are several levels of innovation within new ...

What you do as a leader is extremely important. Why? Because you are contagious and everything you do rubs off on those you lead. You serve as the model for how they are supposed to behave. In fact, leaders have an attitude that others catch; they have skills that others want to catch and they are so often unaware of all the people watching their every move. They watch what you do, even more so than what you say and it happens without much awareness, almost by accident if you

"Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again." ~ Alex Tan We were each born with the ability to cry, and because the entire design of the universe is splendid and awe inspiring, we have to realize that healthy crying is part of the divine plan of beauty and perfection.

Do you expend most your energy during the day and have little or no gas in your tank for yourself and your family? Are you a victim of “scattered focus?” Do you jump from one task to the next with no rhyme or reason? Do you feel like other people and events dictate the majority of your schedule? Good news! There isn’t anything wrong with you and you most likely don’t have ADD. It’s simply a matter of reclaiming your time and managing your energy. Time and Energy are two sides of the same coin. Here are a few helpful tips to get you back into balance. Let’s talk about time first.r

Click here for the MP3 audio version of this article. What is the one thing that every success story has in common? It is, “I was here in this circumstance and I went to there in a new circumstance.” From here to there has a thread that you can follow. Successful people think a certain way. Not every one gets from here to there the same way but they know the path. Even the current science explains how and why from here to there is the success formula you must embrace to get what you want…and more.

I recently had the opportunity to spend several hours working with professional horse trainer Dee Janelle and it reminded me of the powerful lessons in leadership and communication horses offer us if we take the time to listen and truly connect. Working with horses is a lifelong journey of self-discovery as we strive to understand the equine mind. It is no wonder that many of the greatest leaders throughout history were as gifted in their connection with horses as they were with people. Alexander the Great, George Washington, Joan of Arc, Robert E.

Last article, we talked about the key things that set the stage for excellent time management. The amount of time we have is a constant in our lives and will never change. Our energy level is the other key factor that determines how well we will respond to the demands of each day. Are you often exhausted when you wake up, or have low energy during different periods of your work day? Do you use up all your energy reserves during the day and have nothing left for yourself or your family? If so, don’t despair.r

Did you ever read the warning signs of an impending work disaster, okay maybe, disaster is too strong a word, a work difficulty. Then someone shrugs, pats you on the back and tells you to stop catastrophizing? And when what you prophesized comes to pass, when the project failed or the customer went with the competition and you are about to say “I TOLD YOU!!” there is another shrug and a comment about not dwelling in the past.

I’m standing on line at the supermarket behind a mother and her five year old son. Bored, tired, and cranky, the child wants out, as does the mother. The boy starts asking questions and for things. “No!” says the mother. “No” is the answer so many time that she is ahead of her son’s requests. Finally, in frustration she yells, “Don’t even bother asking me because the answer is going to be ‘no.’” We’ve all witnessed this type of scenario and probably are guilty of participation now and again. For some reason the scene stuck with me.

Take a six-quart pan. Fill it with water. Put it on the oven. Turn the heat on high. While waiting for the water to reach a rolling boil, catch one mid-sized frog. When the water achieves that boil, toss the frog in. Don't worry; the frog won't get hurt. The shock of the temperature change will compel the amphibian to immediately leap out. It happens every time (unless you cover the pan with its lid after you toss the frog in, in which case I'm sure we'll be seeing your story

What is Coaching?

Are you contemplating starting your own business? Have you been contemplating it for months, years even? If the idea of having a business is appealing but you are still hesitating regarding the area or sector of your business, read on, as the following points might just provide you with the answers you are seeking.r

Action is the normal completion of the act of will which begins as prayer. That action is not always exte al, but it is always some kind of effective energy. ~ Dean Inge There are doers; there are procrastinators; there are finishers; and there are those who's entire life is surrounded by things left uncompleted. Do you finish what you start?

My first kindergarten assignment was to go home and find out the family home phone number. The next day we practiced memorizing those digits. As I recall the teacher helped us put the number sequence to some kind of rhythm not dissimilar to those 800 ads that help you remember where to buy a mattress or donate your car to charity. To this day, I still remember the Longfellow Street number.

“To stimulate creativity, one must develop the childlike inclination for play and the childlike desire for recognition.” rn~ Albert Einstein Growth – an ever-evolving and continuous process – is an outcome of a successful innovation. As a thing of creativity evolves from an Idea, the organization should welcome new ideas and suggestions. The CEO should invite and appreciate the participation of everyone – from top to bottom in the hierarchy – throughout the organization when it comes to innovating and implementing practices to accomplish the organization's goals.

Recently I was engaged to provide speakers’ training for a group of prestigious physicians launching a groundbreaking new therapy in Europe. Each member of the group was extraordinarily committed to the success of the launch, and their approach made an indelible impression on me. Why?

We all have attended presentations. I’m sure you will agree most were terrible – boring, redundant, and/or visually offensive. I am guilty of giving a few myself. You too? To improve my knowledge base and skills, I started studying the product launches of Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, Inc. I then began listening and reading Carmine Gallo, columnist with Businessweek.com. Gallo teaches presentation skills to top executives. He is also a self-proclaimed expert on the techniques and genius of Steve Jobs.

The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr. Some people speak of that animating, unseen part of each of us as the soul. I like to think of it as the Mind. Whatever you call it, solving what the mystery about it is can be one of life's greatest, most fun, most enjoyable and most rewarding experiences. You'll want it to always be healthy and one way to do that is to exercise your brain.

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily." ~ Zig Ziglar For the CEO, it is always a challenge to motivate his employees and also keep them motivated. Motivated employees are at the forefront to take up new challenges, adapt new ideas and deliver results. A self-motivated employee also contributes by sharing his own innovative ideas and encourages his colleagues to do the same. This article showcases some effective strategies for a CEO to motivate his employees. 1. One-on-one Approach

Does your business feel like a roller coaster ride where sales are either at an exciting high or they’re at a panic level low? This pendulum is stressful on your cash flow. It’s also highly stressful on your mindset.

What is Self-talk? Self-talk is the inner dialogue you have in your mind when you think of doing something, making a decision, or creating change. It is your thoughts making themselves known to you. It is the small voice in the back of your mind that tells you to go for it, to stop thinking about it, or to give up. For a lot of people, self-talk is a strict and punishing inner judge. That judge is unforgiving and relentless. Self-talk can be a repetition of what your parents have said to you in the past, what you’ve have heard others repeat.

Five Reasons Women Make Great Salespeople By: Liz Wendling Why do so many business women spend more time hoping or praying for sales rather than just learning to sell? Because the mere mention of the word sales brings up fear, dread and anxiety in the hearts of many! Countless female business owners dislike selling and don’t realize the importance of honing the skill. When I introduce myself as a sales coach, consultant and trainer, women often say, “I hate selling,” “I’m

Whatever happened at home should stay at home, July 2, 2009 By Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas)

Nonprofit professionals continuously search for potential donors who believe in the organization's mission and are willing to donate money to support it. All too often, however, the organization lacks an organized system to cultivate meaningful relationships with these individuals. This article provides some tips on developing, implementing, and monitoring an effective donor program. 1. If you do not currently possess some type of donor software, research different software programs and select the program that best fits the needs of your organization.

In the nonprofit field, salaries are generally low and working with clients who have multiple needs can be challenging. Although this can make employee retention difficult, there are steps you can take to provide a work environment that is supportive and fun, one that individuals look forward to coming to every day, and one in which they want to remain.

What is Overwhelm and How to Deal With It The rising intensity of life can swallow up our time and attention. Urgent events, activities, tasks and demands can drag us along until we lose sight of what matters most. Many of us take on too much, try to keep up, slip behind and as a result, become overwhelmed. In this article, you will learn how to identify overwhelm, why it’s vital to restrain it, how you can eliminate it, and effective strategies to regain your personal power. What Does Overwhelm Feel Like?

Intuition is used to describe our thoughts, feelings and preferences that come to our mind, heart and even our gut quickly without much reflection or contemplation. It is inside and internal. Intuition is simply a “knowing” of something to be true or false without any factual evidence, and it has been referred to as our “6th sense” or internal guidance system. Sometimes, it creates a flutter, wave, warmth or vibration inside when ignited. Intuition is an unjustified belief system and it is unique to each of us. We all feel it differently, some more so than others.

As most of you know, I’m a strong advocate of everyone having an updated resume and bio. It prevents you from being placed in the embarrassing situation of being asked to “shoot me over your current resume” and having to say you don’t have one or lying and scrambling to create something. The bonus of this discipline is you are forced to reevaluate your job and career on a regular basis as well as update the document’s format to meet ever-changing standards.

Your ‘why’ is a reason for your life that is so compelling and so passionate that it exudes a devotional power from within, and once discovered, pours out positively into everything you do, moving you closer to your goals, ultimate happiness, joy and fulfillment.

Most nonprofit organizations use volunteers to perform tasks that regular staff members lack the time to do. Also, with an unstable economy, resulting in budget cuts for many organizations, developing and maintaining a volunteer pool is critical to nonprofits. An organized and well executed volunteer program can provide many benefits to the organization, from improving operations to saving money. This article provides eight helpful tips in developing and implementing an exemplary volunteer program. 1.

First let me correct my title — I would prefer the phrasing, “Are you the boss people want to work with?” because “with” sends a message of partnership and collaboration rather the servitude. Let’s hope we’re past the later. I’ve spent most of my career(s), be it in a corporate environment, the not-for-profit arena, and as an entrepreneur, observing and aspiring to the behavior of people I saw as excellent leaders, managers, and supervisors, aka bosses. While they may have been different in their styles and skills, they had a number of things in common. They all were...

My company, the Confident Solutions Coach, works with entrepreneurs to develop systems in their business. I spent the last five years learning how to do this in my own business, and it is really fun to go out there and help other people get this done. The first thing you have to do is recognize that your business is about you. That requires that you masterfully manage your attention and time. Understanding and focusing your attention and time effectively are critical because

Every business has its ups and downs. This article talks about how you can do your business continuity planning (BCP) in a better way as it is the BCP that allows you to continuously deliver your products or services even under adverse conditions. Business Continuity Planning prepares an organization for the internal interruptions – power failure, technical problems – and exte al threats like natural calamities, supply chain problems and more.

Have you recently observed the steam coming out of the ears of a few women over forty? Not sure what’s up and what started it all? Let me clue you in. It’s a reaction to a just published McKinsey & Company report in conjunction (some would say cahoots) with The Wall Street journal. In the spirit of full disclosure, I must admit I am a WSJ subscriber and have been quoted by the publication a number of times.

The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed. ~ Buddha Have you lived long enough to truly know who you want to be? Have you fallen into the path of someone else’s concepts for who you ought to be? Would you like to Be the Change and create a turn in the road for yourself? Or might there be a way to use where you are to truly excel? Innocent Beginnings

DRAMATIC CHANGE In the coming years, the workforce will undergo the most dramatic changes it has experienced in more than half a century. Understanding that people costs account for some 65 percent of corporate spending, and that workforce optimization has a direct impact on shareholder as well as a company's bottom line, those looming changes will prove critical to the future success of organizations in every sector of the economy, public and private.

"Worry compounds the futility of being trapped on a dead-end street. Thinking opens new avenues." ~ Cullen Hightower Feeling trapped can leave us vulnerable to more and more dissatisfaction. I believe our lives should be lives of fulfillment and satisfaction, so let's see what we can do to help you move away from feeling trapped? What makes you feel trapped? Parental pressure? A toxic past? An old, fixed mindset? Your relationship? In a job you despise? In a sick body?

“Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol or morphine or idealism.” ~ Jung Addictions can take many forms, and each of them is detrimental. We are all ready to admit that drugs and alcohol are addictive and if you stretch your thought a bit further, you might also see some other addictions that affect your life in one form or another, like having to be in control, reading books, watching sports, amassing money, listening to music, etc. I’m not saying that last group is all detrimental, but they can all create addictive behavior.

A number of years ago when I was developing my coaching and mentoring skills in a formal way, I met a manager from a business based in the SW of England who told me her Coach telephoned her once a month for coaching sessions. The Coach lived in France and worked as a coach for managers based in the UK, Scandinavia and the USA. All my training to this point in time told me 60% - 70% of communication was based on body language and the prompts associated with body language ; so

When I was a young girl I lived on a ranch with sheep, cattle, pets and especially my best friends, our horses. I was cautioned many times “to be careful” as an eight year old of the danger around horses, at the same time I was taught how to ride and brush, curry, clean and feed these glorious ...r

Some say “Life’s a journey, enjoy the ride”. Others say “The end justifies the means”.rn rnIn the one, the journey is the focus; in the other, it is incidental to the end result.rn rnThose who are high-performance, results oriented, driven people would more likely see the journey or process of getting to their results as a means to an end, a necessary evil, something to tick off the list of requirements to be successful.rn rnThe world needs high performance, Type-A

Every businessperson wants to grow their company. Growth can be defined in many ways; revenue, profit, market share, asset value, strong team that lets you take more time off, increased happiness and contentment. Not every businessperson wants more money. Interestingly enough, virtually ...

It shouldn't surprise me anymore, but it does. When a potential coaching client contacts me, I often ask two questions, "How did you find me?" and "What made you interested?" Ninety percent of the time, the answer to the first question is "I Googled 'career coach.'" No surprise, I work hard to make it easy for people to find my business and me. It's the second answer that's shocking, "Well you were the only person who called back." What?

Do you get frustrated when you lack the motivation to start a project or activity and put it off so you don't have to tackle it? Do you wonder why your friends or colleagues don't appear to be motivated when you are raring to go? This article explores the origins behind a lack of motivation; getting to the root of the problem; discovering what motivates you and others, personally and professionally; and how to incorporate those items that motivate you into your daily life. 1. It is important to first examine why you may be lacking motivation.

“I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.” ~Solomon