Executive Coach and Executive Coaching Articles

Recently, my assistant, Naomi, shared a TED lecture with me. The speaker told an incredible story of a childhood riddled with extreme poverty, homelessness that was saved by love and encouragement. He spoke of taking bold moves to create an adult life of true abundance, contribution, and intellectual stimulation and financial reward. The word he constantly used was “bold.” When I was growing up one of the worst things you could be called was bold. It implied brazen, outspoken, bucking the system, and not a team player. It was alien to my culture, gender, and family messages.

It’s just a fact of work life -- not everyone has the same amount of dollars to invest in opportunities or challenges. In today’s economic environment the numbers with less is accelerating and even those with resources appear to be hesitant to spend. This is true especially when it comes to the hiring, promoting, and rewarding of employees.

Here's my story: When I began voting in the 1970s, I was a staunch Democrat. My view of life was idealistic rather than tragic ("tragic" as in the context of Greek tragedies), and my belief was that government could be a force for good. Over time, as I assessed the results of government actions, such as various permutations of "wars on drugs," interference in the operation of the free marketplace, efforts to mitigate poverty, etc., I became convinced that legislative solution

Our perceptions sometimes get us in trouble. We might believe someone is thinking something about a situation, only to realize we were completely off base. Communication is the key to determining what someone is thinking, but absolute communication is not always possible. As business owners, it is our job to remove our perceptions about what our target market needs and determine what it is they really want. This is the secret to attracting new clients in crowds. 2-Way Communication is Key to Business Growth

Leveraging the Power of a Team Presentation. While meeting with a new client last week, one of the partners took me aside and confided that his company had just lost a potential new piece of business. What had gone wrong? The prospect said their pitch wasn’t “buttoned up” enough — the kiss of death for any sales presentation. My client quickly realized that his prospect’s feedback was accurate. Countless hours had been spent on the pitch content, but they hadn’t taken five minutes to coordinate and build real teamwork among the presenters.

Every year we head into the holidays with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Who can forget Bridget Jones’ holiday party singing that was tone deaf in oh-so-many ways. Here are a few ways to play it safe without neutering the holidays and boring yourself and others to tears: - send holiday cards - wish people Happy New Year - look at company parties as an opportunity to stretch your professional skills in the social arena - keep the hard partying and too-hot-to-handle clothes for partying with your friends, because company parties are work, period

"We teach people how to treat us. " ~ Dr. Phil McGraw, Life Law #8 I believe you and I teach people how to treat us. We do this constantly by the silent signals we send out, and we seldom become aware of it until our discomfort forcefully bring it to our attention. Let's investigate how to get ahead of this aspect of the game and create more comfort for ourselves. Relationships between people is a great place to begin. Choose one relationship in your life with the most discomfort. It might be with your mate. It might be with someone at work. It might be a parent.

Do you have a vision reflecting what you want your life to look like this year? Do you have a vision for your life in general? Have you ever stopped to consider what you want to experience in your life? Are you clear on what your life mission is?

Life is the lump sum of our choices. ~ Albert Camus A successful person does not drift through his or her days. They focus their mentality on what they believe to be important, they take the time to make deliberate choices and they are disciplined in their emotions. They are living by design. A person who lives by default is less focused, accepts whatever comes his or her way, doesn't have a master plan, and allows their emotions to run rampant. Which are you? Deliberate or Default? Here's an illustrative quote from Alice in Wonderland.

Have you ever heard the phrase “History is the best indicator of future performance.”? This is a true statement – to an extent. Our past successes and failures will only predict our future, if we let them. What do I mean by this?

All attendees of "Project Management . . . by the Numbers" know that every project is a project within another project(!). In other words, every project we manage is a part of another bigger project. So, what is the difference between a business process and a project management process? Let's begin the answer with an example . . . The CEO of the organization believes the project is to bring a new product to market. Let us call the product the Wireless Internet Waffle Iron (WiWi). The CEO knows he/she has a process to get the WiWi though his company.

My mother once said that “The older you get, the faster time will fly.”How true that is! Perhaps this is why people try to cram as much into their day as possible. However, when you become too busy and forget to set aside adequate time for yourself, it will take its toll on you physically, mentally, and/or emotionally. Signs that you should slow down can include, but are not limited to, frustration, anger, a short temper, exhaustion, depression, skin rashes, and illnesses. This article provides five tips on how to create a healthier balance in your life. 1.

When a loved one, friend, neighbor, or co-worker has a loss, most people feel compelled to say something. The question is “what?” Having lost some very important people in my life as well as attempted to console friends and colleagues who have had to deal with death, here are my suggestions as to what you might say. Keep it Simple: “I am sorry for your loss” is a very good start and many times the only thing you have to/should say.

In the nonprofit field, the development of a new program generally begins with receiving some type of grant award. Of course, nonprofits can develop programs without being awarded a grant, but the money needed to create and implement any type of program will need to come from a philanthropist or through other fundraising efforts and activities.

Too often, especially for entrepreneurs, our lives become complicated and exhausting. There never seems to be enough time in the day for all of the responsibilities on our plates, much less extra for the activities which may improve us or our businesses. We get so caught up in the day-to-day operations of our company we forget the primary duty of a great business leader which is to make decisions and plans to maximize the future’s outlook. Luckily, long-term success is often

Like the wind and the tides, energy is shifting and moving all of the time. The sun rotates, planets spin, stars are being born and dying as the Universe itself hurls through space at incomprehensible speeds. At a micro level, we’re constantly shifting and changing too. We’re generating new cells every day. Various parts of our body are being created anew as other parts die off and are replaced. You are constantly in a state of shifting and moving to something new. You can’t escape it. So, if change is such a constant in life, then why are we so uncomfortable with it?

You probably know the work of Matt Richtel, though his name may not be familiar to you. Richtel won the Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting for the New York Times for his series titled “Driven to Distraction.” The series, where he addressed the impact of multitasking, texting, and phoning while driving, and how work requirements are sneaking into leisure time, received more comments than any other article in the newspaper that year (2009). In fact, his work is credited with the enactment of hundreds of laws, throughout the country, regarding the use of technology while driving.

If you have been trying to use The Law of Attraction, but somehow, no matter how hard you try, it doesn’t seem to be working, maybe as Yoda says, “There is no try, there is only do.” We have all had situations where we tried, tried, and tried again, and what we were trying to do, just wouldn’t ...

“What is it about grandparents that is so lovely? I'd like to say that grandparents are God's gifts to children. And if they can but see, hear and feel what these people have to give, they can mature at a fast rate.” ~ Bill Cosby If you are a grandparent, it’s probably been a long time since you did child care, and stepping back into that role can put a strain on you. The assumption that you will now give up your own life to babysit, should all be looked at honestly to see where your levels of comfort are.

"Choose your thoughts carefully; they are the builders of your life." ~ Anonymous How many times have you set out with a fabulous plan for success and within a short period of time found yourself mentally kicked to the curb wondering why? You are not alone. Many people find it tough to achieve success via their own goals. What are the barriers to success? Lack of Motivation

Leaders navigate via curiosity. Curiosity leads to learning and expands the realm of what they don't know to what they do know. Leaders share what is there AND isn’t. They rely on observations, intuition and inklings to help staff move forward. Intuition and inklings aren’t found in any ...

Virginia Woolf once said that “To enjoy freedom we have to control ourselves.” Empowerment is the process of developing our personal power so that we control our own life, leading to personal freedom. To become empowered, I found the following six steps to be helpful: 1. Understand that you have control over your life and that no one can control you. This first step is absolutely critical. Although others may have controlled your life in the past or may still attempt to do so, you are the one who ultimately controls your life.

A client recently asked, “How do I control my urge to give more information than my audience needs?” Great (and very mindful) question! Consider this answer from authors Dan and Chip Heath in Made to Stick. They say that in an effort to be complete, we often feel obligated to share every single thing we know rather than considering just what our listeners need to get the point (called “The Curse of Knowledge” by the authors). When “cursed,” we keep going and going; as a result, little sticks with our now-overwhelmed audience. Sound familiar?

My mission is “to help business leaders discover and achieve their potential.” One of the things that I discover is that many business leaders – more than half – limit their success because of inadequate attention to reflection and self-examination. My clients would say that I’m not prone to make or accept excuses, and that my approach is rather direct. In that spirit: If you believe, or even suspect, that your past or current success preordains future success, you

What Exactly are Goals? Setting goals is the most essential element of getting to where you want to be in life. Goals have been described as a route, system, recipe, or prescription for reaching your ultimate vision. They are the stepping stones which take you closer and closer to where you want to be in life. People who get ahead, accomplish more things, and create more experiences in their life are people who set out goals for themselves.

Prior to developing a job description for board members, take time to determine what you expect from them. Which roles should they adopt and which tasks, projects, and activities do you want them to be responsible for? In addition, consult your by-laws as they will list board member roles and responsibilities specific to your agency. If you have never developed a board member job description, you can borrow and review descriptions from other agencies or search online for sample descriptions.

The only shame is to have none. ~ Blaise Pascal Are you one of those fine folks out there who knows deep inside your heart-of-hearts that you really want to change a few things in your life, but you just cannot find whatever it takes (you're not sure what it is) to get going? Overcoming shame associated with not accomplishing what you want can be a first step to getting started.

I’ve been thinking about, and sharing with my executive coaching clients, the idea of validation. What I mean is the need of almost all of us to be told, in word or reaction, that who we are and what we contribute is relevant, valuable, and special. People on the job interview circuit generally get more rejections than offers and most of the nos come without explanation or regret. Are there many things harder than speaking with a series of people, believing you could do the job and perform well, only to hear nothing back?

Driving the trend for executive coaching is the business reality that good people are hard to find and harder to keep. With a constant need to stay competitive, companies are seeing coaching as a way to help valued employees develop swiftly in a rapidly changing business environment. A growing ...

Are you tone-deaf in your place of work? Do you miss cues when people make a snide remark? Or, are you dismissive, insensitive, or judgmental in tone with your verbal comments that would seem benign on paper but have real bite when said? Do you say things to people in a tone that would make them take offence, become defensive, or do you side step difficult conversations with remarks that are heavy in tone?

Change. That word alone tends to paralyze many people. They start assuming and pre-acting about what they think will happen before it even starts and go off on a tangent until they're paralyzed by the mere thought. I'm not going to say "Now how smart is that exactly?" Preconceptions of what ...

Have you ever felt that there is something major missing in your affirmations? Are they working for you? Well, what if there was a missing link? A friend of mine and I spent a number of years from 2004 to 2006 complaining about our frustration with the outcome of our affirmations. In 2004, ...

Ever wonder exactly what you say that makes people take action? Ever wonder if there are key phrases and specific words that cause someone to engage with you, follow your advice, thank you for making a difference in their lives? Research into how the brain communicates with itself and with each other is super in vogue these days. And no wonder, that walnut shaped organ in the top of our heads wields a lot of power over what we think, do, and say.

In good and bad employment times, it seems certain people can locate, attract, and select the best. Whether they’re looking for a new CEO, to fill a line position, or searching out the best childcare worker, some employers seems to get the right results. Why is that? Are they just plain lucky? I say it has nothing to do with luck. What is critical is to avoid a few common mistakes so many of us make. Here’s a few you might be guilty of:

I'm always surprised at how many of my executive career coaching clients are hesitant to contact former colleagues and supervisors when they need advice or information. I call these their “networking hurdles.” It seems particularly true when they’re looking for a job. Why is that? I gave it some thought and here’s what I came up with.

On a recent Mastermind call, the discussion was about self-management and putting on a game face in difficult situations. There’s a problem with the game face when it’s used to neutralize our emotions. As a result, we can begin to be complacent by tolerating behavior that we would not accept if we were honest in our reaction. Discard the game face and take a stand for your value. Others treat us the way we train them to. How are you training people to treat you today? Copyright 2010 Michelle Randall. All rights reserved.

I was in the Container Store watching what seemed like hundreds of people buying all sorts of plastic containers to put their “stuff” in. It got me thinking about the types of clutter we have, particularly in the workplace. While I don't, nor do my executive coaching clients, partake in the pathological amassing of trash you see on reality shows, we all have “stuff” and excuses for holding on to it. “My office is not immune.” Here's what I call executive office clutter:

Everything is changing so fast! I hear this comment almost daily. And the reality of it is, -- it's true! The changes that we are experiencing today are significantly more than the changes that our forefathers had to embrace. The world is moving at an extremely fast-pace. And the illuminating thought, or should I say reality, is that today's pace of change is probably the slowest rate of change we will experience ever again.

No one is perfect, and as long as people work, there will be behavioral errors, and situations that need correcting. There is a lot of room for improvement in the way bosses, coworkers, and friends handle these situations. One of the most popular responses to correcting behavior is to ignore it and hope that it goes away. This doesn't work very often. In my experience, the times that I use that approach, the unaddressed behavior came back twice as severe, and caused more trouble.

I often get asked by start-up nonprofits how to raise money. The panic of making budget seems to make raising money impossible without knowing someone rich and famous like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet. But fundraising isn’t impossible. It can an incredibly exciting adventure. Here is a simple ...

We are so filled with mis-beliefs. We think we are filled with just ‘beliefs’, or maybe, ‘disbeliefs’, but in fact, we are loaded to the gills (as it were), with mis-guided beliefs, many that we are completely unaware of. How does this happen? How do we spend our lives loading up with beliefs ...

Purpose and Greatness. These are two very powerful words. These are words that when used in proper context give meaning to us. The questio I have for you is: Are you operating in and releasing Your Purpose and Your Greatness? Your Purpose and Your Greatness go hand in hand. When you are in Your Purpose you sharing Your Greatness. Your Purpose is what you were wired to do. Whether you are a teacher, a musician, an engineer, or something, this is what you are wired for.

American style capitalism has been criticized for its lack of “heart” or “soul.” Many critics have also pointed to the excessive focus on greed, with little regard for the well-being of employees customers or the environment. Other than the typical insights of business school gurus or management consultants, are there answers we can look to elsewhere for the malaise that grips our workers and current economic woes? An unlikely source of inspiration for us might be the Trappist monks.

Congratulations! You have now defined “Your Blissful Life” as it pertains to you. It is your unique blissfulness, so no one will have exactly the same definition as you. You have reached a milestone that most people never do. Notice how good you feel at this moment. Revel in it for this is how ...

I think there’s a trend … a trend toward avoiding confrontation. All the time. At all costs. No matter what’s at stake. And it’s starting to conce me! It’s not that confrontation is a good thing – too much of it, and life gets very tense. But it’s important that, when the situation warrants it, we be able to confront the person who’s about to make a major mistake, or the person who’s not aware of the impact of what he or she did, or the person who’s pushed you too hard too many times.

There aren’t many people who could say their opponents shed a tear at their funeral; however, that is reportedly what happened at the services for the late Edward Kennedy. As with most current events, I found myself curious for the lesson(s) behind the story. While researching Kennedy’s workplace skills, I chose to read the words of politicians, journalists, and commentators who were clearly not in agreement with most of his views. What did they have to say?

Business management Colleges are on the rise with most big companies and industrial giants searching for candidates who have passed out from renowned B-schools. This is more due to the fact that the Indian economy chart shows a consistent rise and is a booming industry. This has given importance and tremendous rise to the Business management courses India, as students from the business class as well as working class are opting for MBA courses. The Business management courses

Everyone is trying to manage time. When you hear them talk, you would think it could be manipulated -- stretched or duplicated. It isn’t possible and for those who think they can, it’s more of a game than a solution. Knowing there are but 24 hours in a day, the challenge becomes more about how we plan, schedule, and utilize our minutes than it does with attempting to find more.

There is so much glitz and glamour that comes with that power word “success”. It says you’ve made it and from here on life is good. Right? Not so fast. The biggest distraction to success is all the stress and anxiety that sits like a weight in the pit of the stomach. It has to do with the worry that it will all disappear tomorrow, the next day, someday.

D “Dance with Fear. Dance with done. Dance with resistance. Dance with each other. Dance with Art.” I love to Dance! Even when I don’t get it “right”. There is such freedom in dancing to your own funky beat!! Finding the freedom around your fears can be a little more challenging though. Especially when they’re doing their best to keep you small, and are holding you back from achieving your full capacity as a leader. Dancing with your fears though is just that, a dance.