Executive Coaching Archives - CHCI

An Excellent Business Plan Does Not Guarantee Success

admin — Tue, 04 May 2021 10:40:02 +0000

Looking back, I am amazed at how many times I’ve jumped into a new business completely clueless. For me, this ended up being a good thing. Did I have an exit strategy? No way! Was I able to follow my business plan to a T? Definitely not. As I was learning, my business plan kept evolving.

I didn’t know it at the time, but the fact that my business plan was constantly evolving played a huge role in my successes. There were failures too, of course.

The fact is, in business and in life, you never know what is going to happen, especially in an economy that is constantly in flux. In that sense, treating your business plan as though it is set in stone is detrimental to your ability to succeed.

In the clip from my interview with Cornell University below, I talk about the four stages of learning and how they apply to entrepreneurs, as well as how a set business plan can actually cause your business to fail.

I’d really enjoy hearing stories about jumping in blindly to a new business or opportunity. Have a story to share? Leave a comment below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter.

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What is Your Definition of Success?

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 10:08:20 +0000

I once heard Arianna Huffington say that it’s time to stop bragging about how many hours we work, and how exhausted we are. She believes it’s time to redefine success*, taking it beyond money and power, to include well-being, wisdom, and wonder. I couldn’t agree more with this definition of success.

Success to me is also working with fully engaged clients and giving back to my community, in the form of teaching and mentorship.

Finally, I feel successful when I live my life on purpose.

My purpose is to empower people to soar beyond their horizons. I have this written all over my office. Whether it is my mail carrier, the grocery store clerk I see regularly, or my young daughter, I strive to empower them to soar. If I am doing this in my family, my community, this country, and the world, I am achieving what I consider to be success.

In the video below, I share with you more of my definition of success.

(You can watch more clips of my interview with Cornell University on my YouTube channel)

Are you able to define your version of success? Can you name three distinct signs that indicate your success? I am so interested to hear.

Leave a comment below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter.

*Read here to learn more about Arianna Huffington’s concept of the Third Metric, a redefinition of success .

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Case Study: Executive Coaching — How to Lead a Team To Scale Quickly

admin — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 11:32:02 +0000

A company with an annual revenue of $2 million wanted to scale quickly while adding a new product.

Challenges to Address

A tech company CEO wanted to increase his ability to lead a team that would execute to the next level of growth. He wanted to:

Improve his leadership presence with the team and Board.
Develop a strategy to launch a new product while the current product ran effortlessly.
Find the financing to launch the new product.

Solutions

Anne Loehr coached the CEO for approximately six months. During that time, she:

Conducted informal 360 surveys, to learn more about the CEO’s strengths and opportunities for growth
Worked with the CEO to develop five focus areas, with specific metrics, of goals to be achieved
Coached the CEO in person and on the phone for an hour at a time, with detailed homework for the CEO to complete before the next call
Created a library of resources for the CEO to use, including articles, podcasts and other information
Helped the CEO find a network of peers for outside support
Evaluated the coaching process with the CEO and determined next steps for the CEO’s future growth

Impact

Within a year of the executive coaching work, the company doubled its core product revenue and launched its new product, estimated to bring in more than three times the core company’s revenue.

My only regret about working with Anne is that I didn’t do it sooner in my career. Working on my communication style, leadership skills and time management, I achieved results right away and feel I am ready to grow my company to the next stage because of her work with me. Anyone who wants to grow as a professional would benefit enormously from her coaching.
-Steve Goldenberg, CEO, Interfolio

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Five Tips for Effective Coaching Questions

admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2020 07:02:52 +0000

People always ask me, “What exactly is coaching and how is it different from any other conversation?”

A coaching conversation is different from other conversations due to the amount of questions asked, and the type of questions asked.

In general, a coach should be doing 80% listening and 20% talking. If a coach is doing more talking than listening, then the coach is training or lecturing. There’s nothing wrong with training or lecturing, in certain situations. However, it’s not coaching. But if a coach is asking some powerful questions and then listening most of the time, you have a situation where the coachee is finding the solutions herself, instead of being told what to do. This frees up the coach to work on other projects and empowers the coachee to move forward on her own.

So what makes a good coaching question? Here are five tips to keep in mind:

Keep them Open
Keep them Short and Stupid
Keep them Advice-Free
Keep them Forward-Focused
Keep them Thought Provoking

1. Keep them Open

A coach wants her coachee to determine the problem and solutions by himself. Asking open questions that start with what, who and how allows this to happen; using questions that start with did, will, have and why actually shut down a conversation. Here is an example:

Coachee:
I missed my deadline again.

Typical manager reply:
Yea, I know. Why did you do that?

Better coaching question:
What got in your way?

The typical manager reply puts the coachee on the defensive, making him defend himself. The coaching question opens up the situation, without judgment or blame. It allows the coachee to focus on what got in the way, and then eventually what he wants to be different in the future and then eventually what steps he’ll take to get there.

In my next blog, I’ll go through the other four tips for good coaching questions. In the meantime, give it a try…. when you’re next talking to an employee, student, child or colleague, practice asking questions that begin with what, who or how and see what happens. You’ll be surprised to see how the conversation opens up!

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How to Merge Creativity and Business

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 11:26:31 +0000

Business is so much more than ROI and numbers. It is also about creativity and compassion. The truth is, you cannot run a successful business if you are not creative.

Bringing creativity into your leadership is more than just supplying the Playdough at a company retreat. It is about fostering innovation and allowing mistakes to happen.

In the video below, I talk about a student who is both an artist and a business major. She was concerned that her creativity had no place in the business world and was unsure how to reconcile this.

Here is what I told her:

Have you noticed creativity playing a large part in your leadership? If you aren’t a leader, do you feel the leader at your organization is creative? I am very interested hear your experience with this. Let us share experiences. Leave a comment below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter.

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Have You Ever Wondered How People Define Success?

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 11:11:08 +0000

Success seemed really simple in elementary school. You get an A on your math test—success! You win a game of foursquare—success! You play a solo in your band concert and don’t miss a note—success!

Adult life is much more complex than acing a spelling test every Friday. As a result, each person’s definition of success is unique.

I wanted to know how others define success, so I turned to my peer groups on LinkedIn and asked them just that. I started by sharing my definition of success in order to open up the dialogue.

What was the result? I learned that many of us hold similar ideas about success. In fact, I noticed four trends in people’s definitions of success: relationships, purpose, contentment, and the importance of striving for goals. Take a look at the wonderful responses below, and you will see what I mean.

What is Your Definition of Success?

1. Success is About Relationships

David Morlah
Teamwork & Leadership Guy/Baseball Scribe

Success is making a lot of money and having power and control over other people. Okay, just kidding. I believe success is all about relationships with people. It’s maintaining long term friedships and being at peace with all in your family. It’s about forgiving those who may have done you wrong, and harboring no bitterness or deep regrets. If you are loved, and if you love others, you are successful.

Ed Gilbert
Vice President Business Integration at Truven Health Analytics

Success is being able to look back in life and note the influence and guidance that you have provided to others. It is the long list of people that seek out my advice about career, business or personal matters. That is when you know you are successful.

2. Success is Finding Peace and Contentment in Life

Allan Griff
Independent Plastics Engineer/Anthropologist

David’s kidding shouldn’t be dismissed so easily. Altho its unPC among us lvies to go after money and power to make more, we are surrounded and often dependent on people who have those values, and need to understand how they tick, and not just toss their values into the trashosphere. I want to free myself from such goals as “success” and prefer the idea(I) of contentment. Good health (no extremes) and good genes help. Please remember that some of us (not just us engineers) don’t thrive on personal relationships, but somehow muddle through them and find contentment in believing what we see (science) and not seeing what we believe, observing from the outside, and thinking on the inside. Yes, I want to earn enough money to free me from economic anxiety, and I want power, but over myself and not others. Anne, thank you for asking us this question. I hope lots more of us are thinking about it even if they don’t post..

Rhyz Buac
Vice President – Finance and Operations at Alenter Resort Hotels Corporation

When you are happy and satisfied/contented of what you have then you are already successful

Kathy Barany, PHR
Principal, Strategic Management Solutions

Love David’s defifnition…all except that first line that had us going! To me, success is personal and professional. personally it is being healthy and happy; healthy being physical and emotional, and the happy part is all that David said. Professionally, it is being happy with what we do and having a healthy attitude towards mistakes along the way; we learn from them.

3. Success Starts With Identifying Your Purpose

Ruth M.Schimel
at Career & Life Management Consultant

I don’t believe there’s one deifinition of success because each of us has unique interests, goals, and needs. Once there is a sense of purpose, defining success becomes more accessible, varying with time and experience.

Ruth Schimel, Ph.D.
Author of “Step Into the Success You Want: Sparking Your Powers”

Arthur Cilley
Independent Business Advisor

I like your definition.My definition also includes some creative/artistic expression and some spirituak involvement.

For 10 years or so I did not do much with music, which had always been probably my favorite way to find peace but also energy. I sang in an a cappella group in college and in church choirs and community choruses after that. When I moved to Texasin the late 90’s I stopped singing for various reasons. In the last two years I have begun to sing agin with a barbershop chorus and a quartet or two as well as an excellent choral group associated with, but not part of, the churuch where I used to belong. I find that I missed that chance to perform more than I realized. It need not be singing, of course. Painting, crafts, dancing, acting, public speaking or playing an instrument are all equally rewarding depending on your talents.

Spiritual satisfaction is perhaps harder to come by. I believe, however, that “success” includes some philosophical reflection on why we are here. Without getting too preachy, we could all benefit from some soul searching about our place and purpose in the world. Many find that in a church or other religious organization but meditation or a walk in the woods or volunteering at a youth or senior center also provide insight.

Best wishes to your readers for success howvever they define it.

4. Success is a Process, Not a Specific Goal

Larry Smith
Business Development, The Belt’s Corporation

Success describes the fulfillment and peace of mind people acquire from nurturing and developing their minds(perpetually learning), bodies(physical/emotional wellness), and spirit(discovering maximal perspectives that yield lifelong and immediate purposes). It requires developing, implementing, and refining three strategies at once. Then the Magic happens…

Mark C. Miller
International (Latin American) Financial Risk Management

I woud say that success is the process of identifying, and striving to reach, our own aspirations…perhaps we can repeatedly halve the distance to meeting those aspirations; in any case, the real success seems to come from striving for or toward someting that we find meaningful, not from a final result of actually having arrived there.

Good luck to all.

Emilly Filloramo
Success & Happiness Catalyst | Confidence Coach | Author | Speaker | Nutritionist

Success is giving all that you’ve got, knowing that you did go outside of your comfort zone, pushed through the obstacles, picked yourself up after failing and doing it over and over again. All in the name of leaving this world a better place than you have found it.

Karen Fox
Environmental Research/GIS Analysis

Knowing that I have the power to turn a potential disappointment into an opportunity for gratitude.

Acknowleding that, what I might have done better today, is something I can always strive for again tomorrow. (No room for regrets)

Being there for my friends and family, and allowing them to do the same for me.

(…and having my mortgage paid off!!!)

Let’s continue the dialogue.

As I mentioned in my interview with Cornell University, success to me is working with fully engaged clients, giving back to my community in the form of teaching and mentorship, and living my purpose. But what about you? How do you define success? I’d love to know. Continue the conversation in the comment section below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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Listening: The Do’s and Don’ts and How To Master It

admin — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 10:49:58 +0000

The human mouth plods along at 125 words per minute, while a neuron in the brain can fire about 200 times a second. No wonder our mind wanders when there’s so much time in between the words of a conversation. This is part of the reason we remember only 25 to 50% of what we hear.

Yet listening is an incredibly important skill for everyone—including leaders. Why? If you’re not listening at work, it’s easy to misinterpret a discussion as a decision. You may underestimate the importance of objections and ambivalence. And not listening is a quick way to dissolve trust between leaders and their teams.

From my experience, leaders could use some listening practice. Why don’t they listen? Though Richard Branson once joked that leaders love to hear their own voices, there are two main reasons. For one, in general, people are not taught how to carefully listen. And secondly, society expects leaders and entrepreneurs to have all the answers.

Truly listening to someone is more difficult than it seems and requires practice. Yet practicing takes more than just “keeping it in mind” throughout your day. Let’s look at five levels of listening, the do’s and don’ts of listening, and steps you can take to improve your listening skills.

There are several levels of listening, but here are five I find most important.

Highlight: Five Levels of Listening

Ignoring is something we have all done. Someone is talking to us, but we are exploring things on the Internet, checking text messages, or thinking “what’s for dinner”. We are not actually hearing much of anything.
Pretend listening occurs when a person acts as if they are listening, but is not following the full story of what is being said. They nod and smile but do not actually take in the message. This is a skill that can be finely honed by people who do a lot of inconsequential listening, such as politicians and royalty. We all do pretend listening at times; be careful because it can damage relationships when you get caught.
Selective listening involves listening for particular things and ignoring other things. We hear what we want to hear and sometimes block out details that we are not interested in, or simply don’t want to hear. We listen for what we agree with, and then only remember that. Or we listen only for ways we don’t agree (this is usually as a result of a conflict), which can be quite frustrating when trying to come to an agreement.
Attentive listening is what many of us do most of the time. This is when we listen to the other person with the best intention, yet become distracted by our thoughts of how we will respond. In attentive listening, we dip inside our own heads for a short while, try to determine what the person really means, and formulate questions for the person before we start listening again. If you find that you’re doing this, ‘fess up! Let the other person know that your mind wandered and say, “Could you please repeat that?”
Empathic listening happens when the listener pays very close attention to what is being said, how it is being said, the message that is being portrayed, and what is not being said. Empathic listening takes much more effort than attentive listening, as it requires close concentration. It also requires empathy and understanding. You’re listening for the emotions, watching the body language and listening for needs, goals, preferences, biases, beliefs, values and so on. In other words, you’re listening in surround sound.

How to Be a Better Listener

Listening is actually a little painful. When we talk, we get a rush of chemicals sent to our reward and pleasure centers, so it is a selfish brain activity. There is no reward like that for listening. When you listen, you are halting your natural ways of thinking; it’s like holding your breath. Yet listening is a skill that can be learned, like a fitness test of the brain.

The first step to better listening is to choose to be a better listener and decide that it’s an important skill to you. It takes effort and a strategy and much like any sport, you will want to learn the steps, and then practice, practice, practice.

A Listening Acronym to Keep In Mind

Here is an acronym to help you become a better listener: NALE it.

N Note what is being said.

A Ask questions to clarify the story, and refine ambiguous words.

L Look at what the other person is doing. Are they relaxed, tense, looking away? This is all part of the communication they are sharing with you.

E Evaluate what you think is really going on with the person. You are not a psychologist yet, with a little empathy, you might pick up on some messages that are not being said. This gives you an opportunity to ask more questions. Stay in a curious state and you will learn so much more in less time.

Listening Do’s and Don’ts

To improve your listening, DO:

Be 100% present. This means turning off all electronics, and keeping your eyes on the person.
Be content to listen and to stay in the conversation until they feel like they are fully heard.
Ask questions and take notes, including clarifying meanings of words. Many words in the English language have more than one meaning, or can vary drastically (such as the word “soon”).
Show courtesy in your posture and your tone of voice by leaning into the conversation, and keeping your voice level.
Allow emotions to flow freely, and acknowledge the emotions with your words.
Pretend that you will be tested on what you heard and understood, if you are finding it difficult to concentrate.

To improve your listening, DON’T:

React emotionally. Stay calm and focused on the other person.
Offer suggestions or advice. This is a hard one! Yet if you are truly listening, all you’re doing is pulling information out. As soon as you start suggesting solutions, you are no longer listening.
Talk about yourself. Even if you have had the same experience, don’t tell your story. It takes the attention off the person and back onto you. A simple “I have been there” can do the trick.
Look at anything but the person. Stay focused on the person’s eyes, facial expressions, and body language.

Are you good at fully listening to others? Is listening a challenge for you? We’d love to hear your ideas about why listening may be difficult for leaders. Also, if you have experience working on your listening skills, let us know what steps you have taken.

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter.

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Four Resources to Help Employees Manage Change

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2020 09:38:59 +0000

I recently had the honor and privilege to be interviewed by different publications about changing work dynamics, managing difficult employees and the future of our workforce. The new era of workforce management is here; I hope our interview discussions help you plan for the future in these times of change.

When I spoke to Bindu Nair, editor at The Smart Manager, we discussed various ways to manage unmanageable people and situations.

Supported by my years of experience as a front line coach and consultant, we outlined how to help those unmanageable employees who torment other employees. The methodology we recommend consists of five steps: Commit or quit; Communicate; Clarify goals and roles; Coach; and Create accountability. How can you use this methodology? First, the manager needs to decide to retain this unmanageable employee or not. Ultimately, it’s not only about making that employee accountable; it’s also about the manager’s commitment to the employee’s success. Next, the employee should be clear on what goals she is expected to achieve. You can read more about the steps here.

Successful organizations not only manage employees; they also create and manage successful teams. During another discussion with The Uncommon League, we mused about preparing individuals and teams for employee training. What tips did we discuss? First, explain the training context to increase the chances of employees attending that training. Second, build organizational interest in what they will learn, to attract other employees who want to learn these skills as well. You can learn more tips here.

Successful organizations are also nimble and adapt to change, which is important because the way people are choosing to work has changed. Discussing the trends that are shaping the future workforce with Brown Wallace on The Bridge Revisited, we shared our thoughts about the personality traits and key differences of each generation in the workforce. The discussion also included the impact of women starting their own businesses, the importance of workplace diversity and the increasing trend of freelancing. If leaders develop a strategy without knowing about these workforce trends, they will be shooting into the dark.

Finally, at the Women’s Foodservice Forum we exchanged views on how freelancers and contract workers can provide fresh perspectives and help organizations move toward success. To effectively leverage their talents and capabilities, leaders must integrate freelancers in the workplace culture, articulate clear expectations, touch base regularly, and recognize results.

I’d love to hear how you are managing workforce challenges. What works for you and what doesn’t? What results have you seen? Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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Five Tips for Coaching Top Performers

admin — Tue, 18 Feb 2020 11:26:50 +0000

Executive coaching helps effective managers become even stronger. The same can be said of Olympic coaches and the athletes they coach.

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review looked at various coaching strategies and strengths that have helped coaches produce winning athletes in intense situations. Thinking of employees as athletes, five keys to success are identified as:

Help your “athletes” understand and learn to use their talents and skills in the work environment. Allow them to be creative. When creativity is allowed, employees feel free to use their interest and skills to develop a better product. Take the time to build in space for creative uses of skills into different projects.
Build a strong, transparent relationship with your mentee, to establish an open line of communication with them. Honesty is key. Olympic athletes have usually had the same coach since they were youngsters; even if they adopt other coaches along the way, their original mentor and trainer is always there to support them on game-day.
For athletes, training is the most crucial part. They must be up to date on the latest rules, techniques and competitor training habits and performances. The workplace is similar. Push your employees to investigate new technologies, and encourage attendance at training sessions, industry-relevant conferences and membership organizations.
Athletes receive different types of support including financial, motivational, nutritional, and more. Help steer your employees in the right direction and make it easier for them to “win.” Steering may look like helping your employees find grants for departmental team-building activities or building relationships with cross-organizational teams. Steering may also look like hiring effective managers who will appoint appropriate project leaders.
I found the 5th point to be the most compelling: managing the environment for your employees. You know your organization and industry inside and out so give your employees the perspective needed to help them create innovative solutions they can carry with them to future leadership positions.

Have you seen this parallel between athletic coaches and workplace leadership? How did it impact your team and organization?

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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What The Heck Is Executive Coaching?

admin — Thu, 06 Feb 2020 10:34:09 +0000

“What the heck is executive coaching?” I get asked that question many times a day.

I admit that coaching is a nebulous term. When I say that I’m a certified coach, people ask if I coach sports teams. When I say that I actually coach work teams, people look surprised. ‘Why would a work team need coaching?’, they ask. Because work teams are just like sports teams:

They are made up of different people who try to reach a team goal together.
Each person on the team has two types goals in mind: individual goals and team goals.
Every team member has his/her own communication style, which may or may not work well with the others on the team.
Although there is one official leader (the coach or captain), there are usually other team members who carry as much weight, if not more weight, than the official leader.

Similar to a sports team, thriving work teams need an ‘outsider’ to coach them to success, whether the whole team or just some of the team leaders. That’s what CHCI does. We coach teams and leaders to get from Point A to Point B, in the most effective way possible.

During the years, many people have asked for a practical book on coaching, so they can bring coaching skills to their own teams. That’s how Anne Loehr’s book, “A Manager’s Guide to Coaching” was created. Here is an excellent write up about one of the book topics: How to create effective coaching questions. Enjoy!

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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Executive Coaching Archives - CHCI

An Excellent Business Plan Does Not Guarantee Success

What is Your Definition of Success?

Case Study: Executive Coaching — How to Lead a Team To Scale Quickly

A company with an annual revenue of $2 million wanted to scale quickly while adding a new product.

Challenges to Address

Solutions

Impact

Five Tips for Effective Coaching Questions

How to Merge Creativity and Business

Have You Ever Wondered How People Define Success?

What is Your Definition of Success?

1. Success is About Relationships

David MorlahTeamwork & Leadership Guy/Baseball Scribe

Ed GilbertVice President Business Integration at Truven Health Analytics

2. Success is Finding Peace and Contentment in Life

Allan GriffIndependent Plastics Engineer/Anthropologist

Kathy Barany, PHRPrincipal, Strategic Management Solutions

3. Success Starts With Identifying Your Purpose

Ruth Schimel, Ph.D.Author of “Step Into the Success You Want: Sparking Your Powers”

Arthur CilleyIndependent Business Advisor

4. Success is a Process, Not a Specific Goal

Larry SmithBusiness Development, The Belt’s Corporation

Mark C. MillerInternational (Latin American) Financial Risk Management

Emilly FilloramoSuccess & Happiness Catalyst | Confidence Coach | Author | Speaker | Nutritionist

Karen FoxEnvironmental Research/GIS Analysis

Listening: The Do’s and Don’ts and How To Master It

Highlight: Five Levels of Listening

How to Be a Better Listener

A Listening Acronym to Keep In Mind

Listening Do’s and Don’ts

To improve your listening, DO:

To improve your listening, DON’T:

Four Resources to Help Employees Manage Change

Five Tips for Coaching Top Performers

What The Heck Is Executive Coaching?

David Morlah
Teamwork & Leadership Guy/Baseball Scribe

Ed Gilbert
Vice President Business Integration at Truven Health Analytics

Allan Griff
Independent Plastics Engineer/Anthropologist

Kathy Barany, PHR
Principal, Strategic Management Solutions

Ruth Schimel, Ph.D.
Author of “Step Into the Success You Want: Sparking Your Powers”

Arthur Cilley
Independent Business Advisor

Larry Smith
Business Development, The Belt’s Corporation

Mark C. Miller
International (Latin American) Financial Risk Management

Emilly Filloramo
Success & Happiness Catalyst | Confidence Coach | Author | Speaker | Nutritionist

Karen Fox
Environmental Research/GIS Analysis