The Benefit Of Coaching

Coaching has become a fad that many leaders and managers still do not fully understand. Yet, when practiced with skill it can have a huge and positive effect on the performance of people in organizations.

By Ian Henderson

Most high performance teams and companies use the principle of coaching. Yet, even today the skills and practice of coaching are much misunderstood by many people.

Put in its simplest form, it is an exercise in collaborative interaction, involving the building of trust, the use of empowering (solution focused) questions, empathic listening and the honest and open sharing of views.

If practiced effectively, it will not only to generate new options for tackling problems but also to reinforce what is working well.

But, coaching should not be seen as a quick fix solution to problems. It takes time but it is a key ingredient of change in culture. Many organizations, particularly those who are owned and led by entrepreneurial people - often with a very direct, telling style - spend much of their time dealing with problems and not learning. This in turn limits the time and energy the leader has to address the key behavioural and performance issues that will ultimately determine the future of the company.

By adopting a coaching style to empower and develop staff, leaders find that not only are staff prepared to take more responsibility, but they will work together more effectively, be more satisfied in their work and more likely to stay with the organisation in the long term.

Coaching may be delivered by leaders or managers within a company or by external consultants. External coaches may be more appropriate at very senior level to address business and strategic problems, or to train internal coaches but most organisations will not perform at their best without coaching.

For most organizations the traditional command and control style of management is a route to organizational suicide in the current climate of rapid change in both technology and attitudes to work when the need to secure the discretionary effort of people has never been greater.

To coach effectively, you need to:

- build and maintain rapport with the person being coached

- be present and focused solely on the person being coached and the process (not easy but imperative)

- be curious rather than judgmental

- ask questions that focus on the solution rather than the problem

- listen to the answers given (often for what is not said)

- be observant

- give effective feedback

The coaching approach encourages continuous learning, stimulates creativity and builds a climate of trust and respect for the individual. Investment in coaching is enlightened self interest as a culture where individuals feel genuinely empowered and accept ownership and responsibility for their own performance can encourage the delivery of superior performance and results.

Ian Henderson is a highly experienced facilitator, trainer, consultant and speaker. In a 20 year career he has worked with thousands of people from a wide range of organisations in the UK, the USA, Europe and Africa. He is the director of training of Eagle Training Ltd, one of the UK's leadingmanagement, leadership and personal development training companies. For more information go to http://www.eagletraining.co.uk

Branding, Publicity and Marketing Success Secrets

Discover the secrets to career and business success using publicity outreach for branding and marketing. Find out how to showcase your credentials, experience, wisdom and expertise using publicity success principles and strategy.

By Annie Jennings

Is there a secret to success? Is there more than one? Yes! Let’s find out what successful people, consultants and business pros believe and do that helps them achieve their optimal potential. What is it that they have in common, whether it’s in their beliefs or in their actions that makes them successful?

First of all they use resources available to them including publicity, self-promotion, branding and marketing to create their outstanding advantage in the marketplace. The rest comes naturally. The major opportunities go to the ones who are visible, making a difference, seen and heard by their target market.

Successful people know that they have to take responsibility and follow it up by taking action. You set you own limits.  You are defined by the intensity of your commitment and the depths of your knowledge. In other words, commitment without knowledge can equal frustration and limit your potential. The idea is to add the right knowledge to your ambition so you can climb the ladder for yourself.

Those who make it big believe certain things and do certain things to back up their beliefs. They are ready to invest in themselves. They believe that they are they best investment. Successful people create a business model that meets the demands of their target market. Successful people are ready for action, they are committed and they are willing to go for it with gusto.

Showcase your knowledge. Showcase your talent using media outreach. Your clients will love seeing you out there in the media sharing what you know and commenting on the issues. They enjoy hiring a tried and true professional who understands how to deliver the specific outcome. By doing publicity, marketing and promotion, you let your clients get an idea of your knowledge, wisdom and experience. You client will want to hire you. Clients want certainty. They want to hire the best. In the end, your clients want to buy outcomes and are happy to pay for your services if you are able to define the return on investment and clearly state how your services can help your clients.

Content is critical when showcasing yourself and your knowledge. The media is your opportunity to shine.  Do an outstanding job, pack your commentary with valuable content and share your wisdom and experience in all of your marketing materials including your email newsletters. Be sure your website helps you educate your visitors and your clients.

Success is in your own hands. Taking responsibility for both the successes and failures empowers you to make the changes necessary to turn the situation around or to expand on your success.  If you feel powerless in both the good and the bad, you will get stuck in your thinking and in your progress.

Have a terrific attitude. Commit to proven publicity, branding and marketing strategies. Do not fight success the whole way. Be optimistic. Success will come easily to you and it will seem as if everything you do has a terrific outcome. Have confidence in yourself. Go with your gut, your intuition and your instincts when making choices. Be high energy. Be ready for success & take action. P.S. Don’t stop until you get enough success!

Access tremendous publicity resources for both your career and your business at Annie Jennings PR. Free publicity, branding and business marketing special reports are available as well as free MP3 audio recordings to empower your corporate communications strategy. Contact Annie Jennings PR at 908-281-6201

Do you Play Positive Politics?

Have you have heard the expression positive politics? Yes, politics in the work environment can be positive!

By Marsha Egan

How many of you have heard the expression positive politics? This is the opposite negative politics and I believe you can see a shift in political positioning and behavior as your move to the higher levels in just about any organization.

As you go up the corporate ladder, or any organizational structural ladder, you’re going to find that the people who are higher to the top are rarely engaged in what I consider to be negative politicking. Negative politicking is where the overt “back stabbing” occurs. That’s where people drop hints about peoples’ shortcomings or mistakes. That’s where people corner others in meetings, without warning. People who are inexperienced in organizational dynamics have not yet learned the risk of tattle tailing, or talking someone down. They mistakenly believe that by knocking their competition down, they will rise. Oh, how untrue.

The people who rise have learned the skill of positive promotion. In other words, they don’t find things wrong with people any more. That’s what the people at the lower levels of the organizations do. Instead, they work at collaboration and doing positive things for others who are deserving.

What I’m talking about is positive politicking. You can recognize it when you see it. As an example, in a group a people who are working together, a valuable project comes available. And all of a sudden, one of those people is given the project by another person that they’ve worked with. This visible project is not only a reward for excellent prior work, it can be the result of collaborative relationships built with the leader of the group.

This is a reality in organizational America, whether it’s corporate or not. What we want to get ourselves in position to do is to award that kind of positive visibility to other people, and we will ultimately be a beneficiary of it as well.

We want to position ourselves to make positive opportunities available to people within our organizations. We want to do this regularly. We want to hand things off instead of keeping it selfishly for ourselves. These kinds things come back tenfold for people who do it.

This strategy is not only project based, it can be as simple as complimenting a job well done to senior executives. Sincere, unselfish and altruistic behaviors are noticed, and most times rewarded.

We rarely forget the time we were uncomfortably cornered and embarrassed in an organizational setting. It breeds a long term reluctance to help that person. The converse is true. I’m sure every one of you can think about a time when somebody did something positive for you and your career and how appreciative you were. And since that time, if that person asks you to do just about anything, you’ll do it for them. Well, this is the way positive politicking works. And this is how we can create our own luck within our organizational structures.

So, out with negative politicking, we don’t want to rat out people for things that they’ve done wrong. That behavior actually makes the “rat” look even worse than “victim.” That behavior happens with the people at the lower end of their organizations.

What we want to do is do positive things for other people. And this is the way that we can further the aims of the organization, and find some luck in it for ourselves. Because, most good deeds are returned.

Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC is CEO of The Egan Group, Inc., a Reading, PA based professional coaching firm. She is a certified executive coach and professional speaker, specializing in leadership development and can be reached at marsha@marshaegan.com or visit http://www.marshaegan.com .

Five Secrets To Exercising Authority

If you are in a position of leadership at your company, then you need to know how to inspire, train, motivate and lead people - all at the same time! By following these five secrets to exercising authority, you'll learn how to this starting today!

By Mike Brooks
Copyright (c) 2010 Mr. Inside Sales

If you are a sales manager or business owner, then you probably know and understand that fine line between being a leader and exercising authority, and trying to fit in as part of the team and wanting people to like you.

Managers struggle with this all the time, and many would be leaders lose their ability to successfully direct their teams because they are afraid of exercising this authority for fear of alienating other team members.

The problem is that most managers and other figures of authority - Directors, V.P.’s, and Business Owners—have never been taught how to properly exercise authority and command respect as leaders.

If you find yourself in this position, follow this proven, 5-step method for exercising authority. It will not only get results, but it will establish, or re-establish, your role as leader of your sales team or department.

1) Make sure your instructions are clear. Having ambiguous goals, or methods of achieving them, automatically undermines your authority and dooms many projects from the beginning. Rule #1 - be clear on the goal and the instructions on how to accomplish it. After you have delivered them, ask your team if they have any questions about what is required, so problems can be cleared up from the beginning.

2) Encourage people to approach you if they run into problems. Establishing open communication and feedback early on is crucial to avoid big disappointments later. Helping team members resolve problems as they arise ensures quick resolution, continued progress, and good morale.

3) Take action quickly when you learn of any real problems. Failing to act quickly once you learn of a problem, or putting it off for days or weeks, not only undermines your authority, but also kills morale and confidence. Problems tend to get bigger the longer they go unresolved, and your job as a leader is to solve problems not avoid them.

4) Insist your team report all the news—good and bad. So many companies treat bad news like the plague. Sales teams are taught to “always be positive,” but an attitude of “always be accurate and let’s find a way to succeed,” is more productive (and realistic). In meetings and one-on-ones, your goal should be to motivate as well as problem solve. Always encourage your team to report all the news.

5) Use crises as an opportunity to develop people. You are a leader for a reason! Rather than shy away from a crisis (a big deal lost, unexpected bad news, major delay in delivery, etc.), teach your team members how to find opportunity in crises and how to grow as professionals and as people. Focus on the skills or attitudes that are needed to overcome the situation, and work with them to develop and strengthen them.

This 5-step method to exercising authority is powerful and will establish you as a leader and as the “Go To” person in your company. And isn’t that why you are in a position of authority to begin with? Redefine your position of leadership by using and expanding on the 5 secrets above, and involve and build your team while you lead them to greater heights.

Learn how to close more sales by Downloading this Free Report: "Ten Techniques to Instantly Become a Better Closer". You'll find word for word scripts and techniques that you can begin using today to overcome objections and close more sales.

Think About Networking In A NEW WAY

If networking isn't about collecting business cards, then what is it?

By Marsha Egan

Instead of thinking about a network, let’s envision a net.

If you place yourself at the center of this net, you can see how your direct links, or connections, extends outward. And each of those links extend outward as well. Yet they are all interconnected. This is what we want our net to look like, and even more, to “work.”

I meet too many entrepreneurs and business people who believe or act as though their selling efforts are all direct one on one transactions with their prospects and customers. What they don’t realize is that when they build a network, much of the selling and prospecting can actually be done by other people. A network helps you multiply yourself.

In my networking workshops, I ask the question, “ How many friends and acquaintances, conservatively, do you think you have?” The answer usually ranges between 200 and 500. My next question is, “How many people do you think each of those people know?” Then we do the math. Conservatively, if each of these people knows only 200 people, that person is “ connected” to 40,000 people, only one person removed! Just imagine the numbers with the second and third levels of connection!

So the first hurdle to overcome in building a network is to recognize how powerful connections can be. This is the very important people side of the business that many have a hard time acknowledging or understanding.

In any business, there are relationships to be built. These enable positive progress. We call these relationships a network. People’s careers rarely progress solely through individual work; there are usually several people involved in an individual’s successful career or business.

Many people cringe at the suggestion of “networking.” They feel that they may be building insincere relationships or compromising their true selves by rubbing shoulders with higher-ups in the organization. So, out of principle, some very capable people don’t network.

So, let’s set the record straight. Networking is not about collecting business cards. It is not about pretending to like someone that you aren’t. It is not about catering insincerely to a boss or potential clients.

Networking is about building reciprocal, synergistic relationships with people throughout your organization, your business community, and your life. It is caring about others’ progress more than you care about your own. It is establishing trustful, supportive bonds with people who share your goals, or your business goals.

The powerful side of building this network comes with your delivering excellent quality and service. As you build your network, and you provide great service, your network will start to work for you. People will talk to people. Satisfied clients will refer you to others. You are net will actually work.

So, when we look at networking as a sincere effort to build mutually beneficial relationships, it can actually be fun! When you take the focus off of yourself, and place it on others, your whole picture of building relationships can change. You become other directed, rather than selfish. You become caring rather than self—absorbed. You become interesting rather than boring. Doesn’t this sound better?

This approach puts a different focus or in how you can build and enjoy your networks. Instead of collecting as many business cards as you can, and writing the obligatory mail merge letter the next day, you can give yourself permission to have one or two more lengthy, other-focused conversations with people at a networking event.

“Other focused” is a key word in this equation. Many people make the error of trying to get the person to know about their business, as their primary objective of the conversation. People see through this immediately. If you show a true interest in the other person, and avoid trying to talk about yourself in the first several minutes of the conversation, you will go a long way to building what can be a mutually beneficial relationship.

The reality is that the strong majority of people will turn around and ask you about your business, after you have shown a true interest in theirs. This is how reciprocal relationships are built.

One word of caution. Reciprocal relationships don’t necessarily mean immediate benefits. You’ve got to be patient. A network is built over years. One person at a time.

And the more sincere, and helpful you are, and the better quality you deliver, the more mutually beneficial (and and fun) your network will be. Yours will be a net that works!

Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC is CEO of The Egan Group, Inc., a Reading, PA based professional coaching firm. She is a certified executive coach and professional speaker, specializing in leadership development and can be reached at marsha@marshaegan.com or visit http://www.marshaegan.com .

Quick Tips To Get High Powered Publicity For Your Business

Find out the insider secrets to using publicity to empower your business and corporate communications strategy. You'll learn how to stay visible to your target audience, build awareness of your brand and encourage interested prospective clients to take action.

By Annie Jennings

What can business learn from successful businesses that use publicity strategies to stay in front of their clients and customers? Plenty! Getting publicity on your business allows you to create a substantial and compelling competitive advantage for your business. Want to be at the top of your industry? Publicity is the key.

One thing many businesses may wonder about is if accessing the media for publicity and brand name awareness costs a ton of money. The answer is no. You can get publicity for your business easily and within your budget.

In addition to staying visible to your target audience using publicity on radio shows, in newspapers and magazines and on TV shows, successful business go the extra mile for their customers and your clients and customers love these businesses for it.

Clients want to make investments in services that provide a return on their investment and they want guarantees so they don’t wind up wasting financial resources.

Be center stage in your industry. Stay competitive in publicity and promotion and make sure it is you or your business commenting on the issues in the news and not your competitors.

Stay consistent in your publicity outreach as this is important to creating your company’s competitive edge as clients want to do business with the vital companies making a difference.

Get quoted expert media placements, publicity on your company, be seen and heard in media including Radio, TV, Magazines, Online and Newspapers.

Be engaged in the success of your target market. When your business becomes part of the success model of other businesses you have achieved a great goal. Ask yourself, what if I were the client, what woudl I want to see available in products and services to bring my company to its next level of success? Once you discover the answer to this question create products and services that your marketplace and your clients can use to add profits to their bottom line.

One of the best business strategies is to understand what your client needs to go to their next level of success and create these resources for them. Stay cutting edge yourself too so you are always one step ahead of the services your client will need.

As your clients integrate your products and services in their business model, be working on the next higher level product as soon these new products will naturally be in demand. Always strive to create the better mousetrap for your clients to ensure your success!

Business publicity secrets can be yours! Annie Jennings PR is an expert public relations firm that works with individuals, businesses and corporations who wish to stay visibile and create their competitive advantage with publicity. Contact Annie Jennings PR and a national publicist can let you know how publicity can help you achieve your highest level of publicity success.

5 Key Traits of Great Leaders

Discover the five things you can do to attract and retain outstanding employees.

By Patty Vogan

In the book, Lessons From the Top: The Search for America's Best Business Leaders, Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, made the following observation:

"I think it's very difficult to lead today when people are not really truly participating in the decision. You won't be able to attract and retain great people if they don't feel like they are part of the authorship of the strategy and the authorship of the really critical issues. If you don't give people an opportunity to really be engaged, they won't stay."

As an entrepreneur with employees, one of your primary goals is most likely to attract and keep motivated workers. So let's explore the five key traits that will help you become the kind of leader people love working for.

Key Trait #1: You must have a vision. We've all heard the saying "You must stand for something, or you'll fall for everything." But what does that really mean? Standing firm when it comes to your company's policies and procedures is all well and good, but it doesn't speak to having a vision. As a leader, you have to learn to communicate your vision or the vision of your company to the people you want to follow you. But how can you do that?

Learn to paint a picture with words. Speak it, write it, draw it, touch it. Whatever methods you can use to create a picture, do it. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

Ask each of the other managers in your company to tell you, in their own words, about the vision of the company. How close is it to what you thought they understood? Is your team on the same page as you?

As you work, your company's vision should be in your mind every day, and you should reevaluate it occasionally so that it stays current with the changing times in which we live. And remember, your staff needs to be just as involved as you in keeping it up to date if you truly want them to buy in on the vision. Be sure to keep your key players involved.

Key Trait #2: You must have passion. Your employees want passion; in fact, they'll go to the ends of earth because of it, live and die for it. Think of the sailors who traveled with Christopher Columbus or Leif Ericsson to explore uncharted territory. Their leaders' passion inspired them to take on new and very dangerous challenges.

To build an extraordinary management team, you've got to light the "fire in their bellies," to get them to feel passion about the company and connect to the leader's vision. Passion is such a key part of being a great leader that if you don't have it, you simply can't be a great leader. Think of all the great leaders throughout the ages and try to name one that did not have passion.

And passion is infectious: When you talk about your vision for the company, let your passion for your vision shine through. Others will feel it and want to get on board with you. If you don't have passion for your vision, you need to recreate your vision or reframe your description of your vision so it's connected to your passion.

Key Trait #3: You must learn to be a great decision maker. How are major decisions made in your company? What is your process for making them? For instance, do you talk to your management team and create a list of pros and cons to help you make the best decision? Maybe you conduct a cost analysis. Or do you create a timeline for the implementation strategy, process and timing?
Some leaders have a set process, and others fly by the seat of their pants. But you don't want to be one of those leaders who consults no one before making a decision, announces the change the next day and then gets frustrated when no one follows it. If you're one of those, I urge you to implement a set process.

In fact, here's a system you can use to become a better decision maker. It's called the Q-CAT:

Q = Quick. Be quick but not hasty.
C = Committed. Be committed to your decision but not rigid.
A = Analytical. Be analytical, but don't over-analyze (Too much analysis can cause paralysis.)
T = Thoughtful. Be thoughtful about all concerned, but don't be obsessive.

When you use the Q-CAT, it'll help you to decide when to bring others into the process and what steps need to be taken to help you make better decisions.

Key Trait #4: You must be a team builder. To become a great leader, you must develop a great team or, one might say, a well-oiled machine. But how do you do that? You can start by handing off responsibility to your team and letting your team to run with it. Don't breathe down their necks and don't micromanage, but make yourself available if questions or problems come up. Teach your team to use the Q-CAT decision-making system and give them the freedom to work through their own decisions.

When projects aren't on track or your team is falling behind on deadline, it serves no one if you start pointing fingers. This is when you need to rise to the occasion and inspire confidence in your employees, to let them know you support them and ready to help. Be ready to alter plans and make new ones. Don't forget to use humor to keep your team's spirits up during a crisis. When an emergency hits, your team will look to you to be a tower of strength and endurance.

Key Trait #5: You must have character. Without character, all the other "keys" are for naught. That's because your innate character strengths and limitations play a critical role in your leadership style. The real question is, are you aware of just what role they play? All great leaders have taken steps to learn about their individual personality and what part it plays in their leadership style.

So what's your leadership style? If you don't know, there are many leadership style assessments available on the market. Two popular ones that have been around for many years are the Myers-Briggs assessment and the "360-Degree Feedback" model. There are dozens of other to choose from--the important part is that you "Just do it," as the Nike ad would say, and see how you rate. It's a good way to do a "character check" on yourself and your leadership skills.

Then, once you've done the assessment, the question to ask yourself is, do you feel your character matches what the assessments are pointing out to you?

If you feel the traits don't match who you think you are, then look a little deeper and be honest with yourself. Sometimes our first response is defensive. You might want to assess yourself with a different type of profile and then compare the results. Within the 360 Degree Feedback model, there's an opportunity to see how your employees and peers view you, too. In learning to be a great leader, the first step is to be open to feedback about yourself as a leader and separate it from you the person.

So are you a great leader? Or do you have the desire to become one? Remember, a great leader is someone who has a clear vision and can turn that vision into a vivid picture that others can see. When you speak about your vision, it should be with a passion you feel in your heart, a passion that creates so much enthusiasm that your team will want to jump on board. When major decisions need to be made, you should encourage everyone to use the Q-CAT system and be responsible for his or her own actions. And you should be continually assessing your own character and never stop growing, personally or professionally.

If you can apply the five keys to great leadership, you'll be well on your way to becoming a great leader surrounded by great employees!