Coaching Team Newsletters

Becoming Fully Engaged

Managing Energy, Not Time

Just about everyone is in a hurry these days, juggling work, family, and play like so many balls in the air. We pride ourselves on our ability to multitask. We use e-mail, cell phones, and other devices to keep in touch so we don’t miss anything. About the only thing that seems to be slowing us down is traffic, and then we use that time to catch up on phone calls and messages.

However, the more timesaving devices we have at our disposal, the more time we have to cram in extra tasks, more contacts, and more meetings. Instead of saving time, we are creating more possibilities. We are wired up but melting down. We assume that if only we had more time, we could accomplish more and be more satisfied.

We survive on too little sleep, grab a bite here and there without taking time to enjoy a meal in good company, fuel up on coffee, chill out on alcohol, and throw medications at symptoms of stress. Faced with relentless demands at work, we return home exhausted, only to face children and spouses with less than a cheerful disposition. Instead of experiencing our families as a source of joy and renewal, we see them as one more demand in an overburdened life.

We say that we are starved for time. Even if we manage our time more efficiently, there is still never enough of it in a 24-hour day. We cut back on sleep, skip meals and exercise, cut down on meetings, but the schedule just gets filled up again. That’s because time isn’t really the key issue in the first place.

Energy is the Key

The issue isn’t time—or time management. It’s energy. And this requires us to rethink much of what we’ve believed about organizing our lives. Managing time efficiently is no guarantee that we’ll bring sufficient energy to whatever it is we’re doing. We need to learn two new rules:

Going Global - Are You Ready?

  The marketplace as well as the workplace is increasingly multicultural and diverse. Never before have people been required to work together with colleagues and customers from so many different countries and worldviews.

 

More products and services are being consumed outside of their country of origin than ever before, thus increasing global competition. In addition, organizations are outsourcing offshore in order to stay competitive. Many functions are being shifted to India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Russia and other countries because of low labor costs, the availability of highly-educated workers  and the stabilization of technology.

From the U.S. alone, Forrester Research predicts the migration of 3.3 million service and knowledge-based jobs overseas by the year 2015, 70 percent predicted to move to India.

How to Be Happy - 3 Proven Steps

Why do some people always seem happy, and others not? Is it really a question of life circumstances? Are they happy because their life is better, because they have more luck, and they just don’t have as many worries and upsets?

Or is it more a question of disposition, their nature, and character? Since luck happens to us all, just as taxes, health and family problems do, could it be that some people are genetically wired to be happy no matter what?

People who are highly satisfied with their lives are less likely to have psychological or social problems, less likely to get sick or be stressed out, and more likely to do well at work.

Hard-wired for Happiness?

Current research reveals that mood and temperament have a large genetic component. In a 1996 study, University of Minnesota psychologists David Lykken and Auke Tellegen surveyed 732 pairs of identical twins and found them closely matched for adult happiness, regardless of whether they'd grown up together or apart. Such findings suggest that while we all experience ups and downs, our moods revolve around the emotional baselines or "set points" we're born with.

A Winning Team in the First 90 Days

Assessing a team—deciding who should stay and who should go—is one of the most critical tasks an executive faces when transitioning into a new position.

The first weeks are crucial for learning and evaluating. Leaders must maintain the right balance of confidence and humility, while asking probing questions and actively listening. During this time, they are most vulnerable, without a firm support network in place.

Leaders must dedicate a large percentage of learning time to getting to know existing team members. If you are promoted to a new position from within the organization, you are likely acquainted with some of its key people. Transition from the outside, and you face the task of identifying and placing the right people into the right positions—a much greater challenge.

The Art of the Goal: (Part 3)

What’s so SMART about Goals?

Goals are very exciting and energizing. They drive us to achieve beyond our expectations. They make it easier for us to focus and concentrate, and give us permission to say “no” to distractions. Then dreams really do come true. But unless you spend time to explore, plan and prioritize, setting the wrong goals can lead to disappointment and disillusion. This saps your energy and motivation.

It is crucial that you motivate both your mind (what you think you should do) and your heart (what you value). It is difficult to examine your values, beliefs, and true purpose without a trusted partner such as a coach. Once you have explored with your coach what is really important to you in your life (career, family, community, your values and purpose), it should become clear what you need to do. Your goals are a natural extension of your values.

If you have prioritized three areas or values in your life, you are ready to set your goals. Three is an ideal number, as more than that can disperse your focus and concentration. You should be prepared to spend time, money and energy on achieving these goals. Remember, goal setting is not for sissies! It requires sacrifice. You have to really want to achieve them and be willing to say “no” to distractions.

Split Personality?

Living with Our Competing Selves

What happens when we come face to face with our own inconsistencies? It may happen when broken New Year’s resolutions become far too apparent to ignore. Or, it hits us when we say one thing to our children, and an inner voice reminds us that we don’t walk our talk. At work, we make a bold statement to our peers and feel a twinge of guilty conscience: we feel the hypocrisy inside.

Most of the time we kid ourselves with a system of delusions and denial. We say we are one kind of person, while doing things that are contrary to our desired image.

Psychologists call it “cognitive dissonance,” a state of discomfort when we say one thing but do another. We will go to any lengths to avoid that feeling, hence we construct an elaborate system of delusions, denial, and some behaviors we don’t even notice.

To face the fact that we aren’t acting like the person we believe we should be is painful and unpleasant. We don’t have time for that. Negative emotions get in the way of our being productive and focusing on the tasks and goals at hand.

The Art of the Goal: (Part 2)

Aligning with Identity and Values

“Begin with the end in mind,” encourages Stephen Covey. When you look at your life, there are so many goals your could pursue. But before you can set meaningful goals for yourself, you need to know where you want to go. If you clearly understand where you want to be, you can make sure your actions bring you closer to that place each and every day.

Corporations spend billions every year on strategic planning. They align their business goals and operations with their mission and values – their core reasons for being in business. Executives also involve themselves in similar planning sessions with their executive coaches. They examine their strengths and weaknesses with their coach, they look at their career and personal goals, and make strategic decisions about where and how to spend their time and energy.

Life coaches do the same thing with individuals. They explore and clarify with you your identity, your values, and your true purpose in life. How can you know what you need to do, where you need to spend your time and energy, if you don’t know what is most important to you? This is difficult and important work. And it is hard to do alone. Taking the time to make personal definitions for yourself will make the process of goal setting and staying on track much easier.

Secrets of Successful Careers

Finding Your Core Purpose & Strengths

Why are some people promoted to positions that bring out the best in them, while their peers who are equally talented get left behind in positions that do not allow them to flourish? Are there secrets to a rewarding and satisfying career in the corporate world?

According to Gallup research, only twenty percent of people are working in jobs that provide them the opportunity to excel in what they do best.

Since we spend so many of our waking hours working, shouldn’t we try to make that time rewarding and fulfilling? Unfortunately, many of us feel trapped in mediocre careers and place the blame on poor company leadership and lack of opportunities. In these situations, daily work becomes a grind when we cannot apply our strengths.

Do we then change jobs or move on to another company? Why change seats on board the Titanic? The answer to career fulfillment and success lies within you; it is up to you to find out where your passion lies and how your can become successful no matter where you are.

Creating an Execution Culture: A Leader’s Most Important Job

“Execution is the great unaddressed issue in the business world today. Its absence is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of most of the disappointments that are mistakenly attributed to other causes.” ― Ram Charan, author of What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards that Work.

In the year 2000 alone, forty CEOs of the top 200 companies on Fortune’s 500 list were removed – fired or made to resign. When 20 percent of the most powerful business leaders lose their jobs, something is clearly wrong.

Leaders make big promises… and then there are big gaps in what their organizations actually deliver. They have problems with accountability– people aren’t doing what they’re supposed to do.

Execution is not just something that does or doesn’t get done. Execution is a culture with specific set of behaviors and techniques that companies need to master in order to have competitive advantage.

Claiming the Empty Spaces

The Importance of Idle Time in a Fast-Forward World

You’re just about to leave for a dentist appointment, when you receive a phone call saying the dentist has been called out on emergency and will have to reschedule your appointment.

Congratulations! You are the winner of one unexpected free hour!

What will you do with your winnings?

Answer your email? Return to the project you were working on before you had to leave? Return phone calls? Run errands? 

Ever consider doing nothing?

If you’re like many of us today, the thought of doing absolutely nothing for an entire hour seems as wasteful as throwing a week’s worth of groceries out with the garbage. Indeed, free time with nothing to do can generate near panic among some of us who are overloaded and time-starved. Or it can make us feel guilty, as if we aren’t working hard enough or devoted enough to our task to spend every available hour on it.