• Do you want to generate new possibilities in your life and/or work?
• Do you want to energize your team to ensure they are emotionally engaged?
• Do you want to remove blocks that prevent you from experiencing fulfillment?
• Why work with a leadership coach?
• How do I choose a leadership coach that's right for me?
• My team is struggling, how can coaching help now?
• If I decided to use you, what is the process like?
• I am a busy person, how will I fit this into my schedule?
Many of us have an idea of what we would like to do, what we are good at, how we would like to contribute, yet we find it difficult to get on track, motivate ourselves and focus on specific goals especially with all that daily life demands. Life coaching can provide the springboard for getting on track. You have a guide as you explore new possibilities, reflect on your desires, contemplate rich questions and evaluate options. You set the pace and your coach challenges and encourages you throughout the process.
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You wouldn’t be reading this if the answer wasn’t “yes!” We all want committed, conscientious and contented team members who are contributing their best. The way to achieve this high performance is to be sure each member is contributing their gifts and what brings them fulfillment. If they are not ‘soaring with their strengths’ they will fall in the pit hole. They must buy into the overall organizational strategy and a have full appreciation of their place in moving it forward. Coaching can help uncover the individual talents and motivators, help members value each other and guide the group in coalescing behind overarching objectives. The key is for each individual to see how their aspirations aretied to the organizations goals
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We all have those well-worn grooves that we retread repeatedly. They may have been helpful in the past and now we find them in the way of goals. Sometimes they are illusive and tricky to uncover on our own or they may be easy recognized and yet each time you start down a new road you are frustrated to find yourself back entrenching old behaviors. Your coach will be your partner in probing what you may not be aware of now. She will suggest new ways to practice getting out of lockstep or propose alternate approaches to consider in any given situation.
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Making the commitment to work one-on-one with a leadership coach gives you the synergy of a dedicated partner. It is often tough to keep our commitments to ourselves, even with the best of intentions. A coach can help you see new perspectives, keep you focused on your goals, motivate you to explore new ways of acting, make observations, give feedback and articulate consequences you may not see. Your coaching partner will hold you accountable to follow through on what you want and reinforce the new behaviors that are serving you well.
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Studies show that coaches external to their organization are most effective with executives, and managers. And, that the single most important factor in finding an appropriate coach is a personal interview. Interpersonal trust, emotional safety and a strong rapport are the keys to a successful coaching experience. Ask for a complimentary coaching session on a real issue so that you can experience coaching first hand. Do not hesitate to check a potential coach for his or her references. Ask the questions that are concerning you and assess if the responses are in line with your values. Remember, this is a person you want reciprocal openness and honesty with or you will not get the results you want and deserve.
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If your team is struggling and you know changes are necessary, success depends on team members wanting help and being willing to play. Team leaders have to give the group a compelling reason to want positive results to do this work. The first and most vital step is to engage them by listening to their concerns and making expectations clear. Teams are living, dynamic systems with lots of written and unwritten rules, goals, blind spots, expectations and moods. They influence the individuals and play a considerable role in how the team works together and what the team produces. Effective team coaching focuses on the whole system, and the interrelationships among members. Interventions would be designed with the team. Our efforts will focus on getting team members invested, highlighting and communicating their value and contributions so that they feel appreciated, heard and ultimately engaged and energized towards unified objectives. We will help the leader analyze her/her own behavior and make changes to have the desired impact on others. The outcome is to have the team and the leader coordinating action towards their aims which in turn advances the organizational mission. We are committed to everyone's success.
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Our process begins by my entering your environment. We will talk, explore your situation and set goals and identify intentions. We will then determine a length of time to work together. The process is tailored to you. My approach is different from traditional training, or consulting interventions. Instead of providing tips and techniques that simply help you to do a better job of what you are doing already, I make observations that create new possibilities for you, ask powerful questions that evoke your solutions. I will candidly explore what may be hidden rather than just giving advice or making recommendations. I am always listening for the concerns that lie beneath your narrative in order to broaden or change the way you perceive people and situations. I will recommend practices, readings and practical methods designed to help you achieve the results you want. I will hold you accountable for your commitments and do so with respect and concern for you. You will become a more effective leader, executive, manager, professional or individual, achieving balance and fulfillment faster and with less effort than if you pursued your aspirations on your own.
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Our interactions will be built around the demands of your schedule. We will either meet in person or connect via phone regularly for short periods, meet twice monthly for longer periods or meet monthly for half a day or more. The key is to assess your readiness for coaching. Your investment in coaching will only be effective if you have a desire for change, value collaboration, are seeking new perspectives, ready to accept feedback and excited about trying new things. If change is a priority for you, the coaching time will not be a challenge. Are you ready to devote the time and effort it takes to make change?
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