My business is seven this week. I have been a business owner for seven years! Me! Yes, me! An entrepreneur. A female entrepreneur. I have a thing about proving myself as a female business owner – I don’t know where that came from, but I knew right from the start that I wanted to be
Conversations
Your role as a (virtual) leader
Whether you lead virtually or face-to-face, your role is simple: To create value through others. Ok, so it’s simple to say, not so simple in practice. Why is it not simple? Because you are so used to doing things yourself. This is the first mindset shift of a leader: I am no longer an individual
Leading self during Covid-19 – Introduction
I’ve written many times before about leading yourself and leading others. That was then, this is now. We’re in a whole new context now where our needs are different – or perhaps simply amplified. The trouble is, when we have our head down trying to fix the business problems, our needs and the needs of
Leading self during Covid-19 – Part 2
You are not “working from home” – you are “at your home, during a crisis, trying to work” You are at your home, during a crisis, trying to work. As a result of this long-running crisis, your focus may have waned. As you worry about protecting your family, your focus is there. As you figure
Leading self during Covid-19 – Part 3
Your personal, physical, mental and emotional health is far more important than anything else right now I will say that again, your personal, physical, mental and emotional health is far more important than anything else right now. Without those, you cannot work and you cannot look after your family. What have you put in place
Leading self during Covid-19 – Part 4
You should not try to compensate for lost productivity by working longer hours Have you noticed your work hours creeping up? Are you trying to keep up with business as usual? It’s not usual though is it? Things have changed and that means that it can take longer to get (some) things done. It can
Leading self during Covid-19 – Part 5
You will be kind to yourself and not judge how you are coping based on how you see others coping; You will be kind to others and not judge how they are coping based on how you are coping Other people often look calm on the outside, when underneath the surface, they are paddling hard
Leading self during Covid-19 – Part 6
Your team’s success will not be measured the same way it was when things were normal The Canadian Federal Government agency that wrote these principles is so very enlightened. Many companies have not yet changed what they are measuring. They should! We could give them the benefit of the doubt by saying they have been
Coaching is a partnership not a service
We have a problem in coaching. We sell it as a service. That sets it up in a way that doesn’t serve the thinker. Unfortunately, when they see it as a service, they expect (perhaps subconsciously) to be served. Not only that, they are used to being students. They may (subconsciously again) see this as
What they say they want is not always what they need!
I’ve been tussling with something for a while now. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know that I come from an employee experience background. As such, I believe that we should ask employees what they need in order to have a phenomenal career experience, rather than assuming we know what they need and providing that
When to Use a Coach Approach ~ Summary: Leader as Coach
In this series for the Leader as Coach, we’ve looked at multiple conversation points where coaching – or at least a coach approach – will engage your employees more than telling them. In brief, whenever you have any of these conversations, structure them by: contracting at the start for what you each want to take
Using a Coach Approach Before and After Training ~ Leader as Coach
Training alone reaps a 20% change in behaviour. Training plus coach leads to an 80% change in behaviour. So, we’ll get a much better return on investment from the training that our people attend if we add that extra element before and after. What does that look like? It’s simple: Before the training, ask them:
Coaching Upwards ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
Using a coach approach can help us to manage our boss as well as our employees, Coaching Upwards. Each time I have had a new boss, I have sat down with them in the first couple of weeks to talk to them about my needs of them. I usually start the conversation by saying something
Performance Management ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
Coaching and performance management don’t go together. There, I’ve said it. Why not? Because, your employees may not trust you enough to tell you their real desires and needs, or share their vulnerabilities with you, if they think that this might be held against them in the performance management process. Ask Before You Tell Using
Leaving an Organisation ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
You might think that once a person has handed in their notice and leaving, that’s it. You can’t afford to waste your precious time on them, when you need to look forward to finding their replacement and getting them trained up. But wait. This person might be a great asset to you and your organisation,
Career Change ~ Leader as Coach: When to use a Coach Approach
One of your team members appears to be disengaged and bored with his role. He’s very capable, but his heart just isn’t in it anymore. You’ve been doing what you can to motivate him, but you haven’t managed to find that sweet-spot in your team that would make the most of his strengths, his passions
