This Past Week, Four Important Posts

August 24: How to Deal with Resistance to Change

Resisting needed change has destroyed relationships, marriages, families, organizations, companies, programs and nations. Change starts with the individual. On Monday, we provided an 8 step strategy to initiate change. That doesn't mean it will be easy, but it does mean that it is possible. It's going to first of all mean a change of attitude that embraces the new possibilities that change will produce.

August 25: Whose Problem is It?

Knowing who it is that has the problem is the vital first step in finding solutions. Someone else may have projected their problem on you for years. You have lived with the burden of it. No more. If it is their problem, let them live with it. Being released from the guilt or shame will let you establish boundaries,  take better care of yourself and let them know that if they desire solutions, they will have to be the ones to take action and make change.

August 27: What Makes a Good Leader Work with a Coach?

What do great leaders know and practice that the vast majority of other leaders don't? They work with a Coach ... not because they have big problems but because they want to be better prepared to deal with big problems. And not only that, they want to be more aware of opportunity when it shows itself. Coaching for the successful leader is not so much remedial as it is transformational. Thursday's article outlines the top 12 areas that successful leaders and executives have proactively used our coaching .

August 28: An Example of Employee Engagement

On Friday we examined how one company changed their thinking ... and their approach after 50 years. They engaged their employees in the larger context of what the company was doing. It raised a sense of place and contribution. The end result for the company was more engaged and satisfied employees and increased profit. You may have golden ideas hidden in your staff but there is no encouragement or environment to get them out. Achieving employee engagement isn't a 'hope so' exercise. It will require a solid change of culture and attitude. It will require good leadership.

What Makes a Good Leader Work With a Coach?

What makes a good leader work with a Coach? They have their act together, don't they? They effectively carry out their own work each day, not wasting a lot of time but getting things done. They work well with their staff. The company, organization or division they direct is moving along as well as any other. So why would they think about working with an executive coach? Or why would their organization think of having them engage a coach?

It's simple really. Because they know they can always do better. In fact they want to do better and achieve more. Great leaders are characterized by consistent growth. Stagnation, the status quo, staying on the plateau, these are not in their vocabulary except to be avoided. They believe in and go after personal, professional and organizational growth.

Even though you are doing just fine right now, what would you work on with an executive coach? Where can you grow yourself and your leadership team ever further? What would you like to learn and implement to give you that edge that will translate into greater success? Have you really reached your highest and best potential in each of these areas?

People

• Managing Critical Conversations, Conflict and Confrontation


• Motivating, Leading and Developing Others


• Succession Planning and Grooming for Advancement


• Building Key Relationships – Family, Work, Community

Personal

• Time Control, Managing Stress and Dealing with Burnout


• Meaningful Contribution and Career Satisfaction


• Character Growth and Personal Development


• Changing Possible Career Limiting Behaviors

Process

• Increasing Daily Productivity and Effectiveness


• Planning, Goal Setting and Decision Making


• Fostering Significant Ideas and Projects


• Maximizing Opportunities in Change and Transition

Aware, growing leaders believe they and the organizations they lead can do better and achieve more. They are restless until they see that happen.

If I Had to Do It All Over Again

 A few years back, one of my coaching clients invited me to work with a large group of young leaders in Ukraine. His instructions were to be ‘intensely practical’ about the leadership training I was to give. The phrase stuck in my thinking since then. 

I have been in leadership one way or another for over 35 years. 

BUT … if I had to do it all over again, there are a few intensely practical things I would do from the very beginning. 

• I would commit to being a lifelong learner on the topic of working effectively throughout my day

• I would spend much more time learning about people

• I would meet regularly with a coach who could assist me to go farther than I thought I could go

• I would squeeze more learning out of everyday life experiences … both good and bad 

Many leaders don’t practice these intensely practical habits. They stumble into the job and fumble along, waiting for something to happen and then react to it. That’s not leadership. It’s more like crisis management. We've all done it at one time or another.

Intentional leaders are prepared for ‘stuff’ to happen. They know where they are going and they have a path to get there. When they realize they have been distracted or diverted, they get back on the path again.

In case you're thinking about what you'd do if you could do it all over again ... it's never too late to make adjustments.