Coaching to Success

Our business is your success

Change

Are you on the Chair-Lift or the Slippery Slopes when it comes to achieving your Dreams?

I’m going to let you into a little secret here. In coaching, one of the tools we use is the GROW model and to help you start to understand coaching better, here’s a quick adaptation of a 20-30min coaching session exercise obtained from The Coaching Academy.

The idea of coaching is to provide the cutters for mental chains that hold you back, allowing you the freedom to explore all avenues. This is only a glimpse as coaches will listen to your replies and question further based on your replies.

GOAL

What do you want to focus on improving? This must matter to you and be something that you have control over

  • Go forward in time to when things are exactly as you’d like them to be in this area of your life.
  • What would be happening that tells you this issue has been resolved? What would you be doing? Where might you be going? How might you be feeling?
  • How will you know when you’ve got there?
  • What’s the first step that you can achieve in the short term?
  • Write it down as a ‘positive’ sentence (eg “It’s Friday 10th May and I am skiing down the slopes” keeping to the theme!)

REALITY

Thinking about your goal …

  • What tells you that this is an issue at the moment?
  • What’s missing that you want? Be clear.
  • What’s good in your current situation that you want to keep?
  • What might stop you achieving what you wrote down you want?
  • What have you done before to overcome these sorts of obstacles?
  • When have you achieved something similar to this before?
  • What can you learn from all of this?

OPTIONS

Make a list of things that you COULD do that will move you closer to your goal. Let all thoughts flow.

  • If you actually believed in yourself fully, what could you do?
  • If you weren’t scared of anything, what could you do?
  • If others gave you space, what could you do?
  • What if you were advising a friend/colleague?  What would you suggest?
  • Look at your list, read through… what else?
  • Write down two more

WILL/WAY FORWARD

  • Select a couple and think specifically ‘what are the actions that I need to do to bring this option about’
  • If it’s too big, what are the components that you can break it down into?
  • What actions do you need to negotiate barriers within?
  • Who else may need to be involved?
  • When’s a realistic time for you to complete those actions?
  • Project yourself forward to when we have taken these actions … What will you be thinking, what will your self-talk voice be saying to you?
  • Think about what you’ll be thinking, seeing, hearing or feeling, whatever is best for you?
  • How strong is your intention to take that step and carry out the action? Score yourself out of 10. If below 10, what would make it a ten?

Coaching to Success’ Neil Nutburn takes these, and other, principles to finding the best way forward in helping you secure your dream. The first step to take is to contact him for a friendly chat either via phone (m: 07761 187238) or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to see how you can benefit from GROWing yourself or your business.

The art of Delegation, a 5 step process … have you mastered it?

I was reading an article on BBC’s website this morning, fascinated by a leading car manufacturer taking the next step of automated self-parking cars (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25815244) which then got me thinking of how you delegate a responsible task that could potentially result in a very expensive outcome if not done correctly.

1. Learn to Let Go – First and foremost, much like the car, you have to trust that it will work. How many times have you heard it said “If you need something done, it’s best to do it yourself”? … It’s a ‘Must’ to let this go.

Difficult to begin with, so start with singular, low priority tasks. Remember, it’s the end result that’s important, not necessarily the route someone takes. Who knows, they may even find a more efficient way!

With continued examples of success, your own confidence will grow and further more complex tasks can be delegated.

2. Invest Time – Effective delegation is a long-term process needing guidance and patience. Short-term, yes, it is quicker to do something yourself but this seriously puts the brakes on development of the business!

I was guilty of this myself as a director. Once I realised that spending a little time helping and training those around me, I soon found I could let things go.

Invest time in training and teaching others. This may appear painful but in the long-term, benefits of not just saving you time can be seen. People respond better when they feel they are trusted to accomplish a task.

3. Clear Instructions – As with the earlier car example, previously, the input to enable a car to park itself filled the boot with technology, now it fits above the wheel arch. With experience and responsibility, less time is required teaching or training the person(s) you’re delegating too but clarity is necessary throughout.

As with delegation, to begin, some tasks may need constant supervision. This is not to say you micro-manage but help and give motivation that the task is being performed correctly.

Clarity of objective and expectations must be set so the delegated person takes the responsibility and not just the task.

4. Empowerment – All too often I have seen things forgotten or distasteful tasks dumped on someone else to deal with. Thoughtful delegation empowers an employee to develop their own skill sets enhancing knowledge and abilities. They will eventually take over a task without you even getting involved, becoming independent and even more of an asset.

5. Downward Delegation – Carry out a time-audit on what you do over a week/month. Assess how you are spending your time on tasks not necessarily fitting of your position! I too got caught in the chains of progressing through the ranks to the position of director only to find that I was still doing the tasks of the junior manager.

Know what is necessary (both unlikeable and ‘likeable’ tasks!) for you to do and what can be delegated. Set about passing these on to someone else which starts to raise their levels of responsibility as well as freeing up your time.

Clarity is the key throughout the whole process. Successful managers know the importance of delegation and the strength this brings. Coaching to success knows how delegation works best and we can help your company/firm to achieving the best way forward creating a happy workforce as a consequential outcome.

This is only a brief overview so contact Neil on 07761 187238 or email neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk to set up a free, no obligation meeting or chat to see how you can benefit from the skill of delegation as part of ongoing development.

5 Areas that can PREVENT you from long-term success!

Here’s a question for you… “Regarding business development, are you in it for the short or long term?”. May sound like a senseless question but consider the following article ‘Deming’s Five Diseases of Management’ which looks at 5 common problems that STOP organisations from succeeding in the long term!

It’s all about behaviours and attitude and I certainly know some managers with the latter. Here we’ll just cover what I consider to be the 5 most fundamental that any company/firm needs to consider.

1. Having no consistent purpose – All too often new strategies are introduced yet rarely seen through to conclusion before another strategy is muscling its way in due to ‘new ideas’ coming in from the top!

What generally happens is a lot of energy is initiated at the beginning but with minimal result. Staff become despondent and find it difficult to commit to anything long-term, why should they, it’s likely to change after all! Worse still, morale drops leading to dissatisfaction and even high turnover of staff. (some retail outlets are a great example of this)

Create and certainly promote your ‘Mission’ and ‘Vision’ statements for all to see and understand. Ascertain the ‘Values’ that drive them and get staff to buy into them making sure any changes or new strategies follow this path. Set specific goals and actions, then make sure it’s seen through to the end.

2. Emphasis on short-term profits! – It’s still tough out there with instant orders/profits taking priority over longevity of the business. Be warned that short-cuts are often taken with regards quality of service or product, innovation is suppressed and often replaced by fear. Be mindful that the economy is showing signs of improving so now is the time to start investing in your organisation’s long-term health and development plan.

3. Management by fear – Leads neatly on from the last heading. Often fear emanates from the unknown and, in turn, it’s easy to make threats. Fear can help people focus on short-term situation but at the expense of long-term success.

Carry out performance reviews/appraisals but in a manner of fairness with a good dose of honesty and sensitivity. Adopt a supportive, coaching approach giving them empowerment over their own success.

Also complete mini one’s throughout the year. I know I used to hate these as it always seemed to be used by directors to beat you rather than look for the most productive way forward.

Implement mentoring or coaching packages that focus on regular improvement.

4. Senior management high turnover – It takes time for any manager to gain an understanding of their role and equally as much to develop an understanding relationship with the team and those they are responsible for as well as expertise in the job itself, ergo, you will never have an efficient business if the key players aren’t bedded down.

Without stability from the top down, others will also adopt a short-term approach.

Start to consider long-term objectives with new managers. Looking at both short/long-term, create career paths or goals that align with the business’ objectives. SWOT analysis work well here to establish individual’s S & Os and look to embrace these rather than concentrating on W or T.

5. Looking at just the ‘Visible’ results – All too often I see how organisations simply look at the bottom line figures. Even in a sales environment, figures are important and as far as the board are concerned, yes, figures are critical but refrain from simply looking at these.

What is your organisation’s Critical Success Factor (CSF)? What are the key elements that drive your business? This should be created from your mission statement, from that, activities can be created to insure it. These aren’t all necessary figure based but can be around client/customer satisfaction, staff wellbeing etc.

This is a subject matter in its own right as are any of the aforementioned headings. Just to start being aware will make immense differences within your organisation and should you wish for long-term success, then please get in touch.

After all, Coaching to Success’ mantra is “… Our business is Your success” so take that first step and contact me to discuss some areas of concern or wanting to move forward at neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or call 07761 187238, where you’ll be assured a friendly and positive greeting.

Need some tips to help keep up with those new resolutions?

It’s the beginning of 2014 and how many of us have made those promises to change something we do or behaviour we have? How difficult is it? We start with an idea that sounds simple enough but once we put it into practice, damn it’s hard!

Often though, it is more about how we approach it rather than just getting on and doing it then letting it slip because thought hadn’t gone into it at the offset … Oh, and I’ve been as guilty as the next person in years gone by for not achieving what I initially set out to do!

So here are 7 ‘Nutburn’ tips on how to achieve those resolutions.

  1. Set ‘Realistic’ targets – All too often we aim too high and as we move along, we realise this and rather than change, we simply let it slip by the way or we set too broad a goal! To make it work, set simple goals with small steps that can be increased as each becomes achieved.
  2. Outline what you wish to achieve – To change, you have to take yourself outside of your comfort zone, otherwise you would have done it some time ago, wouldn’t you? Do a Pros and cons list so you can see the benefits and also check what hurdles may crop up? Set out a plan to check on progress/targets etc
  3. Is it something YOU wish to do? – Insure this is something that you want to achieve and not something to conform to someone else’s wish or expectation.
  4. Accurate and Specific! – Rather than stating that you wish to lose weight, for example, be specific, ie lose a stone by year end. This may seem daunting but break it down into further specific and achievable slots such as 2lb each month by the end of March then 1lb Apr etc thereafter. Now it’s realistic whilst being specific.
  5. Become accountable to others – Make it public. Tell family, friends, those on your social media contact lists what it is you’re aiming to achieve and give them updates on your success. As a coach, it’s amazing how my clients achieve what they set as a result of making promises to me.
  6. Reward achievements – No matter how small or large, set rewards along your path. When you hit a target, reward yourself.
  7. Handle Failings – Remember, you are creating new habits, it’s reported that it takes 21 days to create new habits and 6 months for it to become part of your psyche, so there is a likelihood that you may slip up along the way. It is imperative not to berate yourself over this, get up, dust yourself down and get back on with it. Much like I had to when I didn’t write as many workshops as I thought I would have done in the time I set myself.

 

This is something Coaching to Success knows about, it’s what we do … help others to change their ways for improved life/work outcomes so if you need someone to help you create new resolutions, take that first step and contact me at neil@coachingtosuccess.co.uk or call 07761 187238, where you’ll be assured a friendly and positive greeting.

 

Let’s start to build morale now we’re on the turn!

Sociologist Alexander Leighton stated “Morale is the capacity of a group of people to pull together persistently and consistently in pursuit of a common purpose” so it’s critical to invest time in developing good morale for your organisation to flourish, those that do experience much higher productivity, profitability and staff retention, decreased level of absenteeism and turnover of employee numbers as well as producing an amazing place to ‘want’ to come and work in!

With all the positive talk about the economic climate, let’s insure or teams also buy into this lift in morale while avoiding the common factors I often see causing it to dip:

  • Difficult co-workers.
  • Heavy workloads and/or stress.
  • No recognition or reward/gratitude.
  • Restructure or Layoffs
  • Deplorable leadership.
  • Inflexible working conditions.
  • Cancellation of team benefits.
  • Lack of enablement or autonomy. opposite

How frequently do you see managers turning a blind eye, or not even realising the state of morale by blaming workload pressure? Don’t wait for others, lead from the front and build your own positive attitude or outlook. ‘Positive’ thinking encourages positivity around you (negative has the same contrasting effect).

So I’ve put together some tips for you to consider:

  1. CONNECT WITH YOUR TEAM – Avoid hiding behind a desk or closed doors. Get out there, speak to the team, find out about personal as well as work subjects and show interest. Show presence by walking around and being approachable. Remember my earlier comment ‘No recognition’? Reward your team and this doesn’t have to cost a penny, simply making an announcement to all how well a member/team have done builds positive feelings but physical rewards work well when they’re due.
  2. CLARITY OF DIRECTION – Set ‘Clear’ goals. This way members ‘know’ what they should be doing or aiming for. SMART goals, yeah, I know, business spiel but it works!
  3. COMMUNICATION –Without clarity, rumours start, so it’s imperative that timely and accurate information is given. If there are changes being made, keep those around up to date so they can’t make their own ‘assumptions’. Remember to ‘Receive’ as well… after all, communication means “the activity of conveying information through the exchange of information”
  4. MAINTAIN MOTIVATION – All too often there’s a positive ‘get up and go’ approach and the following month, life’s back to normal! Know what makes your team members tick! (look into Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs). Keep up with SMART goals and stay ‘Connected’ with your team(s).

Coaching to Success understands how to help those leaders develop a positive environment and keep motivated to succeed through these times as well as supporting you along this path. If this is an area you feel you, your team or firm/company would benefit from, take that first step by speaking to someone who can help you improve morale whilst keeping you on track to reach them, after all, that’s what coaching is all about so pick up the phone to arrange a free consultation on how we can help, contact Neil (07761 187238) or throw us an email at info@coachingtosuccess.co.uk… We’re here to help.