5 Deliverables Only an Executive Coach Can Provide

I’ve observed leaders at all levels buying into this or other myths, most unknowingly. Staying motivated and getting the results you want is something a workshop, book, video or podcast simply can’t give you over the long term. While helpful, these tools can’t deliver in some primary ways. They cannot:

1. Be there to help you fine tune your efforts along the way.
2. Provide you the critical feedback in real-time you’ll need within the day to day crush of experiences you face.
3. Help you to incorporate new learnings or ideas in the face of resistance to change from either your environment or from within yourself.
4. Provide you with timely tools & resources to deal with unexpected, real-time circumstances.
5. Keep you motivated and on track when the going gets tough…and it often can when you are trying to shift long established attitudes and behaviours.

Don’t Go It Alone

You need more than just information to bust through resilient behaviour patterns or to see things from different angles. You need to partner with an expert. You need someone to help you stay committed and inspired through challenging times. I’m not saying that books and information in all their varied forms are a bad thing. Quite the opposite. I’m simply saying that partnering with an expert, like a seasoned Executive Coach, is about learning to apply those newly learned ideas to your personal or professional world, day in and day out. It really is about getting results more efficiently, quickly and with much, much less stress.

Life is short. Why not make it work better for you?

Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

Bronnie Ware is an Australian palliative care nurse who looks after patients in their last 12 weeks of their lives and she wrote powerfully about this. Did most people regret not having enough sex? Nope. Not enough money? Nope again. Here are the five top regrets of the dying:

1.  I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

• The most common regret of all. Most people died not having honored even half their dreams and they died finally realizing that it was due to the choices they made.

2.  I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

• The most common regret for men by far … having spent too much time on the never ending treadmill of work.

3.  I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

• Many people suppressed their feelings to keep others happy…this resulted in bitterness and for many, illnesses, as a result.

4.  I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

• There were many who deeply regretted not giving friendships the time & efforts that they deserved.

5.  I wish that I had let myself be happier.

• This was a surprisingly common regret. Simply, many people didn’t realise, until too late, that happiness, like much else in life, is a choice.

What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life?

In your last moments, are you going to be one of those who experiences some or all of the top five?  When is the right time for you to decide on a different course and make a change? I say NOW…because life is both unpredictable and short. Why not burn bright for the time that you are here?

With cameras rolling from the start we were quickly broken into four teams of four. We were then provided limited time and resources to solve some very real & pressing business challenges for a client we had yet to learn of. Our client turned out to be one of the most prestigious hotels on the planet, the Peninsula Hong Kong. As team captain I knew that if we were going to give the client something of real value we had to rely on each other’s best thinking. No grandstanding, no egos, just straight up focus on the issues at hand. I could see no other way.

Heat Turned to High

After meeting the Peninsula’s executive team the evening before, we were given the following day to come up with a kick-butt strategy and pitch. I was determined to allow our team to reach solutions organically and it worked like a charm. My fellow teammates were highly skilled professionals who consult throughout Asia. My job, first and foremost, was to engage their brains maximally. After quick introductions, we quickly decided on what the final outcome needed to be. We then set about defining what the landmarks would be for each hour to get us there. The rest fell into place.

What Happened

Our team had no conflict. Why? Simply because everyone was given a voice. We all knew what our vision was and we were all clear on the scarce time that we had to reach it. Nothing like a deadline to keep everyone focused.

What Was Re-confirmed

• Leadership is about being a team player, no greater or less than anyone else on the team.
• Leadership is about encouraging everyone to have a voice and that is critical even in high pressure situations.
• Civility goes a long way and is, in fact, required to get the best from others.
• Rigidity around one’s ideas is the kiss of death for other’s creative engines.
• Amazing solutions happen organically when the creative processes of all in the room are allowed to freely flow.
• Belief in other’s abilities to solve tough problems is essential to enlisting their best efforts.
• Walking the talk feels good. Real good.

All of this together allowed our team to generate some great solutions for the client. While the client did not select my team’s solutions as number one, we came a close second. Was this disappointing? Not at all. The learning was rich for all of us and it is these pearls that we shall take forward to our next challenge.

The truth is, changing the way you communicate with others or choosing to take better care of yourself, for example, can be very tough. Yet at the same time, if you manage to stick it out, the outcomes can be incredibly transformative for you, your team and your organization.

Here are some things to know about behavior change that can help you set up realistic expectations of the road ahead:

1. Behavior change can be hard – It’s rarely a matter of simply deciding to do things differently. Behaviors don’t happen in a vacuum. They are often part of a greater chain of successive triggering events such as prior experience, views, values or even your current environment. If you don’t uncover and understand the impact of these triggers, your behavior change efforts may fail quickly…in similar fashion to many a New Year’s resolution.
2. Behavior change takes time (and focus!) – It can take awhile before a new behavior sticks and becomes a habit. It takes focus and repetition, day in and day out, ironically to the point where you don’t have to think about it. It is then, when it simply becomes your new way of interacting, that your new habit is cemented. This can take anywhere from several weeks to many months.
3. Behavior change can take courage – If you are looking to grow your leadership the feedback can be scary…but hear it you must in order to improve your skills. Similarly, if you’re looking to get healthier, making the right choices everyday can take steely determination. Sometimes the internal fortitude required to successfully grapple with a goal can seem massive, especially in the beginning.
4. You will have setbacks – You will have setbacks that will test your will to continue. Your mettle may be tested as never before as your ego, pride and even your sense of identity can be roughed up. However, knowing that setbacks are simply part of the process can help you avoid the guilt of missing a benchmark and avoid the requisite downward spiral of discouragement. When you fall down you simply need to dust yourself off and continue on.
5. You will be tempted to move your goal posts – As mentioned, people often underestimate both the time and internal resources that behavior change can require. You may decide to resolve this internal tension by simply giving up or by being satisfied with a much diminished version of your behavior change goal. In other words, you might be tempted to move the intended finish line much closer to where you began or currently are.
6. An accountability partner will accelerate your success – Don’t go it alone, particularly if you find you’re not getting the results you want. A friend or trusted colleague can provide you with critical feedback along the way and help you stay motivated and inspired along the way during challenging times.

Know that when the going gets tough you’re likely in the zone of positive change; it’s probably the best indicator that you’re on the right track to making significant change. So dig deep, inhale fully…and keep moving forward.

All you need to do is Google “costs of employee disengagement” to uncover 482,000 results. Until recently, quantifying the costs was a bit of a challenge. Not so anymore.

I’ve consolidated some of the more remarkable findings:

1. Fully engaged employees return 120% of their salary.
2. Firms with the highest percentage of engaged employees collectively increased operating income by 19% and earnings per share by 28% year-to-year.
3. Organizations with high engagement are 78% more productive and 40% more profitable than those with low levels of engagement.
4. Organizations with disengaged employees had an average profit loss of $8000 to $10,000 per year for each disengaged employee.
5. Engaged employees rate 86% higher with customers.
6. Engaged workforces have 70% less turnover.
7. Engaged workforces are 70% more productive.
8. Employee dissatisfaction & disengagement cost US businesses dearly: between $254 billion and $363 billion every year.
9. 79% of workers in North America are not engaged.
10. Disengagment and negative health outcomes go hand in hand. Job stress costs the Canadian economy $12 billion per year in lost work time.

So Who is Responsible?

In a word, leadership. As I’ve argued before, leadership and corporate culture are two sides of the same coin. Everything begins and ends with the person at the top.

If you’re concerned about developing the competencies to address the above and want to get the best from your people, Brockway Human Services can assist you. At a time when companies are looking for every ounce of competitive advantage, the workforce itself remains the largest reservoir of untapped potential.

When will you be ready tap into this?

Here are 5 actions that you can take immediately:

1. Decide to take action: Right now. Nothing feels better than taking action. Take action now and everyday.
2. Shake things up: Get out your normal routine. Walk or drive a different way home or work…or take the bus. Do a different cardio routine, try different recipes, anything. Change up your surroundings and you’ll spur your creative thinking. This will help you hone in on where you’re at and why.
3. Quickly record and act on those things that are keeping you stuck: As you take action and do things differently, glimmers of understanding about why you’re stuck will begin to hit. Record and act on these right away.
4. Pat yourself on the back: Few things are as encouraging as recognition of hard effort. So be your own best friend and cut yourself some slack. You’re taking action. You’re moving in the right direction. Recognize your efforts. Everyday.
5. Up the positivity factor: Don’t waste time feeling sorry for yourself. Surround yourself with upbeat people. Their enthusiasm will rub off on you. Nix watching or reading the news for awhile. You’ll begin to feel an immediate lift.

Perhaps, most importantly…have a laugh! Don’t take life too seriously. See the funny side. It’s there even in the most banal of circumstances. Without humour the world and the cosmos would have ended ages ago.

How to Build Trust

Know that there may be many reasons why an employee may fear you, not the least of which is their prior experiences from less than stellar bosses. Here’s some ideas on how to bolster any relationship to truly tap the depth of talent that is there:

1. Your Impact May Surprise You – A safe rule of thumb is to expect that the dynamic of positional authority is at play more than you think. Simply because you are in the boss role means that those you lead are likely to have some measure of fear towards you.
2. Be Civil - A dash of kindness goes a long way in building trust. From simple greetings to saying little things like “please”, “thank you” and “you’re welcome”, these are the raw materials for creating a foundation of trust and a positive work culture.
3. Seek  & Use Feedback From Others - as Randy Conley of the Blanchard Group points out, leaders who rule by fear generally don’t bother to seek feedback or input from others when making decisions. It’s the boss’ way or the highway. Conley argues that trusted leaders seek input from others and look for ways to incorporate their ideas into the decisions that are made.
4. Be Consistent - Unpredictability breeds fear. Conley cites that if your team can’t reasonably predict how you’ll react in a given situation, they’ll be afraid to take risks. They’ll always feel like they’re walking on eggshells not knowing which boss is going to show up at the office, the ‘good boss’ that will support their efforts and have their back if they make a mistake or the ‘evil boss’ who might fly off the handle and make them feel badly for any mistakes.
5. Show Self Control – Unfortunately even if you are a trustworthy person, your employees might not regard you that way if you show a consistent lack of self control. Motivational Psychologist Heidi G. Halvorson points to research that shows that engaging in behaviours that show low self control – overeating, impulsive spending, smoking, being excessively emotional or having a quick temper – diminishes your level of perceived trustworthiness.
6. Be Transparent – Be sure to share the “why” behind the questions you ask or the  decisions that have been made. Remember that a vacuum of information will eventually be filled and false assumptions can readily fill the void. Sidestep this by explaining your thinking to your team. By doing so you also have the potential to create more buy-in. Failure to share can fan the flames of doubt and fear and create some nasty optics.
7. Know That Mistakes are Learning Opportunities – You may have heard this message ad nauseum, but it bears repetition. Failure begets success. Cultures that have high degrees of trust have employees who aren’t afraid to stick their necks out and take the risks necessary to fuel innovation. So rather than punish your employees when they make a ‘mistake’, use the opportunity to coach them as to how they could have done things differently to get an improved result next time.

Uncertainty is the Incubator of Innovation.

Business innovation means learning to live with uncertainty.  Innovation requires uncertainty. It is this uncertainty that leads to variation in ideas, and this variety is what is necessary for finding the best answer to whatever problem is needing to be solved.

In Jonathan Fields book “Uncertainty” he argues that one can only do innovative and creative work by learning to live with and actually embrace uncertainty. Like Jobs, creative leaders have developed frameworks that let themselves repeatedly fly with fear instead of crashing and burning from it. In fact, Tim Kastelle, of the Innovation Leadership Network argues that the single most important management skill for a manager to have is a tolerance for ambiguity.

The Paradox.

Having witnessed a number of corporate re-organizations and in hearing from so many displaced leaders I have to give my head a shake. Why is it that so many organizations, in response to challenging markets or circumstances, seem to gravitate towards leaders who are risk averse?  Why do so many organizations replace innovative leaders with those who won’t rock the boat when in fact bold solutions are required?

In business, as in art and life, creating on a class-leading level demands daring action and leaps of faith in the face of uncertainty. If the fear of uncertainty takes over in your company, creativity is gutted and innovation is stifled. It can keep you and your team from taking the risks necessary to craft that brilliant product or offering.  And it can bring your company or organization to a grinding halt.

Routine = Tension Reduction

Without the support of routines, many people default to fear and anxiety in the face of uncertainty. Creating routines around not only your work but your life outside of work allows you to drop “certainty anchors”, things that happen in the same way, things you know will always be there and that create a series of ongoing opportunities to touch stone throughout the day.

These certainty anchors help you soar higher into the creative realm and stay there longer. The longer you’re in the creative ether, the greater the chance of the right stuff bubbling up. Knowing that you’ve got enough stakes firmly planted in the ground in other parts of your life provides you with the security required to engage in the unknown.

Where to Start

Routines can be as simple as making your bed first thing, reading your favorite blogs with your morning cuppa Joe or taking the pooch for a walk.  In the context of work, it could be things like reviewing your schedule first thing or taking regular lunch or daily exercise breaks.

The key to setting yourself up for your most creative potential begins first thing. Making a habit of doing certain things, like meditating or yoga right at the start of your day launches you in a positive way that builds a sense of calm, control and optimism that can carry you the entire day.

What does it mean to be happy in your job? For Spreitzer & Porath, it means to ‘thrive’. A thriving workforce is one where employees not just satisfied and productive but also engaged in creating the future – the company’s and their own. Thriving employees are highly energized and, importantly, they know how to avoid burnout.

Serious Impact

If you remain skeptical, here’s some numbers. People who thrive have:

• 16% – 27% better performance
•  125% less burnout (read: big impact!)
•  32% more committed to the organization
• 46% more satisfied with their jobs.

People who thrive also miss less work and have fewer doctor visits. This means significant health care savings and less lost time due to absenteeism. This is further backed up by recent work from Gallup which demonstrates that having high levels of wellbeing is good for both employee and employer alike.

Two Components

Spreitzer & Porath point to two underlying components of thriving: vitality and learning.

Vitality is the sense of being alive, passionate, and excited. Employees who experience vitality spark energy in themselves and others. Companies generate vitality by giving people the sense that what they do on a daily basis makes a difference.

Learning is the growth that comes from gaining new knowledge and skills. Learning triggers a virutous cycle: People who are developing their abilities tend to believe in their potential for further growth.

The two qualities work in concert. One requires the other. Each alone is unsustainable over the long term. The combination of vitality and learning is powerful.  It leads to people who deliver results and find ways to grow.

How To Help Your People Thrive

The best part is that leaders can spark a culture that supports people to thrive without dramatic measures or huge chunks of change. There are 4 mechanisms that set the foundation for employees to thrive. Like learning and vitality, all are necessary.

1. Provide Decision-Making Discretion – Empower your people at every level to have more say in the decisions effecting their work. This will energize them and provide them with a greater sense of control.
2. Share Information – Working in a vacuum sucks. It neither inspires or feeds innovation. Workplaces that make information widely available build trust and gives people the knowledge they need to make good decisions and take initiative with confidence.
3. Minimize Incivility – I can’t emphasize this enough. The costs of incivility are great. Employees who experience uncivil behaviour at work intentionally decrease their efforts and the quality of their work. A single bad player can set the culture awry.
4. Offer Performance Feedback – Feedback creates opportunities for learning and the energy so critical for a culture of thriving. The quicker and more direct the feedback, the more useful it is.

Creating the conditions for thriving requires focus and determination. As I’ve argued in the past, helping people grow and remain energized at work is worthy on its own merits. But by doing so, you’ll also boost your company’s performance over the long haul. Isn’t this the bottom line that we all want anyways?