Do you fit in?

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Pat White

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Keeping a job is often dependent on how well you fit in with the culture of the organization. We make the mistake of thinking that “we’ve arrived,” but just as with a new President – your first 100 days are critical. How successful you are is based on whether you are:

1) A good fit with the organization’s culture
2) A good team member
3) Meeting the expectations for the role

I have experience with all three of these issues. When I finally got my first corporate job (through networking and staying on top of advertised positions), I thought I had it made. So you can imagine how surprised I was when one Friday – 90 days later – I was called into a conference room and put on probation. You see, I had joined a very entrepreneurial company that expected me to push the envelope of my role at all times. Instead, I was being a “good girl” and doing just what I was told. That wasn’t enough for them! As soon as I understood the corporate culture, I became a highly successful employee and advanced faster than anyone else in the department.

As an Executive Coach, I run into this issue when I’m called in to “fix” a new hire that isn’t working out. It usually has nothing to do with their expertise, but much more about how they go about doing their job: they thought they would succeed in just the same way they did at their previous company. NOT! The dance a new hire must do when on-boarding with an organization is to discover the company’s hidden expectations.

A great example of this is a client I’ll call Anne. She was the top legal advisor and everyone in her company hung on her “yay or nay” opinion. Then she accepted a position with a new organization that was world-wide with many legal minds involved in day-to-day decisions. She worked hard and did everything she always did before, but her internal clients didn’t like the way she delivered her decisions (and sent that feedback to her boss). What Anne didn’t know was that the Regional Vice Presidents that she had to interact with didn’t like being told “no” by anyone…much less a woman. Once we discovered what the obstacle really was, Anne practiced using a light-hearted way of conveying her legal assessment and had them laughing with her instead of grumbling and shooting the messenger.

Delicious Morsels

1. Ask people you work with, including your boss, “What helps people to be successful here at XYZ Company?”

2. Don’t wait to be told what you could be doing better…no news may NOT be good news. Wise people ask: “What could I be doing better? What should I be doing more of? Less of?

The “work” doesn’t stop when you get the new position or find a new relationship. It’s all about “self-awareness” and that doesn’t come effortlessly. As Marshall Goldsmith likes to say, “Leadership is a contact sport!”

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First Appetizer

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Pat White

In my last post, I shared a bit about me. Today I’d like to share a few ideas that may get you birthing your own unique “baby.”
Delicious Morsels:

1. Spend some time dreaming about what your “baby” might look like. If you can’t visualize it, do some research. For instance, if it’s about your ideal job, investigate what it takes to qualify for a position like that, and if possible, interview someone who has accomplished what you’re setting out to do. Don’t hold back because you’re thinking of all the obstacles you would have to overcome. Focusing on obstacles is the biggest mistake we can make – they can be addressed later once we know the direction we want to go.

2. Write down what you consider to be your greatest accomplishment (and why) for each decade of your life. Be sure to identify how each accomplishment made you feel. One rule: you can’t write about getting married or having kids (sorry…it’s the only rule!). This will build your self-awareness about the strengths you bring to the table.

3. Come up with a metaphor for what you want to accomplish or “be.” If you don’t have one right away, think of how my dancing tree – strong, sturdy, and now losing a few branches – could be inspiration for your idea.

If you think this feels like too much work, just think about how long a baby takes to form. You’ll be living with your results for a long time.

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Important Distinctions for Reaching Goals

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Pat.White

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Tony Schwartz (of The Power of Full Engagement and The Energy Project) recently brought new words of wisdom to the whole concept of achieving goals. He believes we focus too much on self-discipline as the path to success. So if you’re like many of us and the excitement of your New Year’s goals is over, or as BB King would say, “the thrill is gone,” then you may want to read on.
Schwartz suggests that instead of relying on willpower, we establish a “ritual” that will eventually turn into a habit. All of us have good and bad habits – some conscious (like checking my schedule upon entering my office in the morning) or unconscious (like turning to food when tired or upset). Habits can develop without our knowing it. Rituals, unlike habits, are created with deliberate intention and concentration which brings focus to whatever we’re choosing to add or change in our lives. In order to be successful, rituals demand mindfulness right from the start.
I invite you to select one ritual that would support an important intention and be very mindful as you schedule or begin working on it. For example, assuming your goal is to exercise regularly, make a ritual out of laying out your work-out clothes and sneakers before you get into bed. I’ve created a ritual to focus me on my prayerful meditations- something I want to develop into a daily habit. Each morning, as soon as I’ve poured my cup of coffee, I take it into my office and light a candle to focus me on my prayerful meditation time. The candle reminds me that I’m not in there to check my email, but rather to sit in my lovely chair, read some meaningful material as I sip, and then center on meditating. When I’m done, I blow out the candle.
Take a few minutes to think about how you can use the power of rituals in your daily life to enrich an area to which you want to bring more attention. You’ll be glad you did!

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Helping Employees Feel More Engaged

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Pat.White

I recently observed CBS doing an interview with Tony Schwartz regarding his article in the NY Times. The article was entitled “Why You Hate Work” and the response to it set-off a tidal wave of comments. Already a successful co-author (“The Power of Full Engagement”), Tony shared an executive summary of the results of a survey of more than 12,000 workers done by his company (The Energy Project). In a nutshell, many workers lacked a satisfactory workplace. Add those feelings to the cynicism prevalent in much of the workforce and you can find non-existent discretionary efforts in getting things done commitment to the company.

So what did he say was missing? I picked up on 4 key things:

1.  Renewal –opportunities to bring more balance and satisfaction to work and life through a manageable work week, breaks after 90 minutes, and vacation time that is encouraged. Results: More engagement with work and a 50% increase in creativity (think problem solving).

 2.  Focus – being able to concentrate on one important task at a time. Results: those who do are 50% more engaged.

 3.  Emotional Needs – to be appreciated and supported by their supervisor. Results: Feeling valued leads to being more    committed.

 4. Purpose – getting meaning and purpose from their work. Results: Employees who are engaged are 3 times more likely to stay with the organization, thus cutting turnover costs.

 Why did these four jump out to me? Because coaches bring focus, renewal, purpose and appreciation to our coaching conversations. Most professional coaches will begin the coaching by focusing on the key intentions for the coaching engagement and working with the client to co-create a plan that will keep them focused on achieving their goals. We generally look to explore what they see as their purpose in life and how that may expand to their leadership role. Good coaches work with leaders on expanding their leadership capacity and plugging in self-care – think renewal. And then, most coaches know the importance of the emotional component and feeling valued. It is why we build rapport through trust and intimacy with our clients and encourage them to increase their self-awareness in valuing their strengths as well as weaknesses.

As organizations deal with the significant changes that are coming much more swiftly with technology advances, they would be smart read Mr. Schwartz and Jean Gomes new book “The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working”. In the meantime, I will be making sure that anyone who works for or with me has the opportunity to be more engaged by my paying attention to these areas. I’m also off to buy the book

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Your Best Year Yet!

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Pat.White

 

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This seems to be the title of every other email I’ve received in the last few weeks, yet none of them refer to any good business practices (which for most of us coaches influences how our year will go!). So as a New Year’s gift or a “whenever” gift, let me share with you some things that can help you start your year off right with your business and keep it that way throughout the year.

1. Evaluate your business against last year’s Business Plan. As coaches, most of us take an inventory of how we’ve grown and met challenges on a personal level…do the same for your business.

• What was your plan?

• What worked/didn’t work?

• What needs to be updated, added to, or just thrown out?

• What do you know now that you didn’t before?

2. Your Financials

• Make sure you’re working with an accountant and/or financial planner who specializes in small businesses. He or she should be available for year-end advice – not just at tax time.

• Be sure your books are up to date and organized.

• Ensure that memberships and licenses are up to date.

• Study your various buckets of revenue and see which are paying off (or not). How did you spend your time/your billable hours/days?

• Determine your fixed expenses (website hosting, phones, etc.) and your variable ones, i.e. conferences

1. Be strategic at year-end to maximize your business. Sometimes you can defer your income until the following year – an especially good move if you have had a financially good year. Since I operate on a cash basis for my accounting, I often defer billing a couple of clients until late December or January in order to move the income into next year (when I might not be as profitable). Think about your tax bracket for the next year.

2. Consider if you’ve already accumulated a loss for this year. If so, get as many advanced payments as possible. I often tell clients that I cannot commit a date (say 3 months hence) without a 50% retainer.

3. Buy goods or services now that you will need if your income is up and cash on-hand permits

4. Make Contributions

a. Retirement Plan
b. Charitable

3. Conduct a Website Review

• Make sure your website meets the standards for any associates or linkages. I loved my website, but it didn’t work well with Smart Phones and IPads. It was up to me to adjust to the changing world.

• Review your company information

o “About Us” page
o Contact information

• Check email routing

o info@yourdomain.com or other generic emails

• Review and test contact forms

• Review automated messages

o Order confirmations/receipts

• Update your copyright and/or privacy statements

o Test all links

• Review hidden areas, e.g. passwords

• Review your domain record ensuring that you are the registrant and the administrative contact.

4. Staying Sane

• Delegate anything you can (is this the year to hire some assistance?)

• Make business planning at least a monthly event (I set a half day a month aside to review and plan).

• Learn something new to stretch you (it doesn’t have to be business related – my skeet shooting enhanced my image with several of my male clients and I really enjoyed it).

• Join a new business organization or networking group to stay fresh (don’t forget to drop out of one that doesn’t serve you anymore).

• Give something back to your community (it’s a universal law…what goes around, comes around).

• Schedule time for YOU (as coaches, sometimes we are the shoemaker’s children when it comes to this). It’s necessary – our work requires us to be fully present!

• Set realistic goals or intentions for yourself and your business.

• Invest in your future success…trust your inner knowing to tell you what is wise.

• Drop what’s not working for you and move on!

May you flourish in the new year…whenever it starts for you is perfect!

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