Five ways to tell someone could benefit from executive coaching

Knowing when and how to suggest executive coaching to a member of staff or a colleague is key to getting people the development they need, when they need it. Here are five ways you can tell if someone could benefit from executive coaching – and how receptive they are likely to be.

1) They have recently taken on new responsibilities, but carry on doing their old job

When someone is promoted, it’s important for the organisation that they get up to speed as quickly as possible. There isn’t always the time for people to learn the new job before other people start expecting to see results. Many managers in this situation respond by continuing to do their old job (only in a more bossy way) or failing to delegate, which means their direct reports don’t start to develop the ability to assist their manager. This doesn’t help anyone. These people are good candidates for coaching and are almost always receptive to it.

2) They have issues with communication skills

‘Communication skills’ covers a huge spectrum of development needs – they might be sending one-line abrupt emails, belittling people, having difficulties with a colleague, avoiding confrontation,  not speaking up in meetings and so on. Executive coaching can help them to be more empathetic and consider the impact their communication style is having on others. Depending on the person, they may respond well in a workshop or if your organisation is status-orientated they might prefer to work on this in the privacy of an executive coaching session instead.

3) They need to improve their leadership skills

There are so many books, courses and resources available on leadership. They all add value and give people the information they need to be a good leader. It’s the application of that information which makes a difference in the long-term. Executive coaching helps people to apply the knowledge they have and turn it into something practical. It also gives them the space to practice these new skills before trying them out ‘live’ on their staff and helps boost their confidence. Position it to them that they’ll be able to do this in private and they are likely to be receptive.

4) They have started to deliver work at the last minute or late

When an otherwise organised person starts struggling to meet deadlines it can indicate that they are having challenges saying ‘no’, delegating, or something else is bothering them. While they might think the last thing they need is to work with a coach because it eats into their day, the benefits to them can be huge. Executive coaching sessions don’t need to take long – they can be half an hour on the phone. They may need a little coaxing and convincing to take time out, but it will be worth it.

5) They ask for it!

Yes, this might appear obvious, but it can sometimes be overlooked when someone is already doing well in their job. They might be able to keep up appearances now but know that they need support with something in order to continue to perform. Whether they are asking for presentation skills coaching, conflict management coaching, time management coaching or any other type of coaching if you can respond quickly, they will be very grateful. Executive coaching doesn’t have to be a long-term support. Many of our clients find that one or two sessions is all they need to work on achieving a specific outcome.

While some of the above examples might appear to focus on coaching being used to ‘fix’ a problem, it’s important to position coaching as something positive – which it is. Depending on the culture of your organisation, changing the terminology might convince an otherwise sceptical person to accept help. We know they are going to be coached, but they might respond better to it being pitched as ‘one to one training’, ‘mentoring support’ or ‘leadership development’. Just make sure the coach you choose can cover this as well.

Hannah McNamara is the managing director of HRM Coaching Ltd. She is a former head of marketing and a Chartered Marketer. HRM Coaching specialise in providing down-to-earth, jargon-free coaching and development for senior executives and managers. Hannah and her team work internationally and can be contacted on +44 (0)20 7939 9910 or via www.hrmcoaching.com

This article on executive coaching originally appeared in Training Journal

How to Deal with Problem Staff

Are certain people making life difficult for other people at work? SME Academy offers a solution.

Problem behaviour at work affects everyone. It affects the people on the receiving end and it also affects those who are bullying and argumentative in the first place.

But how do you deal with it?

The first step is to take a pro-active stance, take command and control it in a positive way. It used to be that punishment was the only way forward and indeed some form of disciplinary action may be required. But prevention and support should also be provided, along with a strong and positive management style that will go a long way towards preventing such occurrences happening in the future.

Both coaching and mentoring have led to positive changes in such individuals, as they are offered practical and supportive solutions to change the behaviour that has so affected them and their colleagues. While it will take time to get back to a workplace which is more positive in nature, if you can provide leadership that everyone looks to for advice and support you will be setting the stage for that to gradually evolve.

It can be a tricky balance to present a face of management that is both firm yet supportive in the right ways, but it is vital to do so. You should also keep a close eye on how things are progressing and be prepared to meet with members of staff who have concerns or issues about any kind of detrimental behaviour they are experiencing at work.

Many businesses are now turning to neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) to produce better results over both the short and the long term. NLP is designed to help you understand the behaviours of others from both audio and visual signs, and can therefore help in two ways. Firstly the offending member of staff will learn how their behaviour affects others in a detrimental way, and secondly they will also learn how to make positive changes that will help to eradicate the problem behaviour altogether.

As far as your role as a manager is concerned it is vital to ensure that you learn to identify problem behaviour as soon as it arises, rather than finding out about it from staff members. By providing a hands on management style you can learn more about how your team works and thus get to know your team a lot better than perhaps you do now.

By looking at long term solutions to problem behaviour rather than quick fixes, you will find that your team works in a more harmonious way as a result.

SME Academy offers a range of Coaching and Mentoring packages that can be adapted to your needs. Call us on 020 7939 9910 or click here for more information about coaching

© Copyright Hannah McNamara 2010

Is Your Online Brand Good For Business?

Marketing your business via Social Media and Online Networking has become a popular and cost effective way of growing your business. The platforms available such as Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook allow you to establish your niche and communicate to them directly. Watching your customers online and following their live feeds and discussions provides you with invaluable insights into their interests and concerns. Something that previously would have cost you thousands to find out is now freely available to you.

However – and this is a big warning to you! – while there are a great deal of people finding new business contracts and profitable relationships online, there are also others that are losing out BECAUSE of online networking. How? Because they haven’t taken the necessary steps to protect their own personal brand and online identity.

When looking to enter into a new business relationship it is quite standard to ‘google’ someone to find out who they are. The results can bring up all sorts of images and information that you would prefer people not to see. When you’ve finished reading this, try Googling yourself and see what comes up.

I’m willing to bet that if you’re on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace or Bebo, your profile came up (it may have been hidden a few pages into the search results). Even if the person viewing your profile isn’t a member or isn’t signed in, they’ll probably have seen your profile picture. Anyone starting to sweat at this point?
Just taking Facebook as an example, your public profile page appears on Google and in many cases displays a selection of your friends. Hmm…even if your profile pic is perfectly presentable, what about the photos of your friends? Would they impress a potential business associate?

Ok, so if you’ve now started to think about what you can do on a practical level to undo any damage to your reputation, here are some things you can do right now. The tips are about profiles on Facebook, but the principles apply to all social networking sites.

•    Change your profile name so that it doesn’t include your full name as it appears on your business webiste – abbreviate your name or use a nickname. Your real friends will know who you are.
•    If you do want prospective clients or customers to find you or you’re using the site for professional networking, seriously think about having TWO profiles, one for friends and one for professional contacts.
•    Check your privacy settings and put them up to the highest level. If your friends have a habit of tagging photos of you, go onto the page where the photo appears and click ‘Remove Tag’. Then go to your Privacy settings and alter the settings relating to who can view your pictures and videos. I recommend you set them at maximum privacy if you can bear to.
•    Look very carefully at what comments and pictures other people have posted on your profile. If they aren’t saying the right things about you or they are likely to reflect badly on you, delete them and make sure that you check regularly to see that the amusing but crude pictures, jokes and YouTube videos people tend to share don’t keep coming back to haunt you!
•    Now go to your Applications. If you’ve added applications that won’t impress people, remove them straight away. Business contacts are rarely interested to know which person from ‘Friends’ you are most like.
•    Now to your Groups. Even if you’ve got your privacy settings up to the max, the instant you join a Group, you’re appearing on the online map. The Groups you join say a lot about you and in many cases mean that your full profile is visible to any other members of that Group. If you in a moment of madness joined the ‘Why I hate my boss’ group or ‘interesting places I’ve had sex at work’, it’s probably time to leave that group.
•    Now to your Friends list. Do you really have 347 friends who you see on a regular basis? You’re probably giving every one of them full access to your profile. Just because you’ve decided that photos of you will only be visible to your friends, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to show them to anyone else. Especially if you’ve accepted a Friends request from a colleague or ex-colleague. If you really don’t want certain people to see what’s in your profile, you can either adjust your Privacy settings to restrict what people can see or consider removing them from your friends list.
•    If you communicate with your friends via the Wall feature, remember that you are having a very public conversation. If you post something like “I was so drunk last night I can’t remember what I did” on a friend’s wall, you have absolutely NO control over who is going to see it. Use the private message boards or old-fashioned e-mail for personal communications.
•    Finally, if all else fails, close your account and start again (although it is easier said than done to get your profile data removed from a social networking site).

Now, before you rush off to update your profiles to make them squeaky clean, if someone is searching for you online, you still need to come across as you. If you’re a fun-loving person who only wants to deal with people and companies who have a sense of humour and have some energy about them, that’s what they are going to be looking for on your profile. If you only include air-brushed professional studio photos as profile pics and have no applications at all on your profile, there’s a danger that you’ll come across as a bit dull or not their kind of person. So there’s a balance. Be yourself, but within reason.

© Copyright Hannah McNamara 2010

Fast Business Growth is Not Always Best

It can be very rewarding and exciting when your new business takes off and experiences fast growth, but as Patrick White explains in this video, its not always a good thing.

The Business Growth Course, led by Patrick White, takes place over 6 weeks. The 2 hour sessions are perfect for learning the theory and then applying to directly to your business.

To find out when the next Business Growth Course starts Click Here

Or call Lenka on 020 7939 9910  to discuss whether the course is right for your business.

Read Testimonials for this Course

Funding is available via Train to Gain. A Home Study Course is available.

Watch the Full Video by Clicking Here

What Does It Take To Be A Millionnaire?

Patrick White, a Director here at SME Academy, opens up about his background and how he learned the skills that have helped him to dramatically transform businesses all over the world. With 14 successful businesses of his own, each selling for millions, he now shares his tools and techniques with you on his unique Business Growth Course.

To find out when the next Business Growth Course starts Click Here

Or call Lenka on 020 7939 9910  to discuss whether the course is right for your business.

Read Testimonials for this Course

Funding is available via Train to Gain. A Home Study Course is available.

To hear the full interview Click Here

How to Ask Your Clients for Referrals

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had someone out there passionately telling people about your business just because they love what you do? Well you can have this. It’s just a question of who. In this video Hannah tells you how to ask your current clients for referrals.

How to Follow Up On Your Leads

Do you have lots of leads but no idea what to do with them? Sometimes our desks can become cluttered with business cards we intend to follow up but don’t get round to. Following up on those leads are be vital to your business. You invested time and money gaining them, so don’t let them just slip away. In this video I discuss how you can follow up with those leads and turn them into business.

Bribery & Corruption

Having a mailing list for your business is incredibly important as it allows you to keep in contact with your potential customers and let them know about your business. Newsletters are so effective however that now everyone is offering them – so how do you get people to sign up to your offering? With a little bit of modern day bribery and corruption.

In this Video Tip I discuss how you cost effective and attractive things you can offer to entice people to sign up to your mailing list.

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