executive coaching

February 8, 2018 by AnnaPatrick

3 Most Productive Ways To Use Feedback

Have you gotten feedback lately? How did you respond?

People fall into a number of pitfalls when it comes to feedback: They take it too personally. They get too defensive. They rationalize it and reject it.

None of this is helpful, to you or your career.

Your willingness to listen, learn, and improve will do more for your perception as a committed leader than anything else. A few simple steps on your part, in addition to getting the feedback, will make the process pay off.

A great first step is to come into feedback with an open mind. A common response is to defensiveness. When you shut down, you don’t take in the feedback at all. Now you are not only ignoring what you might need to change or improve but you are also closing off all possibilities of getting the insights you need to learn to do things differently.

Next, treat feedback as exactly what it is: Information. Before you discount any kind of feedback, at least make the effort to understand it and either validate or invalidate it. Feedback is just information; it is not the gospel truth. Feedback is someone opinion of you, wrapped in their personal experiences, bias, and observations. Some of it will be valuable and some will not.

Follow through. You have a choice on how you want to approach feedback—you can ignore it, or you can accept it. Once you have the feedback, you have to actually do something with it – including reflecting on the results, creating a plan of actions based on the information, and following through with the people who gave you the feedback. When asking for feedback, try the following suggestions to make sure you have a positive experience: thanking your participants, sharing what you have learned, describing what you will do now, asking for further suggestions, and following up periodically.

Taking these steps will communicate to everyone around you that you are a person who listens and who wants to be your best. The number one predictor of perceived effectiveness is your commitments to your own self-improvement. It is only part of the process to be committed. You need to show you are committed. Otherwise, no one will know. If they don’t know you have received the feedback, what would make them think it was worth giving in the first place?

One last thing. Now that you’re staying open to feedback, ask yourself whether you’re getting enough feedback, and the right kind to advance your career. Feedback, well-done, is one of the secrets of High Performing Leaders. To discover how you can get yourself high-quality feedback to improve your results, be sure to check out The 360 Investment – a self-study course that uses techniques of today’s best executive coaches to get you the feedback you need.

This article was originally posted as an Inc Column on Inc.com.

February 24, 2017 by AnnaPatrick

Feedback Is Different For Men And Women Leaders, Here’s Why

Have you ever been blindsided by feedback, or thrown off course because no one gave you feedback you needed?

Feedback is the ongoing formal and informal input you get from the sources all around you. It includes the explicit messages you get from the people with whom you work, but feedback can also come from your own observations, the way others react to you, and your results. It’s helpful in many ways, but it can be troublesome when it’s absent, misleading, incomplete, or poorly received.

Many of the women leaders I’ve worked with over the years have complained to me that the feedback they receive from superiors or peers is frequently contradictory, vague, or secret, so they can’t respond to it, and as a result they can’t gauge how they’re doing or improve.

That happens far more than we’d like, which is why so many organizations are revisiting their performance review processes and trying to get it right. Meanwhile, feedback remains treacherous for women. The Center for Talent Innovation reports:

Women are 32 percent less likely to receive any feedback from male superiors.
When they do get feedback, 81 percent of women say they have trouble responding to it, because it’s so “distressingly contradictory.”
When women make up less than 25 percent of an applicant pool, they are more likely to be negatively evaluated.

In addition, we have observed at the Leadership Research Institute that, compared to men:

Women tend to be harder on themselves when receiving feedback from others.
Women are also hard on themselves when they self-assess, tending to underrate their own abilities.
Women can feel overwhelmed or crushed by feedback.
Women tend to get softer feedback from others – despite the fact that rigorous feedback is one of the ways leaders strengthen their capabilities

In other words, more so for women than for men, feedback – meant to be a helpful vehicle to move leaders forward through self-improvement – can hold them back. It’s up to you to seek out mentors or peers that can help give you the feedback your looking for, and don’t be afraid to be specific with that you’re asking for.

So whether your company has good feedback structures or not, you can take advantage of the wealth of information available through feedback – both positive and negative – that will boost your confidence and the constructive criticism that can save or propel your career. Ask yourself: What feedback do you need to let go? Where do you need to know more? How will you stay open to the feedback you receive?

For more ways to set and achieve your goals, see my services page.

The previous article appeared on Inc.com as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

January 6, 2017 by AnnaPatrick

How To Take Command Of Your Executive Presence In 2017

Executive presence is a vital sign of your readiness to take on bigger leadership roles. Yet, many leaders don’t know what executive presence actually is, much less if they have it. That would be worrisome, except for the fact that you can change it. You can shape your presence to project an image consistent with who you want to be and the opportunities you want to have. Executive presence is the degree to which others perceive you to be a leader.

The trap many leaders fall into is being underestimated by others because of the way they present themselves. They may be perfectly capable, but if their presence doesn’t project the expected image of a leader, they may be seen as less powerful than they are. Women can easily become victim to this problem, being undervalued because of their perception from others. To eliminate this problem, they need to think deeply about acquiring executive presence, which can be complicated for women.

With historically few women holding high-level leadership positions, the image of what executive presence should be is often based on a man and, to further complicate things, “women are unfairly deemed to have the wrong leadership style needed to be successful.” Business women are trapped in a double bind of combining being an ideal manager, which means being masculine, with being an ideal woman, which means being feminine. To combat this contradiction, women must present themselves as leaders while maintaining their natural strength and style.

The second hurdle women face when tackling executive presence is the sensitivity of the topic. Women, in particular, have trouble getting feedback on their presence- especially when it comes to appearance. While appearance is only one small element of presence, it is an important one. Specific details of appearance, like unkempt attire and provocative clothing, can undercut presence up to 75 percent. Not to mention it is difficult to address.

Resolving this dilemma is more than a matter of managing perception and communicating to others that, “I have what it takes, and I’m ready to fill the role of a leader.” It is also about being confident in yourself. The more you can learn about the impressions you make on others, the more you can shape your image to fit their expectations, while also working on strengthen your own self-image.

Executive presence manifests in the silent judgements people make about you, rightly or wrongly. The more specifics you can get about how you are being measured, the better you can assess yourself. These attributes play important roles in determining executive presence: status and reputation, physical characteristics, demeanor, communication skills, interpersonal skills, interpersonal behavior patterns, values-in-action, intellect and expertise, work outcomes and power use. By understanding these different elements in yourself, you can shape your presence intentionally, to make a positive impact.

When you find your unique way of expressing executive presence, you will naturally develop a stronger sense of yourself as a leader, termed as “A Sense of Self” (another vitally important factor of executive presence). Understanding yourself as a leader will not only allow you to shape your executive presence, it will also make you feel powerful, and it will show.

The previous article appeared on Inc.com as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

December 16, 2015 by sereynolds

Looking For An Executive Coach? Make Sure They Have These 7 Standards

I recently had a colleague tell me he was looking for an executive coach. I asked him about his process for finding one, and, as many people looking for a coach do, he said he was asking around for names. It’s the most common approach to finding a coach–find someone trusted by someone you also trust.

But when it comes to coaching, referrals actually aren’t enough. You can spend valuable time vetting coaches that are the wrong fit for you or your organization and end up hiring someone less-than-optimal. Too late, you discover that the coach that was perfect for the person who recommended him or her is a poor fit for you.

As an executive coach, I want to offer you better ways to find a coach that will lead to a more effective coaching relationship. In addition to a good recommendation from your colleagues, here are seven credentials every coach should have:

Education: Before you select a coach, make sure to have an understanding of the coach’s background. Do they have an MBA, or a PhD in executive coaching? Do they have a degree relating to leadership or business skill sets that you value?

Experience: Do some online research on their website, which should be clear and answer the following questions: Who have they worked with in the past? Which companies have hired them? What level of leaders do they work with?

Expertise: What is the coach known for? Are they known for a particular outcome, like preparing leaders for more senior positions? Do they have a particular content area, such a time management or work-life balance? Make sure to be clear on your goals before you do this research to ensure your goal and the coach’s expertise are aligned.

Approach: Has this coach developed an established approach? What tools do they use? How do they measure success? In what way is that measurement similar or different than yours? These are all important questions to ask to make sure that you will get the most out of the coaching sessions themselves.

Personal fit: Ideally, coaches connect with their clients beyond a friendly or personal way in a way that makes the client feels like they can learn from the coach. A coach should be someone who challenges you and helps you achieve your goals. Is this coach someone you look up to and can get you where you need to go?

Type of coaching: Every coach has a certain group or type of professional they are committed to working with. Do they coach executives who want to work at their leadership skills? Are they a leadership coach who teaches skills for building behaviors for managers in corporate settings? Or are they a personal coach or life coach who aims to help you outside of work?

Track record: Every coach should have evidence of a successful track record. Has the coach you are considering written a book? Do they have testimonials, or letters of recommendation? Can they connect you to a former client? The answer to each of those questions should ideally be a yes.

Remember, when you’re choosing an executive coach you are looking for more than coaching–you’re looking for results. Set the bar high. Yes, take into account the referrals you receive from friends and colleagues, and of course look for chemistry and personal preference. But take the time to assess the impact the coach will have by applying these seven essentials criteria, and you’ll give yourself the best start possible to get the most out of your coaching experience.

The previous article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

August 6, 2015 by sereynolds

7 Foolproof Practices For Maximizing Your Time

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

We need to think differently about time. It’s not as if we haven’t been trying. Time-management courses have been around for decades, and work/life balance has become a clich. Some question whether work/life balance is even possible.

Others argue we shouldn’t be talking about balance at all, but time or life choices. Many people feel they don’t even have a choice about their time in a fast-paced, high-pressure world, which makes the whole about which vocabulary to use entirely moot.

The fact is, you will never have control of your time unless you take control of your time. That means stopping long enough to get a handle on what’s happening, reflecting on whether it’s working, and learning new ways to maximize the time you’ve got.

Here are a few shortcut strategies for maximizing your time that I teach my executives and entrepreneurs–they’re simple and you can do them in your head or on a piece of paper:

Modeling. Modeling your time means figuring out what the ideal schedule would look like. You sit down with a pencil and a sheet of paper and sketch the way you’d like the next stretch of time to look. In just a few minutes you can design your ideal week, or even day, month or year. It will take time to turn the model into reality, but now you know what’s possible.

Define your time. This means figuring out what “types” of days you need, just as you have different kinds of clothing (professional acquaintances, neighbors, college buddies), you can also have different kinds of days.

For example, types of days can be: meeting days (when you are available to meet with others), work days (you keep to yourself to do your own work), flex days (a flexible day to provide a cushion for spillover activities), admin days (catching up on paperwork), or days off (for rest and renewal). You can also go by half days or even two-hour blocks if a full day is too long.

Defining your time allows you to get into one mind-set for a particular type of activity and stay there, so you can find your rhythm.

Make appointments with yourself. It’s a strategy so simple I’m always amazed more people don’t use it more often–set a meeting with a specific purpose and be there to get the job done. Some tasks might include: e-mail catch up, coaching appointment, read up on industry news, review financials, or strategic planning. For example, you might set aside the first Monday of every month to review financials.

Breaking time rules. You can escape the rules of time, like that you must work 8-10 hours per day or that you must be available by phone and e-mail at all times. You might start defining the length of your workday by the result you achieve instead of the hours you’ve worked. Time rules don’t necessarily mean working less, but they do mean working with more freedom and choice.

Making time rules. For efficiency and quality of life, you can apply your own rules to how you’ll use your time. Here are a few examples from other leaders and entrepreneurs I have worked with:

Never open e-mail before planning the day.
Never schedule a meeting before 9 or after 4.
Turn off my computer after 7pm.
Spend no more than one evening away from home per week for a work event.

Time rules, even small ones, have the advantage of being concrete and explicit, making it easier to hold yourself accountable.

Replace multitasking with “unitasking.” Mutlitasking is a fact of life in a high-speed world, but many studies have shown that it actually cuts productivity. The strategy behind “unitasking” is to do one thing at a time, even for a short time. This will improve concentration, calm you down, and allow you to get more done in less time.

Considering that on average only about three minutes out of every hour are used with maximum focus, you can improve your rate of concentration with just five minutes at a time. Then fifteen. Then twenty. You don’t have to unitask all the time, just when it counts.

Power down. This means turning off technology. Free yourself the excess–just because you can take your laptop with you in the car and perch it on the passenger seat doesn’t mean you should. Not only does misuse of technology undermine the quality of your work, it also can strip away your gains. So just take the occasional step to power down when you can, turn off the technology, and do what will bring you progress and fulfillment.

The goal here isn’t to stock you up on more complicated notions of how to manage time. Instead, these strategies are meant to take what you already know about time and twist it–just a little bit–so you see powerful new possibilities. These shortcuts for maximizing your time are your exit off the fast track. You can do things much more quickly, easily, and enjoyably than the rest of the world by taking a different route–one of your own design!

July 7, 2015 by sereynolds

Do You Need A “Workover?” 3 Steps To Starting A New Career

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

If you follow this column, recently you read about my new series on your “workover.” If you missed it, a workover is a work-makeover–a transformation into a new and improved “you” that will lead to more confidence, a better reaction from others, and better success. You can find the entire article here.

The idea came from an experience I had with a recent client. This business owner had been a successful entrepreneur for decades, but with two new grandkids and a wife who was retiring, he was ready to do something different. Less intense. More rewarding. He decided he wanted to sell his business and get himself hired as an internal consultant in other people’s companies. He had the qualifications, and he had the idea, but he was missing several critical ingredients that would make it all work.

It seemed to me that he needed a work makeover. Just as TV personalities often pluck people off the streets and whisk them away for a head-to-toe transformation, I wanted to pull him into a conference room, work on the pieces that were getting out of date or were somehow not communicating the excitement and attraction he wanted, and return him to the marketplace as this year’s must-have new model. So we did that. We called it his workover.

The following are the three steps I shared with him, and that you can also use for a DIY workover.

Define your criteria. Before you do anything else, identify in a bulleted list the things that matter most to you in the next phase of your work life. What are you looking for now? What do you want?

For instance, if you’re looking for a new job, do you prefer the company is stable, or fresh and contemporary? Would you prefer to have flexibility to work from home, or is an office space important to you? Are you looking to give up your commute completely, or move to a new area? How important is mobility? Do you prefer to work independently, or with a team?

Think of your long-term vision, and describe it.

If you’re more of a visual person, the written list might not be your go-to method of defining your criteria. Instead, you might prefer to visualize what you want in your next job. I often walk through a “you and improved” vision with my clients, asking them to close their eyes and let their mind work out their vision, the audio of which I offer on my site here. Following the audio will help you get a more intuitive feel for what you want.

Rrank your criteria. Writing down your criteria for your perfect job is just the first step. But a workover isn’t about perpetuating the status quo–it’s about elevating yourself. Take the opportunity to rank your critieria so you not only know what’s important to you, you’ll know what’s most important. Doing this will ensure you don’t settle for second best.

For example, a client of mine (a marketing executive) was searching for a new position. She told me that this time, she only wanted to do things she loved to do. But her list of what that might be was very long and contained everything from “working with people” to “being creative” and “developing strategy.” Prompted to rank her criteria, she identified that of these criteria, what she really wanted was to find a truly creative and innovative environment. That one decision greatly narrowed her job search and led to an exciting new opportunity. She never would have found that if she had just told hiring managers she was a marketing expert. When you lump all of your skillsets together under one title like that, you lose the richness of what you do within your job that makes you happy. No, she had to tell hiring managers that she was a marketing expert interested in using her creativity in an innovative environment to open new markets. That level of specificity and the enthusiasm that came with identifying her number one criteria made her an extremely attractive as a candidate.

Refine what you would like to focus on. Now that we’re getting specific about what you want in your new job–in priority order – It’s time to get serious about what you want your day-to-day routine to look like. Get the clear picture of what it would be like to work in your favorite activities day after day. This is the internal part of your workover, and it will show up as confidence that you are a person who really knows what you’re after. You will have seen it in your mind, and now you can go out and pull it off in real life.

Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur looking toward your next move, or an executive looking to explore a new field, taking steps toward a workover don’t have to be daunting. When successfully managed, your workover can improve your quality of life, and leave you feeling generally more fulfilled. This is the second part of a three-part series. Next time we will focus on identifying topics and themes that will make your next job the best you’ve ever had.

July 2, 2015 by sereynolds

Do You Need A “Workover?” 5 Questions To Ask Yourself

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

Do you need a “workover?”

You’ll know a “workover” is right for you if:

You want to spruce up your reputation with clients and co-workers.
You want to improve the value you provide.
You’re looking for a new job, a new position, or a new company.

You’ll know you need a makeover if you love the idea of reinventing yourself or elevating yourself to a whole new level. Showing up differently. Stronger. More compelling. You…. only better.

So what, exactly is a workover? It’s a new take on the old model of you. Think of it as a work makeover. A positive calling-out of your very best traits to show you in your very best light. And who knows what can happen from there! New opportunities, new challenges, new successes.

Everyone needs a workover eventually. No one wants to be caught in last years’ shoes or a hairstyle from their high school days. But it happens anyway. You get settled in a routine and become satisfied with the status quo. Don’t let that happen – you’ve got to keep current.

If you’re in the market for a new job altogether, as many people are, the workover is absolutely essential, and the time is now.

Once you’ve had your workover, you’ll discover how much more is possible for you at work–a sense of fulfillment, the opportunity to do what you’re passionate about, and the ability to rise above the fray to land (or create) the job of your dreams–not just the job you’re most qualified, or whatever job come along first.

It’s a win-win situation for many entrepreneurs: you’re jumping out of your comfort zone to face boundless growth, and at the same time you’re aligning yourself with your passion.

In my workover series, I’m looking forward to helping you to discover–and follow–your passion, and turning that passion into your next career move! Later, in an upcoming column, I will be walking you through the process of giving yourself a workover, but for today, let me start you off with an assignment to get you thinking.

Try these five questions to decide if a workover is right for you:

Are you ready to refresh your reputation with clients, co-workers, the market or your bosss?
If yes, what specifically appeals to you about a workover?
What will change for you when you have overhauled your professional “look and feel?”
What, specifically, do you want to change or improve?
What would you want to retain and not change–the part of your work and work ‘presence’ you already love?

Anthony Smith, author of The Taboos of Leadership: The 10 Secrets No One Will Tell You About Leaders and What They Really Think, calls this his 3 C’s model: What can you celebrate? What would you like to change? And where are you coping with what you’ve got? Gaining this level of clarity will focus your workover and position you to quickly become the new model of success you have in mine. Get ready for a professional transformation.

This is the first part of a three-part series. Next time we will focus on the three things you must do to shed the old you and come back, new and improved.

May 12, 2015 by sereynolds

3 Ways to Re-write a Bad Work Relationship

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

See if this sounds familiar: you’re working with a business leader who you find to be quite difficult. He’s demanding, makes assumptions that are unfair, blames others. As a result you back off from any relationship with him at all.

There is an assessment called the “Influence Assessment” that we use at LRI to help individual managers and leaders understand where they’re having a positive impact and where they could have a positive influence. One of the items on that survey reads: “Has positive relations with others regardless of the differences we may have.” What I like about that item is that even though the relationships may be partly out of our control, and even though the differences we have with the other person is certainly out of our control, we have the potential to take control of how positive the relationship is. This means taking active ownership for being the one that makes sure that the relationship is positive.

I recently worked with a client who had the same situation I just described: a work relationship with a demanding, unfair, blaming colleague. When we did her influence assessment and she read the item about taking active responsibility for having positive relationships with others, she realized two things. First, she did not have positive relationship with this person. Second, she had the opportunity to change it by taking the lead in a relationship and change the dynamic. She also realized that this particular gentleman may actually have an influence over her career.

So what do you do to improve a relationship with someone when you think it is not as good as it could be?

Give yourself the opportunity to reach out. I know it takes some courage, and it may not be comfortable to be the one to reach out, but you can certainly do it. Most people respond very favourably to someone coming to them and extending a hand in rewriting a relationship. In some cases we may have to apologize for something, or may have to explicitly start a relationship off on a different foot.

For example, you might say something like this: “Jim, I want to get together with you today, as I understand we started off our last discussion on the wrong note. I would really like to start all over again.” Or, “Allan, I wanted to sit down with you because I know I was harsh with you today. I owe you an apology. I realized I reacted too quickly, I was unfair and I am sorry. I hope you will forgive me for that so we can start over.”

Swallowing your pride and being the first to reach out can be all it takes to erase mistakes in a relationship and start fresh.

Assume best intent. “Assume best intent” means making an effort to believe that the person opposite you is doing the things he or she does for a good reason. Most people have positive motives. They want to do good and be good, but something may get lost in the implementation. I had a client who couldn’t seem to click with her manager. She was a real optimist, her manager was a real pessimist. When my client recognized this dynamic, she was able to take control of her own perspective. She didn’t want to apologize for anything, and also didn’t want to start the relationship all over again. So she instead chose to assume best intent. That simple shift in perspective helped her see that what came across as criticism from her manager was intended to be helpful feedback, and it helped her to quiet her inner critic.

Channel their motivations. People are driven by different motivations. Sometimes you can change a relationship by identifying what the other person wants. One of my clients was constantly locking horns with her direct report. I suggested that she might study him to understand his motivation–or better yet, to ask him. She did. She opened a conversation and said, “You’re doing your job very well. I appreciate that, but I sense there are some things you would change if you could. If you could work in the way that was best for you, how would you like things to be different?” He said, “I want to have the freedom to do my job. Just let me do my job.” It became clear that this employee’s motivation was freedom; he needed more latitude than she was giving him. Having identified the importance of freedom to her direct report, this manager was able to shift her way of doing things so that he could perform better in his role and contribute to a more positive relationship.

If you want to have positive relationships or a positive career with an endorsement from the people who are important to you, identify those people that you want to have positive relationships with. Who are the people who are influential in my career and who are the people for whom I am influential in theirs? Those are the people to focus on.

Businessmen and businesswomen may find the most influential people to be their managers or key stakeholders in their careers; entrepreneurs may find the most influential people to be their business partners or even their clients. You may never know who in your life is going to have the most influence over your career. But you can be the one to take control of the relationship and create those positive relations with others regardless of the differences we may have.

March 20, 2015 by sereynolds

The Formula for Success, and How to Actually Use It

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

We’ve all been there: you’re sitting at your desk reflecting, finding yourself frustrated with the lack of results you’re getting in your business. You reach the conclusion that you’re either working too hard and not getting enough results (sales, clients, income), or you’re just not sure if you’re doing the right thing.

Whether you’re doing the right thing with no result, or you’re doing the wrong thing with no result, the end result is the same: nothing.

So often success in business depends on the right formula. The right clients and customers; the right team; the right business model; the right branding and marketing; the right timing; the right action; and so on. It can be scary if you’re not getting results, because you don’t know which part of the formula is off.

Here’s a solution that can clear the confusion and get you back on the path to success. The formula is this:

Strategy + Execution (with Consistency) = Results.

I learned this model from a fellow consultant, but I never really understood it until I used it in my personal life.

Like most people, I was trying to lose those last insufferable “stubborn five pounds.” Despite being healthy and fit (enough) most of my life, somehow I had lost track of what I should be doing. I didn’t have a great workout plan to follow. I had forgotten what I should be eating to stay trim. As a result, I was much less consistent about my health routine, and that made it hard for me to get motivated. Finally it became clear to me I needed a strategy. I found a trainerto build that strategy for me, and once I got on the program, it was much easier for me to follow direction and get back on track. I knew what to do in my workout. I knew what to eat. I just had to do it–to execute the plan. Once I started doing that consistently, lo and behold those five pounds came off.

Business owners often fall into a similar pattern. They somehow, over the course of time, fall out of their marketing routine or forget what they should be doing about business development. As a result, they too become less consistent and less motivated. They too are missing the strategy. Whereas my trainer could create a diet and fitness plan for her clients, I often find myself helping entrepreneurs write Personal Strategic Plans they can execute–and when they do so, consistently, they also get the results they want in the form of clients, customers, and profit.

The formula for results is as follows:

Strategy. Ask yourself: On a scale from 1-10, do you believe you have the right strategy for your business?

What’s your ideal business model?

What should you be doing in the areas of marketing, business development and customer satisfaction?

What systems do you want for your team, your time, and your service delivery?

Making decisions in areas like these is key. Taking yourself on a good strategic planning offsite–even if you’re a solopreneur–is necessary to set the vision, mission, strategy, goals and activities that make up the business you want. Once those decisions are made, you can stop worrying and get back to work making it happen.

Execution. Ask yourself: On a scale from 1-10, are you executing the strategy well enough for it to pay off?

If your strategy dictates that you need to attend three networking events a month,, have you scheduled them in your calendar? Have you arranged childcare so that you can attend? Have you cleared your business schedule to attend the events? Have you made travel arrangements?

If your strategy tells you you need to take every Friday off to follow up on sales calls and tidy up your contact management system, are you actually focusing on those activities at that time?

Is there anything you’re supposed to be doing but really aren’t doing at all?

Even though a strategy is essential in building a profitable business, it isn’t enough. You have to commit to following the strategy with perfect execution.

So be honest: How well are you executing on your strategy? Are you really doing the things you’re supposed to do?

Consistency. Ask yourself: On a scale 1-10, how consistent are you in following through with executing the strategies for your business that get results?

The first time I heard the success formula it was explained to me as “Strategy plus Execution Equals Results.” I followed that equation and got nowhere, and that’s because I was missing consistency. So I added it to the formula: “Strategy plus Execution with Consistency Equals Results.”

Once my trainer had given me the diet and exercise plan she knew was right for me, and even after I had the system underway, she pointed out to me that I wasn’t being consistent. If I put in a great workout–but only once or twice a week–it simply wasn’t enough to get results. Business people often fail in a similar way. They have systems in place for working with clients, like networking and engaging in social media, but they’re inconsistent and not doing it enough. At best, they’re leaving money on the table. At worst, they’re giving up on the whole enterprise because they think the strategy “wasn’t working.”

One final tip: One of the things I learned from my trainer was the necessity of tracking. In fitness: Track your diet, track your calories, and track your mileage. In business, track your activities, track your successes, and track your results. That way you’ll be much more certain as to whether you have the strategy that’s working; you’ll be able to execute it more effectively; you’ll be motivated to stay consistent, and you’ll get the outcomes you want. That creates momentum and can help you build a business that lasts a lifetime.

March 3, 2015 by sereynolds

3 Common Events That Can Make Or Break Your Career Growth

The following article appeared on Inc.com today as a part of my column, “Behind The Desk.” Look out for new columns every week!

We have many coaches in our lives. Teachers, sports coaches, mentors, and even our friends and families can become coaches to us in certain ways. In an article earlier this month I talked about the six signs to look out for that indicate that you could benefit from an executive coach, someone from outside of your organization who can guide you through career twists and turns.

But when is it time to pull the trigger? How do you know which twists or turns might become insurmountable and require outside help?

The following three scenarios are situations we inevitably run into at one point or another in our careers, sometimes multiple times. They’re situations in which a coach can step in and help you make the choices that are right for you.

You have an aspiration. The question I like to ask people is, what opportunities are you excited to take advantage of over the next year? Some possibilities:

New responsibilities. Is there a new project you’d like to take on, a team you’d like to lead, or an expanded role you’d like to take?
New business ventures. Do you have a new product to create–or to launch? Do you have some new potential partners?
Higher revenue goals. Is this the year you finally clear six figures? Or maybe seven? Does your team have the opportunity to be the best-in-class?

It’s so exciting to be able to see the very real possibilities ahead of you. But don’t let those ideas merely stir you creativity–make sure they light a fire under you so you actually get going and achieve the vision.

So many people don’t. They lose track of their goals, lose steam, or give up in defeat. That’s when to call a coach. Your coach will be sure the vision and goals stay first and foremost in your mind, so even when you’re busy, stress, overwhelmed, distracted, or not making progress, someone is there not only rooting for you but urging you to keep moving forward. A coach can help accelerate your advancement to get you over the finish line.

You’re looking for a career change. Whether you’re getting a promotion into a new role or looking to move companies altogether, coaching can help you shape your vision and get some clarity about what the next steps would be.

A client of mine was in a job at a company that went through a reorganization process, and the tasks he ended up being responsible for after the shift were tasks he wasn’t happy with and didn’t challenge him. As a coach I helped him by stepping in and providing clarity on what he does want and the steps he can take to get there, and we came up with action items that re-aligned him with his goals and interests. He was able to articulate a new plan for his career–one that had him developing a new niche in his old company. He found a renewed sense of purpose and meaning, and others saw him as confident, capable, and succeeding during a time of challenge and change

You’ve reached a plateau and want feedback. If you can feel yourself starting to lose motivation, if you’re frustrated with your boss and are losing respect for your company’s leadership, or if you are feeling that the feedback you’ve gotten from your boss isn’t aligned with you, then a coach can step in and provide the feedback you’re looking for to help you progress and grow.

The most successful businessmen and women I know are voracious about getting feedback. They crave the truth; they want to know where they can improve. They want to know their strengths and weaknesses. Without that kind of feedback loop, it’s hard for them to know how they’re doing. The sense of “plateauing” can be demotivating, because you don’t know how to move onward and upward. If your boss isn’t helping you improve, or if don’t respect or agree with the feedback you do get, you can find yourself stuck in “park.”

The good news about feedback is it’s always available, and you can access it yourself with the help of your coach. Your coach can choose self-assessments that will get you good information about your personality, strengths, and tendencies. He or she can help design a 360 for you, so you can get lots of feedback from all around. Your coach can even help you process the feedback you do have, differently. Seen from another angle, there might be some real hidden gems–messages that you do need to hear, and may be able to view in a different light with the perspective of your coach to add new insight.

Because your coach is someone in your court–without ulterior motives- he or she can give you a clearer picture of the next steps you should make to achieve the goal or position you want.

The Leadership Research Institute released a statistic that said the number one predictor of leadership effectiveness is a commitment to self-improvement. What that means is that what makes people see you as a more effective leader, and what makes you a better leader, is being open to learning. If you find yourself in any of the above situations, then learning is one of the best things you can do for yourself and your professional growth.

Related: 6 Signs You Need a Coach