Coaching question for you
I’ve been seeing a fair amount of material lately on executive and personal coaching. I have never used a coach, although like most of you I imagine, I’ve been one from time to time.
I’m curious as to whether this is a topic you are interested in. By leaving a comment, please tell me:
- Whether you currently, or have ever, used a personal or executive coach.
- Does the topic interest you enough for me to cover in more detail here on the blog.
- In general, what are your thoughts on the topic.
This might not be anything we cover in any detail for a while. I really want to get back into our discussion of entrepreneurial qualities. However, I’m curious as to your comments, and will continue to slip some coaching information into the Weekly Readers.
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DCO Weekend Reader - 9/26/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
Wow - a great week with some really outstanding articles. The last couple of weeks I’ve kind of felt like the Weekly Readers weren’t as strong as some in the past, but this week it is really hard to say which of the following articles you shouldn’t read. They are all great, so I’ve included a bit more overview than I usually do so you can pick out the ones of most interest and value.
Personal Excellence & Leadership
- If you are a President or CEO, you have a real challenge building and leading a highly performing team. This may sound counter-intuitive, but this post on roadblocks for top level teams does a good job of laying out unique challenges to teams at this level. I find this an especially fascinating little post as the original text was provided by an executive coach and it’s no surprise that executive coaching is provided as a leading solution to the problems cited. Then the blog’s author cuts in to not only challenge that statement, but offer his own divergent observations. Taken in total it’s a fairly balanced article. If you are part of or in charge of a top level team, at the very least there is value in this post for identifying roadblocks you might be hitting keeping you from realizing your collective potential.
- Continuing our discussion of personal branding, The Chief Brand Officer answers the question “so what” with the challenge: if I Googled your name, what would I find?
- Compare yourself to the two lists in this short post. Do you create or break trust?
- The winner for the week - a performance and potential matrix with nine leadership development strategies. If this is on your agenda, this is a must read.
- I love George Ambler (in a completely professional, non-stalker, kind of way). Very close runner-up for winner of the week is his post on how leaders build trust. Your second must read.
Thought-Provokers
- Don’t let virtual networking get in the way of personal contact. Hopefully none of you need to click that link. For those of you that need a refresher, a quick read reinforcing an important point in today’s world.
- Why knowledge isn’t enough. What do you think the secret ingredient is?
- Finally, some real-world thinking on making a decision. This time in the context of career management. Too much I read and hear these days, especially from speakers and book writers, is all about passion with no respect for risk and pragmatism.
For Fun
For fun this week, I just want to highlight a new company that is in online beta right now. The company is Akoha (www.akoha.com) and they call themselves the world’s first “social reality game”. Akoha is a fascinating concept combining online community building with “deliberate acts of kindness” in the real world. As I said, the website and company are currently in closed beta testing, but you can get an overview of how it works, here. I submitted to become part of the beta and you can bet I’ll give you some writeups on it if I am chosen. For the time being I applaud the concept and I can’t wait to see how the company rolls out and I’m also very interested in seeing their monetization model.
Books
- Cute? Perhaps. Trite? Maybe. But this little book on meeting openers, icebreakers and energizing activities might be just what you were looking for.
Tips & Tricks
- Do you attend conferences and luncheons from time to time? Do you feel like you are maximizing your networking at those events? Here are some great, practical, human-centered tips for iniatiting and maximizing your networking at those events.
- Some quick, basic things you can do to get started communicating your personal brand.
- Must have been the week everyone was attending conferences. Here’s a nice list of things to do to get the most out of your conference dollars.
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Too good to pass up
Yes, this is intended to be a postive, growth-oriented blog. It really is. So fresh on the heals of that post on Cadillac’s (I think) mis-leading commercial about their hybrid Escalade, I feel a little sheepish posting a follow-up that is equally as sarcastic. But this one truly is too good to pass up. Please take it as intended: as an ironic little conincidence.
So I’m driving to visit an associate of mine who recently took a job as President/CEO of a small manufacturing company. The company is in an area of town I haven’t really been to before, but it’s right off the highway in an industrial park area.
I get off the highway and the first company I see is a decent-sized building right on the corner. The large sign out front says: Integrity Communications.
Wait for it…
The lot was empty.
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Forgive me…
…but I need to get a small rant off my chest.
I was watching television a bit last night when a Cadillac ad came on. You know the ones, it’s dark, lights are flashing by, a powerful looking business man/woman is driving a Cadillac and you’re just waiting for them to put the hammer down so you can watch them rocket off into the night.
Well, this time, the businessman let a little secret slip out. He was driving a big, honkin’ Escalade and was talking about how you might have wanted an Escalade but also wanted to be responsible. Well, the secret was that an Escalade Hybrid was coming.
Well, I’m one of those freaky, I mean interesting people whose eyes are immediately drawn to the bottom of the television screen as soon as anyone starts making some sort of claim. IF you are quick, and IF you get close enough to the screen and IF the marketing company wasn’t smart enough to put the letters on a light background so you can’t read them anyway, you can usually get some good information. Usually it tells you that the real story is much different than what you’re hearing during the ad.
So was the case here. If I saw everything correctly, the claim is that the Hybrid is 50% more fuel efficient (only in the city for some reason) and that the current Escalade’s city rating is 12 miles per gallon. So apparently an extra 6 miles per gallon is all Cadillac feels is necessary to assuage prospective owners environmental responsibility concerns!!!
Now before you go calling me a tree-hugger, don’t get me wrong. I am environmentally-friendly and try to do my part, but we all have our limits. I for one, don’t always throw used plastic containers into the recycle bin if I feel lazy. I’ve also been known to keep my heat turned up at night and I rather indiscriminately use plastic utensils during the summer. Last time I checked, it’s also not against the law to buy a car with low gas mileage.
But raising a car’s gas mileage 6 mpg and calling it a hybrid? Come on Cadillac. It reminds me of when we talked about Truth versus Honesty. It is certainly truthful that 18 miles per gallon is 50% better than 12. But portraying driving a vehicle that has merely bad gas mileage versus one that is horrendous; is that honesty?
(In all fairness, I just checked Cadillac’s Escalade website and saw that the EPA estimated mpg is 20, not 18. My post stands as is.)
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Has the Age of Mediocrity arrived?
One of my information sources (recommended by reader Lauren) is Harvard Business Publishing’s Management Tip of the Day. (Go here, then look for the Management Tip of the Day in the right “Subscribe Options” area.)
A couple days ago the title of the article was Do Something Remarkable for Customers. It’s actually a cool little article that focuses on Best Buy’s Geek Squad. In the six years since starting in 2002, the Geek Squad has grown from 60 employees to more than 15,000 currently and is contributing more than $1 billion (yes that’s illion with a B) to the bottom line.
The secret sauce for the Geek Squad is fanatical adherance to customer service. Here’s the 6 point pledge every fledgling Geek signs on to uphold:
- Never violate the trust of my clients or disrespect their property.
- Never say, “I don’t know.” Instead, say, “I’ll find out.”
- Always understand that my clients’ time is more valuable than my own.
- Assume every problem is my fault, unless proven otherwise.
- Consider my job done only when my client is completely overwhelmed with joy. And instead of assuming they’re happy, I’ll ask them.
- Keep every promise I make. Including this one.
It’s a cool program and I give Best Buy credit for reinvigorating customer service just when I was convinced it was dead. And as a geek at heart, it’s kind of fun to be cool again!
Reading the full article though, I had two thoughts.
Thought 1: When did good service become remarkable?
Kudos to Best Buy and all, but look at that 6 point pledge. Never violate someone’s trust? Respect client’s property? Ask customers if they are happy with your work? Keep your promises? Didn’t those used to be qualities we were taught as kids that were essentials? I know I’m being overly negative here, but it’s a sad state of affairs when doing a good job and respecting your customers and clients is considered remarkable.
Thought 2: What a great platform to build upon
You can do this with the 6 point pledge or just the title of “Do Something Remarkable for your Customers”. Anywhere you see the word “customer” or “client”, try replacing it with “boss” or “spouse” or “friends” or some other relationship you have maybe neglected.
The fact is we have lots of relationships in our lives. Our relationship with our clients may pay the bills for most of us, but that doesn’t mean that all our other relationships don’t deserve something “remarkable” once in a while.
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THIS is why I love the Internet…
No one raised their hand to educate me on Marshall Goldsmith so I headed over to Google. Typing in “who is Marshall Goldsmith” gave me 356,000 little raised hands. The first few links looked like book links and a link to his blog (which doesn’t have an About page). But there around the 5th or 6th link was a Wikipedia article on Marshall. SCORE! For being a technology junkie I always forget about Wikipedia. One of the great by-products of the Internet revolution, if you don’t know about Wikipedia, you should take some time to acquaint yourself with it.
Turns out the short story on Marshall goes something like: undergrad, masters, MBA to professor of business. Meets a consultant and starts working with and coaching executives. Co-founds a a consulting firm and network of executive coaches.
Most notably (to me at least), Marshall is credited as being a pioneer in the use of customized 360 degree feedback as a leadership development tool.
Lots more credits and accolades that support Marshall’s credibility and thought leadership. Here’s a link to the Wikipedia article on Marshall Goldsmith in case you want to read the full overview.
What really caught my eye was a summary of consistent themes in Marshall’s writings. These all impress me as great insights into the science of leadership development. Stated as they are, they almost come off as “common sense”. Why is it that common sense seems to be one of those things that takes an expert to point out to us???
- The same beliefs that lead to our success - can make it very difficult for us to change behavior - and, as difficult as it is to change our own behavior, it is even more difficult to change others’ perception of our behavior.
- The behavior of leaders needs to be reflective of the stated values of the corporation - and key executives need to ‘go first’ in modeling positive behavioral change.
- Managers who receive feedback and engage in ongoing follow-up with co-workers will almost always achieve positive, change in behavior and be seen as more effective leaders by their key stakeholders (this was shown in a Strategy+Business article that involved over 86,000 respondents).
- The key to success in executive coaching is not the coach (who is a facilitator of change) - it is the people being coached and their key stakeholders.
- Leadership development should provide tools that can be used in a positive, simple, focused and fast manner. Complex theories of change, while interesting, will not work in the ‘real world’ with over-extended executives.
- Most executive education has historically been based upon an invalid assumption, “If they understand - they will do.” The basic challenge faced by managers is not understanding the practice of leadership - it is practicing their understanding of leadership.
On another note: this is the last official week of Summer and the forecast in Northeast Ohio at least, is for beautiful weather. I say what better reason to go for a hike, plan a cookout or picnic with family and friends, or head to your local park or beach. You’ve worked hard this summer - you know you deserve it. So get out there and have some fun!
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DCO Weekend Reader - 9/18/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
Well, another busy week therefore you’re getting your weekend reader a day early as a (hopefully) pleasant surprise. I’m out of town for a couple days (Here, if you’re interested), then driving home to attend an awards ceremony Thursday night. So given my normal writing times of lunch and after-work are pre-empted this week, I figured I’d just go ahead and write this one up early.
This week’s Personal Excellence section is brought to you by the Marshall Goldsmith blog I just stumbled across. I suppose I should know who Marshall Goldsmith is, but sadly I don’t. Based on his articles, he definitely knows what he’s talking about. (Could someone please comment and clue me in?) If you’re the type that uses feed readers to keep up on topics of importance, then add this one to your reader. Either way, rest assured he’s been added to mine and I’ll continue to include his best in the Weekly Readers.
Personal Excellence & Leadership
By way of introduction to Marshall Goldsmith, here is a selection of his best recent posts:
- Documenting soft values
- Why we don’t do what we say - he can read my mind!
- Leading by example
- The Importance of Challenging Up for Integrity
- Advice from your Best Expert
Some other good links this week, but I’ll save them for later. Enjoy Marshall!
Thought-Provokers
- 8 Ways to Self-Actualize by Abraham Maslow
- Mistakes as the secret to success
For Fun
- No link this week, but I have to say that the Gates-Seinfeld commercials are the most surreal, laugh-inducing thing I’ve seen on television in recent memory. Anyone else?
Books
- Some good books over the last week or so too, but I’m taking a break.
Tips & Tricks
- Definitely more than a tip or trick, but brief enough to read in five minutes, this article on How to Develop a Leadership Competency Model should be enough to get you started if this is on your executive agenda. While not laying out the process, it does do a good job of presenting some options to choose from for moving ahead.
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What motivates you?
I had an early morning meeting with an entrepreneur last week. He’s located in an area that historically has a lot of traffic congestion to begin with, not to mention the large construction project that began on the interchange there about six months ago. I hate to be late to meetings, so I left with plenty of time to spare.
For whatever reason, traffic was very light and I breezed through the construction. With a good half hour to spare, I took the opportunity to stop into a Bob Evans for breakfast. I love breakfast yet seldom go out for it, so this was a treat for me.
I was seated at a table by a window looking out into the parking lot. I had the morning paper with me, but glanced out into the lot every once in a while. Eventually, my gaze was drawn to an employee that had been sent out into the lot with a broom to sweep up the random bits of trash and cigarette butts in the lot.
Not the most glamorous job in the world, and this guy’s demeanor definitely reflected it. His energy level was way down, his shoulders were drooped and he just oozed “I wish I was doing anything but this”.
Like just about everything, it got me to thinking. First impressions are very important, and a clean, well maintained exterior speaks well of any establishment. Obviously, with a restaurant, quality of food and sanitary conditions in the kitchen are also pretty important. But that first impression out in the lot can really set the stage for what to expect inside.
So here’s this kid doing fairly important work, and he’s wanting to do pretty much anything but. Somewhere, there was a disconnect between the importance of the task to the organization and the motivation and involvement of the employee performing the task.
So what motivates you? Is it the task or the value of the task?
If you are a leader, how good of a job do you do communicating the importance and value of your assignments? Do you assign “tasks”, or do you ask people to add value to your organization?
Related posts
A Personal Branding primer
I’ve mentioned the topic of Personal Branding a few times before, but a recent post (along with a free download) on Chris Brogan’s blog got me inspired to write a primer describing my views of this concept. I’ve been hearing the term more and more, maybe you have too, so I’ve been not only giving it some thought, but reading with interest the posts I can find on the topic.
In this post I’d like to share my thoughts on the two dichotomies of personal branding, offer an overview of what a personal brand is and how to create one, and offer some simple tips on getting started supporting your personal brand.
This is an evolving concept that I don’t think is fully fleshed out in anybody’s minds. Therefore while I do believe this will be an informative, even helpful article for most of you, please remember that the topic of personal branding is a relatively new one so if it is a topic of importance for you, please do not rely solely on this article to form a course of action.
You may also notice that I have this post filed under the Leadership category. Not so much a something you do to lead, but rather something that leaders should consider doing. Likewise, even if you are not an strategic leader in your company, personal branding may still have relevance in your personal leadership development strategy.
As I have written this article, it has become apparent that there are more elements to even a primer on personal branding than can realistically be covered in one article. Therefore, I think this will turn into a four part series. Stay tuned for upcoming additions to this topic. Also be warned this is a fairly lengthy article.
Related posts
DCO Weekend Reader - 9/12/08
The web is a vast repository of opinions, commentary and occasionally, wisdom. Here’s a selection of the best articles I read over the past week.
If you would like to recommend an article, blog or book, please leave a comment with your suggestion. Weekend Reader is a regular feature here at DCO, and you can read past Weekend Readers here.
Whew - that was a busy, tiring week, both personally and professionally. I can’t say I’m glad it’s over, I’m never one to wish my life away, but I am looking forward to catching up on some sleep over the weekend.
As always, here’s the best of what I read over the last week.
Personal Excellence & Leadership
- The Encore Effect - a great little post with specific recommendations on how to make our “performances” remarkable; the best part is the payoff where we begin to understand the full impact on others.
- Are you a synthesizer or an assembler?
- Lessons in excellence from country music.
- Gallup research releases seven demands of leadership. Based on thousands of interviews across a wide variety of sectors, the foundation for the conclusions seems pretty solid. There are some good gems in here, particularly in the context of building and leading an excellent organization.
Thought-Provokers
- “Ah, context is everything” says Tom Peters as an introduction to a recent post. As somewhat of a subjectivist myself, I couldn’t agree more. Read Tom’s article on the art of reframing.
For Fun
Books
- Have some ideas on what a “trust agent” is? Maybe some examples? Chris Brogan would like to hear from you.
- We could all use a little help making our presentations more effective. Here’s four books to get you there.
Tips & Tricks
- This one is simply brilliant! If you are in HR or are a leader who regularly interviews top talent, this article on encouraging candidates to admit weaknesses is a must read. This is probably the third or fourth place I’ve read that admitting weakness is considered a strength for top talent interviewing for top positions. Does this match what you are seeing in the marketplace? Were you asked about weaknesses in your last job interview?
