Showing posts with label Growth mindset. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Growth mindset. Show all posts

Monday, 29 January 2018

Coaching and the GROW Model



Biggest misconceptions I find in business is coaching vs mentor. Most are unaware about how coaching really works. If you thought you know what coaching is and your not 100% sure here a nice little introduction to the GROW method.

Friday, 12 January 2018

Goal Setting and the Magic of the Universe


Back in high school I remember talking to my first official boss, besides my dad who managed my paper route, about my burning desire to succeed. He asked me where I got this so called burning desire and til this day I cannot tell you where I got it or why I continue to have it. I can tell you that my desire to succeed has transformed over time and that is directly a result of me looking inward. I’ve learned so much, over the almost 50 years I’ve been on this planet, about life, living, desires, satisfaction, happiness, love, and yes, goal setting.
There are hordes and hordes of different kinds of goal setting, most of which I believe fails us. I want to give you a few simple ideas and strategies to help you make sure you stay on track to achieve your goals.
First of all, there are a bunch of different categories for which you can set goals. There is also an incredible amount of detail you can get into if you have the time, but I know most of do not. If you read my column last week you know that I like to set New Year’s principles not goals. However, I do set goals on a regular basis, all the time. I’m always redefining what I want and changing course as my desires change.
Looking at the big picture, you can choose a 1 year, 3 year, and 10 year goal. You can also use 3 simple categories of personal, health, and career goals. That’s obviously a wide range and view from the top of your life. I find that while that’s a worthwhile exercise, it’s more productive for me to set daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals as well.
My daily goals are simple. What 3 things am I going to do today that are going to make me feel accomplished? There is a philosophy from Brian Tracy where he talks about eating the frog. If you ate a frog first thing in the morning, everything else you did that day would feel easy. I try to shoot for eating the frog as soon as possible.
My weekly goals are things that I know need to be done weekly or a project I’m working on. For instance, I set a goal to manage my finances every Friday. I reconcile my books, make sure I know what’s coming in and what’s going out. I look at my investments and what I am looking forward to in the future. That is a scheduled event every Friday, but it’s also a goal of mine to stay on track. Then of course, that follows in the monthly, quarterly, and annual goals as well.
Here are a few basic things that you can do to make sure you stay on track with your goals.
Make Them Simple
Too often we get consumed by setting goals, but it doesn’t need to be so complicated. Choose something you want, whether it’s spending more time with your spouse or exercising more, and commit to doing it.
Read Them Daily

This will help you keep your goals at the top of your mind. It will increase your focus and allow you to achieve your goals more easily. I remember it took me years to quit smoking, but I always kept in on my list of goals. Eventually it happened and it was one of the best things I ever did.



Be Relentless
Take some time in meditation, visualize your goals, and begin to see yourself achieving them. Then take your visualization to the next level and see what the world is going to provide for you. Not only will you achieve your goals, but you will reach new heights that you never knew existed. That’s where the magic lies. And someday, you may even have a goal of doing a handstand on top of Haleakula Crate in Maui. I can help you with that one ðŸ˜‰ and I’m always here to help you along your journey. You can find me @teddymcdonald.
Originally published  CLICK HERE

Saturday, 30 December 2017

Why coaching, not gadgets, is key to getting the most out of employees


Forget the gadgets and “lifehacks” to increase productivity, my research with Julia Milner shows that managers need to become coaches to get the best out of their employees.

Coaching means many things, from simply listening to staff, to helping them set personal goals or understand the company’s objectives. When employees understand the business goals, they can make their own decisions and not wait for someone to tell them what to do.

When employees are listened to, they feel valued and empowered. They have greater ownership and commitment to actions that they themselves have identified as necessary. As one manager in our study noted:

When you coach people rather than command people, you almost always win their hearts and minds, so loyalty, trust and confidence are built.

Our research shows manager coaching led to improvements in productivity, engagement and customer service. One manager reported that coaching led to an increase in output from 35% of the target to greater than 100% within 12 months. One organisation improved customer service by 450% within five months of introducing manager coaching.

Coaching also transformed some underachievers into star performers. For example, one employee who was described as “very lacking in self-confidence” developed enough confidence to apply for a promotion and became a highly effective manager. Coaching had helped the employee to identify solutions, by providing advice and expertise when needed.

Coaching in practice
Coaching is a conversation between two or more people to find a way forward together. The participants reflect on the current situation, agree on a goal, and identify options and actions for moving toward the goal.

In practice there are four things mangers should do during coaching:

Genuinely listen to their employees, allowing time to think out loud and come up with their own ideas.

Ask questions that help employees develop their thinking. If an employee identifies a problem the manager can ask what solutions they can think of.

Work with employees to set goals. Create an energising dialogue to make this task more than ticking boxes.

Give constructive feedback to help employees align with organisational goals and develop professionally.


The majority of the 580 general managers and human resource managers who participated in our research coached their employees at least once a week.

Organisations in our study used quarterly coaching sessions to set employee expectations, monthly sessions to review progress, and weekly sessions with new employees or employees in new roles. Informal coaching happens whenever opportunities arise – for example, discussing an incident the manager has observed and identifying alternative approaches. The employee can take ownership of the situation by choosing what alternative to implement.

Of course, implementing manager coaching is easier said than done. Most training in coaching does not address the complexities of the manager as coach.

For example, what should a manager do if an employee tells them something in confidence that they would not normally tell a manager? The best way to deal with this is by being honest and upfront about what can and cannot be kept confidential.

Managers also find it difficult to make time for coaching, although they may save time in the long run as employees don’t need their advice as often. This frees up managers to spend more time thinking strategically.

Managers in our study spent more time with new employees or employees in new roles than with employees who were already comfortable in their roles. They also recommended choosing the right time to coach – for example, not starting a session in the middle of a crisis.

You’ve probably heard of “executive coaches”. These people are like consultants who work one on one with managers on how to improve their leadership style, act as a sounding board for their ideas, or manage work-life balance.

But, as our research shows, there’s no reason for coaching to be restricted to outside consultants – managers should coach their own employees.

Coaching achieves fantastic outcomes for employees, for the organisation and for the managers themselves. As one manager in our study said:

Staff who believe their managers and organisations care about them by investing their time in coaching them are naturally more positive, happier whilst working. They are great team players. Their skills improve, they get promoted.

Most importantly this flows on to how your customers are treated. Treat staff well and they treat your customers well. Your business then flourishes.

If managers don’t know where to start, they should begin by listening to employees. They may be surprised by how much staff know and how much they appreciate being asked.


The greatest reward for a leader is seeing their staff develop and grow. Coaching is a practical way to achieve this.

theconversation.com   

Tuesday, 26 December 2017

Eleven skills every 24-year-old should learn before it's too late


The age 24 is a fun time of your life.
You're likely out of college, maybe for a couple of years, meeting new people, and getting your feet wet in the real world. 

But it's also an important time because around age 24, you have unquestionably entered adulthood and your choices could influence the rest of your life.

A bunch of people chimed in on a Quora thread discussing the skills every 24 year old needs to learn before it's too late. We narrowed it down to the following 11 skills:

Become a master salesperson of yourself

Good communication skills have been linked to greater career prospects 
"Sales is the basis of all business success. You are always selling, even if your role does not include sales in the job description. You sell during marketing activities, team meetings, customer service, product management, conferences, business development, engineering, user experience and more. A solid foundation in how to sell can give you a wide advantage over your colleagues and competitors." — Anonymous

Get out of your comfort zone
"Get real world experience. Start businesses, talk to people, ask a pretty girl out, go skydiving, become good at small talk and for the love of god don't take yourself too seriously." — Christian Pretorius
Get very good at one thing
"Your job, photoshop, singing, dancing, whistling, so that if the worst happens, and you get kicked out of your job and house and friends are done using you, you can still earn your livelihood by freelancing... (even whistling will do — you can roam on roads asking couples to dedicate songs to each other and they will pay you – tried and tested)." — Rohit Mishra

Build up your 'advocate network'
"We all need people we can rely on to potentially expose us to new opportunities, people, and ideas that can further our career. Focus on creating value for other people, rather than just meeting them. The golden rule of networking: Measure your networking success not by how many important people you’ve met, but by how many important people you’ve helped." — Christian Bonilla, software designer, author

Learn how to code
"Learning to code is one of the most important skills any 24-year-old should acquire. It goes for people who have nothing to do with technology. In fact, the younger generation is already mastering technology better than us adults and learning coding in days. Kids nowadays have tablets, smartphones and other tech gadgets. Learning to code is an important tool that can be used for future development of a person. Everybody knows how to read and write and so they should know to code as well." — Maria Antsuk
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Fall in love
"Yes, fall in love as love is the purest of all emotion and what is more beautiful than love? If you have not fallen in love, you have undoubtedly missed a vital emotion/feeling in the world." — Karan Jaiswani

Learn how to meditate

Research suggests meditation can improve brain cognition 
"In today's world of distraction, this is the only tool to keep oneself focused. It has been proven by research that twenty minutes of meditation is equivalent to two hours of sleep. It's like homeopathy; takes time to act but is worthy in the long run. But it's a complex process and you really need a very strong determination to practice it." — Sanjay Kadel, Realist

Travel more
"Create a passion to travel around the world. Travelling teaches you different walks of life. Explore Africa if you are in the west. Explore Canada during winters if you are in a temperate climate. You will get a feel of life on earth and develop a loving sense and meet new people." — Anonymous

Invest in personal growth
"Don't watch TV and stop fooling around, read as many books as you can, go to seminars. Always increase your value, because we get paid about our value, what we bring to the marketplace. So if you become more valuable then ... exactly, you get more paid." — Janis Butevics, 23-year-old Entrepreneur & Author, creator of Awake or Be Slaved

Stop worrying all the time
"Worrying is a useless energy sucker. Your life and circumstances will not change by worrying. Only planning and actions will lead you to where you want to be in your life. Experiencing life and the world with a carefree yet organised attitude while at the same time taking care of your health and feeding your mind with knowledge, that could benefit you in the future. Enjoy the present and always keep your eye on progress." — Deme Alexis

Start saving money
"Whether you're working for someone else or for yourself, you need to save your money now. Compound interest can make you a millionaire in 20 years’ time, simply by putting away a really small amount of money consistently every month. With a degree you can earn more, put away more money and become a millionaire sooner." — Stefan Stoman

Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2017. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.


Top 10 SALES Techniques for Entrepreneurs - #OneRule

Sale should always be first port of call for new Entrepreneurs, agree?