Coaching for amazing results

Self-Reliant Superstars – Slow Down!

by

True future executives and budding entrepreneurs have a strong self-reliance and resourcefulness that many of their peers do not possess. Many times they will surpass their bosses in taking initiatives and achieving results!  They crave freedom to make their own mistakes, yet, ironically, are afraid of failure. In their quest to be able to say, “I did it myself,” they will ignore overt instructions from their bosses.

If you believe you are one of these future business leaders, slow down.

Before you rush forward, learn the skills that you will need for your next position! While you may focus on developing your technology, sales and financial savvy, the two places where most fast-rising-stars sabotage themselves is in people and project management.

Here are questions to get you started. Use them as a starting point for your executive development. Answer them yourself, and, then, ask (and listen) to your boss’s and coach’s input. A qualified 360-degree feedback assessment could also be very helpful.

How do you:

  • Motivate yourself when you become bored?
  • Listen and hear what your employees, customers and bosses are saying?
  • Correct mistakes?
  • Engage others when they are not on the same page?
  • Keep the team spirit alive when plans are not being followed?
  • Accept criticism?
  • Share the recognition and rewards?

Being a successful self-reliant superstar means others are willingly following you! Take the time now to learn how to work well with anyone, anywhere. For faster results, hire an external coach.

Jeannette Seibly has been an international business coach for over 20 years. She has guided the creation of three millionaires. Are you the next one? http://SeibCo.com/contact

Want to advance quickly?

by

Learning how to work with bad bosses is a must. Recently I was talking with a fast-track employee. She loved her job, but, was bored. What was missing? She was shocked to learn she needed to take the initiative. Instead, she blamed her last two managers and referred to them as “bad bosses.” She felt this perception justified her lack of advancement.  And added, “Everyone else thinks they are bad too.” One of my clients had very similar circumstances; however, he ended up with a very different result. He hired me as his coach! His first assignment was to get on the same page with this “bad boss” by having a conversation face-to-face! He made the comment, “If I had known I needed to do this, I never would have hired you!” My response? “ Good thing. Because now you can have the upward mobility you’ve been craving!” He did the work. Received the praise and was slated for a huge promotion by the CEO! The truth is you will always work with and for others that you don’t like, and won’t do it your way. Labelling them “bad bosses” only hinders your advancement for the next job, promotion or pay increase. Jeannette Seibly has been an international business and executive coach for over 20 years. She has guided the creation of three millionaires. Are you the next one? http://SeibCo.com/contact

Fail Well for Success

by

You’ve often heard the phrase, “Failure is not an option.” The truth is failure does happen and it does happen often. Particularly to people that who take risks, people that focus on expanding their opportunities, implementing bigger ideas, and following their own paths, not paths designed by others.

We’ve all done our best to avoid failure or minimize it – yet, it shows up over and over. Our inability or unwillingness to address these life lessons makes it harder for us to succeed. Every achievement has a story of what didn’t work behind it – unfortunately, media doesn’t often share those struggles and what was learned during the process.

As business leaders, it’s important to learn how to handle mistakes and learn from them. Trying to cover them up, deny they happened, blame others, or allow our confidence to wane are not good choices. There’s no magical way to deal with or get past failure. Each person needs to work through their challenges one day at a time.

Why do failures hang around? There are failures that simply happen (e.g., the economy) and failures we could have prevented (e.g., implementing quality control procedures). We’ve created stories to minimize their impact or excuses to justify why they happened. Emotionally we hang onto the sadness, guilt and negativity, while failing to forgive ourselves and forgive others. Often, we continue to indulge in bad habits or stay in situations that are not healthy. The key is to recognize a potential problem and resolve it proactively.

How can we learn from failure faster? Hire a trusted advisor who can help you clarify what worked and what didn’t work. Take time to acknowledge that things didn’t work out as expected. Many times the actual outcome does not match up with our perceptions of “what should have happened.”

How do we fail well for success?

  • Write down your thoughts and feelings when the incident(s) happens. Don’t share your private journal with anyone. The act of writing can be cathartic when you simply express your thoughts on paper without concerns for grammar, punctuation, and word choices.
  • Walk it out. It’s hard to be depressed when you’re in action.
  • Talk it out with a few select confidants – don’t go it alone. Be clear these conversations are not designed as pity sessions. Their purpose is to help you develop compassion and wisdom from your lesson(s) learned.Remember, there will be more opportunities to fail and succeed – life gives you lemons or lemonade – it’s your choice to work through the challenges or succumb when mistakes happen! The key is to fail well so that you’re not repeating the same life lessons.

 

Jeannette Seibly has been a business advisor and facilitator for over 20 years; she guides the creation of new solutions for business challenges. Learn more about these and other successful leadership techniques by visiting her blogs posts on: http://SeibCo.com and get your copy of, “5 Simple Steps to Improve Your Results (and Enjoy Being a Leader Again)” http://ow.ly/ysgYQ

Are your next leaders ready?

by

Many companies today are starting to feel the squeeze of needing experienced leadership and looking for it in all the wrong places. It starts with vetting and onboarding your future leaders now and providing them the learning opportunities they need to build business acumen. (Read more on this topic is my eGuide “Companies and Executives Need to Vet and Onboard Each Other!” http://ow.ly/qYzMB)

Onboarding your leaders in new jobs require:

    • An inside mentor and outside business advisor (or executive coach)
    • Building upon strengths and providing opportunities to develop and grow
    • Developing initiative, resourcefulness, and an ability to work with and through others to achieve results through collaborative opportunities
    • Very importantly, coachability. Hiring know-it-alls will only limit their ability to grow, be promotable and your company’s ability to attract and retain top talent.

Use a strategic hiring process to ensure the candidate can do the job now and appears to have the objective ability to be promoted in the future. Qualified selection and coaching assessments along with qualified 360-degree feedback can make a significant difference in selecting and developing the right person, one with executive potential, regardless of past work experience. (http://SeibCo.com/assessments)  

When interviewing candidates for employment or promotions, drill down—most candidates are adept at telling you what you want to hear. Ask the right tough questions and listen to their responses and examples. Many times candidates truly believe they can handle job responsibilities and don’t take into consideration other life commitments, a different work culture, or different expectations required in the executive office. Devise a structure to ensure that if candidates fail, they aren’t automatically fired. You’ve invested a lot of time and money in employees’ success—simply restructure their upward movement in a lateral direction. (For additional insights in how to interview, get your copy of Hire Amazing Employees: Second Edition (http://BizSavvyHire.com)

Learning Opportunities Can Be Priceless

by

As a leader, it’s important for you to be receptive to new ideas generated through collaboration between different work groups. They foster teamwork and can bring about cost-effective and competitive-edge systems, procedures, and off-the-wall solutions. Create a safe structure for employees to take their ideas and run them through the company’s business model – doing so enables employees to understand how business decisions are made.  Include budgetary and other market-driven concerns in their learning repertoire. Remember, some of these innovations will work and some won’t— it’s how you handle the debrief that will provide priceless learning opportunities and encouragement.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

You Are a Champion

by

In many companies, employees are expected to “dummy down” and not share their accomplishments. Statistically women, more than men, have a very difficult time sharing their achievements, since most were taught as children that it’s impolite to brag. The result? Because employees don’t give voice to their successes, they don’t receive the promotions, pay increases, and business recognition deserved. Business owners don’t get the contract bids and industry reputation required to succeed because they don’t tout their accomplishments. There is an art to learning how to brag in a business-savvy manner. Get your copy of It’s Time to Brag! and complete the five simple exercises. Share your successes, and experience increased success. (http://TimeToBrag.com)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Peaks and Valleys

by

Every business has it peaks and valleys. Instead of fighting against it, welcome them! The valleys allow you time to get in touch with the innovative ideas that can come as big waves or skim quietly across your mind.  Your mind-set is crucial to ensuring you don’t quickly dismiss an idea without discussing it with others, or grab on to “the next best thing” too quickly without proper review. Stay focused on your company’s primary stream of income and run a parallel system with your new business idea.  Stay focused on quarterly milestones to ensure both sets of plans are on track and that weekly-focused action plans are being implemented.  For additional help, contact http://SeibCo.com/contact

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Promote the best, not the ones you like the best.

by

Too often we use a “halo effect “when promoting employees into leadership roles or coveted opportunities. These people looks like the right ones because we like them or they’ve done something extraordinary recently. Unfortunately, they may not have the thinking style, core behaviors, or occupational interests to get the job done in their new positions. To approach promotion more objectively, first, understand the competencies required of the job. Second, use qualified assessments to discern candidates’ inherent strengths and weaknesses. Third, promote based upon merit, not likeability. Always use the same strategic hiring system for both internal promotions and external hires. To learn how to create a strategic hiring system that works, get your copy of Hire Amazing Employees, Second Edition, http://BizSavvyHire.com.

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013

Have you hired a salesperson who can’t sell?

by

Selecting salespeople who can actually sell is a huge challenge for any employer, particularly when a significant number of applicants stretch the truth or lie. When technical sales skills are required, the level of deception increases to offset lack of experience or poor results in previous positions. Even if they did well and sold the same or similar products or services for your competitor, it doesn’t mean they can or will produce the same level of results for you. 

Many times sales managers are misled when applicants:

  • Have very good verbal skills (which does not mean they have the personality and/or interests to deliver the results);
  • Appear to be good team players (many good salespeople are not); or
  • Are able to sell themselves (which does not mean they can sell your products or services).

Measuring sales metrics during the interview, not after, requires you to ask the right questions and listen to candidates’ responses. Be specific in your questions by asking for actual numbers, percentages, and increases or decreases in results. It will not eliminate the need to use valid assessments that objectively, reliably, and legally measure your candidates’ true match to your sales job.  http://SeibCo.com/assessments

©Jeannette Seibly, 2013

Emotional hiring can be dangerous!

by

Many executives are good decision-makers or they wouldn’t have the title. However, many are so busy that they fail to listen during interviews unless the candidate says the right things. Then their impulsiveness and impatience kicks in and they hire people that “feel like the right ones”! Hiring based on intuitive powers may sound great, but in reality it is an excuse for not using a strategic hiring system.  

Anytime you hire someone who doesn’t fit all the necessary job requirements but has the likeability factor, you’re doomed for failure. Frequent job-seekers—people with backgrounds to hide and manipulative types—have honed their interview skills well! They know what to say and how to sell themselves to get a job. They know how to be likeable.

Infuse objectivity early in the hiring process. (http://wp.me/p2POui-nj ) This will significantly reduce the possibility of interviewing these types of job candidates and falling into the emotional hiring trap. Use a structured interview process, qualified assessments, and due diligence. Call those references! (Learn how to hire the right person. Get your copy of Hire Amazing Employees, Second Edition. It could save your own job!  http://BizSavvyHire.com)

(c)Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013