Coach Andrea

Coach Andrea’s Intro

This is the first part of a two-part series about assumptions. What’s an assumption? It’s a belief that’s based on incomplete, unexamined, or outdated evidence. Today we’ll take a look at where assumptions come from and how they can limit your success. In part two, we’ll discuss how to challenge your assumptions and stop them from getting in your way.

Quote of the Week

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.”

3 Types of Assumptions That Could Be Holding You Back

By Andrea Novakowski

“I can’t possibly do this. It’s too hard.”

“This isn’t worth my time. It’s too easy.”

Do you frequently find yourself making judgments like these? If so, you may be a victim of your assumptions. Imagine if Thomas Edison had said, “Inventing the light bulb is too hard!” Or if Michael Jordan had decided practicing took too much time and had a slim chance of paying off, so why bother.

Our assumptions often come from events that happened long ago, during suggestible or vulnerable periods in our lives. Perhaps you were told as a kid that you couldn’t write or sing or draw. So now, when creative opportunities arise, you automatically tell yourself you can’t do it and don’t even try. A lifelong assumption can easily be based upon a single incident. I got a D on a paper I wrote for my 5th-grade science class. From that one poor grade, I drew the conclusion that I wasn’t good at writing – anything, ever.

This is what I mean by outdated evidence. The person I am today is not the person I was when I had that experience and formed that decision.

Sometimes assumptions are born in our environment. These are the toughest kind of assumptions to recognize, because they’re so powerfully reinforced by our parents, our teachers, our friends, our bosses and our co-workers. For instance, we have a pervasive belief in our culture that we need to be doing something every waking moment. Not just something, but something productive. It’s not acceptable to go for a leisurely walk or enjoy your lunch – no, you must be multitasking. You must talk on the phone with a client while you’re walking. Work at your desk while eating.

In reality, pausing in your workday helps you accomplish more (and it’s good for your mental health, too). When you take a break, it allows your brain to make connections that might not have been possible when you were consciously trying to solve a problem.

A third type of assumption springs from our instinctive dislike of the unfamiliar. When change comes along – and it always does – we treat it with suspicion. We dig in our heels and resist. We’ve set up our lives a certain way, and we don’t like surprises. Change taps into our fear of not being in control. When we’re not in control, everything feels out of control.

Suppose you know you can do the report faster and better than your new employee.  Heck, you’ve done it a hundred times. But if you don’t start delegating, you’re going to get further and further behind in your work. Sure, it feels risky to entrust the report to someone else – but you hired this person to provide support. Why not give the directions and see what happens? You never know: your new employee could add new twists, ideas, and data that enhance the report’s success. Fresh eyes often bring new insights.

What’s so damaging about assumptions is that they tend to be invisible. Our assumptions are the unconscious filters through which we interpret our world. We may be operating from guiding principles that are inaccurate – and not even be aware of it.

That’s not to say that all your assumptions are, by definition, incorrect. But if you don’t take the time to examine them, you’ll never know. And false assumptions could be holding you back from exploring all the possibilities in your life.

This week, whenever you find yourself thinking, “I can’t possibly…” stop for a moment and notice whether it might be an old assumption rearing its head. Next time, we’ll discuss how to challenge your assumptions, so you can move beyond them.

Coaching Call To Action

As you become more aware of the assumptions you are using on a daily basis, make a note of them.  You may have a few or you may have many.  What are you discovering?  Please take a minute to share your findings in the comments section below.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

In last week’s Tip, I talked about the impact of a simple heartfelt salutation.  This week’s Tip continues the theme of communication with the time saving tactic of being concise.

Quote of the Week

“Vigorous writing is concise.”

Be Concise

By Dr. Donald E. Wetmore

Concision. (Sounds like I made up another word.) It’s the idea of being concise in our ongoing communication with others, both written and oral.

Many take forever to say so little. These are the same people who spend a lot of time in meetings. Some who may have little to say use lots of words to say what could be said in a few words. It is boring. It wastes time. It reduces productivity. Theirs and yours.

I do not suggest that all of our communications ought to be reduced to one or two words. There ought to be time in the workplace for idle chat.

It leads to relationship building and a better quality of life. However, it is sometimes more productive to simply say “blah” rather than “blah, blah, blah”.

As a practical matter, it is becoming more and more important to be concise as we drown in this era of information overload. We get more information impressions in one day than our great-grandparents 100 years ago got in a lifetime. Think about it. 100 years ago, you may have looked at a seed catalog, a shared newspaper, and an occasional book, if you owned one. Today, we have information coming at us from all directions.

The average working businessperson receives, on average, 150 new communications each day via telephone, voicemail, mail, fax, and email.

When email became available a few years ago, it was supposed to take the place of a lot of other communications, including first class mail. The truth is, all other forms of communication have held their volume (or even increased) and we now have email to deal with on top of it all.

Want to be more concise in your communications and save time? Here are two suggestions.

1.  Think before you communicate. Before you make that call or meet with someone, think out what you hope to accomplish. A lot of extended, unnecessary communication is in search of a purpose of the communication in the first place. When you know what you are trying to accomplish, when you achieve it, it is over and you can move on.

2.  Practice. When you write an email to someone, look it over before you send it. See if you can say what you need to say in fewer words. I use this technique in a communications class I teach for MBA students. I ask them to write a five-page paper. They submit it, I return it, and ask they re-write the paper in four pages, but cover all the essential points from the five page paper. They later re-write the same paper as a three, two, and one page paper. Each must contain all that was covered in the original five-page work. It’s a tough assignment but with practice, they get better at saying more with fewer words. You can too. If you write something, re-write it several times, each time making it shorter than the previous attempt. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.

Copyright (c) 2012 all rights reserved.  Don Wetmore can be reached at http://www.balancetime.com

Coaching Call To Action

I once took a workshop with renowned story teller Jay O’Callahan.  He shared the way he honed his stories, choosing the exact word to convey the picture he wanted listeners to see and feel.  This week in your communications, think about the result you want.  Hone your message to get there.

What’s New?

Monday, September 24, 2012
New Service – Additional Articles on Weekly Tip Topic

Starting Monday, September 24th, I’ll be sharing related articles on the prior week’s coaching Tip topic on Facebook and Twitter.  They will appear on the four business days (Monday through Thursday)  after the Tip.  Follow me on Facebook and Twitter so you don’t miss out!  Click the icons on the left sidebar near the top of this page.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

I admit it, change is not easy for me.  I like my routines and I like knowing what to expect.  On the other hand, surprises are fun, and thinking about different topics and doing new things can be exhilarating.  Perhaps I just need to reframe my thinking about what change means.  This week’s Tip by Jeffrey Gitomer poses ways to consider thinking about change.

Quote of the Week

“Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”

Different Ways to Look at Change

By Jeffrey Gitomer

• Change is eliminating.
• Change is terminating.
• Change is hiding or avoiding truth.
• Change is disappointing.
• Change is scary.
• Change is morale busting

• Change is refinement.
• Change is growth.
• Change is movement.
• Change is acquiring.
• Change is upgrading.
• Change is opportunity (Gitomer, 2011, p. 152-153).

From:  Gitomer, J (2011).  Jeffrey Gitomer’s little book of leadership: the 12.5 strengths of responsible, reliable, remarkable leaders that create results, rewards and resilience.  Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons

Reprinted with permission from the OSU Leadership Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, (614) 292-3114, http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/

Coaching Call To Action

Do you tend to look at change from the dark side or the bright side?  This week take a few minutes to think about how change has worked in your favor recently.  What has change allowed you to accomplish?

What’s New?

Thursday, August 16, 2012 – 9 am to noon EDT
The Return of Pounce on a Project

I’m inspired by all of the steps my clients have been taking this year!  I know I have to spend some time decluttering my office.  I’m going to do some prep work by creating a vision of what I want the room to look like.  During Pounce, I will start the hands on work.  What project would you like to get on top of and accomplish this month? Come to Pounce on a Project I – - 2012.

Join Coach Andrea on Thursday, August 16th, from 9:00 a.m. to noon Eastern. We will join as a group by phone and declare what you want to accomplish: marketing calls to hit your numbers, adding a shopping cart to your website, or cleaning your office so you can find the goals you created in January.

During the morning, the group will gather by phone a few times to check progress and get any support needed to finish with a bang. At noon, the group will celebrate their accomplishments. Who says projects have to be boring and tedious? Bring your lightness and fun and join us for the energization.

To sign up or learn more, call or e-mail me by noon on Wednesday, August 15th. Feel free to share this with friends and co-workers, the more the merrier. (Cost of the program is only the cost of long distance phone calls.)

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

Assumptions can get you into trouble. Remember that time you asked the woman when she was due and she wasn’t pregnant?  This week’s Tip by Steve Straus brings awareness to why you may be misusing assumptions in your own life.

Quote of the Week

“The harder you fight to hold on to specific assumptions, the more likely there’s gold in letting go of them.”

~ John Seely Brown

Assume Is Not A Strategy

By Steve Straus

More problems are caused by assumptions than perhaps any other single source. Yet, many people make most of their decisions based on assumptions rather than checking out what’s real. There are several reasons for this.

First, it’s easy. You’re ready for a decision right now, no efforting required.

Second, it lets you feel really smart, or at least appear to be. Sometimes we feel the need to be the “smart one” in the room.

Third, by assuming, you don’t have to look at what’s real, which may be what you don’t want to see.

Fourth, well, the list of reasons to assume is endless. The question is, what is a better strategy?

Try asking questions instead of telling what you assume. Try listening instead of talking. Try waiting for clarity instead of having a shoot-from-the-hip “answer.”

Before you repeat something you read on the Internet or had a friend tell you came from the neighbor of their cousin’s sister’s husband, do a little research. Check out the facts. Apply a little logic. Ask “does this seem reasonable?”

Look at your personal history and see if you’ve made some incorrect assumptions which cost you.

There is really no reason to base the success of your life on assumptions. It’s a flawed strategy.

Copyright 2012 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. Steve Straus can be contacted at http://www.StrausUSA.com.

Coaching Call To Action

Do you remember how you feel when you sense that what someone is telling you as fact is really just their assumption? Do you want others to feel that when you speak? What new strategy will you try this week?

What’s New?

Thank you for celebrating my induction into the ICF-NE Hall of Fame

Thank you for all of your kind notes and calls about my induction into the ICF-NE Hall of Fame on Monday night.  To see photos of the event, click here.  For those of you who were able to attend the gala, I appreciate your support.  Remember, if I can receive this honor by being me, you can, too, by being you.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

Want to be more productive? In this week’s Tip, a new contributor, Natalie M. Houston, shares a great idea on how to protect your focus and attention during your “always on” day.

Quote of the Week

“The ability to focus attention on important things is a defining characteristic of intelligence.”

~ Robert J. Shiller

Are you Leaving the Door Open?

By Natalie M. Houston

Would you leave the front door of your home wide open all day? Would you allow strangers, colleagues, and friends to walk in that open door at any time, and start asking you for directions, assistance, a snack, or a hug? Would you welcome the squirrels, racoons, and stray cats that might stroll in the door? What about the raindrops, dead leaves, or litter that drift in?

If your answer is no (or even a more strongly-worded negation), then I have another important question for you:

Are you leaving the door of your focus and attention wide open all day?

Each time you check email, each time you respond to your phone’s buzz or flashing light that announces the arrival of a new text, each time you jump to read your direct messages on Twitter, you’re opening the door of your attention. No matter what else you were doing, if someone suddenly walked into your home and asked for your assistance, you would probably respond right away, by either helping, redirecting, or rebuffing them.

Just as you protect your family and your belongings by choosing when to open the door of your home and when to leave it shut, you can choose to protect your focus and attention by choosing when to open yourself up to other people’s demands.

Every time you read your email, you’re putting someone else’s priorities before your own. Even if you don’t immediately respond or act on their request, you’re giving their message your attention. Sometimes, of course, that’s exactly what you want to do: we all need to engage with other people, to respond to their requests, and to communicate our ideas and decisions. But you can choose when to do this.

Decide Now When You’ll Check Your Messages Tomorrow

One way to maximize your focus and attention is to define a few set times during your day when you will read and process your incoming emails and messages. Put these blocks of time on your calendar like you would any other appointment. During those set times, bring your full attention to reading and responding to other people. At all other times, bring your full attention to your own priority work or relaxation.

If you’re accustomed to leaving your email open on your computer all day, or picking up your phone whenever it buzzes, it will feel awkward to retrain yourself into a new habit. As a good starting point, try checking your messages for just 20 minutes every two hours. Try it for a full three days before adjusting the length or frequency of your message sessions.

When you get the urge to check your email or messages and it’s not your predefined time, ask yourself:

In wanting to check email right now, what am I pulled towards?
In wanting to check email right now, what am I avoiding?

Just pay attention to what comes up for you in the process. You may decide that given your professional obligations and personal temperament, checking email all the time is what you choose to do. Or you may discover that checking email only a few times per day frees up energy and attention that you can direct towards other things. Either way, just make sure you’re making a conscious choice and not just leaving the door open out of habit.

Natalie M. Houston is a personal productivity coach who works with academics, writers, and entrepreneurs who want to stop procrastinating, gain more control over their time, and move forward on the projects and goals that matter most to them. To find out more, visit: http://nmhouston.com

Coaching Call To Action

What is your habit on email checking today? Minute by minute? Hourly? Twice a day?  Does this strategy increase your focus and attention or decrease it? Will you try a different strategy next week per Natalie’s suggestion to improve your focus?  Who do you need to share your new strategy with to keep to your commitment to yourself?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

Adrenaline is robbing us of our health. If you run on adrenaline, please consider other ways to get energized.  In this week’s Tip, Steve Straus provides healthy alternatives to adrenaline.

Quote of the Week

“This art of resting the mind and the power of dismissing from it all care and worry is probably one of the secrets of energy in our great men.”

~ Captain J. A. Hadfield

Beyond Adrenaline

By Steve Straus

Adrenaline has its benefits. And its costs.

Great outcomes have been accomplished using the adrenaline tool. It is one of the most popular drugs-of-choice for driven achievers. A source of ready energy, it provides focus, is cheap to acquire, and easy to use. Also, you don’t need to do deals in dark back alleys, you’re your own drug dealer!

Need some? Leave late for an important meeting.

Need more? Under-prepare for that meeting.

A little more? Fear not getting what you want.

Your ability to create the adrenaline you need, when you need it, is huge. But at what cost?

Like any stimulant, the use of adrenaline requires a balancing of the scales. Your physical system experiences a crash and needs recovery time.

The focusing which adrenaline can provide may act as blinders and cause you to miss available resources. And someone hyped-up on adrenaline attracts similar people. Adrenaline is expensive.

Rather than suggest that you simply give up adrenaline, how about replacing it with healthier forms of energy? Such as passion. Such as clarity of purpose. Look for the joy in situations rather than possible negative consequences.

An often overlooked resource is to pause and revel in your intermediate wins. Adrenaline junkies tend to focus only on the big payoff at the end, but there is plenty of healthy energy available from the incremental victories along the way.

Copyright 2012 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. Steve Straus can be contacted at http://www.StrausUSA.com.

Coaching Call To Action

Who can help you remove the adrenaline needle and move beyond it, permanently?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

After many years of being prompted to write my own Tip, I am sticking my toe in the water this week.  Periodically, I will be sharing my thoughts and learnings with you. Last week’s Tip was from the perspective of a person who has a boss and improving the working relationship with that boss.  This week’s Tip focuses on your behavior, beliefs and assumptions as the boss and how they can get you in trouble.

Quote of the Week

“Contrary to what I believed as a little girl, being the boss almost never involves marching around, waving your arms, and chanting, ‘I am the boss! I am the boss!’”

~ Tina Fey

5 Mistakes That Can Sink a Good Boss

By Andrea Novakowski

If you own a company or manage a department, part of the reason you’ve come this far is because you’re good at what you do. But inspiring the people who work for you to give their best efforts is another skill altogether. It’s hard to complete tasks well and on time if your staff isn’t on the same page with you, or if they don’t share your commitment to success.

Are you frustrated by employees who don’t perform as well as expected? It may be time to take a look at your leadership style. Here are five common mistaken beliefs that may be interfering with your effectiveness as a boss.

1. Good new hires will know how to do the job right out of the blocks.
Hiring a competent person is only the first step. Even if the new person arrives already accomplished in his field, spend time with him so he can get to know your approach and share your vision. No matter what position he occupies, help him become attuned to your strategic plan. It takes time, but the payoff is huge.

2. No one else can do the job as well as I can.
As your organization grows, you’ll be adding people below you. Why did you hire them if not to help lighten your load, so you can focus on what’s most important? (What’s important may even include your own improved quality of life.) Surround yourself with good people, then give them a chance to show they can handle the responsibility. Step back and let them take some of the weight off your shoulders.

3. If I tell them once, they should be good to go.
Not necessarily. Part of the job of a manager is to provide ongoing feedback. Don’t limit this to just once a year during performance reviews: help your people understand how they can do a better job now. Helping them grow and develop increases their value in the workplace, and more important, to your company.

4. I’m too busy to plan – I need to do!
Do you ever feel as if you spend your whole day at work just responding to the biggest crisis? Take time to sit down and map out a strategy for the future. Planning may seem like a luxury when you have so much on your plate already, but if you don’t invest time now, you’ll find yourself operating in perpetual crisis mode later – which, as everyone knows, is a sure recipe for burnout. Don’t try to muscle your way through every issue that faces you. Think before you execute (or delegate the execution to others).

5. My people know they are doing a good job. I don’t have to tell them.
One of the biggest mistakes managers make is failing to recognize their employees’ successes and only pointing out their faults. Think about it – do you perform better when you know you’re appreciated, or when you’re only chastised for your shortcomings? Letting people know you’re pleased with their achievements will encourage them to continue striving to do good work. It’s human nature!

Coaching Call To Action

Would you rate yourself as an inspiring leader with your people giving their best?  If not, choose one or two changes from the above list that will free you and your employees to do the job each of you is supposed to be doing.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

“I want more confidence!” These are the words of many of my clients when they first start coaching with me.  As Natalie Manor describes in this week’s Tip, sometimes you have to “fake it ‘til you make it.”

Quote of the Week

” I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time.“

~ Anna Freud

Confidence Can Be Yours At Each Moment

by Natalie Manor

Think of all the confident people you know. Isn’t there something just different about them? The way they walk, talk, hold themselves, how they get involved.

The characteristics of confident people are numerous. The difference between you and them may be that they are acting in a confident way and you are not.

Take one of the confident characteristics you think a confident person has and act that way all day today. Stride into a room. Sit easily and with grace. Speak with emphasis. Shake hands firmly.  By the end of the day you will feel differently. You will be feeling like a confident person.

Confidence is a practice. Each day add another characteristic. Pretty soon you will be striding confidently through your life and you will wonder what took you so long to catch on!

Natalie R. Manor, CEO is an author, business consultant, speaker and executive coach. Her company, Natalie Manor & Associates, is the ultimate resource for business leaders, executives, owners and managers who want to master their life and their business by Getting Clear, Getting Confident and Being Effective faster than ever before. You can register for her free bi-weekly articles at: http://www.nataliemanor.com/newsletter/subscribe.html

Coaching Call To Action

What characteristic of a confident person will you add to your repertoire this week?  I’d love to hear how it feels initially and after a day or two.

What’s New

Sunday, May 8, 2011
Moms, Happy Mother’s Day!

“A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world.  It knows no law, no pity, it dates all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.”

This Sunday is Mother’s Day.  Take some time to appreciate the woman who brought you into this life.

Mom, thank you for your guidance, love and wisdom!

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