Coach Andrea

Coach Andrea’s Intro

In this week’s Tip, Amy Lyman shares a metaphor using the collaboration and contribution that each part of the orchestra adds to make the piece outstanding.  She then applies that to business.  A great reminder!

Quote of the Week

“Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected.”

Accompaniment

By Amy Lyman

In musical presentation, accompaniment is the action of playing along with other musicians as a supporter of their performance.  The work of an accompanist is intended to add to the entire presentation, to bring it to completion.  It is intended to complement what is already there, providing symmetry and balance to the other parts that make up the entire composition.  With an orchestra, ensemble, or other musical performance that isn’t a solo act, the beauty comes from the balance created from everyone’s contributions.  The idea of the performance already exists – the musical score – yet the reality of the performance happens only when people start contributing, playing off of each other’s contributions, creating more from what occurs together than each individual person’s contribution.

If we think of the work activities that occur in a great organization and the creativity and innovation that are tapped into through collaborative work, the notion of people accompanying each other is an appropriate and powerful metaphor.  And as with most everything in a great workplace, it starts with the actions of Trustworthy Leaders who create the culture and the environment in which this can happen (p. 76).

From:  Lyman, A. (2012).  The trustworthy leader: leveraging the power of trust to transform your organization.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass.

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

Is your business set up to include everyone’s contribution for creating together?  If not, what will you do this week to move toward including all?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

December is filled with holiday parties. Be strategic this year.  In addition to spending time with colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere, use this time to connect with people who could be mentors for you.  Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch provide suggestions on how to find a mentor and then capitalize on the relationship.

Quote of the Week

“You can overcome any obstacles by asking the right questions of the right people at the right time, then act on that advice with passion.”

Who is Your Mentor?

By Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch

If you don’t have one, consider finding one … and soon.  It is critical to your professional development to have someone who can offer you guidance, insight and perspective.  It’s even great when you can hear their mistakes and learn from them (before you make them yourself).  It’s also wonderful to have a mentor who can answer the question, “if you were me in this situation, what would you do?”

It’s easy to buy into the idea that a mentor is a valuable relationship.  Finding them, however, can be a tricky thing.  And, after identifying them, asking them to mentor you can seem awkward.  So, what do you do?

• First, scan your horizon and identify the people you admire and respect.  If none are coming to mind, expand your horizon: perhaps it is someone who you work with in a community organization or maybe even a professor you had “way back when.”
• Next, understand what you hope to get out of the relationship.  Your goal can be as simple as “I look to learn from their experiences.”
• Then, reach out to them.  You don’t have to get down on one knee and ask them to be your mentor – in fact, the word mentor might not even be brought up in any of your discussions.  Ask them for 30 minutes – 1 hour of their time.  Share that they are someone you respect and you could value learning from their experiences.

When you meet with your mentor, keep these things in mind:

• Listen more than you talk.  You are there to learn from them.  Invest your time in getting to know them as people.  (For your first few meetings, come very prepared with questions!)
• If they recommend a book or a reading, or even suggest an idea that you explore, be sure to follow up on their guidance.  You are there to learn from them – if they have ideas, chase after them.

A “thank you” card is a great follow up from your first meeting.  Not only is it a nice touch, it is a great sign of respect.

This article was provided courtesy of Lead Star – a premiere leadership development firm. You can learn more about leadership by visiting their website at www.leadstar.us

Coaching Call To Action

If you are new to the whole idea of mentoring, check out the HBR Guide to Getting the Mentoring You Need.

If mentoring is not new to you, take some time to consider what issues you are facing that could benefit from the wisdom of a mentor.  Then be intentional about your holiday party connections.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

My life has recently improved because I asked for help (much later than I could have).  This week’s Tip poses four reasons why you, too, may not be asking for help.  Read on to see the benefit of reconsidering this philosophy.

Quote of the Week

“When the going gets tough, the tough get support.”

~ Sean Casey LeClaire

Don’t Be A Hero! Why It’s All Right To Ask For Help

By Andrea Novakowski

I’ve been the case manager and caregiver for my 91-year-old mother for a while now. If you’ve ever had the role of caring for an elderly parent, you know how exhausting it can be. This past summer, I hit my limit. I found myself getting to a place I didn’t want to be. I wasn’t looking forward to my visits and calls with Mom, and it all felt like a burden.

I was the one who had volunteered for this role, I reminded myself. I had no right to ask for help. Not when I’d given my family my word I’d take care of everything.

Finally, I broke down and did ask for help. Right away, my family stepped in, evaluated the situation, and brought in additional support and resources. I don’t know why I waited so long. I love my family!

In the business world, just as in our personal lives, we often hesitate to reach out for assistance from others. What holds us back? Here are four misconceptions that may be preventing you from getting the help you need.

1. I should be able to figure this out for myself.

Tom, a VP in a financial services firm, struggled to develop good working relationships with the people in his company. He knew he needed help, but he’d been taught from a very early age to depend only on himself. When the going gets tough, just work harder! I explained to Tom that at this level of his career, it takes more than just putting your head down and soldiering on. Sometimes you help others. Sometimes you let others help you. This way, you use your strengths and other people get to use theirs. Win-win.

2. I’m too stuck! 

Janice started her marketing business four years ago. She loved working on her own and had tons of energy. Then she had a health scare and had to slow herself and her business way down. As she was recovering, she realized she couldn’t do business the way she had before she got sick. But that was the only way she knew how to work. She looked at the situation over and over, but she couldn’t come up with an answer. Finally, a friend suggested Janice work with a coach to help expand her perspective. Often, a fresh pair of eyes can see solutions that are invisible to you.

3. I don’t want to appear weak or needy.

Tara, a partner in a hi-tech consulting firm, always said yes to her partners’ requests for help. But lately, she wasn’t completing her own projects because of the time she spent pitching in with others’. When I asked Tara if she’d ever turned the tables and asked for help from her partners, she shook her head. “They’re already jammed with work.” But after more prodding, Tara admitted it was more than that. Deep down, she felt asking for help was a sign of weakness, and she wanted to be seen as successful and capable. I asked Tara if she looked down upon people who asked her for help. “Oh, no. I love helping other people,” she said. “I feel honored.” I suggested she give the same gift to her co-workers. Over time, she saw that she could accept others’ assistance and still be viewed as competent.

4. People might say no.

Francis, the president of his company, had a plan that would increase revenue and provide more value to his clients – but it involved asking his staff to travel more. This would go against the culture of his company, particularly its commitment to family. It meant people might be away from home as much as a month or two. Francis was all set to nix his business idea. But when he started to have conversations with his staff, he discovered that many people actually viewed it as a chance for a great learning experience. They even looked forward to having an opportunity to live for a short time in another location. Francis never would have found this out if he hadn’t asked!

If we could do everything by ourselves in our business, there would be no need for accountants and lawyers. Of course, we all recognize that we need those professionals to protect us and give us guidance. Why can’t the same principle apply to other areas of your company? You don’t have to wear all the hats. Think how much better it would feel to focus on your strengths and get support and help in the areas that aren’t your forte.

Coaching Call To Action

Take some time this week to consider what could make life easier for you.  Where could your load be lightened?  Who could you ask for help?  What do you commit to do by this time next week?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

How many times have you been told you are really good at something?  How about the opposite, that you aren’t very good at something? This week’s Tip is a reminder that you can always learn new skills.

Quote of the Week

“No leader sets out to become a leader. People set out to live their lives, expressing themselves fully. When that expression is of value, they become leaders. So the point is not to become a leader. The point is to become yourself, to use yourself completely-all your skills, gifts, and energies-in order to make your vision manifest. You must withhold nothing. You must, in sum, become the person you started out to be and enjoy the process of becoming.”

~ Warren Bennis

Don’t Give Up On Your Dreams

By Andrea Novakowski

Whenever I begin coaching a new business client, one of my first questions is always, “What goal or dream have you given up on?”

It may seem like a strange thing to ask. After all, my clients are high-achieving people who have every expectation of attaining their goals and dreams. That’s one of the reasons they’re working with me – so they can get there faster!

But even high-achieving people have unfulfilled ambitions. Big plans that seem, for one reason or another, less and less realistic as time goes on.

In answer to my question “what goal or dream have you given up on?” people have responded: climbing Mt. Everest, writing a best-selling novel, being a world-famous figure skater, being a concert pianist, being a CEO.

A person’s abandoned dreams can offer a lot of insight into how they see themselves. What sort of person they consider themselves to be.

Maybe you’ve been telling yourself, “I’m a technical person. I don’t relate well to people. I could never be a good manager.”

Many times we’ve made the decision to give up based upon what we were told at a very early age. For instance, one of my clients always wanted to paint, but she never pursued it because her art teacher in elementary school told her she had no talent. The teacher actually said, “Put down the paint brush. You can’t paint.”

When I was invited to be president of the International Coach Federation of New England (ICF-NE), my first reaction (only in my head, thank goodness) was, “What? Are you kidding? I’m an introvert! I don’t speak in front of large audiences. I only work with people one on one.”

The next thing I knew, I was giving my acceptance speech for the ICF-NE Hall of Fame Induction in part for having served as their president.

Well, that wasn’t really the next thing. First, I took a course called Speaking Circles taught by Carla Kimball. The program used positive feedback to give me confidence to be authentically present in front of an audience. Later, I took a course called Platinum Presence created and lead by Cheryl Dolan, which helped improve my speaking skills even more.

I’ve certainly had to shift how I see myself during this process. And I have not done it alone.

If you’re like most people, there are certain skills that don’t come naturally to you. That doesn’t mean you can’t learn these skills. Take courses. Read books. Find out if your company offers training in areas that will support you on your learning path. Or how about working with a business coach? A coach can help you identify where you want to grow, encourage you to create goals, and then partner with you in order to get there. When you’re just starting out, it pays to be careful whom you tell about the changes you’re trying to make. You need someone who will support you, not squash you.

My client, the one whose teacher told her to put down her paintbrush, has decided that that was only one person’s opinion. She’s going for it: she’s taking art lessons, carrying a sketch pad with her, having fun with color.

Like the late-blooming artist, we often find it all too easy to pigeonhole ourselves, put ourselves into categories. We tell ourselves “I can’t do that” and we believe it, so we don’t even try.

How are you labeling yourself? What have you decided you’re no good at? It’s not too late to change that decision. But it helps to have someone who can give you positive support as you learn and grow.

Coaching Call To Action

This week listen to what you are saying and not saying to yourself. What do you hear? What will you do this week to let go of labels that no longer fit you?

What’s New?

Happy 4th of July!
July 4, 2012

Next week we celebrate the 4th of July in the United States. The Coaching Tip of the Week will be on vacation. Enjoy your holiday with family and friends honoring all that we have. We’ll be back on July 13th with more new information.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

Leading your organization is not an easy task.  This week’s Tip shares 5 traits that will help you get there. I’m working with a number of young entrepreneurs who are building their businesses or departments.  I love that they are considering their blind spots and getting support to address these areas.  What better way to become an even stronger leader?

Quote of the Week

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.”

~ Harold Geneen

Five Requirements to Become a Fearless Leader

By Dr. Loretta Malandro

1. Take 100% accountability and act as an owner.
2. Take a bold stand and act decisively.
3. Be courageous and openly discuss your blind spots.
4. Build committed partnerships to achieve business results.
5. Be unreasonable and make the tough calls (Malandro, p. 127).

From: Malandro, L.A., (2009). Fearless leadership: how to overcome behavioral blind spots and transform your organization.  New York:  The McGraw-Hill Companies.

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

This week consider where you are doing a great job on the list above. Congratulations!  Now consider where you could do an even better job.  What will you do and who will you tell?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

My Dad, a great lover of nature, would have turned 92 next week. As I reflected, it started me thinking about how we can apply what we observe in nature to our businesses.

Quote of the Week

“Everything is connected… no one thing can change by itself.”

~ Paul Hawken

6 Ways your Business Is Like an Ecosystem

By Andrea Novakowski

Earlier this month, we talked about how weeding your garden can be a metaphor for removing the clutter from your business and your life, allowing what’s truly important to thrive. But there’s even more nature can teach us about how to grow a business. Let’s take a look at some ways our work environment is like the natural environment.

• In nature, everything goes in cycles. There are times for peak productivity and times for dormancy. When is the best time for you to increase activity in your business? When is it time to take a deep breath and regroup? Consider your daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual cycles.
• Compost happens. If you’re always rushing to the next big thing, you miss the opportunity to let your plans mellow and mature. Sometimes ideas need to sit, process, and grow richer before they’re added to the mix. There’s often value in adding a project, article, or agreement that’s been “composting” to a current endeavor.
• Sometimes you need to compete, but other times it’s better to cooperate. Right now, in the springtime, birds are extremely territorial: staking out their space, chasing away others of their species, protecting their nests. But in the fall, they rejoin their flocks and migrate together. It’s safer that way. When do you need to stand up for yourself at work? When does it make more sense to be part of the flock?
• Relationships can be mutually beneficial. It’s called symbiosis, and there are countless examples in nature. When a bumblebee gathers nectar from flowers, it spreads pollen and enables the plants to reproduce. Can you find opportunities for symbiotic relationships at work? For instance, if you need a mentor to grow to the next level, think about how to make the arrangement worthwhile to that person as well. Perhaps you can offer to help with a project or provide tech support.
• The right fertilizer makes all the difference. Nothing grows without nutrients, and that goes for your business, too. Consider what key nutrients you may be missing at work. Maybe it’s a clear projection of the course you need to take, or a vision of the future you can share with your team. How can you make this year’s performance reviews more nutritious for your staff?
• We’re all interconnected. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the natural world, but as business owners, we can’t go it alone, either. We all depend on others, whether it’s our accountants or our attorneys or our customers. Are you nurturing your connections? Is there someone missing from your circle? Could networking help increase your interconnectedness?

These 6 observations about business are merely a beginning.  I know there are more ideas to be tapped.  As I head into the Memorial Day holiday weekend here in New England, I’m going to reflect some more and keep noticing what nature has to show me.

Coaching Call To Action

There is so much nature can teach us about life and business.  Spend some time in nature this week and see what captures your eye.  How could you apply what you see to your business?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

Why is it that so many people think they have to “do it alone”? This week’s Tip shares the pluses of not doing it alone and hiring a business coach.

Quote of the Week

“You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world’s happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or is discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.”

~ Dale Carnegie

Eight Reasons Why You Need a Business Coach

By Andrea Novakowski

When I started my coaching business, one of the first things I did was get a coach of my own. I purposely chose someone who had built a successful coaching business herself. After all, why reinvent the wheel? I wanted to benefit from the expertise and support of someone who had already done what I was trying to do.

Later on, after my business was established, I was ready to develop another part of myself. So I found a coach who could help me grow my spiritual side.

My current coach is helping me change some behaviors that are no longer working for me. I’m learning to be less analytical and structured in situations that don’t require it, and having more fun in the process.  I picked each of these three coaches based on what I needed at a certain point in my business and in my personal life.

It’s lonely out there, but a good business coach can make it feel less lonely. Have you been feeling burnt out or stuck? Tired of trying to solve every problem yourself? Here are eight things a coach can do:

• Provide an outside perspective. If your work situation is muddied with internal politics and history, your coach can give you guidance based on what happens in the real world. At the same time, she can use her experience to help you navigate tricky political waters.
• Save your marriage. You know how when your spouse tells you something, it may not sound like a good idea, but coming from a professional it suddenly makes sense? Run your thoughts and ideas by your business coach – and take your spouse off the hook.
• Give you a safe place to let your hair down. Go ahead, tell your coach the real story: she has no ulterior motives, nor any agenda except your agenda. Her feedback comes without strings attached. She has no stake, emotional or otherwise, in what you do with her suggestions.
• Offer you her undivided attention. Your coaching session is a regular segment of time when you focus only on what is most important to you. It’s all about you and your success. Let’s be honest: where else in life can you find that?
• Be your creativity partner. Often, when we’re faced with a problem, we get caught in the trap of circular thinking. Recycling the same ideas over and over. A good coach will bring a fresh set of insights. She’ll ask what you want to do with your ideas, and she’ll give you the motivation to move out of your head and into action.
• Encourage you to dig deeper. It’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of a situation. A coach will help you get to the root of an issue by asking you what you’re not addressing – and what you’re going to do about it. She’ll keep you focused on the big picture.
• Break a problem down into manageable action steps. As we all know, goal achievement never occurs in a straight line. If you’ve wandered off course, your coach will remind you of your desired goal and help you do a course correction.
• Help you troubleshoot obstacles and challenges before they arise. Your coach has walked this road before, so she can point out possible stumbling blocks you might encounter.

Looking for a business coach? Seek out someone, as I did, who has expertise in what you want to accomplish. Then schedule a preliminary interview to make sure you’re comfortable working together. You’ll know when the chemistry is right between the two of you!

Coaching Call To Action

Is it time for you to stop doing it all alone?  List the top 3 ways you would benefit from hiring a coach. What is that support worth to you?  If you’d like to explore this further, call me at 508-231-0766 or email me at andrea@coachandrea.com.

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

If you are thinking of starting a business partnership with another individual, this week’s Tip is for you. In addition to analyzing the viability of the business idea, it’s key that you address how the two of you will work together.

Quote of the Week

“Successful people in this world are those who get up and look for circumstances they want. If they can’t find them, they make them.”

~ George Bernard Shaw

How to Have a Successful Business Partnership

By Andrea Novakowski

You and your friend have a great idea for a business. Your business plan is already half done. You can’t wait to get started: what could be better than working with a friend every day?

To launch a successful business with another person, you need more than a business plan. You have to plan your approach to working together, too.

Here are some questions to ask yourselves before you rush headlong into business with your friend – or with anyone else, for that matter!

1. Why is a partnership right for this business? Are you getting into business together for the right reasons or the wrong ones? A right reason might be that you’re compatible and have the same vision for the business. A wrong reason might be your fear that you can’t do it alone.
2. Do you share the same goals, objectives and values? Make sure the two of you are in complete alignment. Be open and clear and have lots of honest discussions. This is your chance to find out how well you two communicate.
3. What has your past experience with partners been like? Think about the kinds of people you work best with. Everyone has a different style. Some people are workaholics and others are more laid back. Some people love a good fight, while others appreciate calm and peacefulness. Are you and the other person a good fit? If not, don’t force it.
4. What are the strengths and positive qualities each of you bring to the partnership?
5. Who will assume which roles and responsibilities? Who will do sales, manage employees, handle the accounting? Is this a fair division of labor? It may help to list each person’s preferred tasks (independent of each other). Identify where there will be sole control and where there is overlap. Ask yourselves what’s missing and still needed to run the organization.
6. When and how will you communicate with each other? Will you meet daily? Weekly? How will decisions be made if you disagree?
7. How will you share start-up costs, expenses, profit? How much income do each of you need?
8. What are your short-term goals? What do you each think the company will look like in three years when it’s humming along?
9. What are your long-term goals? Envision the conclusion and timing of the end of your business. Are you looking to make it a lifestyle business with a finite income goal, or do you want to be the next Facebook? What is your exit strategy?
10. Are both of you 100% committed to the partnership?

Even if you have known a person for years, a business partnership is very different than a friendship. Try collaborating on a few projects to get a feel for how you work together. A great book I often recommend to my clients is Partnership: Small Business Start-Up Kit by Daniel Sitarz. This book provides a pre-partnership worksheet, a partnership agreement, and other forms you’ll need to start a business together.

Coaching Call To Action

Thinking about a partnership?  Do you really know the other person?  What will you do this week to increase your knowledge of the other person and move closer to making the right decision for you?

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

As I mentioned last week, many of my clients are receiving and delivering performance reviews. This can be a stressful time where people might be on the defensive about what they are saying or hearing. What if you entered the review with an open manner, used Steve Straus’s question and really meant it?

Quote of the Week

“Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.”
~Og Mandino

Feedback (great questions lead to great answers; weak questions, weak ones.)

by Steve Straus

“How am I doing?”

Feedback is one of the great “secrets” to having a successful life — seeking it, hearing it, acting on it, then looking for more feedback to see if what you added/changed/stopped really worked. It works in business, with your family, and with friends. Asking “How am I doing?” is a simple way to get feedback. At first glance, the question may seem an exercise in egotism, but if you really want feedback, you will be communicating so at a non-verbal level which is disarming rather than off-putting. How are you doing at getting feedback?

Copyright 2011 Steve Straus. All rights reserved. Steve Straus can be contacted at http://www.StrausUSA.com

Coaching Call To Action

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Coach Andrea’s Intro

This week’s Tip does not only apply to Small Business Owners. No matter what your level is in the working world, you could benefit by awareness to how these 7 flaws could be impacting you and the solutions to overcome them. I know I’ve suffered from each of these traits from time to time.

Quote of the Week

“Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life.”
~ Dr. David M. Burns

Top 7 Flaws of Small Business Owners

Coaching Call To Action

Where are you holding yourself back by your behavior?  What new habit will you create to overcome this behavior?

What’s New

Thursday, September 23, 2010 – 9 am to noon ET
Pounce on a Project

Welcome back from the summer break!  I hope you all took some time to recharge.  What project would you like to get on top of and accomplish this month? Come to Pounce on a Project VI – - 2010.

Join Coach Andrea on Thursday, September 23rd from 9:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Eastern. We will join as a group by phone and declare what you want to accomplish: preparing a marketing plan for Q4, starting the talk you have to give in two weeks, getting your new website finished, or getting rid of the piles of completed projects that grew over the summer.

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, September 23rd. 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.)

Thursday, September 23, 2010 – 6:30 – 8:30 pm ET
Being Resourceful at The New England Chapter of ACRP

If you are like most people, you already have more than enough resources (people, places, and things) in your life that can be used for support or help when needed. But, are you using them effectively to increase your productivity and to develop your career?

Join me at The New England Chapter of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals
as I provide tools to show you how to: identify your resources, use your resources to the fullest, and handle resource “roadblocks”.  Capitalize on your resources to achieve the results that are most important to you .at Jasper White’s Summer Shack in Cambridge from 6:30 to 8:30 PM.To reserve your place, contact Patricia Seymour (pannseymour@yahoo.com).

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