Article Review of the Month: Hey Gen X & Gen Y: Stop Wasting Your Time And Get Your Act Together So
This is a great article which states that nearly 100% of executives would like a leadership coach but only 50% have one. Which makes me ponder - why the disconnect?
If all CEO's want a coach why don't they have one?
And more importantly I'm not sure I care as much about big time CEO's, I care about our generation and our careers now. Why would we, as 30 and 40 year olds WAIT until we're a CEO go get our act together and hire a coach? Does that make any sense? At the tail end of our career, WAIT until then to be better at your job? To be better at relationships, to make better connections? Whaaaaat? Why are we waiting???
Why are we doing this to ourselves? Why won't we take care of ourselves in the most pivotal point of our careers?
Well, I thought, perhaps its because we don't really know what coaching even is anyway. Or we have an idea that executive coaching or leadership coaching is for those "problem children" at work. Or that there's this myth out there that it's therapy and that's just for people with bigger problems. Not true!!
Coaching isn't always about problems
It's mainly about getting "un-stuck" so you can propel yourself forward at a faster pace. Coaching is about celebrating your greatness!! Woot! Yeah Baby!!
Imagine an Olympic runner who gets her shoelace stuck in a grate. Is she no longer amazing? Does she suddenly become inadequate? Can she no longer be a successful runner? No! She just needs to get unstuck to keep going.
Do you have anyone in your day reminding you how amazing you are? How you bring so much value to the organization?
Or are you hearing a lot of shoulding (either in your own head or from others)?... It might sound something like, I should have spoken up in that meeting, I should be at a higher level in the organization, you should understand how to make strategic decisions better, I shouldn't be doing work that is beneath me, I shouldn't get so angry when someone challenges me at work, I should know how to multitask better...
How about instead of all the shoulds, you hear a coach remind you of what greatness lies within you, what talents you have, what values you believe in and how they make you authentic and real and valuable to your organization? How about you hear more of what potential you have, what makes you unique and how important that uniqueness is....
Hearing these things is nice huh?
It's observations like these that a coach can pull through once we discover first who your personal brand is. What differentiates you? That's why your organization does and should value you. You have amazing talents and unique things you bring to your organization. Inside you know that, and now it's time to own that!
Why should I own that, you might ask?
As the article states, essentially you can not understand others (and most importantly how to work with them) until you really understand your self first. Repeating - you can not understand others and work really well with them until you know yourself. So you 1. hire a coach and get to know yourself, and then 2. magically you start to work with others better? Basically yeah.
Now, here's the fun part.
You get a coach, you see your greatness, you relate to others greatness, you bring that out in them, you're happier, your team is happier, everyone is more productive, and what happens when you're more productive at work? More CASH baby!! People who are more productive at work get promotions, recognition, cool meetings with the higher ups, people seeking you out for advice, winning awards, you name it, the world is yours.
You're going to be a rockstar at work.
Think of any rockstar out there, don't they have a voice coach? Don't professional athletes all have coaches? It's your critical component to success. And no one even needs to know. It's all confidential anyway. You're little secret to success is that you were smart enough to invest in your career early on.
And, I understand you've got a million and one things to do in the day.
So it's important to also know that coaching can be done in 3-6 months. Yep. Couple of times a month for 3 months. You spend more time at the gym trying to get your body back into the shape that you were in your 20's than you will with an executive coach. And the impact lasts a lot longer than those leg lifts you're doing.
It's an unforgettable, VALUABLE experience. And its motivating and inspiring.
As coaches we all have our own coaches and I can tell you I look forward to every session. And I look at those without a coach that are trying to succeed and I think, suckas! Get yo'self a coach man!!! You've got goals, you've got dreams, you've got aspirations, you could be on a fast track to success.
Getting a coach is a game changer.
I can tell you from my own experience. So stop wasting time and get yourself a coach!
Cheers to achieving your greatest potential.
-BT
p.s.
Here's the article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/douglas-labier/why-ceos-dont-want-execut_b_3762704.html