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Executive Leadership Coaching – Busting the Myths

Posted 22 January, 2013 by Jennifer

Over the last fortnight, in the process of building an ‘extension’ onto my present business activities, I’ve met an extraordinary range of diverse leaders – some corporate, some entrepreneurial, most a bit of both. Here’s what’s been interesting to me – they have each been successful in their own way, achieving well (from my limited exposure to their work & home lives) and motivated – but not a single one of them had considered engaging an executive coach, a mentor, or an independent leadership partner to speed up the process of living their vision?

Here’s what I also noticed, when given the opportunity to talk one-to-one, every single one of them – after 30 minutes of me listening, asking some key questions and feeding back to them what I’d heard – said they felt clearer, more motivated and more confident in their ability to achieve the vision they’d been holding in their minds. They all said that they’d invest in regular coaching conversations if they were sure to achieve ‘twice the success in half the time’. That means that the expectations they might been holding for 4 years are achieved in one. Imagine the reality of what that means for work life, home life, family, fitness, finances … it’s got to be worth exploring.

Here’re the 5 questions I get asked most when a new executive leader is working out the value of coaching:

1. What if I don’t have any issues to talk to you about

Great, because I don’t work with clients who have issues, I work with clients who have unreleased potential. They’re already successful at what they do. What they want from me is perspective, clarity and someone to hold them accountable as they stretch their abilities beyond what they’d do alone.

2. How can you teach me if you haven’t done what I’m doing

I’m not a teacher or a consultant – I don’t have your answers. I’m a coach, I have the questions – you’ve got your answers. It’s a huge myth – perpetuated by trainers, consultants and mentors (none of whom are coach trained) – that executive coaches will offer up solutions. We won’t. I equip you to explore, get clear and expand. Your executive coach should be executive coach trained and preferably have 1000s of hours worth of relevant experience and quality client testimonials.

3. How can you help me get ahead in medicine (or construction, media, IT, retail, oil & gas) if you’re not a medic

Great leadership is about developing the courage and skill set to know yourself deeply. You can only engage, inspire and stretch your teams and collaborators to the point at which you’ve experienced that engagement, inspiration and stretching yourself.

4. Most of the directors and CEOs I know don’t use a coach

Don’t be too sure about that. And ask yourself, of the leaders I have access to, are most of them true innovators, creatives and ground breakers? Because if they are, you can be sure they’re smart enough to be investing in all the development available to them to be clear of their motives, to multiply their skill set and to drive their business forward at speed. You’d be surprised at how many stand-out leaders are quietly partnering with a great executive coach.

5. How do I know it’s going to be worth the investment

You don’t. But here’s the thing – if you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’re going to get the results you’ve always had. Expanding your thinking and your skill set is the quickest way possible to start to play a bigger game. To stretch your vision, your action taking, your confidence, your influence and your overall results. Do what you do with a new restaurant, a new sport, a new relationship – book in a date and have the experience.

Jennifer Broadley is one of the UK's leading executive coaches. She works with corporate leaders, business directors and successful entrepreneurs. She specialises in CEO coaching, prosperity coaching and providing the most cutting-edge and intuitive leadership and personal success programs in the UK. Jennifer is passionate about the ongoing self improvement of the world's future business leaders – the way-showers for our precious next generation. She coaches, speaks, writes and runs workshops on 'The 7 Steps to Personal & Professional Freedom'®. You can buy her book of the same name from www.Amazon.co.uk You can call, email or message Jennifer from www.JenniferBroadley.com.

Executives of the new world …

Posted 21 March, 2012 by Jennifer

As a corporate coach, and particularly as an executive coach in London and other commercial-centric cities, I’m beginning to ask myself whether business change isn’t occurring faster that ever before in history.

What makes a leadership team, and by extension an entire company, equipped to manage such significant changes as:

outsourcing production to global hubs
launching new brands when the traditional ones are clearly in decline
embracing new business models without damaging present essential revenue streams
attracting talented staff who’ll contribute immensely whilst putting home-life first. They have no interested in working overtime or ‘mad’ hours
letting go of a company culture that thrived through the past 2 decades but will fold in the next one unless flexibility, meritocracy, transparency and diversity are fully embraced
keeping ahead of technological advancements, shifts in product delivery and customer sophistication

There are incredible opportunities opening up for small & medium businesses and for the corporate giants too. These are the strategies I’m noticing the front runners utilising:

Active investment in the personal & professional development of a company’s c-levels, directors and executives – it keeps them on form and permanently innovating – and when they’re convinced, they’re convincing
Do less – that is, get supremely focussed on the specific activities required to get results. Everything else is a non-priority
Keep alert: just because a product or promotion worked last year, there are no guarantees that the same results can be achieved by repeating it 12 months later. Re-review product, market and process, and tweak where necessary
Create a clear succession plan for top talent, and purposefully open doors for high performers to progress. Retaining great employees takes know how and active expectation management
Buy knowledge & expertise where they’re not already present within the organisation. An external provider is often exposed to a spectrum of examples that can’t be seen from within a culture

There will come a point where the speed of change reaches maximum velocity. At that time the heart of what individuals and tribes want will return to basics: simplicity, community & meaning. There are glimpses of those values already in expansion across the globe. We’re not there yet though, so to all you leaders sensing the stretch – breathe deeply, get resourced and enjoy the ride.

Coaching conscious leaders

Posted 1 March, 2012 by Jennifer

It takes an aware and bold leader to continue to step into areas of discomfort as they stretch themselves in the name of personal & professional development. They know already the link between self development and higher results – and they make conscious decisions to commit the time and effort to the ongoing refinement of thoughts, words, actions, skills.

Most leaders I’ve worked with are:

Clear thinkers – the conversations they’re having in the moment have a ‘how is this contributing to the biggest future’ slant on them
Resilient – they don’t take knock-backs personally. They learn, adjust, get up and approach again from a different angle
Risk takers – the next steps are calculated and when the key people are in the position they’re going

Beyond this awareness are servant leaders who in addition:

Engage their heart – they consider the individuals, they go beyond ‘biggest future’ to ‘legacy’
Emit authenticity – they’re healthy, disciplined, inspired and conscious that ‘all of it’ (people, attitude, ethos, standards, respect …) contributes to ultimate success and results
Live accountably – there’s no blaming; just the highest personal standards of clarity, impeccable speech & motivation and they ‘be the change they want to see’

In a recent conversation I heard this: ‘most of the adults I work with use the same emotional strategies they were using in their teens’. Thankfully that’s not my own experience with my clients, but I get what he meant in saying that.

If you take 100% responsibility for evolving into the sort of person who can be, do, have and achieve the things you dream about, you can experience the freedom that goes with it; because then everything’s something you can do something about.

Coaching conscious leadership is tough head, heart & soul work. Persistence in strengthening those skill-sets though brings with it unparalleled results, extraordinary rewards and individuals who literally become beacons in their lifetime.

Say it like it is … the ‘whole’ truth

Posted 21 February, 2012 by Jennifer

I can talk about leadership development and companies can hire me as an executive coach to encourage more advanced and successful leadership but I may as well be a lorry driver (a secret fantasy of mine since the Yorkie advert era) and they may as well torch their people-investment spend if we can’t talk about the truth. The WHOLE truth. Here’s some of what I’ve been processing with various executives this week:

We’re definitely committed to your part in the company’s succession planning – but we are making a round of redundancies and it’s unconfirmed as to who’s in that mix
We value your experience and your results are unparalleled – however, we can’t invest further in your team to free you up to do what only you can do
It’s just the culture of the company – the systems are established and can’t be changed. It’s too big a conversation over too long a period to take advantage of the opportunity that’s presenting itself right in this moment

Here’s why change takes SO long to put in place in some large corporates … because even the finest leaders find it challenging to support a concept that may result in them losing their job!

I’m not saying that leaders, MDs, board members and directors don’t have exceptionally valuable experience to offer to the corporate mix … in the majority of cases, of course they do! But if you keep telling the story that ‘the next stage of how this company can serve its clients (readers, listeners, customers, patients, subscribers) has to be designed to keep me in the picture’ you may be limiting your service to the company, making decisions from a place of fear and lack as opposed to freedom and abundance.

The truth will set you free means that:

when you sense something is right and purposeful – trust that you will be respected and rewarded by speaking it out and boldly enabling the most enlightened solutions to come to pass
you may have to learn to communicate at a much higher level – and trust that chaos and ‘pruning’ are part of the process of developing a healthier, more flexible, transparent and authentic way of doing future business
you stand up and take action with 100% integrity – even when speaking out the tough parts requires humility – and by doing so, in today’s world of corporate leadership you will set yourself apart

I leave you with some word from one of the biggest rule breakers and new thinkers of our recent corporate business heritage, Steve Jobs:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

CEO coaching … leaders who lifelong learn

Posted 8 February, 2012 by Jennifer

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard it asked by corporate leaders from directors, to board members to CEOs ”but why would I need coaching … I’m doing everything right”. To which I reply “you wouldn’t be at your level of success if you weren’t doing everything right. And I work with achievers not because there are issues, but because there’s always unreleased potential”.

A founding father of the US, Benjamin Franklin said, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”

A noted polymath was old Franklin which means he had a great deal of knowledge about a wide range of topics. He was known for his considered opinion, his wisdom, his diplomacy and his natural ability to lead and to inspire others. I’m guessing he meant it then, when he also said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

In metaphysics there’s a law called ‘the law of perpetual transmutation’. It means that all things physical and non-physical exist in a constantly state of change – expanding, reducing, evolving. There’s never nothing happening. Nothing stays the same. The universe’s default is transformation.

The most successful leaders, managing directors, CEOs on the planet know all about this law. You’d never hear them say ‘I’m complete; all the things on my list are ticked; we’ve reached every goal I ever had for myself, the company, the customers, the systems, the employees and the products & services… so, yeah. We’re done’.

Because, too right they’d be ‘done’! Done gathering new ideas; done sensing what’s next for the marketplace; done navigating the company’s best talent towards unearthing new opportunities.

There IS no ‘done’ in the life-cycle of successful leaders within progressive organisations. Personal growth & progress = greater team achievements = product & service improvements = ongoing business success; just like Franklin said it would.

Every individual leader is called to be creative and to lead and expand themselves and their business in a way that’s unique to them. There are no co-incidences in any man or woman’s rise to the helm of a notable corporate company to pioneer a new chapter for its tribe. Directors who actively develop integrity, respect, wisdom, a sense of themselves, and a healthy relationship with risk will thrive.

Lifelong learning is a commitment. There are no right or wrong ways to go about it – study a formal course, hire an executive coach, read, listen, watch, blog, join a mastermind – your style, your choice. But it is a conscious decision to walk this path – you cannot inherit leadership success. The results show in each of us to a depth and effectiveness equal to the hours invested in developing the craft.

I leave you with an Irish saying which is up there, in my opinion, with the wisdom of Mr Franklin: “You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.”

‘I Wanted to Design; Now I Lead’ …

Posted 11 January, 2012 by Jennifer

What happens when the thing you loved doing the most – the reason you stepped up for your chosen career – is no longer present in your job?

I’ve spoken to directors who were designers, managers who were mechanics, and leaders who were lifeguards – all of whom have progressed far enough in their careers that the activity that made them stand out in the first place has been downsized to almost zero and replaced with leadership responsibilities primarily comprising of strategy and motivating others.

It’s not entirely a bad thing. And it could easily be called ‘natural career progression’. If it describes you then know this; stepping forward into leadership is best when:

you’re still involved with people who are doing the thing you loved – and you can inspire them
the knowledge you acquired developing the skill-set of your passion can continue to be shared
by doing so, you discover something more about yourself that you couldn’t have aspired to at the outset of your career journey

I don’t know any career newbees who when asked ‘what would you like to be’, they answer ‘A leader’, ‘A CEO’, or ‘A board director’. Instead they aspire to be architects, clothes designers, marine engineers, environmental scientist, flower importers – you know? Things that directly link them to the product or service they want to offer to others.

My question is this: if leadership is naturally what we all progress towards then how come we don’t:

talk about it to our students and new starts to prepare them for going beyond their ‘first stage’ career
equip our directors with a full leadership skill set in as much detail as we would a doctor
support leaders constantly so that in their rising to the top of our organisations, they continue to exude the creativity and innovation that we know they inherently own because we saw it displayed in their ‘stage 1′ passion

When a company’s leaders are disciplined and successful, but not 100% passionate about the role they’ve progressed to, not only does the organisation lose their return on investment in that person, they also haemorrhage possibility, opportunity and competitive edge.

No one would drive a car with a leak in the petrol tank – it limits the speed and potential of you getting from A to B. So why do we accept a reduced performance in our most valued and invested-in employees?

To get way out in front in 2012, here’s where I believe the treasure lies:

FOCUS on your key 10-20 performers and, especially if they’re outstanding, invest further in them (coaching, mentoring, enabling)
CREATE (or access) a platform which brings together leaders from different, non-competitive disciplines and companies to share stories that inspire and prompt radical, new thinking and stimulating possibilities (the TED.com theory: ideas worth sharing)
TALK! If you’re an HR Director or Talent Manager, get out there and do the rounds with your board members and fellow directors – find out the development they’d most value.
TALK! If you’re a director or leader in your business, go and find your Learning & Development contact and ask them what the possibilities are for you to actively evolve yourself and your results this year
TALK! If you’re from an organisation where you know there’s a valuable conversation to be had with a counterpart in a non-competitive organisations, pick up the phone, call him/her and get the revolution started.

Born for Something Bigger

Posted 4 November, 2011 by Jennifer

How much do you think you compromise on a day-to-day basis? Do you do it in work, in your relationships, in the stories you tell yourself about the choices you do and don’t have? Where did you learn those notions, those stories you tell yourself are ‘the one right way’? And is it easier to justify the justifying because you’re surrounded by people who are doing the exact same thing?

If any of this sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone!. I’ve had some extraordinary conversations this week with successful directors in choice corporate positions. Some of the cultural assumptions I’m hearing include:

I don’t have a choice really, that’s where the company’s headed, everyone’s in the same boat
Although I dread work sometimes, I’m lucky really … loads of people I know would love to have this job
I couldn’t set up on my own – it would take years to match this salary and my family are depending on me
If I stepped up to a more senior role I’d be more accountable and that means more hours
Noone has conversations about ‘purpose’ or ‘meaning’ here – it’s just not done – I’d be laughed at

Without transparent conversation everyone thinks they’re the only one who’s not living the dream, the only one who’s compromising and the only one who’s frustrated that today is SO predictably similar to yesterday and, god forbid, tomorrow too! The truth is that most of your colleagues are aspiring to evolve, to have real conversations about real things and to start to live as authentically in their place of work as they do outside.

So where do you start with something as significant as playing a bigger game? It’s a step-at-a-time kind of process, but start today and you’ll be telling some entirely different stories in a short month’s time. Here are some suggestions:

Once a day, say something genuine (a compliment, an observation, a personal thought) that stretches you out of your comfort zone: ‘I liked the way you spoke to that client. You’re very sincere. I find it challenging to shift my mind away from corporate targets and relate so openly.’
Ask at least 1 question (beyond ‘how are you, fine?’!!) of each person you speak with in a day that’s not work-related
Genuinely listen to what’s being said and ask yourself (and others) – ‘how could we add more meaning to this’
Talk to your customers, readers, viewers, listeners and ask them how what’s good could be better
Commit to personal & professional mastery and do one thing each day that makes your life richer

Ultimately a company is as successful as those who are leading it, holding the vision, and connecting the purpose of their culture, product & service to the relevance of their customers lives. When you step out of the intellect and engage with ‘meaning’ you let go the effort of up-stream and start to move with the current.

When you say ‘I messed up’,it’s real & people can relate. When you say ‘I don’t know, can we figure it out together’ there’s shared purpose. When you speak out that ‘Let’s hold an intention that in 6 months time we’ll all be working less, earning more and in our freed up time be doing more sport, playing more music and hanging out more with our partners … let’s make that happen’, you’re tapping into an energy that has the power to engage massive creativity & solutions.

Playing BIG is an arena where justifications are replace by opportunities. Only YOU know your heart (and if you’re not 100% clear, then 2 hours in a quiet room with a blank piece of paper and this question ‘What do I really want’ – work, romance, finances, health, recreation, family & friends, personal growth, service to others – will get you significantly closer to your answer). Only YOU know how this part of your career fits with your biggest purpose.

Playing BIG is not rocket science. You DO have to separate yourself from the ‘nay sayers’. You DO have to develop a process of conscious observation of your own limited thinking. You DO have to be bold, say yes … and leap.

The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it’s conformity!

The ‘Way-Showers’ to Attract Abundance

Posted 6 December, 2010 by Jennifer

How often have to heard successful business leaders say that their prosperity was attracted to them as opposed to having to work hard for it? Hardly ever right?

Whilst space along the extra mile is still pretty plentiful, things are changing and business leaders are becoming more conscious in developing themselves to the full. Shared wisdom is valuable when it comes from leaders who have put their theories to the test and prospered. Let’s look at some:

“I try to learn from the past, and I plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That’s were the fun is.” Donald Trump: multi-billionaire property tycoon

“Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.” Mark Victor Hansen: millionaire author, speaker, coach

“I believe in myself. I believe in the hands that work, in the brains that think, and in the hearts that love.” Richard Branson: world-renowned entrepreneur & visionary

“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.” Oprah Winfrey: media-mogul, presenter, author, entrepreneur

So fun, action taking, self belief, successful thinking, personal responsibility and persistence. These are all brilliant abundance attracting tools. PLUS one essential extra ingredient … clarity!!! To begin to develop our full potential, you’ve got to be clear what you’re trying to move towards and why.

“You have sole ownership of your vision. And the Universe will give you what you want within your vision. What happens with most people is that they muddy their vision with ‘reality’. Their vision becomes full of not only what they want but what everybody else thinks about what they want, too. Your work is to clarify and purify your vision so that the vibration that you are offering can then be answered.” Abraham Hicks

The difference between chasing abundance and attracting it is the difference between referencing the outside world and trusting your internal universe. Developing soul, meaning, fulfillment and awareness is the domain of our future leaders. They’re rising up already in business, music, sport, science, media and health.

Let’s give an expert the final word on this topic

“Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life.” Dr Wayne Dyer: philosopher, author, speaker, businessman

Attracting abundance – the power lies in simplicity.

Successful Women Entrepreneurs

Posted 23 September, 2010 by Jennifer

successful woman entrepreneur They used to be a rarity, successful women entrepreneurs, but since the turn of last century this tribe has been on the increase. Now, in 2010 over 8% of the UKs total working population are women entrepreneurs; with a similar percentage in the US.

Classic women business pioneers showed us the way; Coco Channel, Mary Kay Ash and Debi Fields. These were women in women-centric businesses – fashion, cosmetics and cookies. And all power to those bold visionaries. Then came the ‘women in a mens world’ era with Margaret Thatcher in politics, Oprah Winfrey in media, and Ann Mulcahy in technology. Tapping into a different part of their infinite resources to make it to the top in their field.

And today entrepreneurship for women is in massive expansion in every area of service you could think of. There are businesses supplying virtual assistance to corporate consultancy, social media services to IT solutions, and manufacturing outlets to retail chains. There are hundreds launching every day and over time tens of thousand will thrive.

Some are run from home offices, others from prime real-estate commercial spaces. Some begin with just a home computer and a phone, others have £100,000 of angel investment. Some of these women remain solo-preneurs for the duration of their empire building, others hire staff of hundreds. There is no stereotyping.

If you’re one of this growing tribe – good on you! Learn your lessons, face your fears, trip, get up, brush yourself off and never give up. Get clear about you dream and take some action. Loads of us are out there making a difference. Some because we’re the sole bread winner in our family, others because we have a burning desire to contribute – for most of us it’s a combination of a whole number of factors.

Remember that the biggest names we reference as ‘successful women entrepreneurs’ took years and decades to become household names. Persist. And know that your biggest breakdowns come right before your biggest breakthroughs!

Og Mandino often keeps me persisting: “I will consider each days efforts as but one blow of my blade against the might oak. The first blow may cause not a tremor in the wood, nor the second, nor the third. Each blow, of itself, may be trifling and seem of no consequence. Yet from childish swipes the oak will eventually tumble. So it will be with my efforts of today. I will persist. I will succeed.”

Onwards super-charged, rock-chicks!