Displaying items by tag: Coach training schools - Executive Coaching University

Thursday, 12 February 2015 00:00

Build Resiliency for a Better Life

As the New Year hits, most of us turn to recapping the year behind us, then setting goals for the year to come. Goals are fantastic as they help us set a direction. If you don't know where you are trying to go, how do you ever know if you get there?

When I think about resiliency as a goal, I think of being resilient as building a better foundation, so that we are more able to adapt, flex, and grow through the things life brings our way. Being resilient means demonstrating our ability to effectively and easily navigate our lives.

We have all heard the motto; "It is not what happens to us, but how we respond that matters." I am forever working to increase both my own and my children's level of resiliency. I want us to be prepared for those times when we may be knocked around, or even down. I want us to get back up, dust ourselves off, and have a reserve of energy to make what we want happen.

If you wish to take a look at your level of resiliency (or how well you bounce back), try taking a look at some of these aspects of your life.

How healthy are the key relationships in your life?
Are you able to nurture a positive view of yourself?
Do you accept change as part of living?
Do you see crisis as an insurmountable problem (perhaps it is part of our journey)?
Do you know your goals and continue to move towards them by taking decisive action?

Try to slow your pace a little. Stop, look, and listen, so that you understand what is really happening vs. what story you have built around the situation. The story is not tangible but will drive our emotions and therefore our actions. Be deliberate in the things you focus on.

Resiliency is a great goal. With a little focus, you can build it and be a better person for having it.

All the best!

Find out more about Jenna here.

Are you ready to boost your career...and earnings?

Learn how the Power of Neuroscience can help.

© 2015 and beyond Executive Coaching University. All rights reserved.

Published in The Executive Coaching University Blog

Wednesday, 20 August 2014 15:55

The Art and Beauty of Perseverance

per·se·ver·ance - noun

Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.

You must persevere! This is what I and many others are told when we hit rough times in life and in business. This is easily said by many, well executed by few.

Perseverance means different things to different people depending on upbringing, generational differences, overall outlook on life, etc., etc. While I believe it to be true that we should stand tall in the face of obstacles in our path to freedom, success and happiness, I also believe we must utilize a higher-level perspective of these issues. We need to employ own inner wisdom (which we frequently ignore), along with a trusted outside source, and attempt to get some distance from the issue or problem so as to decide if it is worth persevering for. As my friend Robin Rose often asks her audiences “What do you really want?”

I got the opportunity to learn this lesson in my own life and business. I will be eternally grateful that I did not get the very thing I was spending the energy to persevere through a few years ago, when I was in a different industry in a horrible economy. At some point I knew it was time to end the pointless perseverance and focus on getting through the upcoming changes that needed to happen so I could focus on building the life and business of my dreams. It was not easy. I was warned by some that I should stick in out. Listening to my inner voice (and some excellent coaching around what I really wanted out of this short life)made the decision easy.

Then came the hard part. The fear. The concerns about stopping what I was doing. Taking the risk to do what I wanted to do. All the emotional, mental, and physically draining things I had to do to prepare and move ahead, were beyond overwhelming. There were many things to test my perseverance - family issues, partnership issues, and money issues, to name a few. Then there was the unexpected loss of support from some friends, whom I thought were true friends. In reality, they were only my friends when it benefitted them. Once that benefit went away with the changes I was making they no longer needed me. I am not going to lie, that one hurt.

If you are not happy. If you are searching for something. If you need to change your life and/or business. If you desire to reinvent yourself, I say DO IT!

Below are a few tips to get you started.

Be thoughtful about your process. It does no good to constantly make changes for the sake of change.
Create a plan. Make sure it is what you want and then begin executing that plan. This step alone may take months or even years. Don’t be intimidated, just begin and commit.
Hire a gifted coach as your trusted advisor. It is important to have someone who hears you, challenges you, and holds you accountable to your plans. (Make sure your coach has a coach!)
Spend time alone each day in quietude. Envision what your life will look like when you fully implement the changes for which you have persevered. Statistics have shown the most successful executives spend 20% of their week envisioning the next level for their organizations.

This is a subject that needs much more discussion based on where you are and what you want from your life. It is meant as a discussion starter so please share your thoughts, and stories about your own times of perseverance. It could be invaluable to someone who is unsure of what to do next.

If you are persevering just for the sake of it, the time is at hand to decide on the changes that will bring the outcomes for you to live the happiest, most productive life you can. You will still have ample opportunities to use your perseverance skills. Only this time, those hard-earned skills can be in alignment with what you truly want. To quote Stephen Covey: “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”

Find out more about Scott here.

This program will help you become an even more valuable performer!

Coaching In The Workplace

© 2014 and beyond Executive Coaching University. All rights reserved.

Published in The Executive Coaching University Blog

Friday, 25 April 2014 12:34

Is Stress Ruining Your Life?

Click here for more information on the Stress Slayer Program

After 27 years in business I know how imperative it is to consistently fine tune your offerings for what is relevant for your clients, you and your business. Working as an Executive Coach the needs landscape is constantly changing. Through listening to the needs of our clients we change what we offer in our suite of services accordingly. One area that is a constant and is consistently on the rise in the world is stress in life and business.

Stress is like an odorless gas. It seeps in and slowly begins to asphyxiate us. Before we know it the symptoms of stress show up in our relationships, work quality, and our physical body. We treat these symptoms in a variety of ways from medicine, to escapism and everything in between. These treatments however do not take care of stress itself as the core issue.

My colleagues Drayton Boylston, Jenna Forster, and Greg Styles and I at the Executive Coaching University have committed to taking on this stress epidemic. Each of us has our specialties in coaching clientele ranging from high level executives, business owners, women in business, high performance athletes, engaging the millennial workforce and serving fellow coaches. The brain trust at ECU is constantly seeking ways to serve the highest number of people, for the greater good of all, in areas that have the most impact in behavioral change, for the best results in life and business.

Consider these facts:

85% of ALL illness is stress related
Depression is projected to be the #2 killer by 2020
Managers and executives are 40 times more likely to suffer from heart issues
75% of people wish they had another job
80% of people NEVER use their greatest gifts at work
Stress related illnesses are costing organizations over $350 billion a year

By attacking the root of this stress issue we are helping our clients find:

Peace and relaxation
They are enjoying life and work again
They are feeling healthier and more motivated
Their relationships are stronger with family, friends and co-workers
They have discovered “Me Time” in each day
Our business leaders are seeing an increase in moral, productivity, and profits

Over the next few months we will be offering a one day Oregon Stress Slayer Workshop and a Colorado Stress Slayer Workshop to kick off our dedication to increasing the happiness level in our clients, by reducing stress in our lives and businesses through mindfulness. We want to lessen this common link of stress and replace it with higher quality of living for you! Keep watch for other offerings as we continue to serve the greatest number for the greatest good through coaching. Take the time to invest in yourself and join us to help reduce your stress. It may just save your life!

To register for the workshops in Salem, Oregon or Denver, Colorado click the links above. For more information about other locations and dates or to bring us into your organization or city please contact us here: 1.800.251.1696 or email us.

Published in The Executive Coaching University Blog

Wednesday, 09 April 2014 11:44

Stress - The Deadly Lie

Stress : 1) a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.; 2) something that causes strong feelings of worry or anxiety; 3) physical force or pressure (as defined by Merriam-Webster.com)

“Stress” is a word and concept so ubiquitous in our western society that it is difficult not to encounter its specter everywhere you turn. You will hear “stress” referenced by all ages (I recently heard a 4 year old exclaim “Mom, leave me alone…you’re stressing me out!”), by professionals and amateurs, high and low performers – as an actual thing, a marketing tool, or the reason someone adopted any myriad lifestyle change.

“Stress” appears to be everywhere, in control of, and laying waste to everyone! But it doesn’t have to be that way – you do not need to live your life at the whim of this thing we call “stress”!

Here’s my main focus of this entry – you can control “stress”, and all the symptoms we lump into the category of “stress”, because STRESS IS NOT REAL!

Modern day “stress”, the psychological process of feeling overwhelmed or pushed beyond our ability to cope, is a carry-over from the “fight or flight” hard wired system. This system has been our best defense over eons when faced with threat – turning a corner and running into a lion for instance – it allowed our forebears to stay alive by dumping large amounts of chemicals into our system for the boost we would need in strength, speed, or focus to survive.

Though “stress” is not an actual thing – you cannot show me “stress” or point out a “ stress” – the symptoms of a lifestyle filled with “mental tension” and “strong feelings of worry or anxiety” are definitely real and negatively impacting life.

Did you know:

Researchers tracked women for nearly 40 years and found that those who experienced a greater number of stressors (work problems, divorce, family illness) in middle age were more likely to develop dementia later in life.
Experiencing chronic stress triggers the production of inflammatory compounds and damages areas of the brain linked to memory.
Symptoms of chronic stress can vary from anxiety, depression, social isolation, headache, abdominal pain or lack of sleep, to back pain and difficulty concentrating.
Other symptoms include: hypertension, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, panic attacks (or a panic disorder) and cardiovascular diseases.
The statistics show 24% of adults now categorize their stress levels as severe – and over half report moderate to high (5 or more on a scale of 10).
Family practitioners report that 66% of all doctor visits are for stress related symptoms such as headache, neck pain, irritable bowel syndrome, loss of libido, fatigue, sleeplessness, and even infertility.Stress is more regularly being recognized as a direct precursor to serious medical consequences such as heart disease and certain cancers.

People suffering from chronic stress may have difficulty attaining calm without the use of prescriptive medications, distractions (such as shopping and eating) or addictions.

That’s all bad stuff, right? Of course it is… but because you live a high performing life does not mean you are sentenced to developing those symptoms, or any symptoms other than resiliency, strength, and mental toughness due to this thing called “stress”!

“Stress” is simply the catch all term we use to describe the manner in which we approach the adversity we each experience every day. And without “stress” we cannot grow beyond who we are right now!

Who determines the working definition of “adversity” in your life?

You!

Not your friends, parents, family, co-workers, board, doctor, priest, therapist, television commercials, etc. You and I determine not only the level of disruption this adversity will have on our life, but the manner in which we engage that adversity plays a large part in how that adversity will be resolved.

The impact life events or experiences have on you is up to you!

You have the power to use “stressful” experiences or events to improve your life – leverage that power and take full ownership of your life by using some of the tools below:

Breathe! When you are experiencing “stress” fill your lungs with 5 deep breaths through your nose, exhaling in a controlled manner through your mouth. Breathing in this manner short circuits the physiologic process that fuels the experience of “stress” and brings your automatic flight or fight response back into your conscious control.
Move through the challenge! When thinking about that event, relationship, experience, task that is creating a stress response answer this question – “What is it you most don’t want to do, but know you should?”…and go do that exact thing! So much of our stress response is associated with those challenging parts of life we would rather avoid…creating increased tension = stress. Move through the challenge – doing so always makes you stronger.
Embrace discomfort and pain as tools of transformation! For our brains to create new neural connections upon which new behaviors might be built we need to reach…really stretch ourselves to the point of discomfort and/or pain. Accept that discomfort and/or pain as the process of transformation, knowing you will be “better” on the other side. Embrace, move through, and emerge stronger and with a higher stress response level.
Get outside your own experience! So often our brains become a closed loop circuit with thoughts just bouncing around inside our heads with no reality check coming from outside of ourselves. Find a trusted individual (a coach, therapist, religious figure often work from a more advantageous perspective than those close to you) you can share those aspects generating a stress response. Then steel yourself and work with them on developing a strategy to identify, engage, and transform those aspects from sources of weakness to strength.

“Stress” is not the external boogeyman we are led to believe! “Stress” is a chosen (and often habitualized) set of responses to life – responses to life we choose!

It’s up to you – follow the sheep and helplessly live a life full of “stress” and the health limiting symptoms listed above, or follow your own “stress resistant” course and identify, engage, and emerge from life adversity with a more higher functioning, higher performing you.

Find out more about Greg here.

How do you handle stress? Please tell us how below.

This program will help boost your career... and earnings!

Coaching In The Workplace

Published in The Executive Coaching University Blog

Thursday, 13 March 2014 14:56

Ready, Fire, Aim!

High performers are not like everyone else. They think about, and do, things differently. One of the ways in which high performers differ is in their audacious willingness to execute…often when others would prefer to remain inactive or fiddle around trying to have the perfect plan before “pulling the trigger.”

Execution for high performers follows a very distinct path. High performers follow the “Ready, Fire, Aim” sequence versus the more socially accepted, and dismally fatally flawed, “Ready, Aim, Fire” approach.

Let’s look at the “Ready, Fire, Aim” sequence more closely to understand why it far out performs the standard “Ready, Aim, Fire.”

READY:

The “READY” stage is exactly what you would imagine it to be. This is the initial step where inspiration ignites into an idea, that idea further aligns with our passion, and we’re off to the planning races. This is where we collect the energy, knowledge, and resources needed to accomplish the initial steps of our grand adventure. At this stage it is imperative that we move through with a solid goal setting process – visualizing the overall goal, and then reverse engineering so we can “chunk” up each step. Without proper “chunking” we will find ourselves adrift after only a couple of “Ready, Fire, Aim” cycles…and we will not reach our goal! So “READY” is all about taking our inspired idea, molding it into an overarching vision, breaking that big picture into small bites through working backwards, and collecting the necessary information/resources to begin the next step – “FIRE.”

FIRE:

Now it’s time to “FIRE” – to take action. This is where we take that very first step you developed in the “READY” phase and put it into practice. Remember, that first step is a synergistic element made of all the knowledge, resources, and inspiration, needed to take this action. None of those elements will likely be perfect - they will never be. So take that small step of action and allow the environment to provide you feedback. Listening to that feedback is what allows the next step, "AIM," to be increasingly effective in getting us closer and closer to our target.

AIM:

Once we have taken the action of putting our initial step developed in the “READY” phase into the environment into which we intend to impact, we will begin to receive feedback from that environment. That feedback (wins/losses, improved times, reviews, criticisms, sales numbers, improving/worsening relationships, etc…) is new inspiration, knowledge, and resources, we then put into our next “READY” cycle. Entering the new data into our calculus allows us to create a new “Ready, Fire, Aim” cycle that allows us to hone in more effectively on our goal than did our first cycle. Each successive cycle gets us closer and closer to accomplishing that overall goal – step by step.

Each of these “Ready, Fire, Aim” sequences then become “chunks” of our overall approach. Each step towards our goal we move through a “Ready, Fire, Aim” cycle specific to that step...and one that builds upon all initiated before. This is how we “zero” in on our target.

High performers utilize this “Ready, Fire, Aim” approach to guard against the common phenomenon of “paralysis by analysis” – essentially trying to get everything “perfect” before taking action…commonly leading to no action at all!

“Ready, Fire, Aim” also allows high performers to operate much more consistently within a reality highly engaged with the environments within which they are “playing.” They are receiving real time feedback from the environment within which the target resides (creating an open feedback loop), not focusing on the often faulty internal feedback system of thier own mind (a closed feedback loop).

One exceptionally important concept to understand with adopting the process of “Ready, Fire, Aim” versus “Ready, Aim, Fire” is that of “failing to succeed” – as in the quickest way to success is through consistent, multiple failures. In current business jargon this is called “failing forward.”

Are you a high performer? Are you willing to fail to succeed? Do you have the courage to operate in a manner in which the masses resist?

You’re reading this blog – so the answer to all those questions is “Of course I am!”

Then get to it!

Find out more about Greg here.

Are you a high performer? Please tell us why below.

This program will help you become an even better peak performer!

Coaching In The Workplace

Published in The Executive Coaching University Blog

Monday, 10 February 2014 18:20

So You Think You're an Executive?

I am often confronted with the question “Why are you sending these blogs to me? I’m not an executive!” from those non-business executives to whom I forward ECU blogs. After all, we are the “Executive Coaching University”, so all our material is targeted only to those seen as business executives, right? Wrong!

In my mind the term “executive” is more adjective than noun – it describes how someone approaches her life rather than who she is and is synonymous with “peak performer”…someone who desires to live life at the highest level possible.