Coaching

The Powerful Partnerships Coaching Program^tm

People have often wondered, why do I need a coach? Shouldn’t I be able to figure out how to improve my business and my life without anyone’s help? These are good questions. Coaching is not for everyone. If you are truly satisfied with where you are heading and how fast you are getting there, you shouldn’t hire one.

The reason that so many business owners and athletes, performers and others hire coaches is because they want to reach their goals faster than they would on their own.

One of things that slows leaders of organizations down in accomplishing their goals and fulfilling their vision is something called the signal-to-noise ratio. For many years now, FM radios have been equipped with electronic tuning mechanisms that make sure the radio stays tuned to the exact broadcasting frequency for the clearest reception. We’ve come to expect this from radios as well as from television. Before electronic tuning, however, the reception was often erratic and sometimes poor. This is because, in addition to the radio signal, people also picked up a lot of extraneous noise that diminished the overall enjoyment of the radio program. They had to make constant tuning adjustments to increase the signal-to-noise ratio.

In companies, the signal is the clear message you want to convey to your customers, your employees, your colleagues and the world. The noise is made up of all the extraneous messages, the breakdowns, the do-overs, the miscommunications, the wrong person hired, the office politics, the upsets, the time wasters that leaders hate to get drawn into.

One of the results produced by the The Powerful Partnerships Coaching Program^tm is an improvement in this signal-to-noise ratio. As you become clearer about who you really are, what you really want and what your strengths and gifts are, you start sending a strong unified message. Your intentions are clear and all of your company’s actions are in alignment with your vision and your values. This is where coaching pays off.

To use another metaphor, some of my clients complain of feeling as if their company is going down the road with two wheels on the highway and two wheels on the shoulder. While they are moving forward, they are also aware of a rumbling bumpy ride and trying to hold the steering wheel steady becomes exhausting over time. Again, coaching can help you smooth out the bumpy ride and put you in touch with your true power as a leader to move your company forward.  You can get all four wheels on the highway and go, unobstructed, toward your goals.

As the signal-to-noise ratio improves over time, you’ll find that excellence requires less effort than before. This is a sign of how powerful you really are and how far you’ve come as a leader.

How Jim Engages with Coaching Clients–What You Can Expect.

The most important relationship in the coaching process is the one between the coach and the head of the company or division. This could be the head of marketing, the COO or any senior level manager. The greatest impact on the company however, happens when Jim gets to work with the CEO. Even subtle changes at that level have an almost immediate effect throughout the organization.

1. One-On-One. In the first few encounters and throughout the engagement, Jim works closely one-on-one with the executive to help him or her determine their vision for the company and for their lives. He pays particular attention at first to the thoughts that “keep you up at night.”  Jim’s unique gift is his ability to slip into someone else’s seat for few seconds and actually feel what if feels like to be the other person. He later recreates for the client what that experience was like. They feel understood and acknowledged at a powerful level which frees them up to start making better choices about their life and their company.  Through coaching, the executive is able to align his behavior, his attitude and his communication with his vision for the company so that there is a unified message throughout the organization.

2. Interviews With the Staff. Soon after the first few conversations, Jim interviews key people in the company. These interviews are not limited to management. They also include line workers and customers and/or vendors where appropriate. From these interviews he gleans a sense of the command climate, the operating tempo and the overall culture. Of particular interest are the stories that employees tell themselves about the company and about management.

3. Management Team Aligns with the Company’s Vision and Values. Depending on the type and size of the client, Jim helps in the formation or development of a first rate management team which comes to embody the values, commitments and vision of the owner. Where appropriate, he may facilitate meetings and/or coach upper level management in how to get the most from everyone there.

4. Disengagement with the Management Team. As the team becomes stronger and more productive, Jim pulls back from his previous level of participation. He still meets one-on-one by phone or in person with the owner or senior manager but less frequently than at the beginning.

5. Re-Interview. Jim conducts a second set of interviews with members of the team and the staff to determine progress, changes in attitude and morale and beliefs about the corporation.

6. Reassessment. Jim gives his feedback from the interviews to the owner or senior manager. They examine the productivity and profitability of the company since the coaching began and assess the need for ongoing support services at that time.