As another school year winds down and we begin to plan our summer vacations, many of you will likely look for those light, easy, beach reads that will allow you to escape into another world. This year my book club has enjoyed some fascinating escapes with our selections. We’ve traveled to the race track with Seabiscuit and to Russia with Catherine the Great (definitely not an easy, breezy book, but so interesting nonetheless). And then I talked them into reading a contemporary business book Read more [...]

Here was a recent headline that caught my eye, “Record Number of Women in Congress Out to Change Tone.” Anything about women and leadership always seems to catch my eye. For many of us, we are looking for those female role models who can show us the way up the corporate ladder or show us how to build a successful business while still maintaining our sanity and a home life. Here are a few nuggets I found while researching this article: That record number of women in Congress includes 78 women Read more [...]

This time of year provides an opportunity to assess where we are in life and to decide if we’re happy with our direction or need a course correction, which can be a good time to call in a coach. Let’s look at scenarios when a coach could be helpful. Two kinds of “fresh start” coaching cropped up a lot in my business last fall: 1. Women turning 50 looking for a new direction 2. On-boarding coaching in organizations WOMEN TURNING 50 In looking at the first group, for many women Read more [...]

See if this story sounds like anyone in your life. An executive of a small organization works all the time — days, evenings, whenever an idea pops into her head. She postponed her knee surgery a couple times because she was too busy, but finally the pain was too much and she had to go in. That evening following her surgery, she sent her staff an email to let them know she was woozy, but all went well. And then proceeded to start dispensing tasks to her team. Staff members report receiving emails Read more [...]

See if this story sounds like anyone in your life. An executive of a small organization works all the time — days, evenings, whenever an idea pops into her head. She postponed her knee surgery a couple times because she was too busy, but finally the pain was too much and she had to go in. That evening following her surgery, she sent her staff an email to let them know she was woozy, but all went well. And then proceeded to start dispensing tasks to her team. Staff members report receiving emails Read more [...]

For the past five years I’ve managed a corporate mentor program for new sales trainees of a large engineering company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Each summer our kick-off training is a day of high-energy skill development and fun. We discuss (and practice) the cornerstone of several mentor models — listening. I teach the mentors coaching skills while my training partner works on career development with the mentees. And we learn about the tendencies and motivations of the four generations Read more [...]

One evening as I was breathing a sigh of relief at having made it to the gas station before the fumes ran out, I recalled an idea from Master Coach Thomas Leonard — building a Super Reserve. Why was I waiting until the stressful low gas light came on before filling up? Why not start the habit of filling up when the gas tank was at half full? Wouldn’t this be an easier, calmer way to live. Building a Super Reserve is one of the many practical chapters in Leonard’s book, The Portable Coach.He Read more [...]

A recurring theme lately in my coaching business has been helping clients deal with what seems to be urgent. With the constant bombardment of news, social media, texts, etc., we have become a bit addicted to the facepaced, now-now-now obligations. This can make everything seem urgent. Recently I met with a former client, Karen, who was once a CEO of a small organization and has since transitioned out of that role into developing her own successful consulting business. Karen was able to capitalize Read more [...]

As we say goodbye to winter this month (hopefully!), our thoughts turn eagerly to spring. And with the beginning of spring, some of us feel the urge to do a little spring cleaning. This month I offer you the coaching version of spring cleaning — reducing your tolerations. “Tolerations” was a word that cropped up early in the coaching world thanks to one of the profession’s pioneers, the late Thomas Leonard. In his seminal book, The Portable Coach: 28 Surefire Strategies for Business and Read more [...]

As we begin another new year with new goals (or recycled ones), people are eager to make those lasting changes once and for all.  To find a new career direction, to awaken their passion, to purposefully live their values.  And although it is vital to have solid goals to reach these new milestones, it may be more beneficial to take a step back and take the long-view of your past to create the new view of your future. For my coaching clients who have created fresh starts, I started by asking simple, Read more [...]

In my coaching business, one of the tools I frequently assign as homework for clients trying to get “unstuck” and to shift their energy is a Gratitude Journal. It made sense to me that if I could get clients to notice more of what was going right instead of where they were getting stopped, little bits of happiness would start to seep into their lives. And I saw it work. One client, Rob, had been unemployed for a year and a half and was beyond discouraged. I suggested the Gratitude Journal. He Read more [...]

As another school year begins, September is the perfect time to take a look at your own learning and development. What have you undertaken this year to increase your knowledge, to expand your network or to develop new skills? What will you plan for 2012? In my view, part of being a good coach is sharing helpful resources such as books, programs and contacts with my clients. Here are three resources to consider as you plan for your professional development: The Institute for Leadership Fitness Read more [...]