As a Business and Personal Development Coach, I consider time to be the most valuable commodity man has at his disposal.  You can bank money, but you can’t bank time, so you need to be careful how you spend it!

Effective communication, is an essential requirement in the business world, so we need to be certain we get it right.  As a Development Coach, it is essential for me to be an effective communicator, as you buy my time, so getting direct to the point is my style! Some see it as refreshing, as they are more often than not surrounded by ‘Yes’ people and others find it a challenge to begin with, as they are not used to someone being so direct with them.

You can call me the ‘Simon Cowell equivalent of Coaches’, but this needs to be my approach, as my time is precious too and I need to be careful how I spend it!

I reflect back what I hear and see. I am considered to be a compassionate person by all that know me well, therefore, my honest communication is considered my strongest asset and will become yours too, if that is what you wish to accomplish. I must warn you, the requirement is to have a thick skin, as being authentic and true to yourself, requires not seeking others approval and an abundance of Self Belief.

Development = Change

Our business time is valuable and work/life balance in todays society is becoming more and more compromised. Stress is a killer, so we must all learn how to manage ourselves and our time, in order to overcome the biggest threat to people and to business’ during this current economic climate.  Sickness levels are on the increase due to stress. Business’ are losing thousands of pounds productivity every second due to sickness or the so called ‘duvet days’. Stress creates a symptom like that of a can of fizzy drink; if you shake the can consistently, we all know what happens when we pull the tab!!

Time is Money

I do not wish to waste my time or any others by ‘tip toe-in’  around any important communication deficiency I detect. Time management teaches us to prioritise and that includes our communication, as communication is the key to any successful relationship.

So now I have introduced my style to your business people out there, let us get straight to the point and here is my first question to you….

• How do you communicate to others in order to build and sustain relationships?

Communication Skills

Perhaps until now, you may have never reflected upon your style of communication. As you are aware, effective communication is the key to any relationship, be it with colleagues, business partners or more importantly, the customer.

Communication is a skill, which means it is something you have learn’t and therefore, you have role modeled from your early years, namely your parents. We may all wear our business hats, however, our style of relating to others has become a habit, therefore, if you have an ineffective communication style, this may have a major impact on the success of your business and career.

You would of undoubtedly heard of the ‘Dr’s bedside manner’ cliche, or lack of them in some cases, well this is a prime example of how we communicate to others, both verbal or non verbal, affects our Customer Relations.

The Solutions to Effective Communication

Listening skills are something that we all at one time or another, need to improve.

• How often do your feel listened too?
• How often do you actively listen to others, without interruption, interpretation or making assumptions?
• Do you question others communication, if you do not understand?

Listening Skills Exercise

Allow someone to speak to you, without saying a word. Simply listen to them without judgement, for as long as it takes for them to speak and then reflect back to them all that you heard and understood for clarification purposes.

I have asked many clients to undergo this exercise with another, taking it in turns to allow each other to speak for two minutes and the other to listen and reflect back verbatim what they heard. The feedback from them was as follows:-

The Listener

• How difficult they found it to listen and not to interrupt or respond, or make interpretations or assumptions.

Essentially, you have to just listen, therefore, you can not think because you are listening hard in order to reflect back verbatim.

The Speaker

• How difficult they found it just speaking for two minutes, as they were not used to being totally listened to.
• How empowered they felt after the verbatim reflection, having been listened too and understood.

The Freedom of Speech

The freedom to express ourselves, is something we are given as a human right and the right to be heard is a profound development tool. Customers need to be heard, we all need to be heard and understood, it is essential that we hear the needs of others, more importantly, the Customer.

We as human beings need to communicate, as it is essential for our wellbeing. Stress is more often than not, a direct cause of miscommunication or not being heard and understood, along with the inability to communicate effectively with Confidence.  We have evolved into communicators, we no longer beat our chests or grunt!

Communication Coaching

As a Coach, it is important for me to empower people, which is something I am extremely passionate about. Communication is empowering and as we are the only species that use words, we need to ensure we use this privilege wisely. I believe we need to select our words with due care and consideration for others, in order to build and sustain effective business and personal relationships.

Change

For those of you who have followed my blogs, you will recognise how much emphasis I place on Change. Change is inevitable; my metaphor for change is ‘like a worn out pair of ‘old faithful’ comfortable slippers you are reluctant to throw away, its time to go buy yourself a new pair, when they start falling apart and smelling!

Comfort Zones

We all have communication comfort zones, which we believe are comfortable, but if you actually take time to reflect, you will notice they are actually not comfortable at all. More often than not, they are actually a hinderance that is preventing you from developing your business from becoming  one of the most successful business’ in your skill set.

Let us not forget – its good to talk but more importantly, it is just as important to listen to the needs of others, namely the Customer!

http://joyandrewsbusinesscoaching.co.uk/

This is the most common response that clients give me when I ask how things are going at work. With so many redundancies, people feel grateful to still be in gainful employment and relieved that it’s their salary rather than savings that will feed the family and pay the school fees for another month.

The problem with feeling grateful, whether it’s towards an employer or the markets at large, is that it can leave you feeling trapped and powerless.  Any plans you had to advance your career, change role, start a new business venture or move house have been put on hold, and when our power to make decisions for ourselves has been diminished, dissatisfaction and unhappiness are sure to follow..

And it’s not just your work life that suffers; the reverberations can be felt in your relationships and your health. Even if you still enjoy the content of your work, the fear of loss of income or lack of flexibility tends to reduce your motivation levels. Professional insecurity leads to low personal morale which in turn does nothing to improve the atmosphere in the workplace or the faith of the people you manage. Whether you are aware of it or not, it’s your own sense of vulnerability which will prevent you from progressing in these volatile times.

As with most situations that are out of your direct control, the best course of action is to change your attitude towards them. Adapting your mindset won’t fix the situation but it will make you feel like choices, and thus power, are still yours.

Here are a few tips on how to regain control and feel the reins firmly in your hands again:

Act as if: Work as if you think this year will bring you the largest financial bonus of your career….after all, it may be a reality as soon as next year. There is a fine line separating constructive optimism and blind delusion. Use your common sense – you know the difference. Draw that fine line and decide to tread on the right side of it. You know the risks involved, you are happy to take them. Conviction is key.

Fight the fear:  If you want to move job roles – ask if you can. It’s business as usual. The fear isn’t real – its just in your head. Still being engaged in your career progression will help you feel in control and show Management that you haven’t tuned out and you won’t accept excuses. You’re displaying personal traits of confidence and resolve – the traits of a true leader. By taking action and leading you feel more in control, positive and powerful.

Know your market value: There may not be much movement in the job market but firms are still hiring, especially for more senior positions. Making some enquiries will at least let you know your current worth, help you gauge what your next move might be and identify the skill gaps that you should be working on now. It will help you and others reassert your conviction to the job at hand. Opportunity never disappears, it’s form merely changes over time. Not everyone can see this. You can.

Have a life: Easier to say than do when you have picked up the workload of everyone who’s departed over the last few months, but spending time with friends and family doing sport and relaxing will all help you cope better with the stress in the long run. Striking the right work/life balance should never become secondary. Your life engagements need to be prioritised correctly much like your work one’s are. An unhappy personal life will ultimately reflect on the quality of your work.

Now is the perfect time to stop feeling grateful but trapped and start recognising the opportunities and the power you really have.

About Jo Geraghty

Jo Geraghty is managing Director of “Beyond the Ladder” and is one of the UK’s leading coaches for executives and entrepreneurs. Her clients are either current or past employees of large US or European corporations. Some are looking to climb the ladder still further, others want a better work/life balance and many have branched out on their own and now run successful businesses.

Jo has over 14 years experience working for US investment banks in a variety of roles from FX trading to Client Relationship Services and HR Management and was formerly head of HR for Goldman Sachs France and Switzerland.

A simple exercise for anyone to try, regardless of your role, qualifications or circumstance revolves around self-coaching.

Take time to reflect on the big picture, and where you stand in it.  Try to identify the beliefs and assumptions, social, cultural and religious conditioning that drive you or perhaps make you feel guilty.  If you could remove these burdens from your shoulders, imagine your continuing journey through life, take only those that you still value.

On a piece of paper list those things that you truly value.  Recall times in your past when you felt really passionate about what you were doing.  Ask yourself ‘what am I good at?’ and list your skills.

Then write on paper the names of one or two people whom you really admire and then list the qualities of each of them that evoke your admiration.

Lastly, review and reflect on these lists and search for the common ground between then.  This will indicate to you what you value as important and may in turn suggest a more meaningful, more purposeful direction for your life.  It may help you to bring these qualities into your work and business and so enable you to enjoy your role more.

If you would like a little more structure with your self-coaching then why not explore the revolutionary interactive self-coaching platform.  To take full advantage why not start by trying the FREE  “My Life Mapping Session” by clicking on the butterfly button, then try the FREE “Getting Started Tour” in the catalogue.

Carole Davidson is an Executive Business Coach & Mentor

It is estimated that we each have over 65,000 thoughts everyday.  That’s 65,000 opportunities to influence ourselves and the world we live in in a positive way.

In these uncertain times it is important that we take time out of our busy schedules to relax.  In order to free our minds of obstacles we need to know how to relax it.

Relax the mind
You don’t need to lie on a couch with your eyes closed to be able to relax the mind.  You do however, need to pay attention to the here and now and not allow your thoughts to wander off.  This does take practice.  You may be surprised at how frequently you find your mind ‘drifting’ into other thoughts.  Concentration is about giving our undivided attention to the present moment.

Slow your breathing
Pay attention to your breathing pattern, take a long, slow easy breath in, hold it for a few seconds, then a long, slow, easy breath out.  This will start to slow your heat rate and aid concentration.

Balance
Find your centre of balance, it is usually in the abdomen, feel the weight from your head and shoulders and your breathing, which is now paced and slow, move down to your abdomen.  Shift your concentration to this area until you feel centred.

We need to help ourselves through the daily challenges and take care of our health if we are to prosper in business.

Carole Davidson is a business coach & mentor who supports managers in achieving their business goals.

What better way to relax and relieve the stress and pressure of work than booking a cruise holiday?

With the uncertainty in these difficult economic times it is essential that we maintain the health and fitness of our employees to effectively promote the business.  Many employees are working longer hours to sustain the business.  How then do we recognise the stress of our employees or colleagues?

Can workplace stress be defined?

We hear a lot about stress but do we really know what it is?  The dictionary definition is ‘mental or emotional tension, strain’.  In some cases stress can be seen as a positive challenge to raise performance to achieve a goal such as deadlines or a target.  We see signs of stress when the pressure becomes too much, bringing on feelings of negativity and any satisfaction turns to exhaustion and frustration.

What are the symptoms of stress?

Symptoms can include aggressive behaviour, irritability, anti-social feelings, suppressed anger and problems with concentration and or sleeping.  Other telltale signs include eating too much or too little, suffering from repeated illness, drinking or smoking too much and watching too much television.

It is a good idea to carry out a stress risk assessment in the same way other workplace risks are assessed to achieve acceptable stress levels.  The Health & Safety Executive advices applying the stress ‘management standard’ for six possible sources of stress:

Demand
Control
Support
Role
Relationship
Change

Preparation:

•    Gain commitment from all senior managers in the organisation
•    Select a pilot group
•    Define current state of the organisation against management standards
•    Feedback the results

Second session:

•    Define problem areas
•    Consultation
•    Consult with employees to confirm the nature of the problem and agree what action will be taken and when
•    Take Action
•    Put in place the agreed actions

Review:

•    review the results of the actions
•    refine them if necessary
•    deal with issues that have arisen

Having open and honest lines of communication where employees feel they can free acknowledge that they are under stress without fear of retribution can go some way to alleviating the problem.

Business Coaching with Carole Davidson Coaching