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Are you suffering from inbox chaos? Why would you want to achieve Inbox Zero? Can you imagine what it would be like to open your inbox each morning with a small and manageable number of emails to address? Inbox Zero is that by the end of the day it is empty, everything dealt with and that wonderful feeling of satisfaction it will bring. A feeling you have taken back control.
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When you are looking for the right coach, there is something important to consider. When you need support, whether it is for a flat tyre, to buy a special outfit, help for a worrying health condition, or if you want some coaching/therapy, I think it is safe to say we all want quick results. But I think the point is that we want ‘quick’ and we want ‘results’. But can we have them both?
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As we enter a new year, most of us will have thoughts about what it will take to make it a success. We will doubtless make huge commitments to ourselves and our businesses to make it a good year. But it’s stressful being successful. My A-HEAD for Success 5 Dimensional Coaching ® program is designed to make it less so. In this article I wanted to share with you the 5 Dimensions and then in future articles I will go into them in more detail.
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Coaching is a wonderful tool for those who care about getting results with more ease: it helps you achieve your goals by creating practical action plans, using tools and techniques to help achieve them and helping you to build skills to facilitate the change you seek.
Integrative Coaching does the same but it goes deeper, if required. Because sometimes there is a reason that goal achievement is elusive, or perhaps challenging. Integrative Coaching looks at what is blocking you. Unless the blocks are removed, problems will recur, especially in times of challenge. Integrative Coaching, a more sustainable approach, will look at the psychological blocks, the biological ones (tired all the time is a common factor), the emotional ones (stress and anxiety for example) plus more.
Author Philippe Rosinski says it is “… a holistic approach that calls upon multiple interconnected perspectives to facilitate the unleashing of human potential towards meaningful pursuits … from the physical to the spiritual.” In the A-HEAD for Success terms, spiritual is all about purpose and meaning. When you are aware of and completely aligned to that, everything else becomes easier and clearer.
Integrative Coaching is at the forefront of The A-HEAD for Success 5D Coaching Model ™ which helps provide three levels of integrative coaching through the 5 Dimensions (Clarity, Skillset, Mindset, Stress-Resilience, Health and Energy). Of course we only work at the level of need but the process helps identify the need which is different for everyone.
Conventional coaching tends to be somewhat formulaic and will not always address the finer details which can so impact on us. Integrative Coaching helps address the complexity of what it means to be a functioning person in a dynamic world.
Want to know how it might help you? Call me, Tricia Woolfrey, on 0345 130 0854 to find out more. Calls are no-obligation and completely confidential.
© Tricia Woolfrey
We all know that it’s tougher now than it’s ever been with more demands and fewer resources and with competition stronger* than it’s ever been.
This means that those at the top, under pressure to achieve, have bigger and bigger expectations of those they manage. If they don’t they’ll be out on their ear with the mortgage to pay and food to put on the table.
This in turn often means that people may be given more responsibility than their skills are equipped for. But if you too are in fear of losing your job, you just keep on keeping on, feeling less and less confident, with your results not matching your own expectations, never mind anyone else’s.
Now, if that doesn’t cause stress, I don’t know what does.
But what to do about it? It’s not the easiest one to manage but here are some ideas:
I hope this article has given you some options about bridging the gap between your role and your skills. As always, if you would like further help – whether it is identifying the skills you need or helping you build them – do feel free to call me on 0834 130 0854. You’ll be glad you did.
*By stronger I mean more prolific. Everyone has a similar struggle so it’s how you deal with it that really matters.
In a world of such complexity, competitiveness and relentless change, it can be tough just staying where you are. Blue Monday is said to be the most depressing date of the year. As well as the factors I have already mentioned, the cold weather, post-Christmas debt and failure to stick to New Year Resolutions can all lead to a significant drop in motivation and mood. The wish for things to be different are matched only by a lack of energy or ability to make it happen.
I recently watched a TED Talk which was about coaching called ‘Want to Get Good at Something? Get a Coach’. The speaker talks about how it was used to save lives in the third world and it got me thinking about all the ways that coaching can help people like you.
It is Ken Blanchard who said that feedback is the breakfast of champions. But it always seems so stressful. Whether you’re giving it or receiving it, few people are comfortable around it. It has got to the point where organisations are questioning the validity of appraisals and one company, GE, are calling feedback Insights so people feel less antsy about it. Why?
I usually write about performance, productivity and stress-resilience. This article will cover the thorny subject of Denial which is a cousin to each of those.
The political turmoil at the moment has been cursed with so many twists and turns, accusations, affirmations and resignations that is has been hard to keep up. At a time of deep unrest, what has been needed is an honest and unbiased assessment of the situation so that stability and a clear way forward can be restored.
This is true in business too – and in our personal lives for that matter. In an excellent TED Talk, Julia Galef introduced the subject of Motivated Reasoning which she labels The Soldier Mindset. In this, an individual will be motivated to defend their ideas, or attack the ideas of opponents. Why shouldn’t we do that? Because in blindly doing so, we don’t get an accurate picture of reality, we so doggedly stick to our position, that may take us down a path that results in regret, failure, or even disaster.
As an example, last week The Chilcot Enquiry concluded that the Iraq invasion was illegal, resulting in many needless deaths. Tony Blair insisted he was not at fault, despite all the evidence to the contrary. It would seem that his motivation was to forge strong links with the US, saying “I will be with you whatever.” And so, he was.
Professor of Criminology, David Wilson, has called him ‘deluded’ and much worse*. Whatever your thoughts on the subject of politics, the inability to see things in their true perspective can have devastating consequences. Denial is a coping strategy to block out the uncomfortable truth. In the case of Blair, he downplayed his actions to make them palatable to the wider world. I think we all have a tendency to do that, but the consequences can be detrimental.
Continue readingThey say that all the best people get support to get them to the top and to keep them there. It is a sign of vision, strength, and drive to want to take your performance and productivity seriously enough to invest in yourself and your business in this way. But how do you know what kind of support you need?
We are all made up of strengths and weaknesses, undiscovered potential and blind spots. Your best strategy for success is to exploit your strengths, uncover hidden skills (we all have them), open your eyes to your blind spots (we all have those too) and start working on these – and your weaknesses – to make sure they do not become your derailers.
Your biggest enemy in addressing any limitations is denial. If you want to have success, your best friend is your willingness to be open to discovering weaknesses and to work on them.
As the title of this article suggests – you are only as strong as your weakest link. Doing whatever it takes to mitigate against these is good insurance for the future and it will give you a sense of progress and achievement too. It may mean working on yourself (it’s much easier with the support of a good coach) or hiring in talent to make up for any shortfall. All the best teams, according to the principles of Belbin Team Roles require a variety of attributes to achieve success.
Belbin has nine team roles from Shaper (takes the business forward, creating strategy) to Completer Finisher (who puts the strategy into action). One cannot exist fruitfully without the others, otherwise the team is out of balance. Whether you are working on your own or with a team, the same principle applies.
In the 5 Pillars of Success, I look at the dimensions which help to make you successful:
1. ClarityAnd what weaknesses are there in your business? Do you have the skills, processes and systems in place to run the business effectively and profitably? Do you have a good quality team, performing well and working well together? Are you able to acquire and retain customers who pay well and are happy with your service or product? And are you able to meet your financial targets and obligations?
Remember that no one person can know it all, do it all and be it all. Perfection is not a human condition but it is a destination, one you can travel on your journey of self-development and business improvement.
What one area could you improve which would have the biggest impact for you? If you focus on one thing at a time then you will not risk dropping any of the many balls you are juggling and it is easier to integrate the change.
Why not book an assessment to see where you can best focus your efforts to create the best value? Call me on 0845 130 0854 to discuss your options.
© Tricia Woolfrey 2013
About Tricia Woolfrey – click HERE to find out about the author.
