San Francisco Bay Area Executive Coaching

Leading Change - Engaging in Fierce Conversations

Leading Change

I recently led a couple of workshops on emotional intelligence and assertive communication for some of my San Francisco Bay Area clients. One of the HR Directors asked me if I could write up some of the techniques and tools we covered in my “Emotionally Intelligent Conversations” workshop.

The following are some tips you can use for better conversations at work, particularly difficult conversations that have to deal with conflict or lack of trust. I often suggest these ideas when coaching clients who are having trust issues and in conflict with each other, and clients have found them to be very powerful and effective. The following are some proven ideas to engage in fierce, assertive, and emotionally intelligent conversations.

Fierce Conversations

In her two books, Fierce Conversations and Fierce Leadership, training and development consultant Susan Scott explains that the word “fierce” doesn’t imply menace, cruelty or threats. In Roget’s Thesaurus, the word fierce is associated with the following synonyms: robust, intense, strong, powerful, passionate, eager, unbridled, uncurbed and untamed.

 “The simplest definition of a fierce conversation is one in which we come out from behind ourselves, into the conversation, and make it real,” Scott writes.

Some people, however, are intimidated by the idea of talking about what’s real because it requires raw honesty and vulnerability. Sure, real conversations can be scary. But in reality, unreal conversations should be scaring us to death because they never address what needs to be said, cost organizations untold fortunes and limit individuals’ career advancement.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide interpersonal communication skills and leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their communication skills? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence competence.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I talk about what’s real and come out from behind my mask when engaged in meaningful conversations ?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and communications skills training for leaders who want to have fierce conversations and be fully engaged at work.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you create an organizational culture where the ability to communicate and collaborate with people through having fierce conversations is a critical competency for leaders. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

How to Lead Change - Leading Change One Conversation at a Time

Leading Change One Conversation at a Time

I recently led several workshops on emotional intelligence and assertive communication for some of my San Francisco Bay Area clients. One of the HR Directors asked me if I could write up some of the techniques and tools we covered in my “Emotionally Intelligent Conversations” workshop.

The following are some tips you can use for better conversations at work, particularly difficult conversations or conversations that have to deal with conflict. I often suggest these ideas when coaching clients who are having trust issues and in conflict with each other, and clients have found them to be very powerful and effective. The following are some proven ideas to hold fierce, assertive, and emotionally intelligent conversations.

“No one has to change; everyone has to have the conversation.” —David Whyte

Business is fundamentally an extended conversation. Whether you’re speaking with your boss, team members, colleagues or direct reports, conversations shape what gets done.

The quality of your conversations matters most, providing either:
•  Clarity or confusion
•  Collaboration or competition
•  Inspiration or resistance
•  Profound connection or disengaged boredom

As a leader, you must engineer conversations to foster clarity, cooperation, creativity and a connection to company values.

Too often, we let our results-driven culture provide words that render conversations stale and lifeless. We speak in terms of measurable goals, key economic indicators, cash-flow projections, action plans, and process and procedure.

We speak rapidly, using jargon, throwing out the latest buzzwords as though one or two key phrases will suffice. True conversations are replaced by quick interactions, where two people deliver words as fast as possible, and in only one direction. We’re suffering from a lack of genuine inquiry into what other people are thinking, and we lose opportunities to explore differing perspectives.

Sadly, the quality of many work conversations borders on mediocrity and/or boredom. Meaning and connection tend to be reserved for personal conversations.

Quality work conversations require:
1. Intelligence and passion
2. Personal and universal connections
3. Use of strong, authentic and emotional words

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide career and leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders improve their communication skills? Leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence competence.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I inspire people at work by engaging them in deep powerful conversations?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and career development for leaders who want to maximize their career mojo and be fully engaged at work.

Working with a seasoned executive coach and leadership consultant trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i CPI 260 and Denison Culture Survey can help you create an organizational culture where the ability to communicate and collaborate with people through having fierce conversations is a critical competency for leaders. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

About Dr. Maynard Brusman

Dr. Maynard Brusman is a consulting psychologist and executive coach. He is the president of Working Resources, a leadership consulting and executive coaching firm. We specialize in helping San Francisco Bay Area companies and law firms assess, select, coach, and retain emotionally intelligent leaders.  Maynard is a highly sought-after speaker and workshop leader. He facilitates leadership retreats in Northern California and Costa Rica. The Society for Advancement of Consulting (SAC) awarded Dr. Maynard Brusman "Board Approved" designations in the specialties of Executive Coaching and Leadership Development.

For more information, please go to http://www.workingresources.com, write to [email protected], or call 415-546-1252.
Subscribe to Working Resources Newsletter: http://www.workingresources.com
Visit Maynard's Blog: http://www.workingresourcesblog.com 
Connect with me on these Social Media sites.
http://twitter.com/drbrusman
http://www.facebook.com/maynardbrusman
http://www.linkedin.com/in/maynardbrusman
http://www.youtube.com/user/maynardbrusman

7 Career Mistakes That Turn Your Mojo into Nojo – Mojo Recuperation

7 Career Mistakes That Turn Your Mojo into Nojo

I recently was contacted by the Human Resources Director of a professional service firm in the Silicon Valley. She was interested in me speaking on career mojo and employee engagement at a leadership retreat in Northern California. She specifically wanted to know how I worked with coaching clients and organizations to unleash employees’ intrinsic motivation, and enhance their career development and engagement.

The HR Director and I spoke about my approach to executive/career coaching, and the factors that can tap into employees’ mojo or positive spirit. We also spoke about the Gallup organization’s findings on employee engagement.  Employee engagement has been at an historic low level. Company leaders need to tap into workers’ inherent motivation and creative drive to boost the number of actively engaged employees from the paltry 33 percent reported by the Gallup Organization.”

People want work that is aligned with their intrinsic motivation seeking mastery, autonomy, purpose and self-direction. Employees want their work to be meaningful in order to be happy and fully engaged. However, a number of people make career mistakes that jeopardize their career success. Forward thinking leaders provide resources and support to help their people make the right career decisions.

The Human Resource Director is interested in me speaking at a workshop about my executive/career clients that have created meaningful work and are resilient and happy. She also wanted me to address how company leaders could regain their mojo, and stay engaged if they had slipped into nojo and become disengaged. We further discussed how organizational leaders can benefit by working with an executive/career coach to enhance their career satisfaction and productivity.

In Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith lists seven common career mistakes.

Common Career Mistakes

Goldsmith lists seven professional mistakes that contribute to career failures in otherwise competent, successful and smart people:
1.  Over-committing
2.  Waiting for the Facts to Change
3.  Looking for Logic in All the Wrong Places
4.  Bashing the Boss
5.  Refusing to Change Because of “Sunk Costs”
6.  Confusing the Mode You’re in
7.  Maintaining Pointless Arguments
a.  Let me keep talking.
 I had it rougher than you.
b.  Why did you do that?
c.  It’s not fair.
As you think about these potential pitfalls, try to pinpoint the ones to which you’re predisposed. 

Leadership Feedback

I am the executive coach and trusted advisor to the CEO of a Silicon Valley professional services firm. The CEO as well as members of his senior leadership team all completed an emotional intelligence-based multi-rater 360 – degree feedback process.

The 360 feedback surveys indicated that the CEO and his senior leadership members were unconsciously modeling many of the mojo killing behaviors adversely effecting firm morale. The CEO is holding himself and his leadership team accountable to get better.

The firm’s senior leaders and I are working on their mojo recuperation.  Every firm leader has a feedback team that provides positive feedback when the leader models mojo energizing behavior, and holds the leader accountable for lapses into nojo.

Executive Coaching helps with measurement of desired behaviors and follow-up. Employees have commented on observing significant improvements in their leadership and a more positive workplace culture.

Mojo Recuperation

What can you do when you recognize these behaviors in yourself?

It’s easy to say, “OK, guess I’ll stop doing that.” It's harder to maintain progress whenever you seek lasting behavior change.

Someone once asked Goldsmith, “Does anyone ever really change?” After surveying 86,000 former clients and, later on, more than 250,000 respondents from his leadership development seminars, his conclusion is unequivocal:

“Very few people achieve positive, lasting change without ongoing follow-up. Unless they know at the end of the day (or week or month) that someone is going to measure if they’re doing what they promised to do, most people fall prey to inertia.”

The key words in Goldsmith’s statement are “measure” and “follow-up.” Because very few people can succeed alone with self-help efforts, many seek assistance from a mentor or executive coach.

Always remember that your competition continually responds to a changing business environment by working longer and harder. This means mojo is not an option; it’s a career differentiator. You need it to separate yourself from the throng — and your personal spirit will ultimately thank you.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide career and leadership development for company leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders sustain their career mojo? During challenging economic times, leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills as part of overall career development.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I recognize any of these mojo killing patterns in myself?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and career development for leaders who want to maximize their career mojo and be fully engaged at work.

Working with a seasoned executive/career coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I and Denison Culture Survey can help your people tap into their intrinsic motivation and create happy companies where people love to work. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

7 Common Career Mistakes – Maintaining Pointless Arguments

I recently was contacted by the Human Resources Director of a San Francisco Bay Area law firm. She was interested in me speaking on career mojo and employee engagement at their leadership retreat in Northern California. She specifically wanted to know how I worked with executive coaching clients and law firms to unleash employees’ intrinsic motivation, and enhance their career development and engagement.

The HR Director and I spoke about my approach to executive/career coaching, and the factors that can tap into employees’ mojo or positive spirit. We also spoke about the Gallup organization’s findings on employee engagement.  Employee engagement has been at an historic low level. Organizational leaders need to tap into peoples’ inherent motivation and creative drive to boost the number of actively engaged employees from the paltry 33 percent reported by the Gallup Organization.”

People want work that is aligned with their intrinsic motivation seeking mastery, autonomy, purpose and self-direction. Employees want their work to be meaningful in order to be happy and fully engaged. However, a number of people make career mistakes that jeopardize their career success. Inspiring leaders provide resources and support to help their people make the right career decisions.

The Human Resource Director is interested in me speaking at a workshop about how my leadership coaching clients that have created meaningful work and are resilient and happy. She also wanted me to address how firm leaders could regain their mojo, and stay engaged if they had slipped into nojo and become disengaged. We further discussed how organizational leaders can benefit by working with an executive/career coach to enhance their career satisfaction and productivity.

In Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith lists seven common career mistakes.

Common Career Mistakes

Goldsmith lists seven professional mistakes that contribute to career failures in otherwise competent, successful and smart people:

1. Over-committing
2. Waiting for the Facts to Change
3. Looking for Logic in All the Wrong Places
4. Bashing the Boss
5. Refusing to Change Because of “Sunk Costs”
6. Confusing the Mode You’re in
7. Maintaining Pointless Arguments
a. Let me keep talking.
 I had it rougher than you.
b. Why did you do that?

c. It’s not fair.

As you think about these potential pitfalls, try to pinpoint the ones to which you’re predisposed.  I will focus on the seventh career mistake in this seven part article series.

I am the executive coach for the managing partner of a San Francisco law firm. The managing partner’s competency-based 360 feedback survey indicated that he needs to improve his listening skills and be less argumentative with members of the firm’s leadership team. I have been doing a lot of training in emotional intelligence for the law firm.

The managing partner and I are working on improving his self-awareness and listening skills. He tends to talk a lot and convince everyone that he is right. He has a “big ego” which inhibits his effectiveness as a leader. Coaching has helped him learn to decrease his need to be right, and be more collaborative with the firm partners. He has learned to stop maintaining pointless arguments to stroke his ego.

7. Maintaining Pointless Arguments

Arguing happens anytime you put a group of intelligent, successful people into a room and give them a problem to solve. It also happens simply because people have egos, and it’s human nature to compete with other members of the tribe.

Arguing can put our mojo at risk by needlessly creating enemies instead of allies. Many arguments are traps in which we fight to improve our status among the tribe, rather than to solve a problem for the greater good.

Learn to avoid the following argument traps that do nothing more than zap your spirit:

a.  Let me keep talking: Everyone has opinions and enjoys expressing them. In fact, we feel it’s our right to do so. Sometimes, however, we just can’t stop; we have to have the last word. It can be very hard for smart people to “just let it go.”

b. I had it rougher than you: When we revel in how poor we were and how much we had to overcome to achieve our current station in life, all we’re doing is trying to elicit other people’s admiration. What’s the point?

c. Why did you do that? We’ll never know people’s true motivations. We can speculate with generosity or paranoia, but we never may get a completely frank answer. Why waste hours trying to get to the bottom of why people do things? It will only exhaust your mojo.

d. It’s not fair: You disagree with a decision that has been made. Worse, you believe you haven’t been given a legitimate explanation. Arguing won’t change the outcome and makes you look childish. Deal with it. Save your precious mojo.

These four “losing” arguments have the same end result: no change in outcome. Look for ways to make your point, and then move on, with your mojo intact.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide career and leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders sustain their career mojo? During challenging economic times, leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills as part of overall career development.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I willing to stop maintaining pointless arguments to massage my ego?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and career development for leaders who want to maximize their career mojo and be fully engaged at work.

Working with an experienced executive/career coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I and Denison Culture Survey can help your people tap into their intrinsic motivation and create happy companies where people love to work. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

7 Common Career Mistakes – Confusing the Mode You’re in

I recently was contacted by the Human Resources Director of a high-tech Silicon Valley company. She was interested in me speaking on career mojo and employee engagement at the company leadership retreat in Northern California. She specifically wanted to know how I worked with coaching clients and organizations to unleash employees’ intrinsic motivation, and enhance their career development and engagement.

The HR Director and I spoke about my approach to executive/career coaching, and the factors that can tap into employees’ mojo or positive spirit. We also spoke about the Gallup organization’s findings on employee engagement.  Employee engagement has been at an historic low level. Company leaders need to tap into workers’ inherent motivation and creative drive to boost the number of actively engaged employees from the paltry 33 percent reported by the Gallup Organization.”

People want work that is aligned with their intrinsic motivation seeking mastery, autonomy, purpose and self-direction. Employees want their work to be meaningful in order to be happy and fully engaged. However, a number of people make career mistakes that jeopardize their career success. Inspiring leaders provide resources and support to help their people make the right career decisions.

The Human Resource Director is interested in me speaking at a workshop about my executive/career clients that have created meaningful work and are resilient and happy. She also wanted me to address how company leaders could regain their mojo, and stay engaged if they had slipped into nojo and become disengaged. We further discussed how organizational leaders can benefit by working with an executive/career coach to enhance their career satisfaction and productivity.

In Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith lists seven common career mistakes.

Common Career Mistakes

Goldsmith lists seven professional mistakes that contribute to career failures in otherwise competent, successful and smart people:

1. Over-committing
2. Waiting for the Facts to Change
3. Looking for Logic in All the Wrong Places
4. Bashing the Boss
5. Refusing to Change Because of “Sunk Costs”
6. Confusing the Mode You’re in
7. Maintaining Pointless Arguments
a. Let me keep talking.
 I had it rougher than you.
b. Why did you do that?
c. It’s not fair.

As you think about these potential pitfalls, try to pinpoint the ones to which you’re predisposed.  I will focus on the sixth career mistake in this seven part article series.

I am the executive coach for the president of a Silicon Valley company. The president’s competency-based 360 feedback survey indicated that she sometimes confuses the mode she’s in. She has a tendency to “let down her hair” and become friends with certain employees blurring the boundary between boss and friend.

The president and I are working on helping her establish friendships outside of the workplace.  Members of the senior leadership team are supporting her in making the requisite behavior changes. Coaching has helped her realize that her behavior has been detrimental to company morale. She has learned to keep her personal and work-life separate.

6.    Confusing the Mode You’re in

We have two modes of behavior: professional and relaxed. Our professional selves are image-conscious. We pay attention to how we look, dress, speak and behave. We can’t afford to be sloppy.

In relaxed mode, some of us go to opposite extremes. We’re less guarded about everything, including our speech, language and use of humor.

So, what happens when we’re in relaxed mode, but still in the company of work colleagues and friends? Are we sarcastic and cynical in ways inappropriate to the office setting?

The more you close the gap between who you are as a professional and who you are when relaxed, the greater the trust and confidence you’ll generate. You’ll demonstrate genuineness, and you’ll avoid slipping into sloppiness with humor and language, which can put a dent in your mojo.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I sometimes confuse the mode I’m in” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and career development for leaders who want to maximize their career mojo and be fully engaged at work.

Working with a seasoned executive/career coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I and Denison Culture Survey can help your people tap into their intrinsic motivation and create happy companies where people love to work. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

7 Common Career Mistakes – Refusing to Change Because of “Sunk Costs”

I recently was contacted by the Human Resources Director of a mid-sized Silicon Valley company. She was interested in me speaking on career mojo and employee engagement at a leadership retreat in Northern California. She specifically wanted to know how I worked with coaching clients and organizations to unleash employees’ intrinsic motivation, and enhance their career development and engagement.

The HR Director and I spoke about my approach to executive/career coaching, and the factors that can tap into employees’ mojo or positive spirit. We also spoke about the Gallup organization’s findings on employee engagement.  Employee engagement has been at an historic low level. Company leaders need to tap into workers’ inherent motivation and creative drive to boost the number of actively engaged employees from the paltry 33 percent reported by the Gallup Organization.”

People want work that is aligned with their intrinsic motivation seeking mastery, autonomy, purpose and self-direction. Employees want their work to be meaningful in order to be happy and fully engaged. However, a number of people make career mistakes that jeopardize their career success. Forward thinking leaders provide resources and support to help their people make the right career decisions.

The Human Resource Director is interested in me speaking at a workshop about my executive/career clients that have created meaningful work and are resilient and happy. She also wanted me to address how company leaders could regain their mojo, and stay engaged if they had slipped into nojo and become disengaged. We further discussed how organizational leaders can benefit by working with an executive/career coach to enhance their career satisfaction and productivity.

In Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith lists seven common career mistakes.

Common Career Mistakes

Goldsmith lists seven professional mistakes that contribute to career failures in otherwise competent, successful and smart people:
1. Over-committing
2. Waiting for the Facts to Change
3. Looking for Logic in All the Wrong Places
4. Bashing the Boss
5. Refusing to Change Because of “Sunk Costs”
6. Confusing the Mode You’re in
7. Maintaining Pointless Arguments
a. Let me keep talking.
 I had it rougher than you.
b. Why did you do that?
c. It’s not fair.

As you think about these potential pitfalls, try to pinpoint the ones to which you’re predisposed.  I will focus on the fifth career mistake in this seven part article series.

I am the executive coach for the president of a Silicon Valley company. The president’s competency-based 360 feedback survey indicated that he needs to improve his decision-making. The company invested a great deal of money in technology that was overkill for what they needed.

The president and I are working on improving his decision-making skills.  He tends to listen to “experts” who have impressive academic credentials, without spending enough time to make sure the solution offered is the correct one. Coaching has helped him realize when a bad decision has been made. He has learned to focus on what the company has to gain by changing course, and not staying wedded to a poor investment.

Refusing to Change Because of “Sunk Cost”

Once incurred, a sunk cost cannot be recovered. Unfortunately, it’s also the basis for many irrational decisions that go against our best interest. When we throw more money at a problem and hope for different results, we compound the error — all because we cannot admit our error.

Each of us has sunk costs in our lives. We didn’t become successful because of luck; rather, we had to invest a big piece of ourselves in our work. At some point, this investment may have stopped paying off, without our awareness.

Are your decisions based on what you might lose or what you have to gain? It it’s the former, your devotion to sunk costs may be costing you more than you know: your mojo.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide career and leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders sustain their career mojo? During turbulent economic times, leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills as part of overall career development.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Can I change direction and pursue a new course of action when an investment stops paying off?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and career development for leaders who want to maximize their career mojo and be fully engaged at work.

Working with a seasoned executive/career coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I and Denison Culture Survey can help your people tap into their intrinsic motivation and create happy companies where people love to work. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.
I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected]

7 Common Career Mistakes – Bashing the Boss

I recently spoke with the Human Resources Director of a mid-sized accountancy firm. She was interested in me speaking on career mojo and employee engagement at a leadership retreat in Northern California. She specifically wanted to know how I worked with coaching clients and organizations to tap into employees’ intrinsic motivation, and enhance their career development and engagement.

The HR Director and I spoke about my approach to executive/career coaching, and the factors that can tap into employees’ mojo or positive spirit. We also spoke about the Gallup organization’s findings on employee engagement.  Employee engagement has been at an historic low level. Company leaders need to tap into workers’ inherent motivation and creative drive to boost the number of actively engaged employees from the paltry 33 percent reported by the Gallup Organization.”

People want work that taps into their intrinsic motivation seeking mastery, autonomy, purpose and self-direction. Employees want their work to be meaningful in order to be happy and fully engaged. However, a number of people make career mistakes that jeopardize their career success. Enlightened organizations provide resources and support to help their people make the right career decisions.

The Human Resource Director is interested in me speaking at a workshop about my executive/career clients that have created meaningful work and are resilient and happy. She also wanted me to address how company leaders could regain their mojo, and stay engaged if they had slipped into nojo. We further discussed how organizational leaders can benefit by working with an executive/career coach to enhance their mojo and career satisfaction.

In Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith lists seven common career mistakes.

Common Career Mistakes

Goldsmith lists seven professional mistakes that contribute to career failures in otherwise competent, successful and smart people:
1. Over-committing
2. Waiting for the Facts to Change
3. Looking for Logic in All the Wrong Places
4. Bashing the Boss
5. Refusing to Change Because of “Sunk Costs”
6. Confusing the Mode You’re in
7. Maintaining Pointless Arguments
a. Let me keep talking.
 I had it rougher than you.
b. Why did you do that?
c. It’s not fair.

As you think about these potential pitfalls, try to pinpoint the ones to which you’re predisposed.  I will focus on the fourth career mistake in this seven part article series.

I am the executive coach for the president of an accounting firm. The president’s competency-based 360 feedback survey indicated that she needs to be more decisive and forceful. Two of the shareholders believe the president over-promises and under-delivers. They see a need for more cost-cutting.

The president and I are working on improving her effectiveness by being less defensive when she hears criticism or feels attacked. She tends to turn a deaf ear after awhile to the repeated calls for cost cutting rather than listen and ask pertinent questions. The negativity generated by the firm leaders’ inability to engage in productive conversations about the firm’s financial status is counterproductive. I am coaching the president and shareholders to listen and have more open conversations.  She is now focusing on holding the firm’s shareholders and herself accountable to increase sales and revenue.

4. Bashing the Boss

Talent-management firm DDI found that the average American spends 15 hours a month criticizing or complaining about his or her boss. Indeed, boss-bashing is a popular diversion.

But while it may relieve tension and get a few laughs, denigrating your boss is not particularly attractive. Other people will wonder what you’ll say about them when they’re not around.
Bashing doesn’t build a better boss. It only serves to tarnish your reputation and lower your mojo. The negativity you spread will almost certainly affect others’ mojo, too.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide career and leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders sustain their career mojo? During turbulent economic times, leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills as part of overall career development.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “How much time do I spend criticizing my boss?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and career development for leaders who want to maximize their career mojo and be fully engaged at work.

Working with a seasoned executive/career coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I and Denison Culture Survey can help your people tap into their intrinsic motivation and create happy companies where people love to work. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

7 Common Career Mistakes – Looking for Logic in All the Wrong Places

I recently spoke with the Human Resources Director of an accountancy firm. She was interested in me speaking on career mojo and employee engagement at a leadership retreat in Northern California. She specifically wanted to know how I worked with coaching clients and organizations to tap into employees’ intrinsic motivation, and enhance their career development and engagement.

The HR Director and I spoke about my approach to executive/career coaching, and the factors that can tap into employees’ mojo or positive spirit. We also spoke about the Gallup organization’s findings on employee engagement.  Employee engagement has been at an historic low level. Company leaders need to tap into workers’ inherent motivation and creative drive to boost the number of actively engaged employees from the paltry 33 percent reported by the Gallup Organization.”

People want work that taps into their intrinsic motivation seeking mastery, autonomy, purpose and self-direction. Employees want their work to be meaningful in order to be happy and fully engaged. However, a number of people make career mistakes that jeopardize their career success. Enlightened organizations help people make the right career decisions.

The Human Resource Director is interested in me speaking at a workshop about my executive/career clients that have created meaningful work and are resilient and happy. She also wanted me to address how company leaders could regain their mojo, and stay engaged if they had slipped into nojo. We further discussed how organizational leaders can benefit by working with a seasoned executive coach to enhance their mojo and career satisfaction.

In Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith lists seven common career mistakes.

Common Career Mistakes

Goldsmith lists seven professional mistakes that contribute to career failures in otherwise competent, successful and smart people:
1. Over-committing
2. Waiting for the Facts to Change
3. Looking for Logic in All the Wrong Places
4. Bashing the Boss
5. Refusing to Change Because of “Sunk Costs”
6. Confusing the Mode You’re in
7. Maintaining Pointless Arguments
a. Let me keep talking.
 I had it rougher than you.
b. Why did you do that?
c. It’s not fair.

As you think about these potential pitfalls, try to pinpoint the ones to which you’re predisposed.  I will focus on the third career mistake in this seven part article series.

I am the executive coach for the president of an accounting firm. The president’s competency-based 360 feedback survey indicated that she needs to be more decisive and take action earlier. Several of the shareholders believe the president is overly optimistic in his forecasts. They see a need for more cost-cutting.

The president and I are working on improving her effectiveness by letting go of her need to be right. She is now holding the firm’s shareholders accountable to increase sales and revenue.

3. Looking for Logic in All the Wrong Places

We devote many professional hours to finding logic in situations where none exists.

Human beings are profoundly illogical. Our minds crave order, fairness and justice, and we’re trained to value logic. But much of life, work and decisions that affect us are unreasonable, unfair or unjust, which sets us up for disappointment and can kill mojo.

We sometimes hope logic will prevail against all odds and that it will prove we’re in the right. If we capriciously stick to our guns until the bitter end, everyone will see how right we are. In the meantime, we seriously damage important relationships.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide career and leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders sustain their career mojo? During uncertain economic times, leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills as part of overall career development.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Do I over rely on logic to prove I’m right?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and career development for leaders who want to maximize their career mojo and be fully engaged at work.

Working with a seasoned executive/career coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I and Denison Culture Survey can help your people tap into their intrinsic motivation and create happy companies where people love to work. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].

7 Common Career Mistakes – Waiting for the Facts to Change

I recently spoke with the Human Resources Director of an accountancy firm. She was interested in me speaking on career mojo and employee engagement at a leadership retreat in Northern California. She specifically wanted to know how I worked with coaching clients and organizations to tap into employees’ intrinsic motivation, and enhance their career development and engagement.

The HR Director and I spoke about my approach to executive/career coaching, and the factors that can tap into employees’ mojo or positive spirit. We also spoke about the Gallup organization’s findings on employee engagement.  Employee engagement has been at an historic low level. Company leaders need to tap into workers’ inherent motivation and creative drive to boost the number of actively engaged employees from the paltry 33 percent reported by the Gallup Organization.”

People want work that taps into their intrinsic motivation seeking mastery, autonomy, purpose and self-direction. Employees want their work to be meaningful in order to be happy and fully engaged. However, a number of people make career mistakes that jeopardize their career success. Enlightened organizations help people make the right career decisions.

The Human Resource Director is interested in me speaking at a workshop about my executive/career clients that have created meaningful work and are resilient and happy. She also wanted me to address how company leaders could regain their mojo, and stay engaged if they had slipped into nojo. We further discussed how organizational leaders can benefit by working with a seasoned executive coach to enhance their mojo and career well-being.

In Mojo: How to Get It, How to Keep It, How to Get It Back If You Lose It, leadership expert Marshall Goldsmith lists seven common career mistakes.

Common Career Mistakes

Goldsmith lists seven professional mistakes that contribute to career failures in otherwise competent, successful and smart people:
1. Over-committing
2. Waiting for the Facts to Change
3. Looking for Logic in All the Wrong Places
4. Bashing the Boss
5. Refusing to Change Because of “Sunk Costs”
6. Confusing the Mode You’re in
7. Maintaining Pointless Arguments
a. Let me keep talking.
 I had it rougher than you.
b. Why did you do that?
c. It’s not fair.

As you think about these potential pitfalls, try to pinpoint the ones to which you’re predisposed.  I will focus on the second career mistake in this seven part article series.

I am the executive coach for the president of an accounting firm. The president’s competency-based 360 feedback survey indicated that she is needs to be more proactive and take action. The president and I are working on improving her effectiveness by letting go of her need to be right. She is now focusing more on inspiring her people to execute the firm’s vision and business strategy in order to energize and grow their business.

2. Waiting for the Facts to Change

When we experience a setback, it’s not uncommon for us to wait for the facts to change into something more to our liking. Such wishful thinking is the opposite of over-committing, as it leads to under-acting. Instead of doing something, you freeze and do nothing.

When the facts are hard to swallow, ask yourself: “What path would I take if I knew the situation won’t get any better?” Then, get ready to pursue that path.

Doing nothing is akin to moving backward — a behavior you cannot afford in a constantly changing world.

Are you working in a professional services firm or other organization where executive coaches are hired to provide career and leadership development for organizational leaders? Does your organization provide executive coaching to help leaders sustain their career mojo? During challenging economic times, leaders at all levels need to improve their emotional intelligence and social intelligence skills as part of overall career development.

One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “Am I making the career mistake of not taking action waiting for a different reality?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations,  provide executive coaching and career development for leaders who want to maximize their career mojo and be fully engaged at work.

Working with a seasoned executive/career coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-I and Denison Culture Survey can help your people tap into their intrinsic motivation and create happy companies where people love to work. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become fully engaged with the vision, mission and strategy of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching, career coaching, and leadership consulting clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to [email protected].