Michigan-Based Training: Coaching Fundamentals for Leaders

Coaching Fundamentals for Leaders

Program Overview

This specialized leadership development program is designed to help your senior management team and new managers to learn the overlooked competency of coaching. Effective coaching by leaders and managers enables team members to master new skills, communicate more effectively, and create value for their organization. Additionally, by effectively coaching his/her team, the leader and manager frees up valuable time to focus on strategy, business development, and innovation.

Who Will Benefit 

The course is targeted to directors, managers, and supervisors. Of particular benefit:

• Directors who have excelled as independent contributors but feel the need to get out of the details and lead effectively
• Managers who have primarily focused on managing process or production
• Managers who tend to carry the load for their team
• High potential managers who have excelled as specialists

Benefits for the Leader

• Take leadership effectiveness to the next level
• Optimize strengths and natural leadership style
• Acknowledge limitations and overcome issues limiting one’s effectiveness
• Communicate more effectively
• Enjoy an improved quality of work life

Benefits for the Organization

• Enhanced organizational performance
• Retention of high-potential talent
• Improved relationships and productivity
• Development of key team members
• A path for continued growth and success

Dates: April 23, 2015 – May 28, 2015
Location: Troy, MI

For more information, please feel free to contact me at 248.971.0875 or jackie@cultivatedcoaching.com.

 

Scooch Your Butt off the Edge

Whether it’s a career change, starting a business, buying a house, moving to a new city, going back to school, or any number of life changes, you’ve had it in your mind for a while to do something BIG. You know what you want and how to get there but you haven’t made the leap. To gain in bigger and more fulfilling ways, you must risk. There is no other way around it. Recognizing that you have a tendency to shy away from risk is the first step to changing. To overcome your fear of risk, you must understand what is driving your fears and then brainstorm ways to overcome them. Make a change, try something new, keep trying, and enlist your friends and family for support along the way. Now is the time! Scooch your butt off the edge. No matter the end result, you will be all the better for it.

Don’t back out on a good hair day

We’ve all been there. Your hair grows and grows, and at some point it starts to look a little…disheveled. Flat. Ready for a refresh. But a few days pass, and you keep saying, “I really need a haircut,” letting the situation fester. Day after day, you look in the mirror and get more dismayed because you’ve been too busy to make an appointment. BUT! Appointment Day finally comes, and miraculously you wake up with awesome hair. How does that happen?! Naturally, you consider cancelling and rescheduling for a more convenient time.

But your inner voice says, “there will always be a more convenient time, a more urgent time, a more desperate time.”

Don’t let a good hair day spoil your career goals either. If there’s a conversation you’ve been needing to have or a project you need to fix, set a deadline and do it on that day, no matter what. There will always be good days and bad days, but if the underlying issue remains, it’s time to just sit in the chair and get it done.

– Janice Pollard and Jackie Trepanier

I Think a Change Will Do You Good

Did you know that many Europeans feel they work to live, and believe that Americans live to work?

We may envy European summers of endless vacation. But how much vacation time do you earn each year? And how much do you actually use?

As a leader, the more time you take to recharge, relax, and enjoy a change in scenery is as important as the time you spend on strategic planning. Just as college students do a semester abroad for a new perspective, the inspiration that comes from taking a vacation is invaluable to helping you be the best you can be.

Plan and take time away, visit new places, unplug! Just as you carve out time on your calendar to plan strategy, carve out time on a quarterly basis to take time away – and really be OFF!

Plus, wouldn’t it be romantic to come home one day and say, “Honey, I bought two tickets to Italy. Pack your bags, we leave in 30 days.” Food for thought. You can thank me later.

– Janice Pollard and Jackie Trepanier

Everyone look to your left

As leaders, we often focus downward – that is, on our leadership of those who report to us. At times, we forget to look left and right.

Ever hear the saying, “Be a little nicer, as everyone is going through SOMETHING”? Try not to overlook your leadership responsibilities among your peers. We may forget the challenges they face in favor of our own challenges. We may be less understanding, more judgmental, or not as supportive, because we believe our peers should operate at the same capacity and have the same focus as our own. Key leadership skills such as listening, communication, expectation setting, feedback, support, and understanding are just as important for the leader you work with as it is for those who report to you.

Why not reach out to a colleague and see what’s needed today?

– Janice Pollard and Jackie Trepanier

You already know you should dress for the job you want…

…but did you know you also need to be the job you want?

Many mid-level managers and even experienced leaders clock in each day, do a great job, and sit back and wait to be promoted. Someone’s bound to notice your hard work eventually, right? Hmm.

To boost your chances of getting promoted, don’t wait until you get the title. Be the role you want now. Show your boss and colleagues you’re ready for more. Demonstrate leadership among your peers. Provide mentorship to new team members. Shadow senior leaders in meetings. You’ll gain exposure to greater responsibilities and strategic or operational thinking. It will also make the transition easier once you do get promoted, as your acclimation to the increased responsibilities will be that much smoother.

Show your leadership team that you’re a promotable candidate, not because you could theoretically do more, but because you’re already doing more.

– Janice Pollard and Jackie Trepanier

Folding Laundry: Getting the Big Stuff Out of the Way

For some, laundry is one of those tedious tasks that gets put off and builds up — to the point where it’s just easier to go buy new underwear. But when you break it down, you’ll see that the heaping basket of stuff is easier to fold when you tackle the big things first.

First, do the sheets. Sheets are massive. Then towels. They’re bulky. Next, clothes. What’s left is socks and underwear, freeing you to clearly match everything up, now that the big stuff is out of your way.

The same is true with challenging situations at work. We have a tendency to let situations mount to the point that they seem unmanageable. Whether it’s a tough conversation, a meeting with a challenging team member, or a tedious project, get the huge bulky stuff out of the way so it doesn’t seem so insurmountable. Being proactive about the tough stuff will sharpen your ability to then match solutions to any situation.

– Janice Pollard and Jackie Trepanier

‘Tis the season … for balance

‘Tis the season! You have parties, shopping, cooking — and don’t forget your job. Here are a few tips for putting some balance, while keeping the cheer, in your holiday season.

TIP 1: Learn from the Cleavers

Put family first when you’re home. Leave work at a decent time, and leave THE work at the office. Make quality-time dates with your family or significant other after dinner to distract you from your to-do list. The work will always be there in the morning. Savor your at-home time while you can. This goes for your kids, too! Make dinnertime phone-free and take time to reconnect.

TIP 2: Act like a 2-year old

That is, learn the value of saying “no.” (Except, unlike a 2-year-old, you don’t need to repeat the word over and over.) Next time you’re invited to something, weigh the benefits and costs before saying yes. If the event or project will have a positive impact on your personal life, productivity, career, and networking without disrupting your non-work schedule, go for it. If your personal life will suffer because of it, opt out.

TIP 3: “It’s not you, it’s me…”

Break up with activities that sap your time or energy. Take stock of things that aren’t really enhancing your career or personal life and minimize the time you spend on them.

You may even be able to leave work earlier if you make a conscious effort to limit the time you spend on the web and social media sites, making personal calls, or checking your bank balance.

TIP 4: Build your team

Rethink your errands and consider whether you can outsource any of these time-consuming chores. Even if you’re on a tight budget, you may discover that the time you’ll save will make it worth it. Plus, there are plenty of kids who are trying to earn money.  Help them help you!

– Order your groceries online and have them delivered

– Hire a kid down the street to rake your yard

– Have your dry cleaning picked up and dropped off at your home or office

– Order your stamps online, saving a trip to the post office

While focusing on your balance during the holiday season, don’t forget to reward yourself.  Take a half day to catch a movie, read, or enjoy a cozy afternoon by the fire.

– Janice Pollard and Jackie Trepanier

What’s Next?

“What’s Next?” Workshop

– Are you wondering what to do with your life?

– Do you have lots of ideas but you’re unsure of the direction to head?

– Are you stuck in a job you do not enjoy just to pay the bills?

– Are you wondering what’s next for you?

Make 2012 the year you make that change you’ve been thinking about. Whether you still wonder what’s next for you or you have the answer but lack the structure to move ahead, let us support you to take a step in the right direction.

Whether you’re a parent considering re-entering the work world or a long-time professional considering other options, this workshop is meant for you.

Join us for an evening focused on meaningful questions to help you to uncover the step or steps you’d like to take in 2012.

The Details

Date:  Planned for an evening in January 2012.  Details on the date will follow shortly.

Contact

For more information, and to reserve your spot, please contact:

Jackie Trepanier

Career Development Coach

Cultivated Coaching

jackie@cultivatedcoaching.com

ph:  248.971.0875

And it was all yellow

How often have you found yourself in a discussion with someone, which soon became heated or downright personal? You both left feeling spun up, wounded, and frustrated. What was it about? How did you feel after? The fact is, even at work, heated discussions happen.

Where there’s heat there’s likely misunderstanding. Your disagreement could have been about anything but the intended topic. For all you (and your enemy forces) know, you were arguing about the color yellow.  It can likely be that far off the intended topic.

Next time a discussion goes awry, think about what happened and what it was about. If it became more about “yellow,” try reframing the discussion and talk again.

 

– Janice Pollard and Jackie Trepanier