You Don’t Have to Do It All Yourself

"It’s just easier if I do it myself."

This is a common refrain that comes up with my coaching clients, whether I’m working with an overwhelmed parent, a startup founder, or a C-suite leader. Most of us don’t think of ourselves as micromanagers or needing control. We just care and want things done well. In many cases, we’ve been burned before. Perhaps we have a pile of evidence that we can’t or shouldn’t rely on others. How often have we heard the tired cliché (often attributed to Napoléon Bonaparte*): “If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.” 

The Coaching Edge, Part 2: Building a Coaching Culture in Your Organization

The Coaching Edge, Part 2: Building a Coaching Culture in Your Organization

In Part 1 of this series, we explored the myriad benefits of a coaching culture and how it creates a ripple effect throughout an organization. In Part 2, we explore the “how” of implementing and embedding a coaching culture within your organization.

The Coaching Edge, Part 1: Why Organizations Need a Coaching Culture

The Coaching Edge, Part 1: Why Organizations Need a Coaching Culture

In today's climate of financial uncertainty and organizational belt-tightening, employee development is often at risk of being cut. The irony? It's precisely during these challenging times that targeted and strategically implemented coaching delivers its greatest value.

The Case for (Self) Compassion

I watched my boss hurriedly hit the mute button. We were onboard a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO), floating in the Atlantic Ocean, and dialed into a large international call with operations leaders from around the world.

“Welp, I messed that one up! Yikes.” He chuckled and shook his head. I stood by his desk, transfixed, watching in awe as he let his faux pas roll right off his back.

The Curiosity Superpower

When asked what my greatest strength is, I can answer quickly. It’s curiosity. This is also one of the core values I hold dear to my heart. As a child, my curiosity was a double-edged sword. I took apart things that couldn’t be put back together again. I found myself in trees that I couldn’t quite climb down from. I asked far more questions than my Sunday School teachers would have preferred. My bug and rock collection rivaled small museum installations. Perhaps my parents thought it would wear off with childhood, but it turns out that my curiosity was there to stay.

Questions for Setting Powerful Goals

It’s January: The season of goal setting, good intentions and grand resolutions. It’s a fresh start to a new year and an opportunity to re-envision the future we’d like to build for ourselves. January is the month of new gym memberships, new app downloads and new habit trackers.

It makes sense that many businesses run on a calendar year and use this annual cadence to set performance targets. Yet the convention of setting personal goals at the beginning of the year introduces a host of challenges for us humans.

,

Coaching vs. Mentoring - Why They're Different And Both Important

,
Coaching vs. Mentoring - Why They're Different And Both Important

You may be hearing a lot these days about the importance of mentorship programs, particularly as we work to close opportunity gaps and pull-through talent representative of our communities. You may also be hearing a lot about professional coaches and perhaps have even considered working with one. Maybe you’ve been offered one through your workplace. January is National Mentoring Month, and we figured this would be a good time to provide a refresher.