What is the Monday Morning Business Coach?
For over 12 years and running, every Monday morning we’ve sent out an email containing an executive coaching “nugget”—a simple, practical tip or strategy for you to easily take action on to start off your work week.
We use the situations of our clients (anonymously, of course) as well as what we’re pondering or reading about to write a short post. We keep it short because we know your life is busy and you need the “quick tips” to solve your problems, help you focus, and move you forward. We’re not claiming we can solve every issue, but we aim to give you the knowledge and wisdom to help you find your own power and create the future you want. You can view past posts below.
In our work as executive coaches and consultants our goal is to help people find direction, meaning and satisfaction in their lives. A key ingredient to living a more satisfying life is being a person of character. The Oxford Essential Dictionary defines character as “the collective qualities or characteristics, especially mental and moral, that distinguish a person; moral strength.” In the United States, there is a sense that personality – charm, a quick tongue, fashion or style – is the…
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Good Morning. It is time to wake up, not just to your day, but also to your passion, your power, and your life. Many of us walk around tired, stressed-out, and numbed to our moments. We are running as fast as we can, taking care of family, work and friends, and barely taking a breath. This week’s assignment is to carve 5 – 15 minutes out of each day, and do something that will wake you up and make your…
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It’s that time of year again, the time when we suggest that EVERYONE pull out their resume, dust it off, and update it to reflect who you are today. Make sure that your summary of talents and accomplishments reflects the skills you want to offer moving forward, delete old/irrelevant jobs, and consider if there is a way to include something about yourself that adds a little color and brings you to life on the page. Then print a clean hard…
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In the last few weeks, we’ve explored how to receive and integrate feedback that you receive on your performance or behavior. Today, we are going to look to the other side of the equation and explore how to provide effective feedback to others. As with receiving feedback, there are specific steps to take that will help you to provide feedback to another person in a way that will minimize defensiveness, create an opportunity for discussion, and allow for the greatest…
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In the first Integrating Feedback with Skill and Grace post we outlined the 3 key steps for integrating feedback about your performance: Work with what you’ve heard Prepare for the next meeting Meet again Last week, we looked closely at the second step Prepare for the Next Meeting and today we’re going to focus on the final step: Step 3. Meet Again By now, you should have finished the first two steps of the process of integrating the feedback. The…
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In last week’s post, Integrating Feedback with Skill and Grace, we outlined the 3 key steps for integrating feedback about your performance: 1. Work with what you’ve heard 2. Prepare for the next meeting 3. Meet again Last week, we looked closely at the first step Working with What You’ve Heard and today we’re going to focus on the second step: Step 2. Prepare for the next meeting The goal in the follow-up meeting is two-fold. The first is to…
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In last week’s post, Get Comfortable with Feedback, we discussed 3 rules for receiving feedback about your performance. Those rules were: 1. Listen calmly to what is being said. 2. Thank them for bringing the information to your attention. 3. Schedule a time to meet again. Feedback is an opportunity to understand the impact that you have on others and to decide if it is the impact that you want to have. So, once you have listened calmly, thanked them…
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One of the most important skills required in today’s new economy is the ability to properly accept feedback from others. Whether that feedback is in an informal discussion, a performance evaluation written by your direct supervisor, or a 360 completed by your peers, it is essential that you know how to respond appropriately to professional feedback. It probably goes without saying that when the feedback is positive it’s not hard to accept another’s opinion of us – we feel good…
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The world is changing and the people who will succeed need to be able to quickly learn what’s needed to move forward, apply that learning, and, most importantly, sustain that learning over time. As coaches and business consultants, we get hired because people – with the best of intentions – are struggling to (really) change those things that are getting in the way of their success. Typically, our clients know that they need to learn new skills, have often done…
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The single most difficult challenge we have faced in our consulting and coaching practice is how to help our clients make and sustain the changes they have identified as critical to their success. It is a struggle in all change management but it’s particularly poignant for individuals who understand cognitively what they need to do, but who find (over and over) that they fall back into the patterns they have relied on for much of their lives. It’s important to…
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