I have been an executive coach in Australia and Singapore for some years and I have seen some significant changes in the acceptance and application of executive coaching.
Harvard Business Review (HBR Jan 09) has just published a review of the field of executive coaching and makes some significant points on how to effectively use executive coaching as a self-leadership or business tool. Continue Reading »
I think you would agree with me that to create a better world we need to teach our children self-belief, and the confidence to to do the right thing. Further to my post on Self Leadership for Children I have come across another article that inspires me a as a parent to make a difference. Continue Reading »
I have just returned from a client meeting, where the client needed to train its sales people to effectively increase sales.
Increasing sales is one of the key actions that is going to help this client weather the recession and profit afterward. After identifying the urgent need to train trainers to equip the sales team with product knowledge and values based selling skills across 14 countries, the business development manager told me, “Yes, we need this but I was told yesterday that there is a freeze on discretionary spending.”
I wanted to yell, “Since when is learning discretionary?” Continue Reading »
Are you Gen Y or do you manage Gen Y?
These are two important questions that you can help me answer.
1. Do we need to manage Gen Y any differently than previous generations (Gen X, Baby Boomers, Traditionals)?
2. Does Gen Y need to learn to manage upwards to update their bosses? Continue Reading »
Do you ever wonder why people behave the way they do? Are you curious about whether someone is a right fit for a job or a team?
All will become clear when you understand the psychological background of personality.
The word personality comes from the Latin persona, which refers to the masks once worn by actors to give clues as to the emotions driving their behaviour. Today the term personality refers to the sets of predictable behaviours by which we profile a person. These sets of behaviours are known as types or traits and profiling tools are known as psychometric tests. Continue Reading »
Interruptions are one of the most powerful time wasters.
The simple reason is because for each activity that we engage our brain in, we need a period of warm-up (just like in any sport), and then only can we start performing at the peak of our potential.
The problem is that if we get interrupted in the process, we need to go back to the warm-up phase again. And the more we get interrupted, the less chance there is that we ever reach the peak of our brain potential. Therefore we end up wasting precious time. Continue Reading »
A lack of effective presentation skills (public speaking) will seriously harm your career prospects. Whether you are starting out in a company or are the CEO, you will be judged on your ability to present ideas in way that engage the audience.
But fear not! The ability to present or speak well is within everyone’s grasp. I have coached the most boring of CEO’s and the most timid of junior staff to speak and present with impact. Continue Reading »
If you go to the leadership section in your local book store you will be overwhelmed by the number of book with “Leadership” as part of the title. It is obvious that leadership is a term that means different things to different people and in different contexts. In addition there are numerous opinions of what Leadership Qualities are required to be successful. Continue Reading »
Businesses today face change all the time. If you’re not changing that means you’re standing still, and that just does not make good business sense. Change can take many different forms. An organisation can be bought, sold or taken over. Mergers happen all the time. Economic conditions, exchange rates, and government regulations all create ongoing challenges not only for business leaders but for employees as well.
We all know that a brand is a customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; what might be less obvious is that each time somebody meets you they unconsciously create images and ideas about you which operates as a ‘your unique brand’. Companies spend large amounts of money to develop a brand because a positive brand influences how consumers will respond to their product.
As a professional or entrepreneur our success will be dependent on self leadership and our ability to influence others. Aristotle (384-322 BCE) taught that to influence requires ethos, which gives us the English word ethic and means character. Our ethos is like a brand, the symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, product or service.
Some people seem to naturally exude their ethos as a personal power that causes people to trust and be influenced by them; but can this personal branding be cultivated or developed? Most certainly yes! And in this article I will share some of the key factors in developing your brand of personal power and professional influence.
When we influence, we alter/affect someone else’s perceptions, views, beliefs, attitudes, decisions thus alter their actions. So the first question to ask yourself is, “do I have permission to influence others?” If you are not sure of your answer consider this – because each person will unconsciously create images and ideas about you, you are already influencing their perception! The question should now be. “How do I want to influence others and what brand do I want to project?”
Research has shown that people are positively influenced by people who are: trustworthy (honest), forward looking, confident, competent and inspiring. Each of these traits can be developed an enhanced and the payoff is increased personal power and influence.
“Honest is the best policy” is a maxim that holds true for developing your brand and another is “let your yes be yes and your no be no”. By living a creed of keeping your word and following through on your actions you transmit a very strong message that you are a person to be trusted and trust is like money in the bank when it comes to relationships.
Being forward looking is a quality of influence and leadership, it is attractive because it sends a message that you are a person of vision and action and can get things done rather than dwell on problems. Forward looking people are more optimistic and this creates a self fulfilling prophesy as people are influenced by your ideas.
Confidence and competence are linked in an interesting way. Confidence without competence is foolhardy but it is not possible to become competent without as certain level of confidence. Confidence says,”I have the power to think and feel and speak and act – therefore I can learn anything and I can do anything I put my mind to.” With this kind of self talk you will radiate the confidence of a ‘can do’ person.
To be inspiring means to put ‘spirit’ into your words and actions. Aristotle called this pathos (passion) and listed this as the second quality of influence. Without passion your words and deeds have little or no influence on others, but with passion you become energised like an electromagnet and attract others to your plans and ideas.
Aristotle’s third quality of influence, he called logos which gives us the word logic. We persuade people with our knowledge and thinking; this is known as ‘expertise power’. So if you access your personal power and know your ‘stuff’ you will already be creating a brand in the mind of those around you.
After personal power, and expertise power comes connection power. Connection power comes from who you are connected and associated with. Companies understand this when they link think their brand to celebrities. Tag Heuer has Tiger Woods sporting their watch sending the message that if it is good enough for the world’s best golfer it is good enough for me. You can increase you influence power by connecting with people of influence, take advice from them and be seen with them. A word of caution here – always do a check for integrity, because if there is strong association in the mind of your clients between you and a person of questionable ethics, you will also be tainted.
So in summary,
You are a brand so make the most of it. Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself, “What do I want to project?” then go and do just that.