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CHANGES AS WE WORK THROUGH THE COVID-19 CRISIS

Posted by Martin Bennett on Mar 23, 2020 in Business Coaching, Life Coaching, Other

The impending changes to our way of life and working practices due to the Coronavirus Pandemic are a little overwhelming. Do you have plans and support in place to help you through this crisis? If you don’t, a Business Coach can guide you through this period of change. Alternatively, a Life Coach can help you address the challenges in your personal life that may now come your way.

Changes to Management

As the workforce moves to home-based working, your management systems will change. You need to develop plans within days as opposed to months. Therefore, getting some expert help and advice is a sensible idea. These changes may be in place for many months, or even years if we move towards more remote working. So, getting it right now is vital for the future. My own background in HR Management means that I am well-placed to advise you. Making the correct decisions to take from a legal and operational perspective will be vital.

Morale

Maintaining morale is imperative if you are hoping to keep business flowing during this enforced break. This will build resilience and hope into your relationship with your colleagues. In turn, this will keep productivity high and reduce procrastination and indifference.

Fears of job security and concerns for loved ones, associated with the virus itself, will affect colleagues. Getting professional help to those feeling stressed will help you to support those colleagues. Bear in mind that you will need them to rebuild the business after we all go back to normal. Online coaching sessions, such as those I carry out, are one useful way to boost morale and maintain co-worker’s mental health, wellbeing and trust.

Working from home

Staying away from the workplace for extended periods will evidently mean some losses, in staff numbers, customers and cash flow. This can have a profound effect on the business overall. The move to working from home will mean changes to communication and workdays. The work day may need to become flexible as many people now have their children at home since the school closures last week.

Relationships and trust

Social distancing will affect the relationships that you had with your clients and customers. Hopefully, the trust you built up previously will pay dividends as they will tend to stay with you during this period of isolation.

On a personal level, your relationships, with the people you isolated with, will develop. Before it gets tense and stressful, it could be worth investing in some one-to-one sessions with a Life Coach. These online sessions can be a lifeline.

External changes

Some changes will be out of your control, such as supplier issues. Prepare for differences in working practices and timescales, when working with complementary businesses.

The Government is adding finance packages for businesses. However, the economy as a whole will undoubtedly change and so will influence your own business. Getting prepared will require determination and grit. Having someone to support you whilst you do this would be a great advantage.

Please contact me if you feel that you could benefit from a review of your current situation.

HOW BUSINESS COACHING CAN HELP IN EDUCATION

Posted by Martin Bennett on Mar 9, 2020 in Business Coaching

Working in an educational setting can mean that you could benefit from all the skills that a coach has to offer. Receiving some business coaching will help you develop your own skills. It will also aid you in developing a better environment for education and learning.

Business coaching for education

School, colleges, and universities are very similar to businesses. They have a hierarchy and sets of rules in safety and conduct. There is also guidance for expectations to follow. Budgeting, management of people and tight deadlines also figure in both environments. So, it makes sense to utilise the skills of a Business Coach. They can assist you with getting a handle on educational administration and any staff issues that may arise.

Coaching to become a better listener

Learning active listening skills will help you to interact better within a school environment. We only hear around 40% of what another person is saying if we do not hone our listening skills. We often do not take in body language which can be very revealing as to the other person’s intentions. This can lead to misunderstanding and confusion. By working with a Business Coach, you will enhance your ability to listen.

Learn to ask the right questions

To elicit more than a yes or no, a good questioner knows how to frame questions. These are usually ‘open’ with a leading Who, What, Where, How, When, or Which. The respondent then is more likely to provide more expansive answers. Getting good business coaching will steer you to ask better questions. It will also enable you to know how to deal with the answers. Being able to dig beneath the surface when questioning means you will gain deeper insight into your staff and pupils.

Coaching in resourcefulness

Being resourceful is useful in all occupations, so having this skill will inevitably help you. Knowing how to deal with uncooperative respondents or difficult pupils by using different tactics is a great skill to develop. Business Coaches can help provide new perspectives for you, as they come from a different starting point.

Empathy within education

It is hard to build trust without empathy. It is also hard to work in an educational setting without trust. If, as an educator, you suffer from a lack of respect, then your learners will not absorb information. Learning true empathetic ability takes time and practice. This is where a Coach can work with you. They will have worked with business owners on projects relying on developing the trust of their staff. They can bring this experience to your situation.

Self-reflection

Being able to look at yourself, analyse what areas you need to work on and which skills to hone is a marvellous tool. It will help you to become a better teacher and staff member. Holding sessions with a Coach allows you to look inside yourself. This enables you to be honest about your abilities and true motivations.

Analytical skills

Developing the ability to self-analyse also means you will be able to assess external situations more easily. So, you will start to perform a better analysis in order to make better decisions. Doing this will lead to better working systems. It will also lead to smoother day to day running of  your working life.

If you would like to talk through your situation with a Business Coach, then please contact me to arrange an introductory call about your options.

A BUSINESS IN COACHING: WHAT YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE CONSIDERED

Posted by Martin Bennett on Feb 23, 2020 in Other

As a Business Coach, Career Coach and Life Coach of some years, I have come across many things I had not really considered before I started my business in coaching. Here I’d like to share some of them and explore how you might approach them in your own coaching business.

Your own emotional health and well being

Dealing with other people’s difficulties in life will make you reflect on your own. Your previous experiences can be a huge resource to fall back upon when helping your clients but equally can influence you less positively if you let them. It is up to you to make sure you are guiding from the head and not the heart. Clients’ problems can cause you emotional upset too, especially with a long-standing client with whom you have formed a bond. Building resilience into yourself will help guard against this. However, even the toughest need assistance too. So why not work with a fellow Coach to share the burden? Take care of your own emotional health, as without it you cannot continue to help others.

Building a business in coaching

As a coach you have to build a business, so you go through similar steps to some of your clients. Steps such as building a website, promoting yourself, and seeking out clients need to be taken. You also have to learn about the new modern skills of digital marketing and sales funnels. You may be starting your own business from scratch, and working for yourself can be a lonely place.  Therefore, I would suggest that you consider employing your own Business Coach to help guide you and make sure your business runs smoothly, leaving you free to actually work with clients.

Prioritisation

Working out how you should tackle work priorities can cause you stress. Which client requires greater guidance between sessions? Which client comes first when diaries conflict? Everyone battles with prioritisation and that is why some people employ Coaches. You need to know that, as a Coach, you will also have the same battles. If you are prepared to stick by your decisions and yet remain flexible if the choice proves to be wrong, then prioritisation becomes easier.

Time

This is a big one; time to build your own coaching business and the time you give to your clients. Time for yourself to recover and recuperate. Making time for your family and other personal commitments. Know that as a coach you will learn to use time to your advantage, to let things work through to conclusion. I find that planning timescales into all my projects, personal and business, helps to keep perspective of everything that I am working on. Extend that planning into the detail of your client work. This means that realistic expectations can be created and maintained for both you and your clients.

These are some of the considerations that I feel will help you to gain greater clarity and insight before embarking on your own coaching business. If you have any to add, please let me know.

TOP OF YOUR GAME? YOU CAN STILL BENEFIT FROM AN EXECUTIVE COACH!

Posted by Martin Bennett on Feb 10, 2020 in Business Coaching, Executive Coaching

Just when you have reached the pinnacle of your career, be it in business or sports, you may start to think its time to ditch your Executive Coach. After all, they have been pushing you to reach your goals and now you have got there. I am going to demonstrate that this is not the decision you want to make.

I’ve Arrived, Haven’t I?

Arrived at the goal(s) you set for yourself, yes. But why not aim higher, or in a different direction? You may want some time to re-group and to relax a little on the full throttle approach. However, once that short sojourn is over, you may find you are ready to get going again and focus on some new challenges.

Keeping Your Eye on the Ball

Once you stop coaching sessions, you can be tempted to relax your grip on the day to day running of your career or business. Maintaining ‘match fitness’ will need some attention, even if you have automated much of your processes. Retaining a coach to help you hold onto the smooth running of your business is a good idea.

New Challenges

Within your business, new challenges can come by the way of staff changes, new equipment, or changes in trading regulations, to name just 3 examples. By retaining your coach, you can head off most disasters before they arise. Your executive coach will help you to identify ways to incorporate internal and external changes into the business.

Growth

Growth never stops. When building your business, your main goal will be to increase profit, which in turn is determined by wage and product cost increases, which leads to more production etc…

This can mean you are on a hamster wheel of ever-increasing growth. To continue growth, you will need your Executive Coach as the pressures can be a little overwhelming. Until you sell your business, you do not want to slow down the growth. Your potential buyer or investors also need to see the ability for the business to continue its growth.

Support from your Executive Coach

Life can be tough at the top, having a compadre and confidant, who is also independent, will help you to stay there. If you are the CEO and the buck stops with you, having the support of your Executive Coach will help release pressure and let you make better decisions. For your wellbeing, your coach can help you to keep all the confidence and self-esteem you have built up as your business has grown and developed.

If you would like to talk through your options with an Executive Coach, then please contact me to for an introductory call about your options.