Today's Coaching News
Here you will find the most current news items on the topic of coaching including everything from the serious to the sublime.
These nuggets are collected and updated daily to keep you in the coaching loop around the clock. That's a lot of coaching-related news. All in one place. So you can read it at your leisure.
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Disclaimer: Today's Coaching News posts are not our original reporting and we do not assume responsibility for the content of these stories. We aggregate coverage of coaching as a service to our readers, with stories reproduced exactly as we found them on the web, with the original source clearly included at the top of each story.
City Wire: Critchleys Signs Deal with Professional Life Coach
March 10, 2010 – City Wire – London, UK
Oxford-based Critchleys Financial Planning has joined forces with a professional life coach to enhance its proposition to clients.
Critchleys’ partner Jason McGuigan said the firm had formed close relationships with its clients, and at times some of the conversations it has with them get beyond the realms of finance.
As a result, McGuigan and his company have struck up a relationship with a London-based life coach who will work with Critchleys’ clients on more personal aspects of their lives.
11Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedHuffington Post: Personal Branding from the Inside Out
March 10, 2010 – The Huffington Post – New York, NY, US
I’ve been a Personal Branding coach for a large part of my working life – I’ve had the privilege of working with a group of men and women who in many ways have been my teachers. When I began my retail fashion business in the late 70s, the branding aspect of my business focused on what I now describe as Outer Branding. Outer Branding includes attire, grooming, our physicality and the way we communicate verbally.
I’ve been fascinated by the different ways people communicate with each other for as long as I can remember. And over my many years in the worlds of fashion and retail, my attention shifted from Outer Branding to what I now describe as Inner Branding. Your Inner Brand includes your attitude, values, your behaviours, self esteem and your level of confidence. It also represents the different ways you communicate without words.
11Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedBND: Your Office Coach–Emergencies Sometimes Intrude on Vacation
March 9, 2010 – BND.com – St. Louis, MO, US
QUESTION: Whenever my daughter “Alicia” tries to take time off, her manager interferes. Alicia has a responsible position in which she coordinates a variety of projects. She earns several weeks of vacation every year, but has difficulty using them.
If Alicia tries to plan a trip, her manager often asks her to cancel, sometimes at a moment’s notice. When she does get away, she still gets phone calls about problems with various projects. None of these matters are truly urgent.
I believe that management should try to work around Alicia’s vacation plans, but her boss clearly doesn’t feel this way. How can my daughter take some needed time off without fear of a last-minute cancellation or repeated interruptions?
10Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedWoking People: What Kind of Motivation Inspires You?
March 9, 2010 – Woking People – London, UK
After studying the basics of life coaching and NLP I would like to share an interesting theory with you all. Why? Because it’s interesting and also because you can put it to use in everyday scenarios straight away.
There are two types of people when it comes to motivation – ‘away froms’ and ‘towards’. These two types of people are inspired and motivated by different things – and understanding this can help you communicate and work effectively with both types.
First let’s figure out what type you are…. Would you feel motivated if someone said to you ‘when you meet this target you will get a bonus’? Or are would you be more motivated if someone said ‘if you don’t meet this target you won’t get a bonus’? If you answered yes to the first question you are a ‘towards’ person, answering yes to the second question means you are an ‘away from’ person.
10Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedGuelph Mercury: Cancer Survivor Becomes Wellness Coach
March 9, 2010 – Guelph Mercury – Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Lynn Roodbol was 41 when she learned she had breast cancer. Six months later she was also diagnosed with colon cancer and then skin cancer. All this a year after her husband had lost his job.
It was a devastating period and Roodbol said she felt helpless and hopeless as she became a pincushion for chemotherapy, at the beck and call of her doctors, and faced with the very real spectre of her death.
“I had myself in a pine box,” Roodbol said quietly. “I really thought I was going to die. But my husband coached me through it and I had a huge support system. And somewhere along the way something changed.
“The light went on for me and I stopped that downward spiral. I wanted to do anything I could to live again.”
10Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedDaily Sentinel: Sometimes Finding Balance is a Matter of Perspective
March 8, 2010 – The Daily Sentinel – Grand Junction, CO, US
This was my first coaching appointment with Margie, whom I had met in yoga practice.
She had approached me after class with questions about life coaching.
Margie filled out the Wheel of Life exercise from my Web site, which is a quick way to visually see what areas of life may be out of balance.
From the exercise, I could easily see what was out of balance: her physical environment.
“Tell me what’s going on with your physical environment,” I said.
“There are a couple of home maintenance projects that may need to be done soon, but I’m not sure I’m going to stay in the house. With economy the way it is, however, it may not be the best time to move. So I keep NOT deciding, and I stay in the house.”
10Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedGlobe and Mail: Too Good to Reward? You Might Have Streep Syndrome
March 8, 2010 – Globe and Mail – Toronto, Canada
It’s not the distinction she was going for, but Meryl Streep was forced to accept it.
At this weekend’s Academy Awards, the star of Julie and Julia smiled through all the gentle ribbing about how she’s been nominated for an Oscar 16 times, which makes her the most-nominated actor in history. The problem: While co-stars, directors and critics can’t compliment her enough, she’s only nabbed the award twice – the last time for the 1982 film Sophie’s Choice.
Such snubbing isn’t exclusive to Hollywood – “Streep Syndrome” is common in the workplace, too.
While it can be difficult to keep up performance when there are no incentives, says Alan Kearns, founder of career coaching firm CareerJoy, you should “keep doing what you’re doing.”
9Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedSydney Morning Herald: General Moves in the CEO Circle
March 10, 2010 – Sydney Morning Herald – Sydney, Australia
BILLED as the most exclusive of support groups, the CEO Circle is a safe place for executives to talk about their ”issues and failures”. And, at more than $1600 a meeting, the boardroom-style workshops are designed for only the most senior executives.
But taxpayers are paying for two Defence staff, including Major-General Ian Flawith, to be members of the circle.
With about $5 million a year spent by Defence on executive coaching, team-building and change management-style consultancies, General Flawith is not the only officer embracing new management techniques.
Contracts have been awarded to companies such as Lifeworks Coaching and Consulting; the National Institute of Dramatic Art, which provided a ”presentation skills course”; and Dream Think Do, for consultancy, coaching and training jobs at the Department of Defence.
9Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedStar-Ledger: Communicating Your Worth is Essential to Stand Out
March 7, 2010 – Newark Star-Ledger – Newark, NJ, US
I was recently coaching a top level executive in a major insurance company, whose organization was about to be merged with another insurance company. The new management was looking to make some tough decisions as to who would stay and who would go. They were stressing the importance of the professionals being “excellent communicators” who “stand out.”
When I spoke to my client, Jim Smith, I asked him what his greatest strengths were as both a leader and communicator. He said, “I’m fair and I am a great team player. Oh yeah, and I can make tough decisions.” In our coaching session, I followed up by asking Jim if he had any concrete examples to demonstrate his point. There was a long pause and he finally said, “You know, Steve, that’s hard to do on the spot. I have to think about it.”
Why does this matter? There is a good chance that Jim is going to be a part of a very tough interview over the next few months, because there is only one person needed to perform his responsibilities. Simply put, Jim’s ability to communicate as well as to effectively “brand” himself is more critical than ever before. Yet, at 62 years old, and as strong as Jim is in his current job, he feels more anxiety and less confidence than ever.
8Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedMail & Guardian: Cowboys and Coaches
March 9, 2010 – Mail and Guardian – Johannesburg, South Africa
My friend Oscar asked me what sounds like a simple question: “How do you choose a coach for yourself or your team?” Yet there is no easy answer to it.
Professor David Lane, a doyen in the British coach-training industry and active in setting up the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), was the keynote speaker at the launch of the Coaches and Mentors Association of South Africa (Comensa) a few years ago. He began his talk with a description of medieval guilds.
8Mar2010 | admin | 1 comment | ContinuedTechnorati: Michael Moore Wants to Be Obama’s Life Coach
March 6, 2010 – Technorati – San Francisco, CA, US
Okay, “chief of staff” is the technical term. But a rename of the office makes too much sense after what the filmmaking Michigander has in mind for his next dream job.
Moore wrote for the Huffington Post in open letter format. Wish Rahm Emanuel good luck and well wishes, because Moore would like to take his place and lay down some new ballbusting rules.
8Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedBangkok Post: When A Coach Needs A Coach, Who Does He Call?
March 8, 2010 – Bangkok Post – Thailand
“Khun Kriengsak, how was your business last year?” Khun Aree asks me.
“It was good,” I reply. “I had more new business than the year before, but I wasn’t happy with my performance.”
“What happened?”
“My new clients were ‘castoffs’ from the economic crisis. But I approached them with the same coaching style I always use. That got me thinking, I need to find a coach for myself. Khun Aree, I know your company uses another executive coach. How would you rate him?”
“He’s good. We use Dr David T. Binnion from Indigo Consulting Group Co. He coaches our CEO and two senior executives. I’ve received positive feedback from his clients. One of his strengths is that he is quite disciplined with them.”
“Perhaps he could improve my coaching performance. I’m not good at disciplining my students.”
“But he’s expensive,” Khun Aree chuckled.
“Could you connect him to me?”
“I’ll e-mail him this afternoon.”
The week after, I had lunch with Dr Binnion. After the strong reference from Khun Aree, he did not disappoint me. He was calm, demonstrated very good listening skills and, most importantly, asked several good questions.
After we chatted, he told me more about his background. He is a seasoned executive after being regional manager of Johnson & Johnson (Ethicon), founder of Johnson & Johnson Medical in Korea, director of Hay Group Thailand and now co-founder and managing director of Indigo Consulting.
Three days after the lunch, he sent me his proposal. I was impressed with his quick response. Lesson No. 1: work quickly.
He proposed to coach me for a year – two sessions a month for the first three months and monthly sessions after that. As expected, his fee was high.
7Mar2010 | coachingcommonsadmin | 0 comments | ContinuedHartford Business: Business ‘Doctor’ Finds Rewards In Helping Firms Make Right Hires
March 8, 2010 – Hartford Business – USA
John Birch says he can sit down with an employee for just a few minutes and know whether they’re cut out for a job in a cubicle or on the open road. He says he can spot a narcissist or a sociopath from a mile away.
Birch is what one might call a small business doctor. About 30 companies throughout the state — ranging from nonprofits to manufacturing firms — have hired him to repair the inner workings of their operations. Since 1997, he has operated The Birch Group in New Britain. He employs 10 part-time staffers to assist in efforts to restructure businesses with 5 to 500 employees. And he says he will soon be looking for a partner so he can eventually “retire to working a 40 hour week.”
Even with the sinking economy, he says businesses want his services and his revenues have grown by at least 10-15 percent each year since he started out.
What makes Birch different from many others consultants, he says, is his ability to deeply read the people he works with using not only behavioral and personality mapping tools, but his instincts. Though he holds degrees in finance and economics, he is also a certified professional business coach who understands, first hand, what it feels like to work in the wrong job.
7Mar2010 | coachingcommonsadmin | 0 comments | ContinuedDetroit Free Press: Wellness Coaches Target Women’s Heart Health – They Champion Lifestyle Changes
March 7, 2010 – Detroit Free Press – USA
Grief and stress can be vicious, sneaking up and pressing in on you when you least expect it.
Lori Uyttebroeck went from joking — “I tell everyone I’m a 46-year-old jobless widow with no income” — to tearful in the time it took her to try to apologize for it.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. … It’s just that I once thought nothing could be worse than losing my job. Then my husband, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.”
Francisco Salazar — a man who faxed her poetry at work and was forever trying to concoct the best chili and soup recipes — was diagnosed just before Christmas 2008. He was gone by July.
For Uyttebroeck, a former administrative assistant with a rental car company, eating became mindless and exercise dwindled.
She credits a personal cardiac coach, Peggy Manchester, for helping her drop more than 30 pounds and, just as importantly, find a bit of tranquility in a life that had careened off-course. Read story.
7Mar2010 | coachingcommonsadmin | 0 comments | ContinuedThe Province: How To Keep Business Up
March 7, 2010 – The Province – Canada
I run a family-owned company in Vancouver. During the Olympics sales were up and revenue is higher than expected. I am concerned about a possible slump in business with the end of the Olympics. How do I steer our business through this uncertain period?
There are a number of lessons learned from the Olympics that will guide you through this period of uncertainty. They are as follows:
Vision. Make sure that you review the vision or dream for your business. Revise your vision, if necessary. Ensure that you are taking into consideration new opportunities and markets. Set a clear challenging vision for your business. Revise your business, marketing and strategic action plans to reflect the vision/dream for the business. Read more.
7Mar2010 | coachingcommonsadmin | 0 comments | ContinuedTimes LIVE: The Coaching Moment: Significance And Depth Are Better Ways To Go
March 7, 2010 – Times LIVE – South Africa
The Coaching Moment: Many managers and leaders have a finish line somewhere in their heads that describes what success looks like, feels like and sounds like.
To the exceptional ones, this picture is a vivid one. Unfortunately, when they get to that picture in real life, they are [...]
Boston Globe: Overworked? Here’s How To Deal (Work-Life Coach)
March 7, 2010 – Boston Globe – USA
The good news is you still have a paycheck. The bad news is, as staffing ranks have shrunk, your workday is lengthening and your in-box is bursting at the seams. What’s an overwhelmed employee to do? Try these eight tips from career counselors.
Nearly 10 percent of Massachusetts workers are out of a job, and the other 90 percent may be counting their lucky stars. But a recently released University of Puget Sound study, which followed thousands of workers at Boeing over a decade, suggests that people who get laid off may fare better over time — be healthier, less depressed, and less prone to substance abuse — than those people still at their posts. After all, while unemployed job seekers face a difficult path, layoff “survivors” sometimes find themselves on an impossible road: a doubling or a tripling of their workload. “People left behind are forced into overwork,” says Cambridge career counselor Phyllis R. Stein. “Some of my clients are trying to absorb three different jobs.”
If you suffer from overwork, you may feel you have no choice but to grin and bear it; when layoffs still loom, who wants to be the one whining about working weekends? But local career counselors say there are steps you can take. First, you need to make sure you’re overworked, and not just driven to work a lot. “Some people define themselves by saying, ‘Look at me, I work 16 hours a day,’ ” says Stein. “They wear it as a badge of pride.” But if that isn’t you — if you’re just scrambling to get all your assigned duties done in a day — then see if you can find a little time to check out our eight tips for the chronically overworked.
1. GET HELP First, you have to recognize that your situation is untenable, or nearing it. Maybe it’s when your family stops setting a place for you at dinner. Maybe it’s realizing you haven’t been outdoors in daylight since Scott Brown was still a little-known state senator. Maybe it’s finding you’re gaining weight, drinking more, sleeping less. Whatever your moment of recognition, says Sharon Teitelbaum, a work-life coach in Watertown, your first step should be asking for help. Read more.
7Mar2010 | coachingcommonsadmin | 0 comments | ContinuedThe National: Taking The Entrepreneurial Plunge In The UAE (Executive Coaching)
March 6, 2010 – The National – UAE
When Stacy Waite moved to Abu Dhabi last year, the opportunities for a budding entrepreneur seemed to jump from every corner of the growing city.
Experienced in working with digital media start-ups back home in the US, Ms Waite, 49, who arrived in Abu Dhabi from Los Angeles, saw a market whose surface was yet to be scratched by online businesses.
Why not launch a multilingual online training portal for hospitality workers, she wondered, or a site covering the elderly care market?
“It has been a huge learning curve,” she said. “What I have learnt is that there are so many opportunities here – but this is not an easy place to start a business.”
Ms Waite is no stranger to launching an original enterprise. When she was 19, and studying communications at the University of Albany in New York State, she started a travel business focusing on ski trips, using the student body as her first clients. In 1989, she became, at 28, the youngest woman ever to launch a hedge fund on Wall Street.
But her Abu Dhabi venture has presented a unique challenge. And to meet her goals, she’s starting a networking group for digital entrepreneurs in the capital.
Read story.
India Journal: OC Uncovered – Maka Marketing’s Career Coaching Helping Students
March 5, 2010 – India Journal – CA, USA
Maka Marketing was launched by Monica “Maka” Shukla, in August of 2009.
Just six months into business, it has made inroads in achieving its goal of providing career coaching and educational services to high school and college-age students.
Speaking with India Journal Shukla says within this short period, Maka Marketing has been able to help dozens of individuals restructure their lives and save years of tuition costs. As a motivational speaker, Maka sees the potential within students today and helps guide them through their higher education goals and into the workforce. Through her personalized coaching program students work with Maka to visualize a timeline for success, and gain access to a network of vital resources.
Surprisingly, due to the downturn, many individuals are returning to school to pursue further educational opportunities. Thus, Maka has actually expanded to assist a larger number of students during this time. Maka’s client base has grown immensely. While the organization was initially structured to focus on a local target group working face to face, due to international demand for the educational services , over half of Maka’s current clients are international students working in a virtual environment. Read story.
6Mar2010 | coachingcommonsadmin | 0 comments | ContinuedCherry Hill Courier Post: Professional Development Tips For Women Executives
March 5, 2010 – Cherry Hill Courier Post – USA
According to a January 2010 article in The Economist, “Women now make up almost half of American workers (49.9% in October). They run some of the world’s best companies, such as PepsiCo, Archer Daniels Midland and W.L. Gore. They earn almost 60% of university degrees in America and Europe.”
In honor of Women’s History Month, I offer women in business a roadmap to success that doesn’t require that they resort to traditional male behaviors and tendencies. My transformational approach to executive coaching has been proven to help women break through self-imposed barriers that hinder their professional growth and personal satisfaction.
Getting in the door is just one step on the road to success and satisfaction; it’s far from the end of the journey. Dealing with adversity without sacrificing one’s feminine nature is a very important part of development for women executives. Business Week’s article “How Women Leaders Find Success and Happiness” points out that, “Much psychological research underscores that women tend to experience emotions more at the extreme than men do, with the result that adversity can lead to feelings of failure. But it’s possible to stop that emotional downward spiral consciously and address whatever the problem really is.” (Business Week Special Report: Oct 23, 2009)
What follows are several action steps designed to help women get beyond lies that limit those self-imposed barriers – and be true to themselves while claiming their place in a world historically dominated by men. Read more. http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100305/GETPUBLISHED/3050348/1003/business
6Mar2010 | Linda Ballew | 0 comments | ContinuedSpace Coast Medicine: Leadership Coach Linda Cobb
March 5, 2010 – Space Coast Medicine – Melbourne, FL, US
The SpaceCoastMedicine.com Radio Show – hosted by Dr. Pete Weiss, MD, and broadcast veteran Katie Bokunic, features local and national health and medicine experts to educate you about the latest information available to help you remain healthy and vibrant – and fight the aging process.
The show also highlight inspiring guests who have survived cancer, organ transplantation and severe trauma.
Coach Linda Cobb
This week’s special guest is Linda Cobb, a personnel psychologist, life/leadership coach, and author who has worked in the field of human development for over 25 years.
She has a longstanding personal interest in wellness and has worked with healthcare organizations for many years including hospital wellness programs, Employee Assistance Programs, and trauma debriefing teams, and was the behavior specialist with the Health First ProFit Program for 15 years.
5Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | ContinuedDecision Wise: 5 Reasons to Use a Leadership Coach
March 5, 2010 – Decision Wise – Provo, UT, US
In its April, 2006 issue, Fast Company released results of a study indicating that 71% of senior leaders had worked with a leadership coach, and that 91% of those who had worked with an executive coach planned to use a coach again. The magazine also stated that 63% of organizations planned to increase their use of leadership coaching during the next five years.
Here we are, four years and a difficult economy later. Was the coaching prophecy fulfilled? The answer is a clear “yes.” Even in a challenging economy, effective leadership coaches are in demand. Much of this is due to the need to ensure that employees are performing to the best of their abilities. Many are managers finding themselves doing more with less, requiring them to be at the top of their game. This is where coaching comes in.
5Mar2010 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
