Joyce Weiss

I work with organizations and individuals who want to kick conflict and chaos to the curb - Queen of Conflict Resolution and Communication Coach

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Secrets from an Executive Coach to Advance Your Career

As an Executive Coach, my clients ask me to address strategies on how to get promoted or get noticed in their company.

  • Are you ready to ask for a promotion?
  • Do you see others advancing in your company?
  • Are leaders listening to your suggestions?

There is a saying that I use quite a bit, “If you don’t toot your own horn, who will?”  I realize that there’s a fine line between being a braggart and being assertive.  I’m not asking you to put your ego on steroids! 🙂  The strategies in this article will take you on your own career path. They are discussions this Executive Coach has during accountability sessions.

If eighty-hour workweeks and impending layoffs are leaving you apprehensive about your career decision, you’re not alone. These days, countless professionals are yearning for more fulfilling careers.

Unfortunately, many professionals are going to their day-to-day work activities and feeling as if they’re pedaling a bicycle uphill in the wrong gear.

They secretly yearn for the feelings of freedom and self-reliance they used to have when they were children pedaling away on their very own Schwinn or Huffy.

How can we recapture those childhood feelings of independence, adventure, and joy?

Executive Coach Secret #1: Safely navigate work’s potholes, ruts, curbs, obstacles, and challenges.

executive coach

In order to excel professionally, you need the ability to learn from any past mistakes rather than dwell on them.

The truth is that the only wrong mistake is one we don’t learn from – when things go wrong, we have a choice. We can criticize ourselves and curse our own bad luck, or we can coach ourselves, extract value from what we learned, and focus on how we can handle that situation better in the future.

The next time something devastating happens to you, whether it’s a layoff or a failed project, remember there are lessons to be learned.  Believe me, I know what I’m talking about and remind myself of this strategy numerous times!

Executive Coach Secret #2: Take the direct route.

Many people are so confused about expectations at work.  They need to ask specific questions to receive clarity as to their job specifications.  It’s during these times that people need to use straight talk to solve issues.

Being Direct with Respect® means being able to communicate openly and honestly without hurt feelings. Encourage Be Direct with Respect® in your office by thinking about what you really want to say, writing it down, and practicing it.

The more you use it, the more comfortable you’ll feel, and the more your colleagues will follow your lead.

Executive Coach Secret #3: Stay balanced when the road is bumpy.

The majority of people are running on empty.

If your workday feels out of balance, the quickest way to identify what is missing is to know your core values.  What’s holding you back from achieving balance in your day? Can you say no to the things that aren’t consistent with your core values?

When you ignore your personal values for the sake of others, keeping balanced is a challenging ordeal.

To gain balance, you first must be true to yourself. When you can gear down, relax, and enjoy the flowers on the side of the road, you will finally see the right path.  You will find answers and become more focused when you think about what you want to do with your life and not concentrate on the negative parts of your career.

Executive Coach Secret #4: Stop pedaling in circles.

executive coach

How long has it been since you’ve tried something new and different in your work?

After evaluating yourself personally, ask people you trust to make suggestions on how you need to grow.

Use their advice to guide your education decisions. Do you need to take a computer class, a writing course, find an Executive Coach, or attend advanced leadership workshops?

To carve a new career or enhance your current one, you must take responsibility for your own future and learn new skills on a daily basis.  It doesn’t help when we stay in the status quo and don’t move forward.

 

Final Thoughts from Joyce

Your ability to safely navigate workday obstacles, use straight talk, stay balanced, and keep learning will help you recapture the feelings of your youth – when your bike was your ticket to exhilaration.

You’re the one in control! Sometimes the journey will be easy coasting, while other times it will be an uphill bumpy trek.

Either way, it’s up to you to shift your professional life in gear and create your own career path.

I want to hear from you

Send me your questions or comments on what is and what is not working with your career advancement. What are the strategies that work for you?

Do you want to see how your communication skills are impacting your career?  
Take our FREE Communication Skills at Work Assessment HERE.  I will send you a personalized evaluation.

executive coach

Feel free to send me a private email if you have questions about your own career advancement.  I am here to support my loyal readers to improve their working condition.

 This is Joyce Weiss, Communications Strategist and Coach

Learn how I can leverage my 30+ years of communication and leadership consulting and coaching experience to help your organization address executive coaching strategies here.

Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

 

 

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Life Coaching Strategies to Help Your Employees Reduce Stress

Are you a leader who wants to learn life coaching strategies?
Do you want to find answers on how to balance your life better?
Are you ready to change one small behavior to reduce stress?

If so, these 3 life coaching strategies will help you get some great results.

After working for the same software company for several years, a young professional moved 90 minutes away from the organization.  Instead of dealing with a grueling commute, she proposed that she could come into the office just one day a week, and work the rest of the time from home. The company leadership agreed.  The woman found a mutually agreeable solution that allowed her to achieve work-life balance.

Unfortunately, many employees in the same situation wouldn’t feel comfortable making such a request.  With so many companies doing more with less, employees need to achieve a better work-life balance… and you can help your organization do just that.

Life Coaching Strategies #1:  Find Out What Coworkers and Employees Need

life coaching strategies

Some workers might want a more flexible office schedule, a compressed workweek, job sharing options, or resources for child care or elder care. Others may want healthy workplace initiatives like on-site exercise classes and wellness lectures.

What can you do?

Create a work-life committee to survey people and find out their needs. Members can then recommend ways the organization might help employees achieve more balanced lives.

Life Coaching Strategies #2:  Relieving the Pressure of Overtime Demands

When demands become rigorous, everyone suffers.

What can you do?

Do something special for coworkers and employees – like providing a dessert, a dinner, or little thank you gestures. Suggest that dedicated people get an afternoon off… and everyone will be rewarded with a newly refreshed coworker.

Life Coaching Strategies #3:  Setting an Example

People who don’t take time for themselves feel more stressed, and consequently, become less productive at work.

What can you do?

Don’t begrudge people their personal time. Encourage others by modeling how important balance is in your life- when you leave at 5:00 p.m. to see your son’s soccer game, realize that you are an outstanding role model!

Concluding Thoughts about these 3 Life Coaching Strategies

Most of us are looking for ways to find more balance in our life.  I constantly look for life coaching strategies for my clients and myself! 🙂  We can lower our stress by changing only one behavior.  If you are a leader bring in speakers from a local health care facility to help your employees learn the newest strategies for lowering stress. There are many books, youtube videos, and classes on finding balance.  Cicero said, Where there is life, there is hope.

The challenge for all of us is finding a solution that fits our individual needs.  I will be sharing more articles and videos on finding balance and reducing stress because my loyal readers and clients keep on asking me to do so.

 I want to hear from you

Send me an email with your questions or comments on how you or your company use life coaching strategies to find balance. What challenges to you still experience?  What topics do you want me to cover in a future article?

Read more articles and listen to podcasts at our Life Coaching Strategies Knowledge Base

 

This is Joyce Weiss, Communications Strategist and Coach

Learn how my 30+ years of communication and leadership consulting and coaching experience can help your organization address life coaching strategies here.

Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”


 

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Team Building Strategies to Create Open Communication

Team building is successful when employees feel safe to share ideas on how company policies can be improved. Communication issues are uncovered when I interview both leaders and their direct reports on what is working and not working with the team.  I take this information and create a personalized training for the company.  This only works with companies whose leaders are open to constructive feedback.  Team Building training will backfire when employees feel it’s the program of the month for appearance sake only.  Morale and trust are deflated when employees “know” that nothing will change after these sessions.

  • Are you a leader who wants to hear what your employees are talking about at the water cooler and use this information constructively?
  • Are you an emerging leader who wants to know how to create successful team building strategies during meetings?
  • Are you tired of the status quo and want to see positive change and results at work?

This article contains  3 team building strategies to help you create some interesting and productive conversations with your team.  All of these ideas are team building strategies that my clients use successfully during staff meetings.

Team Building Strategy #1:  Make the meeting safe

Everyone in the room is told that the feedback that I share is anonymous since all departments and job functions were interviewed.  Only patterns are shared.  There are usually negative or cynical employees who don’t trust this system. They have attended other training and nothing seems to change. This elephant in the room is addressed immediately.  All I ask is for everyone to give the training a chance before they judge the process.  If you decide to take these ideas and use them for your own training be prepared for these necessary and tough discussions!

team building

Team Building Strategy #2:  Share patterns from the interviews

The patterns are revealed.  The most important part of the training happens when employees and leaders answer the following questions in small groups:

  • What do we need to be talking about?
  • Let’s now beat around the bush.
  • What issues haven’t we been talking about?
  • How is this currently impacting you and how will this impact our future?

Another important “rule” is to make sure names are not used and blaming is not the purpose of the team building program.  It’s all about change, openness, trust, and results.  

Team Building Strategy #3:  Be specific when giving feedback

Take time to choose your words wisely so that you convey exactly what you mean – you can’t assume that people know what you want.

When giving feedback use the following 2 strategies:

  • Don’t use vague communication such as, “We need to sell more products.”
    Suggest that, “We need to create at least 2 new products in order to keep up with the competition.”
  • Don’t use hazy messages by saying, “Everyone needs to be to work on time.”
    Tell others, “We begin working with members at 8:00 am each day.”

This one team building strategy will improve communication within the entire company.  Hopefully, people will stop mind reading what others need from each other.

Team Building Strategies #3:  Ask important questions to change the status quo

The results from the phone interviews are shared after employees are face to face in the training and discuss their important feedback.
The following questions are asked during the phone interviews:

What if you were the CEO or President and had your own set of rules to keep your customers/clients?

  • What would you do differently?
  • What restrictions would you remove?
  • How would you treat your star employees?
  • How would you handle poor behavior?

So Joyce, what are your thoughts about creating successful team building training?

There are a couple of ways to conduct the important training sessions.  You can have both management and employees together depending on the trust level in your company.  You can also divide the training so management and employees work separately.  Once the training is complete the results are given to both management and employees.  I conduct an executive debriefing to discuss what changes will be made as a result of the research and employee input.  The real magic comes when employees are included in the last part so they feel that they were heard.  Of course, some of the ideas will not be used but being listened to is the #1 factor to improve your morale.  These team building strategies work!

I want to hear from you

Send me your questions or comments on what team building strategies you use.  What works and what challenges do you still experience with your team.  I will answer all comments.  Feel free to email your questions or concerns that you don’t want to share with others. 

Learn how Joyce Weiss can leverage her 30+ years of communication and leadership consulting and coaching experience to help your organization address team building strategies here.

 

This is Joyce Weiss, Communications Strategist and Coach
Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

PS Read more articles and listen to podcasts at our Team Building Strategies Knowledge Base 

 

 

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5 Career Skills to Make the Best of Your Job

Career Skills is a topic that I cover in every workshop or coaching session.  It’s all about feeling positive about our jobs.  Let’s face it, we are at work more than we are at home!  Some people are fortunate because they find their jobs rewarding and actually love going to work.  Others can’t wait until the weekend and constantly complain to their families about how miserable the job is for them. 

So if your work situation is less than ideal and you don’t want to change your job, here are some Career Skills strategies that may help.

Career Skills Strategy #1:  Do whatever it takes to get the job done

If you don’t like the job and find it difficult to complete projects, then the job won’t get done at all. It’ll be hanging over your head like a dark rain cloud. Also, if you don’t get the job done, someone else will, and then you’ll get the pink slip. If you feel that you can’t do whatever it takes to get the job done because of a lack of resources and your hands are tied, untie your own hands. Ask yourself what you could do differently given your existing resources. There’s always a second right answer.  You could collaborate with a team member and support each other with different tasks.

Career Skills Strategy #2: Do your best to stay positive and don’t let your negativity take over 

Career Skills

How can you be positive when you dislike your job? Remember that at least you have a job. You’re paying your bills. You’re not part of the newest unemployment statistic. Find something positive to focus on to remind yourself how life would be if you didn’t have any job at all. In order to stay positive, strive for excellence, not because you have to, but because you want to.  This is not easy to do but necessary.  Others will sense your negativity.  You may not be looked upon as someone who could get a promotion. 

Career Skills Strategy #3:  Be eager to share ideas with leaders and colleagues

You can’t work in a vacuum. You need to talk with others and collaborate in order to expand your thinking and gain a new perspective. And you never know… someone may say something to remind you that your job isn’t so bad after all.  Start looking for ways to improve productivity or customer satisfaction.  Share these ideas with your boss and at meetings.  This could help you feel better about your job.  Using this Career Skills strategy may get leaders to pay attention to you and your good ideas.

Career Skills Strategy #4:  Ask your boss or human services if there are different options that could match your Careers Skills and Path

Career Skills

Many of my clients have used this Career Skills strategy to develop their careers by working in a different setting in the company.  It’s always a risk to let others know that you want to make a change.  Make sure and keep your negativity intact when you have these conversations. Let leaders know that you want to remain at the company and are open to exploring other options.

Career Skills Strategy #5:  Look for ways to constantly grow

We are all a work in progress. Growth and learning are Career Skills that we must initiate; we can’t expect others to do it for us. Additionally, lifelong learning will make you more competitive in the marketplace. You will be more employable and will have the skills and mindset to find a better job if you decide to leave your current position.

I want to hear from you

Send me your questions or comments on how you developed your Career Skills even at a job you didn’t like.  

Read More on how to improve your career by exploring the Our Career Knowledge Base

This is Joyce Weiss, Communications Strategist and Coach

Do you want to discover how our services can help you develop your or your team’s career? Visit our Career Coaching Services page

Until next time, Remember…”You Get What You Tolerate!”

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Executive Coaching Strategies for Leaders

Executive Coaching is a powerful tool for leaders to learn.  Do any of the questions below keep you up at night?

  • Do you want to start empowering employees to divide the workload evenly and fairly?
  • Are some of your teams working harder than others?
  • Do generational or cultural differences get in the way?
  • Are you getting in the middle of communication challenges between employees and acting more like a referee?

If so continue reading!  This article will give you Executive Coaching Strategies and case scenarios for you to share with your team.  Leaders who use coaching skills are great role models for their employees. 

  • They encourage team members to resolve their own conflict. 
  • They know how to hold others accountable for their actions.
  • They set boundaries so that their team understands their expectations.

Executive Coaching

 

Executive Coaching Strategy #1:  Encourage others to resolve their own conflicts

The next time you have a meeting let your team know that they need to start resolving their own conflicts. Communicate that you want them to meet with each other first before they include you.  This Executive Coaching Strategy will allow you to do the things you want and need to do and stop being the company referee!

The following are 2 case scenarios to give to your team:
How would you resolve conflict when 2 people have an issue with each other if you were a leader? 
What patterns have you witnessed concerning generational or cultural issues?

These questions will start your team thinking how they would resolve personality conflicts if they were in charge. They will also bring forward important topics that need to be addressed.

Exectutive Coaching

Executive Coaching Strategy #2:  Hold team members accountable for their actions

Leaders need to coach their team about job performance or attitude adjustment or else these negative qualities and behaviors will continue causing stress for the company.  Use your favorite coaching stories to describe the culture you want at your organization.  Share your philosophy how negative attitudes or mediocrity will not be tolerated.  Some leaders may not discipline because they fear a backlash from employees.  This one Executive Coaching strategy will help leaders and their teams discuss how things need to change and how to move forward.

I want to hear from you

Send me your questions or comments on what is and what is not working with your organization’s communication.

Read More on Executive Coaching Strategies.

Visit our knowledge base for more articles and podcasts on Executive Coaching 

This is Joyce Weiss, Communications Strategist and Coach

Do you want to add Exective Coaching to your Leadership tool box to give you the time to do what you want and need to do?
Visit our Executive Coaching services page 

Until next time, Remember…“You Get What You Tolerate!”

Contact Joyce

Email: joyce@joyceweiss.com
Phone: 248-681-5831