Coaching as a Leader Archives - Page 3 of 6

January 22, 2017 By Joyce Weiss Leave a Comment

5 Team Building Strategies to Keep Your Star Employees Motivated

Team building strategies are a very important part of any leader’s tool box. The challenge comes when star employees leave the company. Many of my clients have told me that they left jobs because they didn’t feel part of the team. They couldn’t make decisions without having to go through many layers in the company. They didn’t get support when they made smart mistakes and poor performance was not addressed.

Do these questions sound familiar?

How can I encourage people to make decisions when management is absent?
How can I encourage calculated risks so our company stays current?
How can we act as a team, instead of individuals striving for separate goals?

The answer is in one word…MOTIVATION. Motivation gives confidence, strength, and trust in your own decisions. Successful businesses know the impact of a motivated team.

Learn the 5 P’s of motivation to support dedicated people who’ll bring long-lasting results:

Team Building Strategies #1: Permission…to make decisions and take risks.

Help people see how they’re setting up roadblocks to their success. You may hear people saying “I’m not ready yet”, or “I don’t know enough”. If I waited until I was ready to make that perfect keynote speech, I’d still be waiting! Encourage calculated risks! These positive statements need to become standard in your workplace:

“Everyone fears new things when they are in unfamiliar territory.”
“The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it.”
“There are three kinds of people – those that make things happen, those that watch things happen, and those who wondered what happened!”

Team Building Strategies #2: Protection…even if they make a mistake.

Make sure the penalty for failure is not greater than the penalty for doing nothing. Professional growth is all about learning from our mistakes. Make sure you stand by your team, even when they fail. If they make a mistake, ask this very important question, “What did you learn, and how would you handle it differently if this situation came up again?” Share mistakes that you made in order to be transparent and let them know what you learned about the mistake.

Team Building Strategies #3: Purpose… Know the company’s goals and answers to the typical conflicts that arise.

Challenge your team by asking why and why not. This forces constant improvement. Recognize market changes. Encourage problem-solving and brainstorming. Technology is expanding at an amazing rate, making some present techniques obsolete. Look at trends and then be ready. Listen when your team speaks about products or processes that are not working anymore. This seems so obvious. My clients have left companies when leadership was stuck in the status quo and their egos. They knew the company was sinking before leadership saw it coming.

Team Building Strategies #4: Proficiency… Know the difference between complacency and excellence.

Encourage people to think of themselves as the owners of their own careers. Help them learn features and benefits of every product and service in the company. Train people to listen to the client’s needs. Role play with common objections, so staff is prepared when they’re rejected. This way, everyone will be more prepared. Make sure to be consistent and discipline or train team members who are not doing their job. Your star employees are watching when leaders let complacency and mediocrity rule the culture.

Team Building Strategies # 5: Pay-off… Appreciate and recognize superior work.

All people have a basic need for appreciation. Let your team know the success of the business is partly due to their efforts and achievements. Star employees need to know that their opinion and efforts are making a difference. Make sure to concentrate on them or else they will leave and find a company with a better culture.

When you use the 5 P’s of motivation you’ll see an increase in morale, productivity, retention, and success. These are my tried and true methods – experiment with your own, then sit back and enjoy the fabulous results!

I want to hear from you!
CLICK HERE to send me your questions about how you motivate your team. What is your experience keeping star employees from leaving?

Do You Want to See How Your Communication Impacts Your Success at Work?
CLICK HERE to take the easy and fun Communicate with Impact Quiz. I will send your results immediately and you will learn more about setting boundaries to be more effective at work and in your life. Sound good?
Here’s the LINK

Until next time,

This is Joyce Weiss, Communication Strategist and Coach

You can learn how to improve your leadership skills by communicating your important message to both star employees and those who keep you up at night! 🙂 I will do whatever it takes to help you improve your quality of life.

VISIT our Team Building Consultant Services page to see how we can help your team become even more successful.

Feel free to call me (800.713.1926) concerning your own team/executive retreats, workshops, and on-line professional growth coaching.

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

See YOU Next Week.

P.S. Do you want more information about keeping your star employees motivated?
CLICK HERE to read my article on How to Deal with Mediocrity at work

VISIT our Knowledge Base on Team Building for more articles and podcasts

December 18, 2016 By Joyce Weiss Leave a Comment

More Leadership Secrets From a Life Coach

Life Coach Joyce Weiss shares leadership secrets to help you promote your star employees.

Do you want to coach your star employees so they can move forward to the next level?
Do you have employees who need to uncover blind spots yet are resistant to constructive feedback?

If so, this article will be extremely helpful to leaders who want to communicate deeper with their employees. This article is not for the timid or sensitive team members who are afraid of honest communication. The ideas are perfect for your employees who want to grow professionally and who want to know what behaviors could be blocking them from advancement.

Life Coach Secret #1: Create a 360 Interview with Leaders, Colleagues, and Direct Reports

Here are the basics if you want to do this on your own. Ask the employee if he or she wants to hear feedback from all of these levels. You will not share the names of what each person answered and will only share patterns. Make a list of questions that will be helpful to your employee such as:
1. What does ____ need to do to make a promotion?
2. What is something that you would like to say to ____?
3. What are ____’s strengths?

Life Coach Secret #2: Create a Report from all of the Interviews

This Life Coach secret will take some time. Include the comments that you feel will help your employee grow. Don’t reveal who made the specific comments and include patterns. It is mandatory to keep this report as generic as possible in order to create trust with everyone involved.

Life Coach Secret #3: Take Time to Share the Report with your Employee

I need to repeat that this Life Coach process takes time and advanced coaching skills. Make sure that the person who is communicating the report is a solid coach. There will be sensitive areas to reveal. Ask the employee if he or she agrees with each statement. If they don’t agree, remind them that these areas could be blind spots. The process will be productive when your employee is open to the feedback. You may need to stop the 360 if the employee becomes defensive about the comments. This could be an indication that the person who is conducting the 360 needs to coach better or the employee is not open to direct feedback and continuous improvement.

So, Joyce What Are Your Thoughts?

Many of my clients have successfully conducted the 360 exercise, especially when their leaders are strong coaches. Other clients ask me to create and conduct the exercise since they want a communication strategist and coach who they know will handle sensitive issues carefully and receive outstanding results. Feel free to call me to discover how your organization can benefit from this powerful exercise at 800.713.1926 or send me an email.

More Personalized Coaching Opportunities for YOU

Attention Executives, Managers, and Anyone Seeking Advancement- Communicate With Impact™ Now Available

Are you a senior level executive, manager, director or an individual looking to increase outcomes or leadership advancement for you or team members?

Communicate with Impact is a premier program that grows leadership and improves employee participation, workflow, productivity, and outcome in less than 30-days.

Take this short quiz to find out if this course is right for you! http://bit.ly/1UtxsI7

I, Joyce Weiss, created this powerful step-by-step program specifically to help the hundreds of business people like you, who continually contact me for expert communication advice.

It’s ideal for individuals as well as entire teams.

Take this short quiz to find out if this course is right for you! http://bit.ly/1UtxsI7

CLICK HERE for details how your or your employees can benefit from working with me for 2 months on improving communication and leadership skills.

Ready to sign up? Click here!

I want to hear from you!

CLICK HERE to send me your questions about creating your own 360. What is your experience with 360s at your workplace? Please share what worked and what challenges you experienced.

Until next time,

This is Joyce Weiss, Communication Strategist and Coach

You can start tackling tough conversations with employees who need to hear your straight talk. Believe me, it’s worth every minute of uncomfortable moments…especially when your employees discover blind spots and resolve their communication issues to grow professionally and add value to your organization. I will do whatever it takes to help you improve your culture!

Learn how you can work with Joyce Weiss, your own personal life coach https://www.joyceweiss.com/services/personal-life-coach/

Feel free to call me (800.713.1926) concerning your own team/executive retreats, workshops, and on line professional growth coaching.

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

See YOU Next Week.

PS Read more articles and listen to podcasts at our Life Coaching Strategies Knowledge Base https://www.joyceweiss.com/resources/knowledge-base/life-coaching-strategies/

November 6, 2016 By Joyce Weiss 2 Comments

Overcoming Barriers with Career Coach Tony Robbins

I have been a fan of Motivational and Career Coach, Tony Robbins for a long time. Several years ago Tony presented his Turn Fear into Power: The Firewalk Experience Training in Detroit. His job was to encourage 500 of us to walk on hot coals during the training. I decided to attend because I learned so much from Tony’s books and other training material. I was changing careers from being a counselor to a professional speaker. There were many fears floating in my brain and I wanted to explore the options. I had NO intention of walking on the hot coals. I just wanted to learn and observe. My family was taking bets on whether I was going to walk on the hot coals. I told them to stop wasting their money since this was not my intention.

Tony wanted us to focus on a real life fear that we wanted to eliminate. If we walked on fire we would be able to use our fear and turn it into positive energy for future obstacles. It sounded perfect for my needs since the transition from sitting in an office to traveling all over the United States and presenting to large audiences was going to be a big change.

By now you probably realize that I walked on the hot coals. Tony taught all of us how to use this experience to push ourselves. There were two 12 foot fire beds. The coals were red hot and were hot enough to burn aluminum. Bongo drums were beating in the background and it sounded like an earthquake with all of the chanting from the 500 participants. I had a knot in my stomach, my arms were tingling, I was a bit dizzy…yet I felt the energy from the crowd and before I knew it I was on the other side of the fire bed! I did it.

People who did not believe in themselves and who did not follow the directions got burned! We had to say “cool moss” as we were walking on the coals and we had to walk at a normal pace and not stop.

Career Coach Lesson #1: Turn Negative Thoughts into Positive Actions

There were people there who felt they could never ask for a raise, change jobs, or speak up to leaders. I was standing next to 3 people who were skeptics and complained how this was a hoax. I told myself to move from this group since I was ready to change and their negativity would hold me back. Don’t walk away from negativity…RUN!

We need to look for the positives in a situation or a person even though we may only see the negatives at the moment. What is one positive quality about your job or your coworker? It may take you a while to find it, but it is so important to start looking for one small positive in order to change the negative state that you may be experiencing.

Career Coach Lesson #2: Remember the Firewalk Metaphor When Faced with Barriers

It helps when we are self-motivated and use mantras when faced with fear. We need to listen to stories about people who faced challenges and changed their thinking to overcome these obstacles. I remind myself how I was able to walk on the hot coals when I use Tony’s system which still works for me today.

There are some groups who don’t want to attend my programs because the boss forced them to register and they feel that they don’t “need” to be there. I tell myself to do the best that I can do. Once I relax and push the negative doubts away, the group’s negativity diminishes and people start dealing with their conflict. The audience sees that I’m really there for their success. They sense doubt and fear in their speakers/consultants. They also know when we really are there to support their career growth. Of course, this works most of the time. There are some groups who are facing many obstacles and don’t have the support from their leaders. I do the best I can to help them look for options on communicating to their leaders. Doing our best is all we can ask of ourselves.

Career Coach Lesson #3: Walk Confidently No Mater What’s Going On

This one lesson is something that has helped me tremendously. Tony didn’t let people walk on the hot coals if they were not ready or doubted themselves. He worked with them until they let go of their doubt and fear. I learned the importance of looking and feeling confident even if I didn’t feel that way at first. Every time I walk into a hostile situation I hold my head up high and tell myself that I’m there to help them resolve the conflict. They are not angry at me but at their situation. Many of us take things personally and it usually has nothing to do with us.

I want to Hear From You!

CLICK HERE to send me your questions on how you overcame a fear. What action steps did you take as a result of a lesson that you learned? What message did you receive from this article? I really want to hear from you. 🙂

Until next time,

This is Joyce Weiss, Communication Strategist and Coach

You can start tackling tough conversations once you learn the powerful strategies. I will do whatever it takes to help you improve your quality of life. We won’t even walk on hot coals!

Feel free to call me (248.681.5831) concerning your own team/executive retreats, workshops, and on-line professional growth coaching.

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

See YOU Next Week.

PS CLICK HERE to learn more about Joyce’s career coaching system and put your career on track to your next promotion

Read more articles and listen to podcasts at our Career Skills Knowledge Base https://www.joyceweiss.com/resources/knowledge-base/career-skills/

June 19, 2016 By Joyce Weiss Leave a Comment

Strategic Communications: The Truth About Delegation

Are you a manager who wants to empower your employees and learn strategic communications?
Are you experiencing more pressure from your boss while attempting to manage your entire department?
Great! This article will provide you with strategies to use to reduce YOUR stress at work and empower your employees at the same time.

Delegation Challenges

Delegation won’t work if your employees don’t trust you and if they don’t have the right skills. This is a perfect time for you to coach certain team members who have the potential to help them grow professionally. It may be a good time to have a realistic conversation about your expectations. Make sure and share specific details on what will happen if the employee doesn’t improve by a certain time. The rest of the article will help you encourage your skilled employees to grow which will improve the trust.

Strategic Communications Tip #1: Delegation has Clear Options

Check out the list below. Start with the top of the list – when you don’t trust an employee, and work to the bottom of the list – when you have total trust in an employee. Once people learn responsibility, you can confidently stop micromanaging!

Look into this problem. Give me all the facts. I will decide what to do.

2. Let me know the available alternatives.

3. Recommend a course of action for my approval.

4. Let me know what you intend to do. Do it unless I say not to.

5. Take action. Let me know what you did. Let me know how it turns out.

6. Take action. Communicate with me only if your action is unsuccessful.

7. Take action. No further communication with me is necessary.

Strategic Communications #2: Advantages of Delegation

You don’t need to do everything yourself. When you’re able to delegate well, you’ll experience that delegation helps:

Save time
Build stronger staff
Motivate employees
Build mutual trust
Improve quality of work
Help overworked managers

Strategic Communications From Joyce

If you are a manager who recognizes that you are not doing the greatest job in the delegation area, believe me, you are NOT alone! My executive coaching practice has shown me that many great leaders never learned how to coach others and develop their team. This is a skill that must be taught and experienced. Cicero wrote, “Where there is life, there is hope!” 🙂

I want to hear from you!
CLICK HERE to send me your questions on how to stop micromanaging and start delegating.
What tips have you learned on coaching your team and building trust?

Until next time,

This is Joyce Weiss, Communication Strategist and Coach

I look forward to helping my loyal readers any way that I can. Post questions or write me a private email at Joyce@JoyceWeiss.com

Feel free to call me (800.713.1926) concerning your own team/executive retreats, workshops, and on line professional growth coaching.

Remember…You Get What YOU Tolerate!

See YOU Next Week.

PS CLICK HERE if you want more information on coaching your team. “Coaching Others to Take Ownership” is another one of my articles that shares several leadership strategies.

CLICK HERE to learn more about how Joyce can help your company create team synergy through team building consulting.

Read more articles and listen to podcasts at our Team Building Strategies Knowledge Base https://www.joyceweiss.com/resources/knowledge-base/team-building-strategies/

May 1, 2016 By Joyce Weiss Leave a Comment

Leaders, Are You A Work Life Balance Hero?

Work life balance is a frustration that I hear from all levels of an organization. Are you a manager or owner who wants to help your team care for the seemingly easy tasks of home that still need to be managed either during or after work?

If so, this article will provide simple techniques you can use to help your employees feel less stressed at work.

Work Life Balance Frustrations

Home and personal lives do overlap our professional lives. It is too difficult to separate the two.
Some typical comments that I hear in my workshops are the following:

If I work 110% I get good results. If I work a little harder, I’ll get even more out of it. I wonder why I’m always stressed. I told myself that once I did everything on my to do list…I will finally do what I really enjoy!

We will never enjoy the benefits of time affluence as long as success is defined who works the longest hours or sleeps the least. I’ve seen burned out employees who don’t have the nerve to talk to their leaders. They don’t want to sound like complainers. I challenge them to plan the conversation so that their boss understands the unrealistic demands that they face daily. Of course, leaders may face the same burn out or stress by their leaders!

What can managers do to help employees with their work life balance?

Include work life balance in the mission statement
Bring in on site grocery orders or cleaners to help save time for their team
Discuss possible solutions with the team on how goals can still be reached while changing the process
Hire professionals to speak on care giving or parenting
Be a good model and go home on time and strongly encourage your team to follow your lead
Bring in experts to help improve the working condition of the team

So Joyce, what else can you add on achieving work life balance?

It’s a pipe dream to think that we can achieve total work life balance. BUT we can always make improvements to reduce our stress. I recently heard an international panel discuss how they achieve balance.

Start with the end in mind such as taking care of myself and my family
Create ground rules such as exercising daily
Don’t talk about work at home
All devices are not allowed at the dinner table
These ideas work when you put them to use. Mangers need to remind their team that improving balance will help them enjoy work more and improve productivity. They need to have important conversations with their team in order to come up with solutions to burn out.

I want to hear from you
CLICK HERE to comment on what your leadership has done to help with your work life balance? How have you handled burnout?

CLICK HERE to learn how Joyce can transform your life and teach you work-life balance through her personal life coaching.