Work Babble

How To Research Career Coaching Tools Effectively

By Tony Deblauwe

There are two basic categories of career coaching tools: those that help you assess your clients and those that help you run the “behind the scenes” part of your business. There are new tools being developed in this field all the time. How do you investigate to figure out which ones will work best for you?

Assessing Assessments

There are free ezines and newsletters you can sign up to receive that contain career coaching advice for coaches. These will occasionally provide tips on various tools. In comparison, there are hundreds of career coaching newsletters directed at clients. These are both resources you can use to stay on top of newly developed assessment tools. However, the reviews are often going to be a little one sided. So, you’ll need to take a closer look at the assessment tools yourself.

The biggest pitfall with assessments is that they are so often simply the same old information in a shiny new package. You need to have an in-depth understanding of the features and benefits of traditional personality or behavior tests such as DiSC and Myers-Briggs. This will help you determine by viewing a few sample questions of a “new” product whether you are really getting something innovative for your money. Of course, sometimes a new spin on an old product isn’t a bad thing. For example, an assessment tool might be revamped for a different demographic or use updated language that is more likely to elicit an honest response from clients.

Once you find a promising assessment tool (or if you want to commission a customized test), you can take the next step of contacting the vendor for more information. The most important question the vendor needs to answer is: “How does this product improve my clients’ experience of receiving career coaching from me?”

Business Tools

Staying up to date on the latest software tools for running your career coaching business is a little easier. There are many resources for small business owners and entrepreneurs that focus on how to use technology to your advantage. When you are evaluating software, the most important question is “How would this tool improve the way I do business?” Don’t get distracted by features that are interesting but don’t actually increase efficiency for your specific business model.

There is never any reason to pay for a software product without testing it first. Free trials are the industry standard. When you find an application that is highly beneficial, you should also do a search to see if a similar tool is available in a free, basic version or as an open source program. Fortunately, with software reviews there is usually a great deal of accurate information available from actual users that will assist you in making a decision. Unless you are shopping for a full suite of BPM (business process management) software, you really don’t need to sit through a sales pitch from a vendor. The main thing to keep in mind is choosing the right tool for the coaching need. You may not always need the most elaborate tool or the most sophisticated system to provide the right coaching needs for your clients.

Sample Resources

Ezine: www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com

Newsletter: http://www.careercoachinstitute.com/newsletter-signup.html

Small Business Tools: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/150091/25_best_business_software_tools_and_web_services.html

4 Ways You Procrastinate

Guest post by Jacqueline Wales

Procrastination is the biggest killer of great ideas.  You know this, don’t you?

1.  Have you ever stopped to consider how much time you’re wasting?

2.  Does the effort of succeeding at something wear you out?

3.  What would it look like if you were to actually stay focused and prioritized your goals?

4.  Would you like to stop procrastinating now?

We pay a price for putting things off.  It may not be immediately clear, but in the long run, you find yourself not accomplishing the things you want.  You have all kinds of excuses as to why you can’t succeed, and many times it’s the fear of failure that gets in the way.

Breaking News:  There is only one failure.  The failure to try. Everything else is about failing your way to success.

Procrastination is one of the main reasons people don’t succeed in their goals. Learning how to get out of your own way means setting priorities for what must be done, and removing the distractions. It takes practice and commitment.

Figure out what is getting in the way of procrastination and if you can’t seek help.  Coaching is one of the best ways to stay on task and be held accountable for results. Procrastination is a bad habit. Teach yourself new habits.  Stop procrastinating. Just do it!

About Jacqueline

 

Jacqueline is world renowned coach and advisor. Learn more about her and her award-winning book below.

Contact Jacqueline:
Bridging The Gap Between Fear and Opportunity  
http://www.thefearlessfactor.com  T: (212) 740 7085

THE FEARLESS FACTOR book is available at http://www.thefearlessfactor.com  

“The Fearless Factor will assist anyone to make better choices and decision. Often people let fear hold them back from intelligent choices but in her book, Jacqueline Wales encourages you to seize your personal power and never let fear hold you back again. In this book, you will be inspired to move past the ghosts of the past and venture into an entirely new world where you will never allow yourself to be victimized again by fear! I highly recommend it.” -Lee Milteer, Author of Success Is An Inside Job and Spiritual Power Tools

Getting More Powerful – A Counterintuitive Approach

Guest post by Naga Siddharth

As a coach, I frequently come across delegation as an area where leaders would like to improve. At a deeper level, this translates either to a fear of “delegated failure”, a need to move higher and quicker (and again fear of losing out on that) or, a certain discomfort to move away from transactions of personal power – all of which could be viewed as a bug in the process called “letting go”.

I have found that getting coachees to “let go” is like having Donald Duck getting rid of twin-side stick tape – it just doesn’t seem to go away and somehow it is the fault on the part of the tape! One more reason why letting go might be difficult could be that an individual tends to feel a little void about what to hold on after letting go of something. This is possibly why I have found that it is much more helpful to provide an alternate area to the coachee to shift their hold.

David Rock in his book Quiet Leadership talks about the fact that the human brain loves and is built for positive wiring. It’s much easier to help an individual achieve change by telling him or her what to do rather than not to. Building on this concept, I have found the term “Power Enhancers” (based on research literature – Howell et al. 1986) readily accepted by coachees. To  coachees, the very phrase “power enhancer” tends to put them at ease and make them ready for change. In a way, it is simply a process of reframing, while at a deeper level, the whole concept of Power Enhancers is well, quite, intoxicating..

A coaching tool that is simple, yet very powerful is the Power Enhancer Scale found in the book “Training instruments in HRD and OD” by Dr. Udai Pareek. The instrument uses a set of 14 power enhancers (Competence development, Clear rules, Feedback system, Satisfying tasks, Staff functions, Objective rewards, Spatial distance, Strong teams, Autonomous teams, Task clarity, Formal structure, Reward system, Professionalism) and has the individual rate them on importance (P) and separately on usefulness for leadership effectiveness(V).

The difference D = P-V indicates the areas requiring more attention and in effect those areas that the individual would automatically let go of by simply concentrating on the areas that he or she needs to work on. One could possibly add or subtract a few dimensions based on coachee need as well!

Simply put, coachees enhance their own power - by becoming more effective influencers by doing what they are supposed to be doing - by letting go. It’s a double treat for the coachees.

On a note from closer to home, my baby daughter has no issues in letting go of her feeding bottle when the vacuum build up is too much and the milk flow stops. She ‘lets go’ with a stream of bubbles (a “brrr”) and chuckles at the resumed flow and her gleeful parents. It’s almost a game and she loves the fun. Both those help coachees embrace change too!

 

About Naga

Naga Siddharth is an HR professional, development facilitator and coach based at Bangalore, India. He is a certified coach from Results Coaching Systems and a certified user of psychometric instruments such as MBTI for development. He is trained in human processes, designing and implementing assessment & development centres.

He facilitates workshops in the areas performance management, career management, personal effectiveness, BEI and roles, etc. He has experience in setting up L&D practices from first principles. His interest in research has found expression in papers published by TISS and the National HRD network’s Journal. Naga loves to conceptualise, design and create systems and possibilities that make life better. A willing participant in any conversation on the possibilities of constructs and a playful lateral combinatory thinker, Naga blogs at http://vphr.blogspot.com and is reachable at naga.siddharth@gmail.com

Getting Better Feedback – A review of BetterMe.com

By Tony Deblauwe

One of the most powerful methods of personal development is feedback. Feedback about behavior, work performance, ideas, or specific skills, provides valuable insight into your thinking, judgments and actions. Feedback is a common tool at work. Both managers and employees seek feedback on a variety of projects and programs to ensure the right decisions are made.

Problems can occur, however, when the feedback is developmental. When the shift is made from the abstract (e.g. strategy, vision, work process, etc.) to a person, people may not be as honest for fear of hurting the person’s feelings or creating conflict.

Assessment tools like 360 reviews exist to help deliver feedback anonymously but the process can be cumbersome, time-consuming, and unreliable. Anonymous feedback is a vital tool in building a holistic view of how others perceive you. Luckily, collecting anonymous feedback just got easier thanks to BetterMe.com.

BetterMe.com, run by CEO Sterling Mace, provides a fast and simple way to ask, get, and give private anonymous feedback online. Not a multi-layered assessment tool, BetterMe allows you to get feedback on anything you choose be it work or personal related. It’s as easy as sending email. Here’s how it works:

 

Giving Feedback:

* Write the feedback, enter an email, and send it
* Recipient gets an email with a link to your feedback
* The recipient reads the feedback and rates its usefulness

Getting Feedback:

* Send the feedback request form to people
* Recipients get an email with a link to the feedback form
* Recipient provides feedback, submits it, and you see the results

You can’t get easier than that! BetterMe has a dashboard that shows the feedback you’ve sent and received. The data allows you to see trends that can help you develop an action plan to improve your communication, presentation skills, collaboration – just about any area you want input from others on. After spending some time in the tool, I found the experience was great and several people I used to capture sample feedback data also commented on the ease of use of the interface.  

Depending on the research you find, feedback, given properly, can improve performance by 39%. That means feedback is an essential component for everyone to reach optimal personal and professional performance. Thanks to BetterMe, now it’s very straightforward and easy to get the data you need when you need it.

Sterling was kind enough to leave a welcome message (below). Check out www.betterme.com – membership is free, and an enterprise version is coming soon. Email Sterling directly to inquire about having your organization considered as a pilot site (sterling@betterme.com).

Want an Instant Intellect?

Guest post by Michelle Cubas, Enterprise Business Coach at Positive Potentials LLC

I am always on the look out for new and interesting coaching resources. Recently I connected with Michelle Cubas of Potentials LLC and she described her concept called Instant Intellect (TM).  One aspect of an Instant Intellect is its attention getting power. It is the cure for shallow conversations. It attracts people to you. As Cubas puts it, “Avoid the pitfalls of being in the task rather than focused on what must be done!”

Here is an overview of the concepts:

Many clients have shared with me a social anxiety or disdain about "small talk" and what I call "social conversations." Read on and you may change your mind.

Small talk sprinkled with active listening and Instant Intellect is sure to make you memorable. Here’s what happens:

1. When you listen, you can mimic the pace of the speaker. That reveals their comfort pace.
2. While listening you’re assessing the vocabulary so you can echo back in similar terms.
3. Your conversation partner walks away thinking, “She understood me.” That’s an instant emotional connection when you make your follow up contact.

 

These types of interactions are intended to teach us about others' observable styles as well as provide clues for further engagement. One such benefit is to understand what interests someone or your ability to authentically offer information without appearing to be a "know-it-all."

So, what will you do with it?

How can it serve you?

Until one sees the value in developing such an asset, then the resources required to obtain it won't be justified. It's that simple.

7 Steps to Acquiring an Instant Intellect:

   1. Pick a topic you want to learn more about. Select something that stimulates your curiosity.

   2. Take five days and gather as much information you can from a variety of sources (internet, publications, trade associations, archives).

   3. Commit to scanning the materials you've collected and select three points that interest you from the “compost pile.”

   4. Use or refer to the three points daily in some aspect of conversation. For example, “How many times have you wondered about the colors in a rainbow? I did. Would you be to know what I found (Click for the answer.)?”

   5. Attend a seminar, lecture, or class on one of the three items you selected. (Consider non-traditional places like churches, mosques, synagogues, and organizations conducting courses.)

   6. Write a journal entry (one page single spaced) on where this exercise took you—boosted curiosity, added conversation starters. Did you meet interesting people? Did you impress someone with your curiosity? How can you use this information in your personal and professional endeavors?

 7. Submit your thoughts to a local media outlet, publication, newsletter, blog, etc. You will now be on the record with your intellectual pursuit.

 

Who knows? You may discover an avocation, a passion, a pathway you didn't acknowledge before.

For more information you can email Michelle at mcubas@positivepotentials.com or visit the website at www.positivepotentials.com