Why is a coach important?
Coaches provide structure to the enquiry. I learned from facilitation and even further back, from my experience managing manufacturing businesses, about the value of process. In manufacturing, you start with inputs (raw materials) and end with outputs (finished goods).
“Marguerite. I would love to have a call with you about my retirement” emailed my client, “It’s 5 years away but I want to get things in place from now, and I need some guidance”. On the same day of our call, I saw a post on social media of someone I knew announcing her retirement.
What is a business book? What qualifies as a book on leadership? To my mind, it’s any book that brings insight about my work, how I serve my clients and what lessons I can share with them. I have a very eclectic list of business books, to which I have added: “Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones”.
This Monday was a public holiday in Canada and many countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. Most people were at home due to the pandemic. In Jamaica, the holiday marks Labour Day, a day on which the entire country focuses on community projects. Not this year. Jamaica was under curfew from 3.00 p.m. Sunday to 5.00 a.m. Tuesday. Everyone stayed home.
The cornerstone of my coaching and leadership development programmes is the crafting of your Personal Leadership Vision. Why do I do this?
Just like you, my clients are already leaders in their organizations, and very accomplished and successful. However, they come to me because they want to do and be more. They want to lead better and more powerfully.
Who first said: “Failure is not an option”? Was it some military general of yore leading his troops into battle with the enemy in pursuit of victory for country, honour and life? Or a visionary entrepreneur with some potentially disruptive technology, driven by his/her goal of dominating or even eliminating the competition?
The most scarce resource that a leader has to manage is time, his or her own, and the time of others. The workplace is driven by time. There are specific hours for starting and ending the workday and for taking breaks, with some having to physically clock in and out.
How mindful are you at work? To be mindful is to be aware of the present moment, what’s happening and who you are being NOW. That is hard enough to do on a meditation cushion, and the stillness of the morning or evening, much less in the cut and thrust of a busy workday.
I was 23 years old, with a cherubic face that looked more like 16, all of 5 feet tall, when I assumed the mantle of Managing Director of my family’s door manufacturing business. I struggled with how best to lead the group of 70 hardened and rambunctious male employees, well aware that I needed to be seen as strong, assertive and no walk-over.
“Look at my week Marguerite!” Daniel had indicated prior to our fortnightly coaching call that foremost on his mind were the endless meetings that cluttered his days. He was feeling overwhelmed, time-strapped and frustrated in not being able to devote the time necessary to close important deals for his company.
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