The Perfect Grad Gift – Career Coaching

The Perfect Grad Gift – Career Coaching

The academic year again approaches and, with it, the search for the perfect graduation gift.

It’s springtime – when a young person’s thoughts turn lightly, or heavily, to graduation – and relatives and friends wonder about the perfect gift to celebrate and reward student achievements. How about one of those gifts that keeps on giving (a cliché, maybe, but true)? I’m talking about Career Coaching. It can take your adult child much further than that car or bike or vacation he/she/they want.

Pre-pandemic, in May 2019, billionaire Robert Smith announced he would pay off all of the student debt for the graduates of Moorehouse University. For a man who has a few billion dollars, this gesture to pay off 40 million dollars for the grads at this university was rightfully praised by many people.

Mr. Smith’s gift allowed graduates to start the next chapter with clear heads and less stress about the debts they have to repay. The $40 million given by Mr. Smith is a small cost to him, but to the students, it means a lot, and it will help them to establish and progress in their careers.

You, as parents, have already invested your savings into your children’s future by ensuring that they receive the education they need. To complement the money you have already spent on their education, why not make a small additional investment once they graduate for objective, professional coaching. This will help them make appropriate decisions and successfully move ahead in their careers.

I have worked with students and graduates as a Graduate Placement Advisor at a local community college and as a career coach at a university. I have coached some students and graduates in my private practice. Working with young people is a pleasure for me because they are so optimistic and idealistic.

Upon completing three or four years at college or university, I have always appreciated how motivated and enthusiastic they are to find the right career path. In the same breath, however, they may lack confidence and need support to make significant decisions about their continued studies or the job market they wish to enter.

I have found the coaching relationship has been beneficial to graduates and rewarding for me. We work together to make decisions about post-graduate studies in programs that may complement what they have already learned. We also discuss if they are ready to launch their careers.

When required, I have assisted graduates, and employment seekers prepare their branding, resumes, LinkedIn profiles and cover letters. I have coached them to be the best they can be in their interviews, and I have supported them as they transition into their new work roles. I admire the increasing numbers of colleges and universities that offer some practical coaching.

The best career coaches, I believe, also build upon the coaching students may already have received in school. Qualified coaches can adapt knowledge gained in the academic environment for use within the corporate business world or in other organizations and institutions where graduates may find work. Professional coaching can focus on working as a team player, essential in any work environment. There’s also the need to learn negotiation skills and how to achieve balance and avoid burnout.

I feel grateful to have coached grads from almost every profession and career path. I have directed them to demonstrate the required professionalism for their chosen path.

Coaching can be a great grad gift. A gift that continues giving for a lifetime.

Contact me to learn how I can help your graduate succeed!

Updated from an article originally published May 23, 2019, by Brian Epstein

I Want to Quit My Job as a Manager!

I Want to Quit My Job as a Manager!

As a Career Transition or Outplacement Coach, I have met many managers over the years who were not happy with their jobs. Interestingly, they became happy once they were laid off from their role as a manager! These clients felt that they were executives and managers in the wrong organization, so when they were laid off, it was a relief.

Of course, I asked the question: ”Why didn’t you leave sooner if you were not happy with your job?”

Clients often have said to me that they realized that their work or role as a manager wasn’t the right fit for a long time, but they still stayed where they were. Maybe they had bills to pay and they didn’t want to risk unemployment.

Perhaps you can relate. As a manager or executive in a company, you have provided the best service that you can. You have put your knowledge, skills and competencies to good use, to make the company that you are working for profitable. Due to a change in leadership or a merger/acquisition, you may find yourself in a situation that makes you very unhappy.

So, a layoff may now be almost welcome. And as a coach, I can help you *before* you receive a layoff notice or if you want to quit your job. I can support you as you proactively begin your work search.

I am working with a client right now who believes that there is a good chance that he could be laid off at any time. He wisely began preparing for his search before he is downsized from the company that he works for. Along with helping prepare his resume, Linkedin profile, and cover letter, I have effectively coached him on the best ways to look for a job and to build a professional network. This week, we are preparing for future interviews.

Some questions to ask yourself:

      • Are you ready now to dedicate time to your job search?
      • Do you have the flexibility and autonomy to take time off during work hours to look for a new job?
      • Or do you have a new job lined up to start in the next couple of weeks, but need help making the transition?

    Some outside professional advice may be needed. As a Business and Career Coach and Consultant, I can support you in conducting an effective career search and ensure that your transition into your new role is successful! Contact me for more details.

5 Things To Do To Be A Happier Manager

5 Things To Do To Be A Happier Manager

If you want to be a happier manager, you’re not alone! In a 2011 Berrett-Koehler survey of 150 leaders, a stunning 68% of managers confessed they don’t actually like being managers. So what can you do about it?

The best leaders can see it as the signal to make a change. An effective manager or leader doesn’t make excuses and stay stuck in a rut. They figure out how to extricate themselves and reconnect with their sense of passion and meaning so that they can be a happier manager. Here are 5 things that you can do to be a happier manager:

Be a Happier Manager By Recognizing Myths At Work

First, is it possible you’re managing by hit or myth? (myth meaning a long-standing belief that could be debunked).

The book, ‘Myths of Management: What People Get Wrong About Being the Boss’ (by Stefan Stern and Gary Cooper CBE (Kogan Page 2018) presents 44 of what the authors say are faulty beliefs:

For example, some myths include: that leadership is more important than management/that there is one right way to lead or manage/that you must keep up with all the new management ideas and give them a try. Stern and Cooper gently kill off these myths, while sharing how to find the balance. That’s my goal as a career consultant and coach, as well – to find the balance that works for you.

Be Authentic – and Flexible

I’ve been reading another book – ‘Managing For People Who Hate Managing: Be A Success By Being Yourself’ by Devora Zack (Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc. 2012).

According to Zack, success as a manager comes through finding the managing style that fits who you are. This is not to say you can do whatever you want. As she says, “Be who you are – just flex your style to manage others.” Whether the approach you take is tough or mild, it’s about a range of techniques – being versatile in how you lead, communicate and motivate. The ideal is “maximizing your rapport with others while maintaining your core of integrity.”

Be Accountable to Be a Happier Manager

You may dislike of being a manager because you are not taking charge of and ‘owning’ what you do. As I say in my ebookThe Top 5 Advantages of Hiring A Business Coach Today’ accountability means owning responsibility for all your decisions and actions regardless if the outcome is good or bad. Accountable leaders do not point fingers to try and shift responsibility to others when things go wrong. They focus on fixing the problem and making things right.

The Value of Learning and A New Perspective

Could you benefit from research, a refresher course and refreshed relationships with colleagues? In my work with executives and entrepreneurs, I have often found that those who remain open to learning and flexibility are more likely to ‘close’ in on success. Approach struggles and setbacks as great opportunities to refine skills, grow professionally, and meet and conquer challenges

While you may not enjoy what you’re doing, doing it well can provide a lot of satisfaction. Of course, if you dislike being a manager at your current company, there may be issues that are too major to overcome. This month I’ll be writing more about how to find a new position, professionally.

Improve Your Managerial Skills With A Business Consultant + Coach

You may be an expert in terms of education and experience in your specific field, but you may not be proficient with the management skills needed to run an effective team. A business consultant/coach can help you develop those critical interpersonal, strategic and management skills that are essential to be effective at any level.

I can help you pinpoint the cause of why you are overwhelmed and becoming unproductive, and help put you on the path to make changes. Please download my free ebook, and let’s arrange a 30-minute initial meeting. It’s easy to manage and can help you significantly improve your managerial skills.

 

The Right Time of Year…To Be A Successful Leader of Loyal People

The Right Time of Year…To Be A Successful Leader of Loyal People

To be a successful leader who excels in your industry and cultivates the best employees, it’s important to look both to the past and to the future. The new year is to be a good time to think about, for example, time-management techniques. After all, don’t you want your business environment and employees to be as efficient and productive as possible?

Maybe you’re also thinking about refining your digital presence and sharing the wealth of wisdom you’ve accumulated as a corporation. Are you doing a SWOT review? Perhaps a thorough examination of your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats can help you prepare going into the new year.

As a Business Coach that helps companies review their end-year results and look ahead, I have found this to be true. One of your most strategic initiatives is the people who make up your workforece. I believe that the success of your company comes directly from treating people well. Here are a few ways

Happy Employees = a Successful Leader

Happiness, rather than technology, is the key ingredient in a unique workplace experience, according to a global study of 7300 workplace employees in 12 countries; Workplace—Powered by Human Experience http://humanexperience.jll/global-report/

There are easy ways to instill loyalty and keep your employees happy. Send brief personal letters to employees thanking them for their particular achievements can be a great holiday gesture. It maybe even more important in the new year, when the festivities have wound down, and normal/abnormal business life returns. Humanity in the corporate world can pay great dividends, and definitely show a strong ROI.

Mentorship

Consider being a mentor when you can – sharing the gift of your years of experience to help someone just starting out. Take time to develop corporate mentorship programs. When done right, these programs can highly benefit employees, their managers and the bottom line.

The year-end is also often a great time to find and hire top talent. It’s equally a good time to think about creating and developing leadership training. Professional development is what leaders, management and other employees want. Investment in professional development is the kind of ‘gift’ that lasts year-round and beyond. A dedicated leadership program will help your business grow and create those happy employees.

Even the most successful leader, manager, company owner and CEO can also benefit from expert coaching. A seasoned, versatile outsider who understand your business and its people. They can help give you valuable perspective and input you that you may be too close to see.

As it’s the season of gift-giving, I have the perfect item for you: my free downloadable e-book, ‘The Top 5 Advantages of Hiring A Business Coach.’ Set up an appointment with me to help focus on and define the guidance you need to be the best leader of the best people. Think of it as a gift for the future.

Here’s to a great new year of success – for all of us!

Would A Business Coach Have Helped BCW?

Would A Business Coach Have Helped BCW?

Tackling business including how to achieve goals, set priorities and improve skills is often helped by a great cup of coffee (or tea or juice). As a business/career coach, I sometimes treat clients and colleagues, as I advise them on many career and management issues. And one place I used to go was a local coffee-deli-restaurant-bakery I’ll call BCW (now closed and replaced by a new business). What happened to BCW – and could a business coach have helped? Keep reading to find out.

Redundancy

Though it was a social venue, it often was, like many cafes, a meeting place for business meetings. Its very location was a kind of ‘how to succeed’ geographically. BCW was located on a main street, near a busy intersection with a streetcar and bus stop. It was spacious, yet intimate, with a summer patio. Yet, sites like Reddit and Yelp had no shortage of opinions as to why it’s good riddance.

Amidst the raves for certain menu items, there were dozens of comments and complaints about the service, the food, the size of the place and dealing with difficult people including the owner. Maybe she was overwhelmed at work. Many ‘posters’ recommended the nearby Starbucks as the better place to go. As I read the complaints, I began to get a picture of what *might* have caused this angst. ‘What not to do’ morphed into ‘how to manage well, reduce stress at work, meet and exceed goals with great service’, and overall ‘how to succeed’ in a business.

New Perspective from a Business Coach

Good decisions, bad decisions – sometimes it helps to have an outside-inside professional, like a Career Management and Business Coach to help you manage the myriad of issues in your working day. I generally work with corporate executives, but doing business day-to-day involves people from all disciplines. There are some things big corporations can learn from small business and vice versa.

As for what you can do when you’re at the mercy of review sites, and people dumping on you just because they can? Not much, because the web is all about democracy. The owner of BCW is still seeing these reviews, even though her business has shut down.

Exposure?

When (and if) you should defend your reputation online is something I’ll address in another post. For now, try envisioning your business as a main-street café. Where everything you do/don’t do contributes towards success or failure of that business. Where the world has a front row on how you prep and implement throughout the day. Your workplace ambiance has to be pretty darn good for people. That it’s the kind of meeting-place that succeeds with customers and clients.

Would you like to talk about your business issues over coffee? Consider the initial meetings as the appetizer before the ‘entree’ into complete career and business coaching! Book an appointment today.

Dragons’ Den Interview With Brian Epstein

Dragons’ Den Interview With Brian Epstein

As featured on Dragons’ Den

I was recently interviewed by Dragons’ Den for my expertise on working with friends. Here is the article they published.


Working with a friend seems like a logical and fun proposition. A friendship at work (a “workship,” if you will) can come in many forms — hiring a friend, working for a friend or becoming partners. Having someone in the workplace that you already trust and like can give you a morale boost and an impetus to get some good work done. However, for all its benefits, turning a friendship into a workship can have its risks. Any business association can get complicated or strained, but when it’s with someone you’re already friends with, it can quickly test both ends of the relationship. That’s why it’s crucial to know what qualities to look for in a potential friend-turned-colleague, how to set boundaries and the best ways to manage any conflicts so the partnership can thrive. Here’s how.

SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS: WHAT TO ASK EACH OTHER BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Likability is key for a friendship, but it’s merely the tip of the iceberg when working with friends. Whether you’re a friend/boss or a friend/employee, it’s important that you both share core values. Career management and leadership coach Brian Epstein believes the most crucial values in a business relationship between friends (and any business relationship) are integrity, commitment, emotional intelligence, passion, trust and reliability. Beyond this, you should both be able to roll with the punches. A word of warning; if you seriously doubt some of these key values in your friend, it may be best not to work with them.

Is your sibling also your best friend? Epstein also warns that it’s perhaps “a good idea not to bring family members into the business fold,” since familial relationships often have less flexibility than normal friendships.

GETTING STARTED: WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

Establishing clear responsibilities and expectations from the start can prevent a lot of the more common conflicts that arise from working with friends. Epstein even suggests putting together a sort of “prenuptial agreement,” with a “complete understanding of the skills, experience and strengths that each person brings.” This agreement should detail the workload both topically (what each person is responsible for) and time-wise (monthly, weekly, daily), as well as preferred working styles (eg. your friend/boss prefers to have scheduled meetings rather than an open door policy). Be as transparent as possible by outlining your weaknesses, concerns and future ambitions (e.g., determine whether the friend you hired is planning on making this a temporary stepping stone or a long-term position). Remember, this is not an exact science and this agreement can always be subject to review and revision. If possible, you may even want to begin your new partnership with a trial period where you both get to test drive the arrangement and establish clear guidelines from there.

And as your new workplace relationship takes off, you should anticipate a change in your old dynamic. You can’t always be buddy/buddy in a boardroom and you may pull back on the social time you spend together outside of the office because the work time has increased — and that’s okay. Being flexible while adapting to this new relationship will do a lot to ease growing pains.

MANAGING CONFLICT: WHAT TO DO WHEN THINGS GO WRONG

Any workplace friendship is bound to have its rough patches, and that’s where your guidelines come in handy. For example, if you’re being overworked by your friend/boss or if you feel like your friend/employee is not pulling their weight, referring to the terms in your initial agreement can keep the discussion from becoming too personal, and that is key.

“Conflicts should be about the business,” says Epstein, “no personal attacks should ever happen.” When working toward a solution, Epstein hopes each individual will be willing to talk and listen to the other person’s perspective in a diplomatic manner while using “I” statements to express their concerns. He believes other colleagues can also play a helpful role in tough situations like this, so it may be best to “invite outside opinions and judgements where possible to keep work scenarios unbiased.”

But a friendship-turned-workship is not all doom and gloom because, even in conflict, working with a friend can have its advantages. Don’t overlook the fact that since you started out as friends, you’re already comfortable with each other and you know how to communicate, even when it means tackling tricky situations.

It’s elements like this that can make a workship worth it — but only if the aforementioned values, clarity and adaptability are firmly in place.


Originally published on the CBC’s Dragons’ Den