Coaching News

How to Choose an Executive Coach

2010-08-16T09:09:00.003+01:00

These days everyone seems to be adding ‘Executive Coaching’ to their portfolio of skills and services. When you’re asked to find an executive coach or a selection of executive coaches to work with your senior people, how do you go about making the best possible selection?

Here we look at the key points to consider when finding executive coaches:

Account Management

This is very important when you are looking for executive coaches to work with a team. Look for a coaching organisation which has processes in place for managing your business. On smaller coaching assignments it is possible to work with coaches who work independently, but when you are organising coaching for more than three to four people, it can become difficult and time-consuming to have to manually track who has taken their coaching sessions and when they are due to have their next one. Unless looking after the coaching process is part of your full-time role, it’s better to work with a company that can do all of this for you. Also, think about what would happen if the coaching isn’t going as well as you hoped it would. A well organised coaching company should be able to tell you who to speak to and how any issues will be resolved.

Credibility

If you are going to ‘sell’ the idea of coaching within your organisation, you need to be sure that the coaches you put in front of your senior have the credibility factor. Are they used to coaching at an executive level? Do they understand the language that will be used? Are the people having the coaching likely to take them seriously? In the case of particularly feisty coachees, can the coach be assertive and manage the relationship in a respectful way without either party losing face? You can usually tell this just from speaking to one of the directors/partners in the coaching company and trusting your gut.

Cultural Fit

The people you choose as executive coaches should be able to quickly understand the culture of your organisation and adapt their style accordingly.

Relevant experience

This is an interesting one because of course you would expect executive coaches to have experience, but what makes experience relevant to the individuals being coached? Despite what you might think, it is not absolutely vital for the coach to have held the same position as the person being coached. What is important however is that the coach has experience of the kinds of challenges that the coachee is facing and knows how to handle them. Ideally, look for coaches who have themselves held senior positions within organisations and can demonstrate success with similar clients.

References

A professional executive coach should be more than happy to put you in touch with other clients who you can contact for a reference. When you follow up on the reference find out about the aims and objectives of the coaching programme they were engaged in – did they achieve the outcomes they were looking for? What was it like to be coached by them?

Chemistry or 'Fit'

The chemistry between the executive coach and their coachee needs to be right to have an effective coaching relationship. Ask the coaching company whether they are willing to meet or talk with the individuals being coached to make sure it’s right before the programme starts.

With the right partners, the Executive Coaching process can be an incredibly effective way of developing the skills of your senior people.

Copyright Hannah McNamara HRM Coaching Ltd

Hannah McNamara is the Managing Director of HRM Coaching Ltd an Executive Coaching company based in London, UK with clients all over the world. They have a team of Executive Coaches available to choose from and will manage the coaching programme for you from start to finish. for more information call +44 20 7939 9910 or visit www.hrmcoaching.com.

Negotiation Skills Workshop London

2007-04-02T11:10:00.000+01:00

Negotiation Skills Workshop in London | Thursday 19th April

Learn about negotiating from an experienced international negotiator. If you struggle to secure the fees you're worth or find yourself always beaten down on price, this one-day course will help.

We keep the group size small so that you get lots of practical experience and can network and get to know the other people on the course.

Special Offers apply. For more information go to www.smeacademy.co.uk.

Grant for Executive Coaching

2007-01-18T07:58:00.000+00:00

Over the past week I've been very busy dealing with new clients who are taking advantage of a new grant for Executive Coaching.

Provided businesses fall into certain categories (audio/visual, automotive, construction, hospitality, retail, sports & leisure, and training) and meet other criteria, one of which is being based in a London postcode, they may be eligible for a £1,000 grant to be spent on the director's development.

The grant can be used for Executive Coaching or Management Training.

For more information about coaching and to find out if you are eligible for the grant, visit us at HRM Coaching or contact me on 020 8544 8024 or via the Contact Page of our website.

All work and no play could be a marriage wrecker

2007-01-16T15:20:00.000+00:00

Within life coaching and personal development, there's a lot of talk about Work/Life Balance. Most people would agree that having a healthy balance between your working life and your personal life is good, but we don't really talk about the consequences if you don't.

In London, we work hard and we play hard. In fact in many circles, you're frowned upon if you don't network in the pub after work. It's just the way things are done. With that culture in mind, is it any surprise that divorce rates are rising?

I was recently approached by Inside Divorce magazine about an article they were doing about this issue.

Along with a couple of other contributors, we were asked about how to spot signs that you might be just a little too focused on work. You can find the article at Inside Divorce magazine.

Mind of an Entrepreneur

2006-04-04T15:22:00.000+01:00

Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to be invited to run a workshop at the Mind of an Entrepreneur event at City Hall, London.

Organised by serial entrepreneur Alexander Amosu, the event featured speakers such as René Carayol (BBC2's Pay Off Your Mortgage in Two Years), BJ Cunningham (Death cigarettes), Alex Tew (Million Dollar Homepage) and Leila Wilcox (winner of Channel 4's Make me a Million and MD of Halos n Horns).

My talk was on 'How to Build Your Business...and Still Take Time Off' and the whole of my workshop is available to buy on CD for just £9.97 + P&P. It's 45 minutes long and includes some of the information in this newsletter's main article - plus LOADS more!

Because it's a normal audio CD, you can listen to it in your car, on your CD walkman or transfer it onto your iPod or MP3 player. This is good because you can listen to it while you're doing something else and save yourself some time! To order your copy, send an e-mail to info@hrmcoaching.com with details of which CD you'd like to have.

Hannah McNamara

Today is Work Your Proper Hours Day

2006-02-24T10:09:00.000+00:00

Apparently over 5 million people work more than their contracted hours and, according to the TUC, senior managers (such as senior civil servants and company directors) would be paid on average an extra £24,000 per year if they were paid for the extra hours they put in.

I wonder what would the results would have looked like if the survey had been conducted solely in the City? In particular, within the larger City Law Firms?

Long hours is part of the culture, isn't it? Surely it's the people who are first to arrive and last to leave that get noticed, hit their billable hours targets and ultimately get promoted. If you want to be a partner, you put the hours in.

But it's not just work/life balance that gets sacrificed. In order to perform at your best, your mind needs rest. Just as an over-trained muscle will eventually shut down, an over-trained mind can become fuzzy and a tired, fuzzy mind can lead to mistakes, irritability and occasionally aggressive behaviour or bullying.

"If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen".

To a certain extent this has been true. The top tiers of partnership are populated by very successful lawyers who have fought their way to the top. But what about the younger lawyers coming up through the ranks? The expectations of young lawyers are changing and not all aspire to partnership. There are huge drop-out rates and talent is being lost to smaller, niche firms or Associates choose to move in-house.

How long can the legal profession sustain the high-pressure, long-hours culture without imploding on itself?

Probably not for much longer.

If the Clementi Report is a predictor of the legal world of the future, then we can expect more young, talented lawyers to move to Tesco or the RAC where they will have access to working conditions more in keeping with those of their friends unless something changes.

Within the last year, many more firms have been looking to industry for inspiration on how to develop and retain key talent. Two of the areas that has been getting a lot of interest are Coaching and Mentoring, particularly for women. In fact, Freshfields has just announced the launch of a new mentoring scheme for female associates (The Lawyer, 20th Feb 06).

Coaching, particularly when conducted by an impartial, external coach with a non-legal background, enables the person being coached (the coachee) to think clearly, creatively and objectively, to improve their time management and their leadership skills - they are also exposed to ideas from outside of the legal profession. The benefits for the firm are huge - their lawyers become more motivated, focused and are more likely to stay with the firm, saving on recruitment costs (regardless of whether they have their sights set on partnership).

Is coaching taken seriously by Lawyers?

In a word - yes.

The Law Society awards CPD hours for face to face coaching and workshops which teach coaching skills to people who manage staff.

For more information on how coaching could be integrated into the Learning & Development strategy for your firm, call Hannah McNamara of HRM Coaching on 020 8544 8024 or visit www.hrmcoaching.com.

Girls! Flirt your way to the top!

2006-02-22T11:27:00.000+00:00

We've all heard about the 'casting couch' and most of us wouldn't go as far as sleeping our way to the top, but is there really any harm in fluttering a few eyelashes and the odd provocative comment to get ourselves noticed at work?

Well, as viewers of tonight's opening episode of the new UK series of The Apprentice will find out, you can actually end up doing yourself more harm than good.

Women have battled with sexism in the workplace for long enough, without encouraging sexual attention at work. Apart from annoying other people and alienating your female colleagues, you can find yourself passed over for promotion simply because male bosses don't want to be perceived as giving you any 'special favours'.

So what can you do?

Keep conversations at work on a strictly business level and keep conversations about extra-curricular activities clean!
Don't get drawn into office banter that has sexual undertones (it's better to be thought a prude than the opposite)
When dressing for work, think stylish rather than sexy
Leave the short skirts, tight tops and high heels to the weekend

Yes, you may have worked hard to get the figure you have and may strongly believe in Girl Power, but surely it's better to get ahead based on your merits than how you look or who you flirt with.

Coaching from the Winter Olympics

2006-02-21T12:56:00.000+00:00

We're only a few days into the Winter Olympics and there are already some gems from the people taking part. Today's comment is from British skiier, Chemmy Alcott. The 23-year-old from Twickenham placed 19th in the Super Giant Slalom (Super-G).

"The conditions didn't suit me, but that's something I have to learn to deal with," Alcott said. "I can't use that as an excuse. This is the Olympics: you get given a hill and you just have to race...But I'm not disappointed because I went as hard as I could, and that's a really good attitude to take into any race. I think this shows that I can still be a world-class skier.""

What a great attitude! Well done Chemmy!

For the full article click here.

Do you procrastinate?

2006-02-01T09:25:00.000+00:00

How are those New Year’s Resolutions coming along?

If you joined a gym in January (or know someone who did), you were probably encouraged to book some sessions with a personal trainer.

“Another chance for them to make some money from me”, you might have thought. But before you dismiss it, making a commitment to someone like a personal trainer does make you do more than you would on your own.

If you set a goal to get a six-pack or tighter legs, bum and tum by the summer, you’ve got a much better chance of achieving that goal if you’ve got someone pushing and encouraging you.

The same applies to Coaching. You may not know it, but Life Coaching and Business Coaching both have their roots in Sports Coaching. Sports people know that having the right attitude and constantly stretching their comfort zones is what drives them to achieve more.

In the same way, people in all walks of life are discovering that it’s a lot easier to achieve your goals if you’ve got someone who’s on your side, keeping you motivated.

Are you procrastinating about something that’s in your own best interests?

Whether it’s learning a new skill, making a life- changing decision or biting the bullet and having that conversation you’ve been dreading, working with your own personal Coach could give you the motivation and confidence to finally do it.

Here are five steps to dealing with procrastination:

Be clear about what you need to do. Often people put things off because they’re not sure what to do next.
Think about WHY you should do it. There’s no point beating yourself up over something if there’s no good reason for doing it in the first place.
If you know what to do next and why you should be doing it, it’s time to dig a bit deeper and ask yourself “What’s stopping me?”.
If your answer is something along the lines of “I don’t have the time”, there are two choices – either find the time or get someone else to do it!
But if your answer is “I don’t want to do it”, ask yourself what are the implications of not doing it and imagine how great you’ll feel when it’s finally done. It’s amazing how draining it can be constantly putting something off. It literally zaps your energy.

New Year's Resolutions

2006-01-03T18:34:00.000+00:00

What have you decided to do differently in 2006?

- Have more time for friends and family?
- Make more money?
- Get fit?

Just like Christmas is traditionally the time when we spend our money on gifts for other people, New Year is the time when we traditionally spend money on ourselves.

Whether it’s Sale Shopping, Gym Memberships or Business Books, the chances are that in the next few weeks we’ll all indulge in something that, come March, will be a distant (expensive) memory. And we’ll probably go back to doing things in the same way as we’ve always done them.

So if you’re going to invest in yourself and your future, shouldn’t you be investing in something that’s going to last a bit longer?

Here’s my motto for 2006

A Resolution’s for Life, not just for New Year.

If you’re planning to make 2006 the year that you:

Change Career
Start a Business
Make more money
Have more time off
Figure out what you really want from life
...It’s time to get a coach.

An initial consultation costs you nothing and investing in a good, professional life coach can be a much better investment than a £600/year gym membership that you only use for two months!

Opening Hours - Xmas & New Year

2005-12-20T13:24:00.000+00:00

Our opening hours over Christmas and New Year are as follows:

Fri 23rd Dec 9.30am - 2.00pm
Sat 24th Dec CLOSED
Sun 25th Dec CLOSED
Mon 26th Dec CLOSED
Tue 27th Dec CLOSED
Wed 28th Dec 10.00am - 1.00pm
Thu 29th Dec 10.00am - 1.00pm
Fri 30th Dec 10.00am - 1.00pm
Sat 31st Dec CLOSED
Sun 1st Jan CLOSED
Mon 2nd Jan CLOSED

Back to normal office hours (9.00am - 5.30pm) from Tuesday 3rd January 2006.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Hannah McNamara and all the team at HRM Coaching.

Year End Review

2005-12-18T09:22:00.000+00:00

As published in the December 2005 issue of Business Network, the magazine for members of the Federation of Small Business (FSB).

Regret is a terrible thing. But what’s worse? To regret the things you’ve done or the things you haven’t done? If you’re not sure, it’s time for the Rocking Chair test.

The Rocking Chair test goes like this…you need to get comfy for this one…. Close your eyes and imagine you’re in your twilight years. You’re in your rocking chair thinking back over your life. What have you done that made you smile? What would you have done differently? What advice would you give if you could travel back in time and meet yourself today?

As you take time off over Christmas and New Year, use it as an opportunity to reflect on your year. What have you done this year that made you smile?

If you set yourself goals for 2005, did you achieve them? What have you learned about yourself? And what have you learned about the people around you?

Here are some common New Years Resolutions that people set in 2005. See how many you recognise:

“I will cut down on my hours and spend more time with the family”
“I’ll launch that new product/service I’ve been thinking about”
“I want to get more customers/clients”
“I’m going to get fit”
“I want to expand the business”

How did you get on? The chances are that if you didn’t achieve your goals, one of three things happened:

1. Something else got in the way
2. You started doing it but ran out of steam
3. It didn’t seem as important a month or two down the track

But isn’t this natural? After all, loads of people set goals and don’t follow through with them, don’t they?

In a word, Yes. It’s estimated that a staggering 97% of people don’t have a long-term goal for their future and plod along from one day to the next. Only 3% of people are clear about what they want from life and how they’re going to get it. Are you one of that 3%?

Before you start beating yourself up over the things you HAVEN’T achieved, take a minute to reflect on what you HAVE done. Something I do is to take out my diary and look back over the appointments I had booked this year.

Flick back to January 2005 and think about who you met that month. Where did that meeting lead to? A new customer, a different way of doing business or a little ‘nugget’ of information that helped to you to achieve something?

In Britain, we seem to dwell on the negatives. We had a glorious summer, but we’ll only remember the days that it rained. 2005 was the year that England won The Ashes, the Olympic bid and Ellen MacArthur completed her historic transatlantic crossing. But we’ll remember it for 7/7, New Orleans and Asian earthquakes.

As you look back over your own year, you’ll discover that even in the toughest times, you learned something about yourself. And in the best of times you realised what life could be like.

So how can you learn from 2005 and make 2006 even better?

You can start by setting goals - real goals. “I want to get fit” is great, but how do YOU define fit? Able to climb a flight of stairs without feeling breathless or able to run a Marathon in under 4 hours?

Creating goals is not easy. You need to examine what is important to you in your personal and professional life. The five tips below can help you set realistic goals.

1. Create several short term goals that lead to the completion of long term goals. To do this, set realistic weekly, monthly, and quarterly goals that inspire you. These goals should be the precursor for your long-term goals. Make your goals reachable. There is nothing more disheartening than not being able to achieve your goals.

2. Set priorities. Place your goals in order of importance.

3. Your goals must be clearly defined. Make sure you specify exactly what your goal is and how you will achieve it.

4. Set a time frame for your goals. Not setting a time frame can drag your goal out too long. Put a time limit on when your goal should be complete.

5. Make sure your goal has meaning. These goals reflect the core values of who you are and what your business is made of.

No matter how large or small your business is, there is always room for growth and improvement. Many people are burned out and tired of what they are doing. A life or business coach can help you through this rough period and get you back on track by helping you develop meaningful goals. And give you the push you need to achieve them!

HRM Coaching has a network of experienced, professional coaches who can help you to achieve your business and personal goals this year.

To find out more, including what’s involved and how much it costs, go to www.hrmcoaching.com. You can also find out when Hannah McNamara will be presenting workshops in your area. For more information call 020 8544 8024 or email info@hrmcoaching.com

Marketing Help For Coaches

2005-12-17T22:42:00.000+00:00

Do you know someone who's thinking about becoming a coach?

If they haven't run a small business before or haven't worked in a small business, they could be in for a shock.

For many new coaches, who have concentrated all their efforts on studying hard and performing well in their practical examinations, it can be scary to learn that simply hanging their certificate on the wall of their office doesn't result in clients beating a path to their door.

This is why Hannah McNamara has launched a website dedicated to helping new coaches get started. Called www.marketinghelpforcoaches.com, it does exactly what it says it does. It gives coaches practical, down to earth advice on marketing.

The website draws on Hannah's experience of Marketing her own coaching practice and visitors to the site can subscribe to received a Free Marketing Mini Course, delivered by e-mail.

Coaches who want to ask questions and learn with their peers can attend workshops and tele-seminars (telephone conference call seminars). If they have trained with The Coaching Academy, they can sign up for the Advanced Diploma course, which is presented by Hannah McNamara (Saturday) and Guy Levine (Sunday).

Business Start Up Show Review

2005-11-27T16:28:00.000+00:00

Hannah McNamara was one of the speakers at the Business Start Up show at London's ExCeL on Saturday 26th November.

The talk was very popular, with the queue going round the back of the seminar theatre and people were turned away as there was no more room in the theatre!

The theme of the talk was "How To Build Your Business and Still Take Time Off", covering everything from how to make your Sales & Marketing more effective to how to save time on your Accounts.

An audio CD of the seminar is available at a cost of £9.97. To order, simply send an e-mail to info@hrmcoaching.com with 'Order CD' in the subject line, giving your contact details.

Hannah and her team of Life Coaches and Business Coaches are waiting to help you to build your business and take time off!

Read this article in FSB's Magazine

2005-10-25T14:18:00.000+01:00

Did you see our article in the October/November issue of the FSB's Members Magazine, Business Network?

It's called How to Say "Darling, I'm Taking Christmas Off" - and mean it.

You can view a pdf version by visiting http://www.hrmcoaching.com/news/all/

New Special Offer! Click here now

2005-10-25T13:35:00.000+01:00

Do you qualify for Special Rates on Life Coaching or Career Coaching?

Click here to find out!

We're in Zest Magazine!

2005-10-24T15:43:00.000+01:00

Look out for the Life Makeover in the November 2005 issue of Zest magazine. It features one of our coaches, Rachel Brushfield.

Meet Hannah at Biz Start Up Show

2005-10-22T15:46:00.000+01:00

Hannah McNamara will be presenting at the Business Start Up Show at London's ExCeL on 26th November. To book your free tickets, go to http://www.bstartup.com

FREE Newsletter Sign up now!

2005-10-15T17:05:00.000+01:00

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Every month you'll get useful articles and tips on personal development, how to build your business or how to enhance your career - you choose!

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ANLP Autumn Conference 16 Oct

2005-10-14T19:50:00.000+01:00

Hannah will be presenting a 3 hour talk on Marketing at the Association for NLP's Autumn Conference on Sunday 16th October.

The conference is on all weekend from Saturday morning through to Sunday afternoon.

Hannah's talk is called the Essentials of Marketing Your Practice:

"Do you sometimes struggle to get your message across and win new clients? Are you worried about wasting money on adverts that don't get results or on websites that nobody visits? At this workshop you'll learn what works and what doesn't when you're promoting your practice. If you'd like to get more clients or a better calibre of client, then this is the workshop for you."

More details of how to book are on the ANLP's website.

OCTOBER DEALS - 5 Places left!

2005-10-14T15:21:00.000+01:00

Do you qualify for a concessionary rate?

If your personal income is less than £30k, you may qualify for one of 5 reduced rate Life Coaching packages. Because there are only 5 places available, we are closing our books for October now! Don't miss out, contact Hannah today!

To find out if you qualify, click here

27/09/05 Seminar: The Secrets of Superstar Networkers

2005-09-05T10:35:00.000+01:00

Does the idea of networking fill you with dread? Can you walk into a room of potential business contacts and strike up a conversation?

Networking has become an essential tool of marketing. Hannah McNamara of HRM Coaching will reveal how we can all become effective ‘networkers’, making our mark and growing our businesses effectively.

As well as learning about networking, you can try out your new found networking skills and use this evening as an opportunity to make new business contacts.

This event is hosted by Merton Chamber of Commerce.

Time: 6.00pm - 8.00pm
Date: Tuesday 27th September 2005
Venue: Express by Holiday Inn, South Wimbledon (opposite Colliers Wood Tube Station, Northern Line)
Cost: £10 inc VAT if booked online
To book: visit Merton Chamber of Commerce

Hannah McNamara of HRM Coaching will be speaking at other events this year. Click here for more details.

Are YOU a dreamer?

2005-08-24T13:00:00.000+01:00

This morning I watched a news article about a young woman who had just set a world record for sailing across the Channel.

What was special about this Channel crossing? The sailor, Hilary Lister, is a quadriplegic who steered the boat by blowing through two straws. She completed her crossing in 6 hours.

In her own words, speaking to BBC Breakfast: "If you want to have your dream badly enough you can do it." According to the BBC, she took up sailing two years ago as a way to boost her self-confidence.

And what a way to boost your self-confidence!

How is it that there are some people who seem to have exceptional determination and who drive them selves to succeed against all the odds, and at the other extreme there are people who don't even think about the what if's?

It's all about attitude. If you believe that something is possible, you can almost always find a way to do it. If you believe that something is impossible, you'll almost always find a way NOT to do it.

As we grow up and experience set backs in life, we start to form beliefs about what we are 'allowed' to do and what we aren't. And these beliefs can stop us from dreaming, from doing the things that could make us happy, from taking a leap into the unknown.

For a number of years I held the belief that my husband and I would never travel the world. We had a mortgage, steady jobs and a comfortable life. And we told ourselves that we didn't really want to do it anyway - traveling was either for students or wealthy retirees. It was only when I bumped into an old school friend who simply said ,"just rent your place out and go" that I realised we'd both been finding reasons not to do it.

Once I'd made the shift in my mind that it might be possible, I soon discovered how easy it was to arrange! We decided to go away for a year and to make it a honeymoon. In February we set the date for a June wedding (we'd been engaged for 12 years!) and organised the wedding and reception in my spare time within 3 months. But, as the wedding magazines argue, THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! You need at least a year to organize a wedding, don't you?

If you really want to do something, you can find a way to do it.

But the first step is opening your mind to the possibilities. What would make you really happy right now? What would give you a sense of achievement? To have a better relationship with your loved ones? To learn to dance? To have more responsibility at work? To go to a concert? To laugh?

Spend some time over the Bank Holiday thinking about what would make you feel happy and alive. Dream, play and give your mind the chance to wander. Every time you hear yourself saying 'but' or 'I can't do that because..', ask yourself HOW you could do it. Those obstacles aren't so big and scary when you start to think about how you can overcome them.

And it's never too late. Colonel Saunders was 65 and living off social security cheques. But his unwavering belief in his recipe for fried chicken drove him to start the franchise business that became the KFC we know today. Whether or not you like KFC, you've got admire his courage!