We put these questions to longtime executive recruiter Don Patrick. We turned to Don because of his deep expertise. Don’s been recruiting senior executives for more than 25 years. Based in Santa Rosa Beach, FL, he is president of the executive search firm Sanford Rose Associates® – Norcross.

Don told us that even with all the changes affecting the business world, the qualities that he and his clients consider most important when hiring for senior leader positions have remained constant.

Whether you’re looking to hire a senior leader, develop employees who have leadership potential, provide senior leader coaching, or advance your own career and leadership mindset, Don’s insights into those qualities are really valuable. (For a deeper dive, click over to our LinkedIn article on this topic.)

Passion is No. 1

Passion is the top trait that Patrick looks for when interviewing for senior roles. “A passionate person is going to help build passionate teams,” he explains.

A candidate who’s passionate will show enthusiasm, be well-rounded and have broad interests outside work. They’ll also have done their homework about the potential employer.

Another indicator of passion is having professional growth and self-development goals. “People who are truly passionate about what they’re doing want to be better all the time,” Don says.

Humility is No. 2

The second quality to look for in candidates for senior leadership roles is humility. While you can’t measure humility, you can pay attention to how someone responds to questions like, What is your biggest inspiration and why? “If they can talk about what inspires them without puffing their chest out, it’s a good sign.”

“Another thing is to see if they can admit mistakes and how they’ve dealt with failure. If someone says, ‘That’s one of my strengths, I don’t make mistakes,’ there’s not humility there.”

Don also listens for signs of integrity and whether someone has guiding values.

Resilience is No. 3

Resilience, the ability to bounce back from setbacks, is especially important when hiring for higher-level positions.

One way to assess resilience is to look at the length of a candidate’s tenure with previous employers. If the individual has stayed with employers for more than a year or two, “that shows they can live through the ups and downs, buckle down and get the job finished,” Don says.

Another approach is to ask about how the candidate has dealt with anger and how they might handle a hypothetical situation where a boss asks them to be less than truthful.

Many of the qualities that employers assess when recruiting for senior leader positions are aspects of emotional intelligence, or EQ. “Integrity, humility, resilience – when you start seeing those things tie together in a candidate, that makes somebody really attractive to a client,” Don told us.

Developing Emotional Intelligence

At The Workplace Coach, we’ve been partnering with its executive and leadership coaching clients to assess and develop emotional intelligence for decades.

We know that Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, is really essential to being a good leader. Leaders who have a high EQ are better able to handle emotionally charged situations like conflict. They are more aware of organizational and team dynamics and tend to be skilled at influencing and inspiring others.

The Workplace Coach offers clients several emotional intelligence profile tools, including EQ-i-360, Leadership profile and TTI DISC EQ, as well as career coaching and leadership coaching to assist leaders on their upward trajectory.

Assessments and coaching are available both to individual clients and to organizations looking to identify and develop high-potential employees.

About The Workplace Coach

The Workplace Coach has deep expertise in business leadership. For more than two decades, its award-winning coaches have been partnering successfully with executive and leadership coaching clients and organizations to help them achieve their strategic goals. Leadership coaching clients report success in developing their leadership mindset and executive presence and in implementing leader-as-coach tools in the workplace to drive higher employee engagement and productivity.

Contact The Workplace Coach today to learn how to equip your team members for senior leader roles.

The post Top 3 Qualities to Look for When Hiring Senior Execs appeared first on Workplace Coaching |.

Just as strong communities are better equipped to respond to a crisis, workers who feel a sense of belonging and connectedness at work are more likely to excel in their jobs. They are also far more likely to be engaged and productive team members who remain loyal to their employer.

Unfortunately, many people today feel more isolated than ever, including at work. The question that many executives and leaders are asking our coaches is how they can create and sustain a sense of community at work.

9 ways to build community at work

Here are nine ways that executives and other organizational leaders can create strong, healthy communities in the workplace.

1. Create opportunities for shared learning. This can involve programs such as peer coaching and mentoring, or simply sending pairs or small teams of employees to conferences and encouraging experienced employees to share their knowledge and expertise with colleagues.

2. Elevate shared goals, values and accomplishments. Make it a habit when speaking with employees to emphasize the important role they play as individuals and as teams in helping your organization fulfill its mission. Celebrate individual, team and organizational accomplishments collectively and often.

3. Support healthy teamwork. Focus on fostering open communication, mutual trust and collaboration in teams. Remind team members to share information with one another. Encourage team members to acknowledge and praise one another’s contributions.

4. Cultivate a culture that encourages employees to support one another and helps them to form personal connections. One easy idea: Set aside five minutes at the start of meetings to catch up with one another at a more personal level.

5. Facilitate connections for new employees. When onboarding new employees, find ways for them to engage with other employees. One idea: During a newcomer’s first weeks on the job, schedule lunches or coffee breaks for them with different team members.

6. Be a leader who communicates regularly and often with your employees. Keeping employees in the loop is one of the best ways to build trust and help employees feel connected.

7. Build bonds by creating shared experiences. This can be as simple as teams eating lunch together at a nearby restaurant; working together on a volunteer drive like collecting socks for the homeless, or supporting a local softball team. Consider hosting regular fun events like “first Friday pizza.” For virtual teams, make use of technologies that facilitate online hangouts; consider assigning a buddy or office-based mentor to remote employees, and find ways for virtual teammates to share fun together.

8. Watch for signs that individual workers are feeling isolated. If someone seems lonely, bring them together with one or more of their co-workers, for instance by having them collaborate on a shared project, attend a conference together or partner up on something fun like a company picnic.

9. Support the whole employee. Make occasional unscheduled calls to individual team members to ask, “How are things going?” Listen, show empathy and offer tangible support.

We need community now more than ever

A 2014 study found that nearly two-thirds of people lacked a sense of community at work. Since the pandemic, our sense of isolation at work has only worsened. This issue should matter to employers because people who are lonely at work are less productive, less likely to get promoted and more likely to quit.

Don’t wait for a crisis! While a crisis like a Category 4 hurricane is a powerful reminder that we all need community, leaders should foster a sense of belonging and connectedness in good times and bad so your team is strong when you need that strength most.

About The Workplace Coach

The Workplace Coach has deep expertise in business leadership. For more than two decades, its award-winning coaches have been partnering successfully with executive and leadership coaching clients and organizations to help them achieve their strategic goals. Leadership coaching clients report success in developing their leadership mindset and executive presence and in implementing leader-as-coach tools in the workplace to drive higher employee engagement and productivity.

Contact The Workplace Coach to learn how our executive coaches can help you lead more effectively.

The post 9 Ways to Foster Community at Work & Improve Employee Productivity appeared first on Workplace Coaching |.

• What should workplace leaders communicate to their employees about the Roe v. Wade decision and their organization’s response?
• How can leaders support employees who are worried about how the decision will affect them or their loved ones?
• How can leaders maintain a positive workplace culture and avoid disruption in the wake of a controversial decision on a highly contentious issue?

Business leaders must respond

We live in a time of extreme divides on any number of political and cultural issues, many of which have significant consequences in very personal areas of our lives. Business leaders and workplace team leaders need to recognize that for many employees these are highly stressful times.

Even when employees aren’t personally affected by issues like the curtailment of women’s reproductive rights, they are apt to feel passionately about such issues, and that is bound to impact the workplace.

In my opinion, business leaders must acknowledge this reality and take steps to ensure that their workplace culture stays healthy and their employees fully engaged and motivated. As leaders, we need to adopt a leadership mindset and respond proactively.

Start with empathy

First and foremost, always lead with empathy, especially in times like these. Let employees know your door is open if they need to talk. Listen without judgement. Ask questions rather than making assumptions. Respond with caring and kindness.

In thinking about my leadership advice for business leaders, I focused on steps we can take to create and sustain a positive workplace culture during contentious political times and specifically in the face of continuing efforts to obstruct women’s reproductive rights.

1. Manage your own emotions. Leaders must be alert to ways in which our own emotional reactions or biases cloud our vision. Make sure your decisions reflect your core values and your organization’s mission.

2. Recognize and acknowledge that the movement to limit abortion access creates enormous stress for some employees. The same is true for other cultural and political efforts to limit rights for certain groups, like transgender individuals.

3. Provide resources to support employee wellbeing. Remind employees about existing mental health and wellness programs or benefits. Consider making an EAP consultant or counselor available.

4. Use individual coaching conversations to invite employees to talk about stresses in their lives. Workplace coaching includes asking open-ended questions like: What’s on your mind these days? How’s your family doing? Use those same conversations to let employees know how much you value their strengths and their contributions.

5. Be attuned to the impact that restrictions on women’s reproductive rights may be having on employee motivation due to the loss of autonomy in their personal lives. This loss of control can negatively impact employee engagement, productivity and creativity. Leaders can minimize this by focusing on positives like employee strengths, accomplishments and loyalty. Use team meetings to reaffirm the organization’s vision and values and employees’ role in achieving that vision.

6. Manage workplace conflict. Use workplace coaching skills like listening without interrupting, asking questions for clarification and limiting your statements to facts only. When appropriate, re-focus discussions on common ground, like shared purpose and values.

7. Be clear that your organization values diversity of thought. If necessary, provide training in conflict resolution. This is also an opportunity to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and justice (DEIJ) initiatives.

8. Don’t try to limit or cut off employee conversations about contentious issues. Instead, focus on maintaining healthy and transparent communications. Depending on your workplace culture, this might mean facilitating an open discussion, though this must be done skillfully.

9. Be prepared to redirect conversations when necessary. The artful redirect might include a statement like, “I hear your passion about this, and I admire that. After this meeting, let’s schedule some one-on-one time to talk.”

10. During all interventions – whether it’s an employee assistance program learning session, leader-facilitated discussion or coaching conversation – focus on creating an environment where team members feel safe expressing themselves.

In times of great controversy and stress, some workplace disruption is inevitable. As business leaders we must adopt a leadership mindset. This means leading with courage and using our emotional intelligence to support our employees as they navigate rough waters.

You can read what I and others said on this heated topic in the July 8 article “Focus on the Employee Experience in Roe v. Wade Aftermath,” which appeared in #evolve Magazine, a publication of WorldatWork.

About The Workplace Coach

The Workplace Coach has deep expertise in business leadership. Its award-winning coaches have been partnering successfully with executive coaching clients and leadership coaching clients to help them achieve their strategic goals for more than two decades. Leadership coaching clients report success in developing their leadership mindset and executive presence and in implementing leader-as-coach tools in the workplace to drive higher engagement.

Do you want to hone your leadership skills, improve your executive presence and boost employee engagement and retention? We can help. Contact The Workplace Coach today.

The post 10 Ways for Leaders to Handle Heated Political Issues at Work appeared first on Workplace Coaching |.

Why? Because understanding your employees’ priorities and motivations – particularly WHY they work – is critical to fulfilling your business objectives.

Many people think that the main reason people work is to collect a paycheck. But that’s not true. The more business leaders understand all of the reasons that their employees come to work, the better able you will be able to use your leadership capabilities and leader-as-coach skills to create a workplace culture that supports employee happiness and fulfillment.

And of course you need happy and fulfilled employees if you want to reach your organization’s goals!

5 reasons why we work & how leaders can respond

So why do we work, apart from needing to earn a living? Here are five key reasons, plus suggestions for how leaders can leverage this knowledge to improve employee fulfillment, engagement and retention.

Reason #1: We feel fulfilled when we contribute to something bigger than ourselves and know that our work is valued.

LEADER’S ROLE: Tell individual employees regularly how much their efforts contribute to your organization’s end product, service or mission. Emphasize the importance of their contribution and be specific about why their particular contribution matters. Also, be sure to keep employees informed about key developments in the organization.

Reason #2: We enjoy using our strengths and gaining a sense of mastery.

LEADER’S ROLE: Make sure you are not underutilizing any of your employees. Initiate individual coaching conversations to find out how employees are feeling about their jobs, what skills they enjoy using most, what skills are not being used, and whether they are looking to expand their role or take on more responsibility.

Reason #3: We gain a sense of identity, meaning and purpose.

LEADER’S ROLE: Be attuned to how work fits into individual employees’ sense of self-worth and identity. In coaching conversations, you might ask employees why they’ve chosen to do the type of work they do, what they value most about it and how it fits with their personal mission or values. Look for opportunities to adapt the role in ways that will contribute to their sense of personal meaning and fulfillment.

Reason #4: We value the opportunity to develop our strengths and to learn and grow by meeting new challenges.

LEADER’S ROLE: Create learning opportunities by giving your employees projects that require them to stretch. Support their acquisition of new skills as well as the development of their networks by sending them to conferences and paying for additional education or training.

Reason #5: We value the sense of belonging, friendships and personal bonds formed with colleagues through the experience of working together toward a common goal.

LEADER’S ROLE: Pay attention to team dynamics, looking for opportunities to facilitate meaningful collaboration. Be proactive about cultivating a workplace environment that fosters trust, communication, camaraderie and fun among team members.

Motivation, engagement & profits

According to Gallup, only 32% of the U.S. workforce is fully engaged, and 17% are actively disengaged. Yet, research shows that businesses whose workers are engaged have significantly higher profit margins.

The single largest factor driving engagement is employee motivation, so it’s essential for leaders to make it a priority to get to know and understand their employees better, Parsons said.

At The Workplace Coach, we often guide our individual executive and leadership coaching clients in identifying and clarifying their own primary motivators so they can grow and develop in their leadership roles. Now our leadership advice is for employers to do the same with their employees by engaging in coaching conversations where they ask employees open-ended questions about what motivates and inspires them. Doing so will make a big difference!

About The Workplace Coach:

The Workplace Coach has deep expertise in business leadership. Its award-winning coaches have partnered with thousands of executive coaching and leadership coaching clients to help them achieve their strategic goals. Through our leadership programs and executive coaching services in Atlanta and elsewhere, we support leadership development at client organizations, including by identifying and developing high potential leaders so they hone capabilities like executive presence, mindful leadership and leadership mindset.

At The Workplace Coach, our expertise in business leadership delivers results that make a difference.

Contact The Workplace Coach today to learn how we can help you or your organization drive results by developing leadership strengths and capabilities.

The post To Lead Effectively, Pay Attention to Why People Work appeared first on Workplace Coaching |.

Amid unprecedented complexity and disruptive change, leaders and their organizations need flexibility and versatility to succeed. Here are five leadership competencies to prioritize, both for your organization and your personal leadership development.

1. Lead across boundaries. Collaborating up, down and across an organization and among different stakeholder groups fosters alignment and co-creation of innovative solutions, engages employees at a deeper level and promotes ownership of outcomes at all levels. No wonder nearly 90% of leaders consider it “extremely important” to collaborate and lead across boundaries, according to the Center for Creative Leadership.

PRO TIPS: Facilitate cross-boundary engagement by:

• starting with the end in mind,
• considering who needs to be engaged,
• fostering trust and respect by clearly articulating a strategy.

2. Cultivate resilience. Resilient leaders are curious and confident. They show a keen sense of self-leadership and use their problem-solving skills to thrive in the face of adversity. Resilient organizations typically display high levels of cooperation, creativity and employee engagement.

ACTION STEPS: Here are four ways to cultivate your leadership resilience:

• Use self-reflection and feedback from trusted peers to identify your strengths, weaknesses and motivational drivers.
• Embrace continuous growth and learning.
• Be purpose driven. Re-center yourself and your team in your organization’s vision.
• Approach challenges and setbacks with a positive, empowered outlook.

3. Build a support network and strategic alliances. Leaders with strong networks have access to resources when they need them most. They leverage those networks and alliances to find creative ways to overcome challenges and open new doors.

PRO TIP: Networking priorities will vary depending on where someone is in their leadership career. Managers may want to focus on strategic partnerships, while senior executives need networks that keep them in touch with workplace and market realities. Whatever your position, be sure to cultivate relationships across boundaries, including with people of different generations, social groups, genders, etc.

4. Sharpen your DEIJ focus to lead inclusively. Build a positive and innovative workplace culture by making diversity, equity, inclusion and justice a top leadership priority. Commit to your own ongoing learning about diversity issues and opportunities, while making sure to get executive buy-in and accountability.

ACTION STEPS: Sponsor an employee resource group. Participate in a DEI steering committee. Attend regular DEI employee training sessions. Ensure transparency and ongoing senior leader commitment by sharing updates at executive meetings.

5. Develop coach-like leaders and your own coaching skills. Leaders and organizations that make coaching central to their culture and leadership style do a better job of developing an engaged, productive and resourceful workforce. That’s especially true when leading next-generation employees. Plus, a coaching culture supports cross-border relationships, agility and resilience.

PRO TIPS: Coach-like leaders celebrate accomplishments, listen more than they talk, show concern for employee well-being, and partner with employees to support their learning and development.

Business leadership development

You don’t need us to tell you that business conditions are extremely challenging right now. What we can tell you is that at The Workplace Coach, our expertise in business leadership delivers results that make a difference.

Through our leadership programs and executive coaching services in Atlanta and elsewhere, we partner with organizations to support their leadership development and their high potential leaders in honing relevant skills like executive presence, mindful leadership and leadership mindset.

We also partner with individual executive coaching and leadership coaching clients to cultivate the essential qualities, skills and behaviors that will move them up the career ladder faster.

Are you ready to boost your leadership competencies? Contact The Workplace Coach today.

The post 5 Leadership Competencies to Prioritize in Tough Times appeared first on Workplace Coaching |.

This post outlines five ways that leaders at all levels can use their influence to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in their organizations.

Transparency, openness, willingness

At The Workplace Coach, we see our leadership coaching and leadership development clients as having both an opportunity and a responsibility to put DEI front and center in their strategic planning and decision making, as well as in their own personal leadership development. We share this same opportunity and responsibility in our own work.

No one is saying it’s easy. Creating an inclusive organization that provides fair opportunities for all employees – regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender expression or (dis)ability – demands transparent and mindful leadership. It requires an openness to learning and a willingness to admit one’s mistakes – qualities that are the foundation of effective leadership in all realms.

Leaders also must be diligent about ensuring they don’t default to old ways of doing business.

Fortunately, we do see the needle moving in the right direction, as more and more of our leadership coaching and leadership training clients raise workplace diversity and inclusion issues in our business leadership coaching conversations and leadership development programs.

5 lessons for leaders

Here are the top DEI lessons and insights for leaders that we’ve gleaned from our executive coaching and leadership coaching clients as well as from our own efforts in this realm.

1. Lead by example. Commit to your own learning about the importance and benefits of creating a more diverse, fair and inclusive organization. Be willing to engage in tough conversations about bias, including your own. Create a safe environment by openly sharing your own learning curve and vulnerabilities.

2. Engage employees, management and top leadership. Explain why you’re prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion to employees and leaders across the organization. Communicate the benefits. Be frank about the challenges. And be sure to invite employee input. Work to get the full buy-in of top leaders, including a commitment to budgeting for DEI on an ongoing basis.

3. Open up the conversation to diverse voices. Make it a habit to value and make space for the viewpoints of individuals from diverse groups whenever you’re in conversation with employees, business partners and customers. Do this by expressly inviting the participation of individuals from under-represented groups. Then listen to what they say and acknowledge their contributions.

4. Create opportunities. It’s not enough to hire for diversity. You must support the career advancement of individuals from under-represented groups. Use coaching conversations to ask about career goals and obstacles to advancement. Assign projects that offer opportunities to grow and learn new skills. Provide resources such as coaching and training, making sure to address barriers.

5. Be in it for the long-haul. DEI is not a one and done project. Leaders must learn to integrate diversity, equity and inclusion concerns into all their decisions and processes. The work must be ongoing, with a clear strategy, goals, success measures and accountability.

Two clear business benefits of diversity

At The Workplace Coach we continue to learn and grow in our own thinking about what it takes to create and sustain a truly diverse and equitable organization. While we are not DEI experts, we know that leaders who integrate diversity, equity and inclusion considerations into their leadership strategies increase their likelihood of success significantly.

In addition to the ethical reasons for creating work environments that are more diverse and equitable, there are solid business benefits. Here are two that stand out:

• When your workforce includes individuals from a broad range of backgrounds, the rich mix of experiences and perspectives generates more dynamic conversations. This invariably leads to more innovative and creative business solutions.

• Organizations that are committed to building an inclusive, equitable and diverse organization are more successful at employee recruitment and retention.

Are you looking to advance your thinking and your DEI practices in order to transform your own business leadership and your organization? Do you need support and accountability as you grow in your understanding of the issues?

If you’re  ready to become a leader who makes a difference, contact The Workplace Coach today to learn more about our executive coaching services and other leadership programs.

The post 5 Ways Leaders Can Advance Diversity in the Workplace appeared first on Workplace Coaching |.

And it’s not rocket science either. Like so many things in life, it takes being diligent about certain practices.

I find that the most effective and influential leaders achieved success by practicing the following five habits consistently.

1. Be disciplined about managing your time, energy and priorities.

Make calendar appointments with yourself to tackle important projects, then be conscientious about keeping those appointments. Carving out time in this way will help keep you from getting pulled off track by the mini-crises that inevitably arise or from getting bogged down responding to endless incoming emails, etc.

Another thing that will help you manage your time is to follow this management mantra, “Do it, delegate it, date it, or delete it.”

Bonus tip: A handy time management guide for leaders is to split the use of your time into three equal parts – productivity, strategy and leading/coaching.

2. Prioritize strategic planning and action.

Set aside three to five hours every week to think deeply about issues from a high-level perspective, and make this time non-negotiable.

During these strategy sessions, use planning tools like the SWOT analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Consider key factors such as resources, stakeholder support, financing, implementation, etc. Also, practice big picture thinking by leaving aside tactical concerns while you strategize. (You, or your team, can attend to the details later.)

3. Make time for employee conversations, then listen more than you talk.

Great leaders ask open-ended questions that prompt team members to see fresh perspectives, make new connections and imagine creative possibilities. By listening without judgment, leaders create an environment that allows disagreement, which is key to collaboration and innovation.

4. Focus on developing your team members.

Meet individually with employees regularly to ask about their growth goals. What skills would they like to acquire? What are their career objectives? Then give them access to relevant training programs, coaching, mentoring, etc. Be generous with praise and skillful about how you deliver criticism. Make it a practice to give positive feedback to employees every day.

5. Give precedence to your own development as a leader.

Schedule time weekly for your own leadership development. Invest in your own learning, whether that means reading articles or books by current thought leaders, taking a leadership training course, meeting with a coach, etc.

Investigate your own leadership effectiveness by asking questions like: What are my strengths as a leader? What strengths do I need to develop? What is my leadership vision? Embrace challenges by seeing them as learning opportunities. Cultivate a sense of curiosity and open-mindedness.

The good news is that none of these habits is particularly difficult. You just have to stick to them and you too can develop a leadership mindset.

And while being diligent about habits isn’t easy when you have so many competing demands on your time, I guarantee you that if you make the above practices habitual you will be well on your way to becoming a more effective leader.

In fact, while at The Workplace Coach we typically work with our executive coaching clients and leadership coaching clients on leadership capabilities like strategic thinking, navigating change, and developing a CEO mindset, often the most important changes our clients make are adopting these habits and then faithfully sticking to them.

It sounds easy, but of course it’s not. That’s where the support and accountability provided by an executive coach or leadership coach can make a meaningful difference.

Are you ready to become an exceptional leader? Contact The Workplace Coach today.

The post Want to Become a Better Leader? Adopt These 5 Habits appeared first on Workplace Coaching |.

Executive presence: a primer

Executive presence is essentially the ability to make an impact by engaging, influencing and inspiring others.

Individuals who have a strong executive presence share these characteristics:

• They project competence and confidence.
• They exhibit grace under pressure.
• They communicate skillfully with others.
• They build meaningful connections up and down the ladder.
• They articulate their vision in ways that create buy-in.

Why executive presence matters

Studies show that executive presence, sometimes called leadership presence, is a significant differentiator for high potential leaders and employees who aspire to leadership positions.

One study found that leadership presence constitutes fully a quarter of what it takes to be promoted at work. Another study determined that executive presence is the second most important leadership trait.

In short, executive presence is crucial for leadership success – especially as you move up the ladder.

3 building blocks of executive presence

While leadership training on executive presence often centers on an individual’s speaking and presentation skills and appearance, The Workplace Coach takes a different approach. We focus on areas that are foundational to the development of these more external capabilities.

In our work with executive coaching and leadership coaching clients, we often begin by exploring three components underlying authentic executive presence – values, emotional intelligence and strengths.

1. Core values

Understanding the core values that drive you is key to leading with confidence, integrity and quiet authority. When you are grounded in knowing who you are and what you believe, confidence and authority naturally follow.

This self-knowledge helps leaders stay centered when facing challenging circumstances or in times of crisis.

Reconnecting with your core values also serves as a powerful touchstone and motivator – reminding you who you are, why you do what you do, and why it matters.

Clarity about your core values also provides a foundation for developing a clear and compelling vision and communicating that vision persuasively.

2. Emotional Intelligence

The ability to influence, engage and inspire others depends on skillful communications, and the foundation of skillful communications is emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage your own emotions and to recognize and respond to the emotions of others with empathy. These capabilities allow leaders to build and leverage healthy relationships with diverse audiences and stakeholders – from C-suite executives to team members, from strategic partners to the broader community.

In the workplace, positive relationships are a huge factor in employee engagement.

Leaders with high emotional intelligence also are good at projecting calm and resilience in turbulent times.

3. Leveraging strengths

Leaders who have strong executive presence have a clear view of their own strengths and value. This is key to developing a CEO mindset.

Leaders who know their own strengths are able to communicate their expertise, vision and impact with conviction.

They leverage their strengths in interactions with others and find ways to compensate for weaknesses. They also have the self-assurance to take on challenging new projects.

Coaching support makes a difference

At The Workplace Coach, we guide our executive and leadership coaching clients in values-clarification exercises to help them identify and reconnect with their core values. We partner with them to hone their emotional intelligence and communication skills, and we assist them in creating leadership development plans that build on their strengths.

These steps, together with the support and accountability provided by our award-winning coaches, underpin the development of a well-grounded confidence, which is important to projecting an authentic and persuasive leadership style.

Our coaches have partnered with thousands of leaders, from Fortune 500 execs to small business owners. In our experience, developing or improving executive presence is an area where high-potential leaders and aspiring leaders derive enormous value from our executive coaching services and support.

Is it time to support your leaders with award-winning coaching? Contact The Workplace Coach today!

The post Do You Need Executive Presence? What About Your Leadership Team? appeared first on Workplace Coaching |.

Today, positive psychology coaching is a game-changer in workplace dynamics, particularly as more and more employees prioritize corporate culture when making career choices.

This blog discusses the implementation of positive psychology and positive psychology coaching in the workplace, as these have become essential tools for increasing productivity and performance, enhancing creativity and innovation, and boosting employee engagement and retention.

Here are a few recommendations from The Workplace Coach for creating a happier, healthier and more engaged workforce using positive psychology.

Celebrate successes

Make it a point to recognize and celebrate your employees’ contributions regularly. You can do so via email, in one-on-one conversations, and in meetings convened to discuss how someone’s efforts produced intended results. Always mark the completion of challenging tasks or projects, including by addressing how team members overcame hurdles or excelled in other ways.

Give feedback to employees in daily interactions, rather than waiting for annual review time. Use these  interactions to encourage individuals to continue their positive behaviors, focusing your comments on what they do well, rather than on their mistakes.

Acknowledging the work of individual staff members and teams makes employees feel valued, generating the kind of positive emotions and goodwill that motivate employees to do their best work and repeat their successes in the future.

Play to strengths

Cultivate positivity by developing your employees’ strong suits and creating opportunities for building on their talents.

At The Workplace Coach, we often recommend to our executive coaching clients that they use personality profile and assessment tools to identify employee strengths and target areas for improvement. Feedback from assessment tools provides an excellent foundation for setting goals and designing action plans for team members.

Also, be sure to put your employees’ talents and skills to work. The more you use someone’s capabilities, the more they feel valued and happy.

Manage relationships

Positive workplace relationships are essential to fostering an engaged and productive workforce. As a leader, your role includes building and sustaining strong teams and facilitating healthy communications among managers and staff.

To build cohesive teams, make sure team members understand each others’ roles in a shared goal. Team leaders should be inclusive and recognize everyone’s role, regardless of their job in the company. This helps create a sense of belonging.

At The Workplace Coach, we urge our executive coaching and leadership coaching clients to use the tools of positive psychology coaching to support healthy workplace relationships. This involves asking open-ended questions that encourage a free flow of ideas; being authentic as a leader, including by being transparent about your own shortcomings, and managing conflict skillfully.

Create a positive culture

A healthy workplace culture is key to employee happiness, engagement and retention. It can also be a significant competitive differentiator for your organization. To create a positive culture, articulate your organization’s mission clearly and make sure team members understand how their work contributes to the organization’s goals, values and culture.

Individuals also should be encouraged to consider how their values align with the values and vision of the organization, as this will help motivate them to do their jobs well. Communicate the organization’s values and vision at every opportunity so employees feel a connection between their work and the mission.

You can also engage the staff in the culture-building process through online surveys and group forums. This builds morale and provides insight into the existing culture as well as into those areas that might require behavioral changes. It is also a good way to highlight an organization’s journey.

Invest in your people

Provide regular learning and accomplishment opportunities to support employees in developing their skills, talents and strengths. Arrange for individual and/or group training and coaching or mentoring. Doing so shows team members that they are valued by your organization, while also building the organization’s talent pool and capabilities.

It’s also important to develop a growth mindset in employees. You can do this by deliberately putting employees in challenging situations, for instance by giving them challenging projects that require them to stretch their skills or add new ones. Rapidly developing technologies and a volatile business climate make the ability to tackle new and unexpected challenges critical to success both for your team members and your organization.

The Workplace Coach is here to help

Embedding positive psychology coaching in your organization’s management techniques will reap long-term benefits by supporting the success and wellbeing of your greatest asset – your workforce.

At The Workplace Coach, we help business leaders achieve this and other goals by using the strengths-based focus and tools of positive psychology. Contact The Workplace Coach today to learn how you can become a masterful leader who creates a positive culture that supports healthy, happy and productive employees.

Is it time to support your leaders with award-winning coaching? Contact The Workplace Coach today!

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1. Learn to think strategically.
2. Build your brand as a leader.
3. Engage an executive coach or mentor.
4. Learn to ‘manage up.’
5. Become a strong people leader.
6. Be an innovator.

But it’s a trick question, right? Because just as there is no one pathway to the C-suite, no single leadership development step outweighs all others in importance. In fact, you really need to do all of the above. (Of course, at The Workplace Coach, we favor Answer #3 – engage an executive coach or mentor!)

Our point is this: If your career goals include becoming a senior executive, you need to continuously develop your leadership mindset and leadership capabilities.

In fact, even if you’re already a senior executive, you may need to update your leadership chops, given recent changes in workforce expectations and an increasingly volatile business environment.

New learning opportunities

At The Workplace Coach, we see a growing need for leadership programs that develop and support capable leaders. That’s why later this year, we will be launching the first in a series of webinars designed to accelerate success for upwardly mobile executives.

A key focus will be the strategic steps that rising executives can take to position themselves for the corner office. They include steps like:

– Finetuning your value proposition.

– Building and leveraging your personal brand.

– Assessing strategic opportunities.

– Expanding your sphere of influence.

– Managing up to remove barriers.

– Understanding executive recruitment trends.

Coaching for senior executives

The pressure on leaders to perform has never been tougher and the challenges never so steep. Whether you’re a seasoned senior leader, a mid-level manager who aspires to the corner office, or an entrepreneur, you need to work harder than ever to stay ahead of the curve.

If you or someone on your team would gain from partnering with an executive leadership coach, we encourage you to contact The Workplace Coach today.

Coaching provides personal support and accountability, along with customized learning and your own action plan. A skilled coach also will challenge your thinking. That’s critical in a business climate that demands agile leaders who can think creatively.

Another benefit of coaching that high-level execs find invaluable is having a trusted confidant in your corner who serves as a safe sounding board. That’s hard to find as you rise up the ladder.

Online leadership training

Not ready to hire a coach? Consider Certified Leader Coach® (CLC), a proprietary program of The Workplace Coach. Newly revised and updated, Certified Leader Coach is an online leadership training program that teaches managers the leader-as-coach skills they need to foster a positive workplace culture.

Are you ready to move up to the C-Suite? Contact The Workplace Coach today.

The post Aiming for the C-Suite? Leadership Coaching Will Prepare You to Succeed appeared first on Workplace Coaching |.