Biz Coach Steve

Author: bizcoachsteve

  • 8 Mistakes Managers Make (According to their employees)

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Recently I was speaking with a group of business owners from a variety of industries. Many of them believed they were the greatest manager ever. After asking them some basic questions, their analysis of themselves could be questioned.

    A few years ago, I read an article by Marcel Schwantes, who conducted a workplace survey on LinkedIn, by asking only one question – “What is the ONE mistake leaders make, more frequently than others?” I am highlighting the top eight most common mistakes according to the survey. Or in other words, the eight biggest mistakes managers/leaders make to irk their staff.

    1. Micromanaging.
    You all probably guessed this one, so no surprise here. Leaders who dominate people, decisions, and processes, lead by fear, and lack vision. Micromanaging is a killer to your teams moral, motivation, creativity, enjoyment, and much more. You hired good people to do a job for you – let them do that job.

    2. Leading from a position of power or ego.
    These are those leaders that know everything and make sure we all know it as well. They don’t take any responsibility for their own actions. They are never wrong and will always take credit for the good things-even if they had nothing to do with it. Another destroyer of morale, no humility, and will use anyone around them to help themselves.

    3. Not listening.
    What we are talking about here is true authentic listening. Not, I hear what you are saying, remember hearing and listening are two different things. Great managers/leaders know authentic listening is an underutilized and underdeveloped leadership skill.

    4. Not valuing followers.
    Any manager/leader that believe anyone within their organization (except themselves) is indispensable and just a cog in the machine that can be replaced at any moment, really and truly does not care about anyone but themselves. Great leaders invest in developing their staff to not only improve their productivity, but their personal lives as well. Making sure to identify each person’s own unique skills and strengths, and use them to grow the business as a whole.

    5. Failing to grow themselves as leaders.
    All leaders, no matter what level they are on in the organization but always proactive in developing themselves. Many of them have some self-entitlement issues about growing and developing themselves. Maybe it’s due to the fact they have a low self-awareness of themselves. Or, they have some communication issues. Or, they have an ego issue by having all the answers and refuting any input.

    6. Lacking boundaries.
    What about that leader that tried to be a buddy with subordinates? This can lead to many leaders compromising their own integrity by becoming too friendly with superiors and subordinates. Everyone sees when the boundary becomes blurred and the results of this lack of professionalism. As a leader you can be personable, and close to your staff, while at the same time being professional, fair, and respectful.

    7. Not providing or receiving feedback.
    It’s crazy that leaders do not solicit the feedback and ideas from those on the front line and in the trenches with the customers, processes, etc. Leaders need to gain their staffs trust by asking for their input, buy-ins, advise, suggestions, feedback heard from the clients. Great leaders support this input and foster a culture of trust, openness, providing their staff the ability to contribute ideas and share concerns in a safe environment to assist all stakeholders.

    These leaders get defensive when they are receiving any type of feedback, and if they do receive feedback, they are not asking clarifying or deep questions to grow. Many of them just have a negative reaction to any feedback and provide great answers and excuses to any question or issue that arises. These leaders believe they know what everyone wants and needs without asking them.

    8. Not sharing leadership.
    Leaders that “hoard” all the leadership knowledge are not doing their organization any service, but in turn harming the company on all levels. A great example of sharing leadership can be found in the book by David Marquet in Turn the Ship Around. He proved how leaders can empower those around them to make great decisions because those folks have more knowledge of the subject matter than leaders do

    Closing thoughts.
    “In the end, we don’t need to demonize the leaders who are the subject of many of these responses; they are humans too, and not out to deliberately destroy the lives of their followers. They should be treated with grace, and empowered to succeed with the proper development.”

     

    #bizcoachstevef[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • What you Need to Know in Choosing the Right Business Coach

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We see it everyone now day. In publications, on line, from networking groups, business acquaintances and the media. Having a business coach can make you a better and more successful business owner and leader. Whether you are in the early start-up stage or ready to take your business global, a coach can push you outside your comfort zone and provide the unbiased opinion and reality check that will keep you on track to achieve your business goals-or not, if you have chosen the wrong business coach.

    Recently an entrepreneur shared with me their experiences with a business coach… The coach meant well, but he told the owner of the startup that he had to grow a pair (of you know what) and move into a brick and mortar office, and to stop working out of his house as well as all his virtual employees. The coach told him, that no one will trust you working remotely, it will get you and your team to improve its morale and profits.

    So, the owner found an office that he could barely afford many miles away from his house to look professional. Six months into his new location, he was putting his own money into the business to keep it afloat.

    The owner told me, “Our productivity dropped, my stress went through the roof, I hated sitting in traffic every day and it got to the point that I didn’t want to get out of bed and go to the office.”

    He said he closed the office down six months later, paying a hefty bailout fee on the lease, sent everyone back home to work remotely, and the business took off again. Six months later he doubled the size of his business with staff and sales.

    With the pain of the lease exit clause still fresh in his mind, he said, “the problem was that the coach had an idea of what the business needed to be without taking consideration our business DNA. He never really listed and understood what we are, and what we wanted to be. It was what he wanted us to be which didn’t match up.”

    The owner still understands the need for a business coach.
    In fact, he had to get a life coach to get through the trauma of the office opening and closing.
    He now has a business coach that is there for him and his business. He said,

    “Coaching is vital for me and my business. I just needed to trust myself a little more. Now, I have a clear vision for my business, which came through the assistance of my business coach. Listen to the advice the coach provides, but at the end of the day all the decisions for the plan are mine and mine alone.”

    So, where do you find a business coach that is right for you and your business?

    Peer referrals? Online review sites? Internet search? Industry organizations?

    No matter which method you use to find a business coach, it’s not easy to identify the great coaches from the hacks.

    Here are a few methods to find a business coach:
     Check them out on social media. Do they seem to walk their walk and talk their talk?
     Are they certified? Being certified is just like a college degree. They took the time to obtain the education and get the resources to help you. A non-certified coach may have just left that cubicle job and decided to be a business coach.
     Are they posting relevant content to what you are looking for in your business? Are they speaking your language?
     Do they have a proven system they use? Do they create everything for you from scratch, or have some methods that have been proven and tested to deliver positive results for you and your business?
     Do they have relevant industry experience? Has your business coach been there and done that? Do they know and understand what you are experiencing? Do they have resources that can assist you? Many of those poor coaches, have no real ownership or leadership experience.

    The worst thing that can happen by choosing the wrong business coach is that it will hurt your bank balance for little while or you will receive no return on that investment. The wrong business coach can damage the business owner’s confidence and they start questioning if they should even continue with the business.

    Avoid long term locked in contracts with a coach unless they guarantee a specific return on specific metrics. This is like locking into a 2-year phone contract and you realize the phone service is horrible in the 2 nd month and now you are stuck for another 22 months with that carrier.

    Remember, one of the most important factors for an effective business coaching relationship is the connection between the business owner/leader and the coach.

    If there is no connection, no respect, no trust, then the coaching process is doomed from the start.

    Make sure that your values are aligned with those of your business coach, both personally and in business, and that you get a positive return on investment by working with a coach. If they cannot find improvement in your business that cover their costs, then you should cut your loss and find a coach that can.

     

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