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Archive for Executive coaching

2021: Looking Back to Move Forward

Happy New Year!

A new year gives us the chance to start fresh. And while 2021 will certainly give us that opportunity in some respects, I think it’s also important to take some time to reflect on lessons learned from 2020, and how we can leverage that knowledge going forward.

We are still in the midst of a global pandemic and although the vaccines give us hope, it’s still essential for each of us to follow mandated health and safety guidelines to protect ourselves and others. Business leaders are responsible for protecting their employees. This means putting practices in place to protect both the physical health and safety of employees as well as their emotional and mental health. For tips on best practices for keeping employees safe and healthy, tune into my podcast with Mary Hiland, PhD, president of Hiland Consulting.

It’s important for leaders to be up to date on any new regulations relative to COVID-19. There are several that went into effect January 1, which I discussed in my blog, New COVID-19 Regulations, last month. Also, check out the Employer Resource Page on our website which has links to a variety of sites that deal specifically with COVID-19 information.

And leaders, remember that it’s also important to take care of yourself. Just like when there’s trouble on a flight, when the oxygen masks drop, put yours on first to be better able to help others with theirs. Check out my blog, Self-Care for Leaders in Uncertain Times, for some tips on caring for your own health and well-being.

Although the election is over, our country remains divided. Unfortunately, this can bubble over into the workplace, impacting teamwork, collaboration, and/or performance. A couple of months ago I attended a roundtable led by my colleague, Susan Nelson, Founder, The Pragmatic Life. Check out my blog, Managing Employee Post-Election Anxiety for some tips I learned on how leaders and organizations can help employees through the post-election transition period.

2020 was a year that took the lid off a number of issues, not the least of which was social injustice and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Many organizations are increasing their efforts to create DEI leadership positions and more focused programs in this area.

To succeed, organizations need to do more than just lip service. They need to go beyond just ticking the EEO boxes in hiring and firing practices. Leaders at every level need to create a culture that considers all activities – communication, recruiting, hiring, promoting, company gatherings, team assignments, terminations, etc. – through a lens of diversity and inclusion. As I said in a previous blog, they need to Walk the Talk.

Connect to HR provides strategic HR advice and executive coaching for leaders of small to mid-size for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Please contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com to schedule a conversation about how we can support you and your organization.

Grow Your Leaders with a 360 Review Process

The best leaders continue to learn and grow. And one of the most effective tools that can contribute to their growth is feedback. Not just from their immediate leader, but also from others they interact with on a daily basis – their stakeholders. It’s called a 360 Review Process.

Most performance management programs focus on performance only. Did you achieve your goals? Were they completed on time? Are you fulfilling your job requirements? But here’s the thing. Leaders also need feedback on their strengths and development areas in behaviors that impact the performance of their team, e.g., communication, leadership, employee development, motivation, etc. And this feedback is more meaningful if it comes from a variety of sources – immediate leader, direct reports, colleagues, and business partners, for example.

People are often promoted into leadership roles because they performed well as an individual contributor. But being responsible for a team or organization requires a different set of skills and behavioral competencies. A 360 Review helps leaders build self-awareness by shedding light on how they come across to others. It points up strengths and illuminates blindspots that may be preventing them from becoming a more effective leader. When specific themes emerge based on feedback from several stakeholders rather than just their immediate leader it’s harder to dismiss that feedback.

I recommend that new leaders go through a 360 Review Process about midway through their first year of becoming a leader. This gives them some time to settle into their role and establish relationships yet is early enough in their tenure to prevent solidifying behaviors that are working against them.

In a typical 360 process the participating leader identifies several stakeholders who then give feedback (anonymously) via a set of questions. The same questions are answered by all stakeholders. Responses are then consolidated and summarized into a report that highlights strengths, development areas and any emerging themes.

The 360 process benefits both the leader and the organization by providing a foundation for the leader’s development to build on strengths and address any blindspots or areas for improvement. Often the next step is coaching to help with the leader’s development.

If you are interested finding out more about the 360 process for a leader in your organization, please reach out to me at michelle@connecttohr.com.

Connect to HR is Celebrating its 10th Anniversary!

It’s hard to believe, but it has been 10 years since I decided to leverage my human resources experience and start my very own business – Connect to HR.

It hasn’t always been easy, as you business owners will know, but it has always been gratifying, educational and inspiring! Having my own business has been like getting an MBA. It’s been the best teacher and has pushed me outside of my comfort zone.

This is the first in a series of blogs about my journey as a small business owner. Along the way I’ll be sharing some tips and lessons learned – how to get off to a good start, how to stay motivated, how to deal with setbacks, how to evolve to meet client needs, and more.

Before Connect to HR

After years of working in senior-level positions for large corporations across a variety of industries, I decided to leave the corporate world in search of work-life balance and a different work environment. Shortly after leaving, I had the opportunity to do some consulting work. One of my consulting engagements was with Apple, who had been around for a while, but still had that “start-up” feel. I was fortunate to do three consulting projects around the time Apple was reinventing itself and launching its first versions of the Apple iPod, iPad and iPhone. In between these projects, I had an opportunity with a nonprofit that was looking for someone to set up their human resources fundamentals. They wanted someone who could work in a small organization, but who had the experience of a larger, more established environment. I went from being part of an HR team to an HR Department of one. It was challenging and exciting and really honed my ability to be resourceful to get things done.

Other consulting opportunities followed, and I realized two things: 1) There was a big need for compliance experience. We were just coming off the downturn, and many companies had neglected that aspect of HR. And 2) I no longer wanted to work through someone else and lose part of the profit from my consulting gigs.

It was time to start my own business. In 2010, Connect to HR was born.

Getting Started

Running your own business requires you to wear many hats – management, marketing/sales, finance, administration, accounting, IT the list is long – in addition to actually doing your core work. SCORE is a great resource for small business owners. They have workshops on a variety of business topics and even offer experienced businesspeople as mentors. I learned a lot from their small business fundamentals workshop, and later had the opportunity to present a workshop on HR fundamentals for small businesses at SCORE for 4 years.

The human resources function is pretty broad, so one of the first steps was for me to decide on my focus area. I had worked in all aspects of HR, but was particularly interested in the legal area. In fact, at one point I had contemplated attending law school. Also, in the consulting work I’d done it was clear that there was a demonstrated need for compliance.

I decided that these three areas: employee relations, compliance and policies and procedures (Employee Handbook) would be my starting point, and I was off to the races!

Tips for getting started: Learn the fundamentals of starting a business. Be clear about your focus.

Tune in next time when I’ll share about acting on inspiration.

Accelerate Your Business Through a SWOT Analysis

As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good idea to set aside some time to reflect on your business and prepare for what’s next. What is going well? What needs to change? What are the company’s strengths and what are the opportunities for improvement?

I’m working through this process with one of my clients. They have grown significantly over the past three years, more than doubling the number of employees. They are looking at adding some new business offerings and want to make sure that they have the right administrative functions, skills and organization in place to support them.

To determine this, we’re using a simple but powerful tool called a SWOT analysis. “SWOT” stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. By taking an objective look at each of these areas as they pertain to the company, we can identify any gaps and then strategize how to fill in those gaps.

The Strengths and Weaknesses components require looking inward – evaluating things you have control over and can change. For example, your processes, location, team. The Opportunities and Threats components require looking outward – external forces you may not be able to control, such as competitors, customer buying trends, new regulations.

Key to an effective SWOT analysis are good questions and honest, well thought out answers. Here are some examples of questions.

Strengths:

Which of our processes are working effectively?
What are the strengths of our team, e.g., experience, knowledge, level of education, skills, network or reputation?
What are our tangible assets, e.g., customers, technology, equipment, capital, or patents?
What is our competitive advantage?

Weaknesses:

Which of our processes are not working?
Are there skill, knowledge or experience gaps on the team?
What assets are we lacking, e.g., capital, equipment, up-to-date technology?
Is there something within our control that is holding us back from being competitive?

Opportunities:

Are there recent changes in the market that could create an opportunity?
Is the timing critical to take advantage of that opportunity?
What events are coming up that we could leverage to grow the business?
Are there any impending changes to regulations that could work in our favor?

Threats:

Who are our current and potential competitors? What are their strengths?
Is there potential for a significant change in prices or availability of key suppliers?
Are there shifts in customer buying trends or the economy that could impact revenue or profits?
What other factors beyond our control could put the company at risk?

Of course, you’d want to add more questions that are specific to your business. Understanding your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats will help you make informed decisions about what you need to do to take your business to the next level.

Next time we’ll talk about some specific things to do and not do in your SWOT analysis.

Please contact me if you need help in going through the process.

Women in Leadership – Are Old Habits Holding You Back?

It’s rather alarming that we are in the 21^st century and yet there are still so few women in top corporate positions. According to Pew Research, women make up only 5.2% of CEOs in Fortune 500 companies and 5.4% of CEOs in Fortune 1000 companies.

Why is that?

Some of it is the result of inherent challenges that women still face in the workplace – being given equal consideration for leadership opportunities, being paid equally, sexual discrimination and harassment, finding a mentor or champion to guide them in their career, balancing work and home life.

Some of it is perception – many corporate cultures still think of men as the natural choice when it comes to leadership, adopting an attitude of “men take charge, women take care.”

And some of it is that the skills and behaviors that help women early in their careers may be working against them as they strive to advance up the corporate ladder.

World-renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith and women’s leadership expert Sally Helgesen took a look at these self-limiting skills and behaviors in their recently-published book, How Women Rise.

Based on their combined 60 years of experience working with leaders all over the world, the authors identified 12 habits that hold women back from getting their next raise, their next promotion or their next job. Although these are not uniquely women’s behaviors, Goldsmith and Helgesen observed that these 12 habits are the most likely to create a barrier for women in getting to where they want to be – in their career or in their life.

One of the first habits the authors talk about is women’s reluctance to point out their achievements. They don’t want to appear to be bragging. And they have a natural tendency to want to share credit with others – “it was a team effort.” Men, on the other hand, are less likely to feel shy about sharing what they’ve accomplished. By not promoting their personal achievements, women often don’t get the recognition (or the opportunities) they deserve.

Another habit they discuss is “The Perfection Trap.” Goldsmith/Helgesen attribute this behavior to the differing messages girls and boys get from their families growing up. Girls are often praised for their precision and for supporting others. Boys are praised for their daring exploits, competitiveness and winning. As children turn into adults, the messages evolve into personal beliefs about success and how to function in society and the workplace.

The good news is, How Women Rise doesn’t just provide insight about the particular habits that may be holding women back. The authors also provide detailed tutoring on how to replace those habits with behaviors that will lead to better results.

Tune in next time when we’ll explore more of the 12 habits and how to turn them around.

Check Out Our New Connect to HR Website

As I shared in a previous blog- “Pardon Our Dust,” I have added executive coaching as a service offering in addition to the strategic HR Consulting work I have been doing with small and mid-sized companies since 2010.

I’m happy to announce the launch of my new website, which reflects the two areas of Connect to HR focus: Executive Coaching and HR Advisors.

Here are some of the areas we cover on the Executive Coaching side of the business:

Transition coaching
Career planning and role progression
Successful onboarding of executives
360-degree feedback
Development plans
Leadership development
Executive influence

On the HR Advisors side, we work with organizations in the areas of:

Workforce planning
Talent development
Recruitment and hiring
Employee relations
Terminations and outplacement support
HR compliance

My experience over the years has been that often when I engage with a client in an HR Advisor role, an issue is uncovered that requires some executive coaching. For example, an employee relations issue that indicates a need for one-on-one coaching with a leader around specific behaviors. The value I provide to clients in these instances is the continuity of knowledge about the organization and an established relationship.

The reverse can happen as well. Through a coaching relationship we may discover a need Connect to HR can address through an HR Advisor role. For example, a stressed-out leader who is struggling to find the right talent to take on some of his or her responsibilities.

As we move forward with my blog articles, I’ll be alternating between topics that relate to executives and those that apply to more general HR issues.

Please take some time to visit our new website, and contact me at michelle@connecttohr.com if you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss your needs.