I recently completed an assessment and received a report about myself called the “Professional Thinking Styles Report.” Over the years, I’ve completed many assessments and am always fascinated by the insights I gain into myself. This assessment was no exception. I’ve been reflecting on the strengths and “limitations” (also known as weaknesses) identified by this assessment. When most people receive the results of an assessment, they are more interested in reading the sections that talk about their weaknesses. I am no exception. Perhaps this is because of what the assessment instrument referred to as “my perfectionistic attitude toward myself.”
This assessment outlined 12 strengths and only 5 limitations. Yet the limitations are what I keep thinking about. I want to become a better version of myself, so part of me thinks it makes sense to improve upon my areas of weakness.
There are, of course, two schools of thought on personal development:
1) Improve upon your weaknesses.
2) Further develop your strengths.
In Now, Discover Your Strengths, the authors contend that the world’s best managers assume that “Each person’s greatest room for growth is in the areas of his or her greatest strength.” However, they also point out that most people tend to become experts in their weaknesses and spend their lives trying to repair their flaws while allowing their strengths “to lie dormant and neglected.”
The Gallup Organization conducted many years of research about this topic, and their results “suggest that the most effective people are those who understand their strengths and behaviors. These people are best able to develop strategies to meet and exceed the demands of their daily lives, their careers, and their families.”
What do you think? Do you focus on further developing your strengths or improving your weaknesses? Even if you believe that it is better to focus on your strengths, do you struggle to do it? Looking forward to hearing your comments.
Becoming a Coach (Part Two)
In part one of this blog series on Becoming a Coach I talked about the rapidly growing coaching industry. The industry is growing 18 percent a year according to a MarketData Report in 2007. People all over the United States are deciding to become coaches.
There are many different types of coaches. This blog will focus on the different types of coaches and I will also let you in on a little secret at the end so be sure and keep reading. Here are the different types of coaches:
- Business Coach: A business coach works mostly with owners of small to mid-sized businesses. The coaching tends to focus on sales, marketing, management, and leadership.
- Executive Coach: An executive coach works with executives, usually within mid-sized to large organizations. This type of coaching focuses on building a team, managing and leading people, and avoiding blind spots.
- Life Coach: A life coach can work with almost anyone. Many life coaches find niche markets because the overall market is so large. The coaching focuses on creating a path for your life.
- Career Coach: A career coach works with people in transition. A lot of times this type of coach will work with people unhappy in their career or people who have recently been laid off.
Other types of coaching or titles for coaches: Leadership coach, Success coach, Transition coach, Goals coach, Entrepreneur coach, etc.
If you are looking to get into coaching, these labels might overwhelm you. But I will let you in on a little secret. There really is only one type of coaching, and that is life coaching. What separates you is who you decide to target. A coach simply helps someone get from point A to point B. A coach is a guide, an accountability partner. A coach helps you overcome bad habits. A coach helps you figure out where you are now, where you want to go, as well as helping to develop a plan to get there.
Why is life coaching the only real type of coaching? Because life encompasses all of those other types. We have coached a lot of executive and small business owners and more often than not, our focus is on what’s right, what’s wrong, and what's missing in their life. They need clarity more than anything. Clarity comes from clearly defined goals and action plans. As a coach, focusing on goals, on what’s next in life is how I can help my clients become the best versions of themselves.
If you want to become a coach, first commit yourself to helping other people help themselves by helping them clearly define their goals and holding them accountable to the action steps. Then determine what market you will focus on. Feel free to give yourself a title. But whether you are a life coach, business coach, or career coach, remember why you are in this business. Do not limit yourself to a title or label. Keep it simple and success will follow.
Be sure and come back next week for Part Three of this series on Becoming a Coach, which will focus on Coaching Certifications.
Billy Moyer is the co-founder of SOS Leadership Institute, a company committed to developing leaders that make a difference. He also co-founded the SOS Coaching Network that helps coaches build successful businesses by offering customized content, coaching, and other tools. Essentially, Billy is a Coach to Coaches.
Why People Follow You
There has been much research done about leadership - what it means to be a leader, what characteristics leaders possess, what sets good leaders apart, etc. Much time, effort, and money has been spent defining the word leader. There is a simple definition of a leader that gets right to the heart of leadership: A leader is someone who has followers.
With that stated, there are good leaders and bad leaders, servant leaders, transformational leaders, visionary leaders, positional leaders, bureaucratic leaders, empowering leaders, dictator leaders, and the list goes on! In the end, what all types of leaders have in common is simply that they have followers. But what makes someone follow?
Gallup conducted a fascinating study where they interviewed more than 10,000 followers around the world to ask exactly why they followed the most important leader in their life. Here are the key themes (or basic needs) that emerged:
Take some time to reflect on your leadership style and ponder these questions.
With that stated, there are good leaders and bad leaders, servant leaders, transformational leaders, visionary leaders, positional leaders, bureaucratic leaders, empowering leaders, dictator leaders, and the list goes on! In the end, what all types of leaders have in common is simply that they have followers. But what makes someone follow?
Gallup conducted a fascinating study where they interviewed more than 10,000 followers around the world to ask exactly why they followed the most important leader in their life. Here are the key themes (or basic needs) that emerged:
- Trust (other words cited by followers included: honesty, integrity, and respect)
- Compassion (other words cited by followers included: caring, friendship, happiness, and love)
- Stability (other words cited by followers included: security, strength, support, and peace)
- Hope (other words cited by followers included: direction, faith, and guidance)
Take some time to reflect on your leadership style and ponder these questions.
- Are you honest and forthright? Can you be trusted? Are you a person of your word? Are you respectful of other people's ideas and beliefs, even when they are drastically different from your own?
- Do you care about other people, their feelings, and their struggles? Do you show compassion? Are you a good friend?
- Are you steady and unwavering in your values? Are you strong when faced with adversity? How well do you handle conflict and confrontation? How do you support and encourage your followers?
- Do you have hope for your future? Are you optimistic about life? Do you believe in people? Do you believe in yourself? Do you know your life's purpose?
If you don't often think about your leadership style in terms of what your followers see, hear, feel, and believe to be true, perhaps this new perspective can be a way to take your leadership to the next level.
Becoming a Coach (Part One)
In our country people are always looking for what’s next in their lives. People want to live out their life purpose, but unfortunately sometimes they do not even know what that is. A coach can help people discover their purpose and become the best version of themselves. I could go on and on about why you should invest in a coach, but what I want to focus on in this blog series is how and why to become a coach.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the area of consultancy and human development is expected to grow heavily through 2016. The International Coach Federation (ICF) estimates that worldwide revenue produced by coaching is $1.5 billion (USD) per year. According to a MarketData Report in 2007, it is estimated that 40,000 people in the U.S. work as business or life coaches, and the business coaching market is growing at about 18 percent per year. Business coaching was also reported to be one of the fastest growing professions in the world, following information technology, by the National Post.
Those numbers show that the coaching industry is booming. People are realizing that they can not only make a very nice income as a coach, but they can also choose their own hours, choose who they work with, and positively impact a person’s life. At SOS Leadership, that is what we enjoy most. We want to develop leaders that make a difference. This starts with developing coaches that want to make a difference!
Who can become a coach? Many people have the ability to become a coach because they are probably already coaching people in their lives. Maybe you are a part of an accountability group or maybe you spend a lot of time talking to your friends about their goals. Maybe your significant other gets annoyed with you because you are constantly asking questions starting with why and how? Okay, maybe that is just me.
The point is that coaching is a great industry to get into right now. People are getting laid off and deciding to become coaches. Some are retiring and starting coaching businesses because they do not want to do nothing, but they also do not want to have a full-time career. Young people like me are getting into coaching. Generation Y coaches are popping up all over the place. Stay at home moms become coaches. Talk about being qualified to be a coach. Can you imagine your mom as your coach? I would always accomplish what I set out to, mostly due to fear.
If you are wondering if you have what it takes to be a coach and how to go about starting a coaching business, than be sure and come back and read the next installment in this series where I will go in to the different types of coaches.
Billy Moyer is the co-founder of SOS Leadership Institute, a company committed to developing leaders that make a difference. He also co-founded the SOS Coaching Network that helps coaches build successful businesses by offering customized content, coaching, and other tools. Essentially, Billy is a Coach to Coaches.
