executive coach atlanta

Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous

For me, these words really describe the world in which we are currently living. This concept originated with students at the U.S. Army War College, but these words have taken on a new meaning in today’s world.  The impact that the COVID-19 virus has had on our lives is beyond a health crisis. The loss of so many lives and the loss of jobs and livelihoods for millions of people has left in its wake many people who are fearful, angry, and uncertain about their future and that of their friends and families.

How can we help our family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and those who are in dire need? Yes, we should share some of our resources and help local businesses and charities. But, what else can we do?

LOVE, LISTEN and LEAD

Love

We need to show kindness to all; even those who are not kind to us. We rarely know the challenges or pain that another person is going through in their lives. Grieve and cry with those who have lost a loved one and be with those who are lonely and afraid. Realize that we unaware of how much other people are suffering. By showing care and concern for another person we can help them realize that they don’t have to face their challenges alone.

Listen

Sometimes people just need to vent or process what is happening to them by talking to another person. Listening to another person without judging them or judging their choices is a true gift. It enables the person to feel their emotions and sharing those emotions can relieve stress. Then they are more able to make logical decisions for themselves. Showing empathy and concern for others let them know that you really care about them. Most people have few if any people in their lives who will truly listen to them.

Lead

No matter what title or position that you hold, you can be a leader for those around you in times of crisis. In fact, it always amazes me to watch who steps up to meet the challenges inside a company or a family. These individuals don’t wait to be told what to do; they see a need and they take action. Today, many of us are reluctant to act because of fear or uncertainty. Be the person who stays calm when those around you are giving into panic or anger. Provide the direction and wisdom that those around you need in order to make a decision and move forward. Take the next step. Keep moving! And above all, never, never, never quit!!

As the Co-Founder and Principal of The Angel Advisors, Alan Lowe has devoted his career to helping executives—from Fortune 500 companies to startups—successfully assimilate into new roles, create powerful teams and develop cultures that attract and retain the best talent.

Combining more than 30 years of experience as a partner-level management consultant and executive coach and having more than 32 clients at a point in time, Alan recognizes that no two individuals have the same goals for personal fulfillment or professional growth. He focuses on understanding each client’s goals, determining how his or her business fits into the bigger picture – and then gives them the tools they need to achieve their entrepreneurial purpose.

If you are dealing with uncertainty during this stressful time, we can help!

Please contact us here for a 30-minute free consultation.

Trends That Will Redefine Executive Coaching In The Next Decade

Trends That Will Redefine Executive Coaching In The Next Decade

An executive coach is someone who will push you, hold you accountable, and make you strive for success, helping move your professional career forward. However, the world of executive coaching may begin to take on a new shape.

Creating a Strong Leadership Team

In order for your company to thrive without you being the driving force behind everything and the strategist to keep all the departments focused on the company priorities, you need to build a Leadership Team.

Here are some Steps to help you build the kind of Leadership Team that you really want:

1.     Be Selective about who you choose for your leadership team.

Start by assessing the people you already have on your team.  Be honest in your evaluation of their talent and abilities. They may not have the ability or the drive to help you get your company to the Next Level.

2.     Involve your leadership team by sharing information, holding them to high standards, and believing in their ability to deliver results.

High Performers want to be challenged. Sharing important information sends the message you trust them to understand and use the information wisely.  Maintaining high standards and believing in your team’s ability to perform enables you create a results-oriented culture inside your business.

3.     Work with you Team to create a Vision for the Future. This creates Buy-in to the Plan and makes it easier to hold leaders accountable for their piece of the Plan.

4.     Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

You must regularly reinforce the Vision with your team.  Take every opportunity to bring it up in meetings, in conversation, and in the normal course of your business. 

5.     Actively seek their input and ideas.

While using your own ideas may be easier for you, it won’t help you develop your leadership team.  Instead, ask your leadership team for their perspectives.   This can be done one to one, or during leadership team meetings.

6.     Ask, don’t tell.

When your leadership team brings you a challenge or a decision to make, resist the temptation to just “solve” the problem or make the decision.  Instead ask, “What do you think we should do here?”  

7.     Involve your leadership team in your quarterly Strategic Planning.

Consistently conduct quarterly Strategic Planning Sessions with your Team. As they get accustomed to this way of running the business they’ll contribute a great deal.  

8.     Enlist your leadership team’s help in holding your company accountable.

Do you regularly measure how well your company is progressing on reaching its most important goals, using the feedback to improve the business, or do you just react to things as they occur?

Giving your leadership team a real voice in assessing and holding your people accountable is a powerful way to get their full buy-in to the company vision.

9.     Give your Leaders permission to hold you accountable

This means you empower your leadership to hold YOU accountable for your behaviors, decisions, and contributions.

No one is perfect.   Your leadership team doesn’t expect that from you.  But if you want them to be serious leaders who takes ownership of their results; then you have to play by the same rules they do.

10.  Clarify your company’s values and make them the filter through which you make all your business’s tough decisions.

Encourage your leadership team to use them as a measure for hiring, leading, and making decisions. Occasionally ask them how they used the company’s values to make a big decisions in the heat of the moment.  It’s a great barometer of just how deeply your values have been adopted by the Leaders.

11.  Model the decisions and actions that you expect from your Leaders

A company’s culture is built by an accumulation of many small decisions made over a long period of time. In business, there are no throwaway moments; your leadership team watches everything you do. Stay true to your Company Values; remember that what you do and how you behave speaks Much Louder than anything you say.

12.  Remain Calm under Stress and Pressure

How you personally perform when the” heat” is high is Key to the Team’s success. If you get upset, angry and unreasonable, when the going gets tough, don’t be surprised if you see similar behavior from some of your Leaders.

As the Co-Founder and Principal of The Angel Advisors, Alan has devoted his career to helping executives—from Fortune 500 companies to startups—successfully assimilate into new roles, create powerful teams and develop cultures that attract and retain the best talent.

Combining more than 30 years of experience as a partner-level management consultant and executive coach and having more than 32 clients at a point in time, Alan recognizes that no two individuals have the same goals for personal fulfillment or professional growth. He focuses on understanding each client’s goals, determining how his or her business fits into the bigger picture – and then gives them the tools they need to achieve their entrepreneurial purpose.

Ready to get started? Contact us here for a FREE consultation.

Every Business is a people business

From Hiring to Team building to Employee satisfaction, if we want our people to trust us and our organizations, then we must give them a reason to do so. The Birkman Method provides a powerful tool to help you lead and engage your people in accomplishing your Mission.

The Birkman Method is a scientifically developed, multi-dimensional assessment that enables the individual to better understand oneself and others. We are all wired to seek meaningful work and experiences that connect with who we are and our unique needs and interests. As we learn more about ourselves and the others around us, it makes it easier to build relationships and feel connected to each other and the groups to which we belong.

Smarter Hiring begins with getting an accurate look at a candidate’s strengths and interests. The Birkman Method provides data that can be used to understand how a candidate would interact with those they would be working with. The interviewer can ask better questions based on the Birkman data and anticipate where and how team conflicts might occur.

During the on-boarding process, new employees can take a deeper dive into their personal profile. The information can help them better understand the work styles of others and provides them with a common language that can be used to express their needs and preferences to their co-workers. The common language reduces miscommunications and can make meetings faster and more productive.

As the new employees integrate into their new roles and relationships, many firms use the Birkman data to assist both internal and external coaches in providing feedback and guidance that help the employee perform better and navigate the culture of the company or organization they have joined. The Birkman enables the leader to match strengths and passions with the right role which results in greater job satisfaction and better performance.

Armed with an understanding of the Birkman principles, employees also have a better understanding of other people’s communication styles. This helps them to better communicate with Vendors, Clients, and Strategic partners.

In short, with this powerful tool in your toolkit, it makes growing a business or an organization easier, more productive and more fun.

We are Birkman Certified Professionals (BCP) who have helped many organizations resolve internal conflicts, select the best talent and develop their people.

Ready to get started? Request a free Birkman assessment here.

 

How Executive Coaching helps CEOs with Leadership development

How Executive Coaching helps CEOs with Leadership development

Many CEOs are so focused on the growth of their company that they neglect their professional relationships and become disconnected from those around them and what it takes to lead. Having an executive coach will force you to take the time to reflect and learn from your successes as well as your mistakes.

5 things Business Coaching can do for your Small and Medium-Sized Business.

No matter what stage your business is at, a business coach can make you work harder and ground quicker than you would on your own. A business coach clarifies the vision and goals, help and guide the entrepreneur in running a business. Small enterprises face numerous challenges, from beginning up to growing pains. Coaching is a perfect approach to supporting small enterprises. Business coaches are experts in their field, so with their experience and hands-on knowledge, they recognize the stuff to set up a business for success.

In general, a business coach will work with you to identify qualities and shortcomings in yourself and your business, help you find solutions to overcome challenges, and guide you in setting and reaching your goals.

5 different ways a small business coach can help you

 Fill in knowledge gaps:

A coach won’t do the work for you, neither will they replace any of the organized relationships that already exist, however they will polish your skills and fill in the knowledge gap when the need arises and utilize their network of contacts to find a specialist to assist.

Improve your time management:

By coming in with an objective view, a business coach will be able to identify impartially the areas of your business that merit time being spent on them and those that don’t.

 Review financial controls:

Managing money is not everybody’s specialty, but business coaches are well versed in the financial controls of maintaining a business.

Monitor your systems:

A coach will assist you to forecast the demands on your PCs and other machinery to ensure they are fit for purpose and will ensure you’re taking the important measures to upgrade in a good time.

Make the most of you:

The most significant part of your working life is you. A good business coach will look beyond your workplace requirements and help you get on top of your life as a whole.

How to Find a Small Business Coach

Here are a few tips for finding a quality business coach:

Does the coach have experience in what you need in your business?

Whether you pick a general coach or one with a specific niche, ensure they have experience in what they indicate to coach. While there is general business coaching, there may be instances in which you need something specific, like efficiency or advertising.

Excellent understanding of small and medium-sized businesses:

Search for somebody who held managerial positions in a small company or has possessed their own business and dealt with the difficulties entrepreneurs face every day.

“You have to understand their family and emotional environments to be able to guide them in their business decisions,” Joncas says.

Does the coach offer a strategy or plan to help you reach your goals:

Most coaches have frameworks for guiding you to where you want to go in your business. This isn’t therapy, it’s coaching, where you ought to be offered a blueprint or help in making a manual to success.

 Driven when it comes to your success:

Search for someone who is truly interested in seeing you succeed. Your prospective coach should be asking you inquiries to get a good grasp of where your organization stands as opposed to discussing their own achievements.

Does the coach have references?

The very best approach to find a coach is through referrals from people you know and trust. If you find a coach some other way, request references that you can contact to get input about the coach.

As the Co-Founder and Principal of The Angel Advisors, Alan has devoted his career to helping executives—from Fortune 500 companies to startups—successfully assimilate into new roles, create powerful teams and develop cultures that attract and retain the best talent.

Combining more than 30 years of experience as a partner-level management consultant and executive coach and having more than 32 clients at a point in time, Alan recognizes that no two individuals have the same goals for personal fulfillment or professional growth. He focuses on understanding each client’s goals, determining how his or her business fits into the bigger picture – and then gives them the tools they need to achieve their entrepreneurial purpose.

Ready to get started? Contact us here for a FREE consultation.

5 Reasons why Investing in Coaching can Make a Big Impact on your Business.

Identify issues and strength and weaknesses in your business:

 A business coach can enable you to make sense of what’s not working in your business. It’s easy to think that we know ourselves really well and understand our preferences. But when it comes to bringing out the hidden abilities and deep desires, you’ll likely surprise yourself. It often takes an outside perspective of somebody who knows you really well, to tell it like it is. A coach can identify patterns, and help you exploit your qualities while bolstering your shortcomings.

Challenge your thinking:

 An autonomous business owner works only under the beliefs they hold, which can hold him back. A coach can challenge your thinking so you can see more alternatives and abstain from having limiting beliefs sabotage success. They will give you a delicate push to explore yourself and your thoughts more while giving you that genuine affection not to stop.

Help you prioritize your tasks and objectives:

 A coach can assist you to distinguish the actions to focus on and give you techniques. A business coach will enable you to prioritize your business in a way that will enable it to be fruitful, without sacrificing the other parts of your life like your mental and physical health. Furthermore, you could even work with your coach to seamlessly integrate your work into your life. With the latest technology, you have no reason not to take care of yourself, so you can give the best to your business and the people around you.

Help you come up with and harness ideas:

 Coaches have abilities that give you new ideas or change to old ideas. They can also enable you to enclose the thoughts so you can make sense of which are with pursuing and prioritizing. The entrepreneurial mind comes with its fair share of challenges. It is the fact that every individual has a number of ideas; we don’t know where to begin. Having a coach on your side will empower you to increase a fresh perspective so you can harness your ideas. They will also give you a direction if it’s time to move on.

Prioritize and grow your business:

It doesn’t matter so much where you are now, as long as you’re clear on where you’re headed. A coach will enable you to address the areas of your business that need nurturing to ensure you remain on track to healthy growth. Perhaps the most significant factor in staying on track is having someone to be accountable to. A coach can serve as an accountability partner, helping you push through the challenges to meet your business goal.

Leadership is the backbone of a company's sustained success, and all organizations must strive to attract, hire and retain the best talent. For more than 30 years, The Angel Advisors have helped business leaders to gain self-awareness, unlock their potential and achieve their development objectives.

Ready to get started? Contact us here for a FREE consultation.

The Business Coaching Industry is Booming

Coaching is estimated to be a $2 billion overall industry in the U.S. that is quickly developing, as evidenced by a dramatic increase in coaches, professional coaching associations and coaching-related research. Business Coaches provide profitable insight that will help executives develop long-term and short-term goals and objectives. It mainly focuses on helping people; especially entrepreneurs substantially grow their businesses.

Business coaching statistics

According to a survey conducted by the International Coach Federation (ICF), executives and entrepreneurs who use a business coach can increase their net income by an average of 46 percent; however, further statistics reveals that 42 percent of organizations don't use a business coach. Some of the statistics on business coaching they gathered are:

  • 70% accepted business coaching is "very valuable."

  • 50% admit their coach as much as their best friend, spouse or therapist

  • 12% confide in their coach more than anyone else.

  • 62.4% developed a more intelligent goal-setting

  • 57.1% lowered their feelings of anxiety

  • 52.4% built more self-confidence

  • 43.3% saw improvement in personal satisfaction

  • 25.7% generated more salary

The insights on business coaching reveal that individuals who do use coaches do improve their chances of achievements in one way or another.

Trends in business coaching

The industry-wide research study Executive Coaching by the ICF surveyed nearly 1,000 associations coaching practice managers, external coaches and internal coaches on an assortment of subjects. All respondents agreed that leadership development programs with additional coaching will most likely be the ensuing trend throughout the following couple of years. Having an executive coach to help your professional career who will push you and hold you responsible can make you strive for success and never become self-satisfied.

Executive Coaching Will Become Even More Commonplace:

Coaching will become more of a norm in the present business environment. It will no longer be seen as something just the greatest organization’s do. It will be viewed as a fundamental upper hand as businesses grow and evolve.

Growth:

Coaching market is developing day by day, the 2016 ICF study noted 53,300 coaches globally, a 12% increase from 2012 – and the coaching industry is evaluated to be esteemed over $2.4bn and growing

Providing Meaningful and Measurable Outcomes:

With the present business climate focused on ROI, executive coaching firms will need to show quantifiable and measurable outcomes. It will no longer be enough to show growth in leadership skills for executives.  It will become important to connect the dots and show how the cost of executive coaching can be justified by meaningful results.

Use of social media and rise of the ‘superstar’ coach:

In such a vast market coach should be sure about and advance its Unique Selling Proposition (USP). As an industry coaching is currently more visible and ‘mainstream’ and everyone is keen to differentiate themselves; 2020 will be the year where we see ‘genius’ coaches further embracing social media to share their message.

The Angel Advisors offers an exclusive twelve-month executive coaching program in Atlanta, GA. It is aimed to C-Level executives, seniors leaders and young leaders as they prepare to assume greater responsibilities and expand their leadership capabilities.

Leadership is the backbone of a company's sustained success, and all organizations must strive to attract, hire and retain the best talent. For more than 30 years, The Angel Advisors have helped business leaders to gain self-awareness, unlock their potential and achieve their development objectives.

Ready to get started? Contact us here for a FREE consultation.

Different types of coaching

Different types of coaching

There are various types of business coaching which meet the wide range of necessities people have. Engaging a coach who is expert in their field can provide confidence, understands your specific needs and may be equipped with approaches and tools that may best serve you.

 Here are some of the common types of coaching you can explore:

Business Coaching:

Business coaching is conducted within the constraints placed on the individual or group to meet organizational goals. For example, a business coach can help an owner of a company to reflect and come up with the vision, mission and strategic direction for his or her business.

Career Coaching:

In this type of coaching, you will be focused on helping different categories of people to work through the issues that they face in their careers, then make decisions and take the needed actions to accomplish their career objectives.

Life coaching:

The personal/life coach helps individuals gain awareness of and clarify their own objectives and priorities, better understand their thoughts, feelings, and take appropriate actions to change their lives, accomplish their goals. Life coaches act as catalysts for their clients. No matter where they are stuck at, a life coach will hold your hand and guide you along the way until you reach your destination.

Performance Coaching:

 Performance coaching fills the gap in the ability to see blind spots, opportunities to improve skills, provide strategic planning for accomplishing goals and offer additional accountability as you stretch yourself beyond what you feel is possible.

Group Coaching:

Group coaches work with individuals in groups. Individuals learn from each other and the interactions that take place within the group setting. Group coaching combines the benefits of individual coaching with the resources of groups.

Relationship Coaching:

The relationship coach helps two or more people to form, change, or improve their interactions. The context can be work, personal, or other settings.

Succession Coaching:

 The succession coach helps assess potential candidates for senior management positions and set them for promotion to more senior roles.

Team Coaching:

One or more team coaches work with the leader and members of a team to establish their team mission, vision, strategy, and rules of engagement with one another.

As the Co-Founder and Principal of The Angel Advisors, Alan has devoted his career to helping executives—from Fortune 500 companies to startups—successfully assimilate into new roles, create powerful teams and develop cultures that attract and retain the best talent.

Combining more than 30 years of experience as a partner-level management consultant and executive coach and having more than 32 clients at a point in time, Alan recognizes that no two individuals have the same goals for personal fulfillment or professional growth. He focuses on understanding each client’s goals, determining how his or her business fits into the bigger picture – and then gives them the tools they need to achieve their entrepreneurial purpose.

Ready to get started? Contact us here for a FREE consultation.

Business Coaching vs Mentoring

Business Coaching and mentoring have become very important and necessary at the present time. It is being utilized for both personal and professional development. Mentoring and Coaching help to exchange the knowledge from the mentor to individuals and develop a positive and concrete change in individuals.

Business coaching:

In the world of business, managing as a coach is a necessity not only for your success but also for your endurance. Business coaching is important for workers to become more effective and supporting and developing attention of your workers in the process. A coach prefers to concentrate on specific tasks, such as improving a certain aptitude. For instance, this expert could teach you how to manage employees with greater success. Business coaches help you accomplish a particular goal instead of advising you about major decisions. Coaching seeks to identify and maximize the existing aptitudes, knowledge, and experience of the individual and then help them use these to perform at their best, confidently and with increased clarity and focus. As a coach, you develop and possess different abilities and efforts that are aimed at guiding employees to achieve high productivity and positive results. A coach helps you make better use of your time.

Advantages of business coaching:

The advantages can be even more vast and specific to an individual. Here are 5 advantages that coaching can bring to individuals in your company.

  • Set and act towards accomplishing goals.

  • Workers commitment will increase

  • Safe Place to Gain Perspective

  • Build Personal Awareness.

  • Greater Level of Learning

Qualities of a good coach:

  • A good coach is mindful.

  • A good coach prepares for each session with data, examples, ideas, etc, and is always ready for discussion.

  • A good coach understands his or her employees and their strengths and weaknesses.

  • A good coach searches out ideas and implements those ideas in the workplace.

  • A good coach provides the resources, authority and supports essential for others to carry out solutions.

Business mentoring:

Business mentors usually have greater experience as compared to a coach. He or she has probably overseen at least one firm for a long time. The Mentor helps to develop explicit aptitudes and knowledge in the Mentee, in order to improve their presentation and maximize their business potential. The Mentor acts as a coach and a sounding board to help the Mentee strategies on solutions to specific issues, find the correct direction, and build up the self-confidence, motivation, and perspective, which are necessary to succeed in business. In mentoring, the knowledge and experience of the mentor themselves are particularly significant. The mentor should have incredible communication skills, sound business knowledge, and practical experience. A good mentor is willing to teach what he or she knows and acknowledges the mentee where they currently are in their own professional development.

Advantages of Mentoring:

There are numerous advantages of good mentoring, and they'll vary from program to program, participant to participant. But here's are some benefits that you can share with upper management and prospective mentors and mentee.

  • Increased confidence

  • Increased self-awareness

  • Better employability

  • A way to take more control of your life

  • Realize and build up your potential

Qualities of a good mentor:

  • Willingness to share abilities, knowledge, and expertise.

  • Personal interest in the mentoring relationship.

  • Provides direction to their workers and give them constructive feedback.

  • Sets and meets ongoing personal and professional objectives.

  • Respected by colleagues and employees at all levels of the organization.

Difference between coaching and mentoring:

The greatest difference between coaching and mentoring is that a mentor focuses on advising while a coach will help the owner in setting goals and keep them accountable so that they achieve success.

Coaching and mentoring, whether on an executive-level or for overall staff, are increasingly being perceived as significant in employee development. It is acknowledged by senior management in many organizations that their company will grow if they offer some form of coaching and mentoring to their staff.

The following are the major differences between coaching and mentoring:

  1. Coaching is defined as help given by an expert to an individual to improve his performance while Mentoring refers to an activity where an individual guides a less experienced person.

  2. Coaching is focused on concrete issues, for example managing more adequately, speaking more articulately, and learning how to think strategically while Mentoring is looks to provide a protected environment where the mentoree has the freedom to discuss issues which influence his or her professional and personal achievement.

  3. Coaching is relatively for the short term. The relationship is more likely to be short-term with a specific outcome in mind. However, some coaching relationships can last longer, and it depends on the objectives while Mentoring lasts for a longer duration. The relationship is more likely to be long-term, lasting a year or two, and even longer. To be successful mentoring requires time in which both partners can understand one another and build a climate of trust.

  4. Coaching generally more structured in nature and meetings will be scheduled on a regular basis while Mentoring can be more informal and meetings can take place once in a week when the mentee needs some guidance and or support.

  5. Coaches are hired for their expertise in a given zone, one in which the coachee wants improvement. Examples: Presentation skills, leadership, interpersonal communication, sales. Coach is an expert in the concerned field while Mentors have high knowledge and experience. Within organization mentoring programs, mentors have more seniority and expertise in a specific area than mentees.

  6. Coaching is focused on performance-driven, designed to improve the professional’s on-the-job performance. The purpose of coaching is to improve the individual’s performance while Mentoring is development driven. Its purpose is to build up the individual not only for the current job but also for the future.

Forget tired old management techniques that enforce a strict hierarchy. Effective coaching and mentoring incorporate company, team, and individual goals to meet the objectives of each. The best approach to engage employees is to actively coach and mentor them.

At The Angel Advisors, we coach entrepreneurs to create, develop and run exceptional businesses. We become partners with our clients working with them on the strategy and sound practices that develop strong culture, exceptional leaders and financially successful enterprises.

We believe strong leaders develop strong companies, and strong companies support their leaders’ ability to achieve balance in life.