January 4th, 2011 by Cheryl
Is 2011 the year you will get that lucky break – that bit of good fortune that sets your world alight and gives you everything you ever dreamed of?
Perhaps you have more influence on Lady Luck than you might think . If Henry Ford was right when he said “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right” then it stands to reason that “If you think you’re lucky or you think you’re unlucky, you’re right”.
I don’t believe luck is something that happens to us compeletely by chance – it’s more about setting ourselves up to be lucky by having a positive attitude, getting out there, recognising opportunities and grabbing them by the throat.
So many people tell stories of the the failure and hard work that preceeded their success. They insist their belief and determination spurred them on to learn from their mistakes, try and try again until they won their prize. Proof that the more you practice, the luckier you get.
Everyone who buys a lottery ticket knows that you’ve got to be in it to win it. Even though the odds are stacked against you, someone will scoop the prize and maybe, just maybe, it might be you.
Luck is undoubtedly what you make of it and I like to think that this year, in spite of the political hype and negative predictions, we will make it a ‘Lucky New Year’ and prove the doom-mongerers wrong.
Posted by Cheryl Goldenberg (‘Gold’ Founder & Principal Coach) http://uk.linkedin.com/in/cherylperformancecoach
Tags: ATTITUDE, BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY, Business Success, CHANGE, interpretation, language, PERFORMANCE COACHING, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY, PERSONAL-RESPONSIBILITY, POSITIVE ATTITUDE, POSITIVE LANGUAGE, STRATEGY, STYLE, SUCCESS, SUCCESS-STRATEGIES, TRANSFORMATION, TRANSITION, WINNING
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December 20th, 2010 by Cheryl
OK, the economy is in a downturn, budgets are tight and we have got to adapt. This year has been a challenging year for businesses to say the least and the downturn is set to follow us into the New Year. It’s time to be creative, do things differently and deliver efficiencies so we’re setting you a little challenge whilst spreading some Christmas cheer and asking you to share your dream for change within your organization… In return, you’ll be in with the chance of winning up to £5,000 worth of services to make your dream come true.
Those of you who know our passionate Team Gold know it’s our mission to change the focus of the role of a manager from one of decision maker to one of coach, giving responsibility and ownership back to individuals. It’s incredible just how powerful it is to empower good managers to create a high performing team delivering outstanding results…leading the team from good to great.
The companies our team have been working with over the past 12 months are embracing change and using the climate as an opportunity to be creative, think outside the box and create an organization full of leaders. Not only do we believe, but our experience proves, that if you engage your people on a personal level you will discover the key to a motivated workforce.
We are offering you the opportunity to WIN Coaching Services worth up to £5,000 by sending us details of your organisation’s challenge for 2011.
How to Enter
Simply tell us, in one paragraph, who you are, why your organisation needs to change and what obstacles you need to overcome in order to realise your vision. Email your entry, together with your name and contact number, to cheryl@goldperformancecoaching.com by Friday 14th January 2011.
Posted by Cheryl Goldenberg (‘Gold’ Founder & Principal Coach) http://uk.linkedin.com/in/cherylperformancecoach
Tags: BEHAVIOURS, Business Success, BUSINESS-DEVELOPMENT, CHANGE, DEVELOPING-PEOPLE, EXECUTIVE COACHING, Free Competition, MASTERY, PERFORMANCE COACHING, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, PERSONAL-RESPONSIBILITY, SOLUTIONS, STRATEGY, SUCCESS-STRATEGIES, TRANSFORMATION, WINNING
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December 15th, 2010 by Cheryl
Deborah Haynes article in yesterday’s Times reported that the Ministy of Defence is so deeply entrenched in layers of hierarchy that there seems to be no way of getting through the system that has been holding back change for decades. “From buying and maintaining kit to managing people and controlling budgets, the Ministry of Defence is beset by problems that have been evident for decades”.
This military command and control style of leadership, coupled with up to 12 layers of management, inevitably creates an environment of lethargy amongst the most determined civil servants and highlights the challenge faced by so many public service and ex-nationalised industries. “Everybody follows orders, they do not question whether the orders make sense or not”.
A culture of blindly following procedures has led the MoD to approve aircraft carrier contracts because they were too complex to cancel, as well as delaying the delivery of helicopters despite the implications to our troops on the front line - all this adding to the squandering of an estimated £6b of public money.
In order for organisations to survive today’s economic climate they need to empower people to challenge the system and inject a healthy portion of common sense to procedures. There seems little point in hiring good people if you are not going to allow them to do what they do best. If employees are expected to follow orders (regardless of whether or not they make sense) companies are never going to recruit or hold on to top talent.
It’s great to see that questions are finally being asked and dinosaurs are being put in the spotlight, but how long will it take to undo the damage of weak leadership and outdated processes and drag our public sector services into the 21st century?
Let’s hope that lessons will be learned and great leadership will be at the top of the agenda for every organisation in 2011.
Posted by Cheryl Goldenberg (‘Gold’ Founder & Principal Coach) http://uk.linkedin.com/in/cherylperformancecoach
Tags: ATTITUDE, BEHAVIOURS, BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY, Business Success, BUSINESS-DEVELOPMENT, CHANGE, DEVELOPING-PEOPLE, Leadership, Management, MASTERY, MOTIVATION, Organisational Change, PERFORMANCE COACHING, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, PERSONAL-RESPONSIBILITY, Public Services, SOLUTIONS, STRATEGY, STYLE, SUCCESS-STRATEGIES, TRANSFORMATION
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October 20th, 2010 by Cheryl
Richard Branson’s blog http://english.alrroya.com/content/its-all-about-people is a great insight into his view on people management. When asked for his opinion on hiring and managing employees he says ’It is often said that the most important factor in real estate investment is “location, location, location.” Well, I believe that a key part of building a successful business is people, people, people’.
Easy to say but so often forgotten in our crazy, busy lives. Every organisation knows that people are its most valuable asset yet miss so many opportunities to engage them.
In the run-up to today’s public sector spending cuts announcement, Jack Straw wrote in the Times “There are plenty of parts of government that have got smarter, and there is much potential for improvement. But you have to take people with you. Ministers who forget that will end up as frustrated as the Fat Controller on a bad day”.
Getting the best out of your people has got to be a top priority in organisations today and there are so many ways you can achieve this. Hugh Facey, founder of Sheffield-based business Gripple, believes that collective responsibility is the answer. His company implemented an enforced employee share ownership scheme in 1994 and firmly believes that this is the glue that has held the company together through the bad times.
If selling shares is not a viable option, how about simply adopting a coaching-style of management and empowering people to deliver clearly-defined tasks? We all benefit from having a sense of purpose and, as long as we have the relevent skills and support, what could be more satisfying than being trusted to do a good job? Telling people what to do might seem like the easy solution, but compliance is never going to develop talent. The long-term answer lies in building a commitment-based organisation, where every member of staff is actively involved in the planning and decision-making.
Here at Gold Performance Coaching, one of our most successful workshops is ‘Coaching as a Management Tool’. Why? Quite simply because it develops confidence, self-belief, motivation and an environment of trust. We firmly believe that if you develop your people, your people will develop your business.
A good leader will inspire, motivate and support – a good team will build a business that everyone can be proud of.
Posted by Cheryl Goldenberg (‘Gold’ Founder & Principal Coach) http://uk.linkedin.com/in/cherylperformancecoach
Tags: BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY, Business Success, BUSINESS-DEVELOPMENT, CHANGE, DEVELOPING-PEOPLE, MASTERY, MOTIVATION, PERFORMANCE COACHING, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, PERSONAL-RESPONSIBILITY, SOLUTIONS, STRATEGY, STYLE, SUCCESS-STRATEGIES, TRANSFORMATION, WINNING
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October 12th, 2010 by Cheryl
I have been watching ‘that’ programme, despite my husband’s complaints – you know the one, ‘XFactor’!
‘That’s a recording voice’ ……. ‘she has no confidence, I mean zero’ . These words from Simon Cowell about one particular contestant, led me to think about the things that impact on us and our ability to make the most of our talents and be our best on a day-to-day basis. This show contestant had apparently lost her confidence as a result of having a baby and whilst she clearly had a great voice, she seemed unable to project any personality, was unable to engage with the audience or make eye contact with the judges – all essentials if you want to excel as a contestant.
For many people, confidence is a fragile thing and can be lost or knocked easily; a result of a careless remark, a negative response to our enthusiasm or perhaps a previous bad experience.
Selected XFactor contestants then moved to ‘Boot Camp’ where they worked with people (a voice coach for example) whose job was to help them raise their performance – they were guided, nurtured, pushed, challenged and supported. This process works and you can see how much improvement is achieved in a relatively short period of time.
The contestant with zero confidence was visibly more composed and positive and delivered a significantly better performance as a result.
Having watched a previous series of this show I know that the coaches continue to work with contestants and as their confidence grows and their skill base increases they become more professional; they are more able to take on board the critique offered by the judges and to take personal responsibility for their own continued growth.
How much better would we all be if, at work, we had that opportunity to experience similar coaching support. At a time when organisations need to get more from their people, perhaps XFactor should be seen as essential viewing for all line managers.
Posted by Jackie Wright (Gold Performance Coach)
Tags: ATTITUDE, BEHAVIOURS, BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY, BUSINESS-DEVELOPMENT, CHANGE, COMFORT-ZONE, communication, CONFIDENCE, DEVELOPING-PEOPLE, facilitate, INDIVIDUALITY, MASTERY, PERFORMANCE COACHING, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, SELF-BELIEF, SOLUTIONS, STRATEGY, TRANSFORMATION, VALIDATION, WINNING
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October 5th, 2010 by Cheryl
A dictionary definition of a habit is ‘a recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behaviour that is acquired through frequent repetition’.
So, if the habit is getting the results you want, then you don’t have a problem. However, if you keep on doing the same old thing and you keep getting the results you don’t want, then it’s time to change the habit.
One of the biggest challenges facing organisations right now is how to get their workforces to re-invent themselves in response to the rapidly-changing needs of the current economic climate. Old working habits are constantly under scrutiny and employees are being pushed further and further out of their comfort-zone in order to improve performance, so the only way to stay in the game is to embrace new opportunities and commit to self-development.
It’s simply a matter of considering your values, beliefs and purpose (see previous blog) and identifying the behaviour or ‘habit’ that’s going to lead you to where you want to go. If you want to improve your relationship with the boss then you know that getting into work on time and doing a good job is going to help to achieve the desired outcome. If you want to raise your profile in order to be considered for promotion then you need to develop your networks and get noticed.
Once you decide on the new behaviour it’s important to get a really good mental picture of the benefits it will bring - daydream about how it will look and feel until failure is no longer an option.
During this transition phase the old habit is not just going to roll over and die so you are likely to go through a period of discomfort and confusion when you have to be very self-aware and consciously choose the new behaviour. Practice, practice, practice – even though it may seem easier to just go back to the old habit.
Whenever the old behaviour pops up again, interrupt it, remind yourself why you want to change it and practice the new stuff again. Once you feel comfortable it will become automatic and that’s the point when you know the new habit has been formed.
P.S. – A dictionary definition of a dinosaur is ‘a relic of the past – one that is hopelessly outmoded’.
Posted by Cheryl Goldenberg (‘Gold’ Founder & Principal Coach) http://uk.linkedin.com/in/cherylperformancecoach
Tags: ATTITUDE, BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY, BUSINESS-DEVELOPMENT, CHANGE, COMFORT-ZONE, communication, CONFIDENCE, DEVELOPING-PEOPLE, MASTERY, MOTIVATION, PERFORMANCE COACHING, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY, PERSONAL-RESPONSIBILITY, SELF-BELIEF, SOLUTIONS, STRATEGY, STYLE, SUCCESS, SUCCESS-STRATEGIES, TRANSFORMATION, WINNING
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September 6th, 2010 by Cheryl
It’s summer and barbeque time! While I was at a barbeque celebrating my niece’s one and a half birthday, I found myself deep in conversation with another guest, Karen, about our respective professions. It turned out she is a psychologist with a healthy scepticism for coaches, due to the ever expanding number of people setting themselves up as coaches without any training in the profession at all. Yet, she was pleasantly surprised by my approach to coaching which she said resonated strongly with her.
Many clients who come to me for coaching don’t have a very specific issue to address but rather broader questions around building confidence, developing leadership and managing their career. I encourage them to spend time working in our early sessions, and to reflect between sessions, on their values, beliefs and purpose. They find this approach pays dividends in achieving their more intangible goals like knowing what they want to do and being more confident. Why? I feel a sense of purpose and knowing your values and beliefs brings
- personal meaning;
- a sense of being;
- knowing who you are and what is important to you and what you stand for;
- a sense of harmony, peace and well being when you are living in alignment with your core values;
- a feeling of direction and energy;
- being true to yourself;
- respecting yourself; and
- self belief, self confidence and self esteem, which is honest and not misplaced or falsely built up; based on evidence you can prove to yourself, recognising your own achievements and contributions without claiming those of others.
Having a sense of purpose can make a real difference to the way we feel about ourselves and how we live our lives. Karen reminded me of Frankl, an Austrian psychologist who survived the holocaust and helped other inmates in concentration camps during the first world war. He noticed that survivors of these terrible places were those people who felt a sense of purpose. For some it was love for children or a wife that gave them a meaning to cling to, or a talent to be used, or perhaps lingering memories they felt worth preserving. The people who felt they had nothing to live for died quickest. The people who felt a sense of purpose found meaning even in these most miserable conditions and survived.
Most of us now are fortunate – we live in incredibly good conditions in comparison, yet still we feel stress or a lack of direction or confidence. Taking time to discover our sense of purpose can help us release our full potential, turn our dreams into reality and be who we want to be.
Posted by Dr. Sue Mitchell (Gold Performance Coach)
Tags: ATTITUDE, AUTHENTIC, BEHAVIOURS, CONFIDENCE, INDIVIDUALITY, INTERNAL VALIDATION, LIFE-LESSONS, MOTIVATION, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY, PERSONAL-RESPONSIBILITY, SELF-BELIEF, SUCCESS-STRATEGIES, WINNING
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August 20th, 2010 by Cheryl
I took up cycling about a year ago because I had been told that it was good for my hips that were showing signs of arthritis. I was a bit resistant to begin with but there are obvious benefits with cycling: being fit – something that I have always tried to be, enjoying the freedom of being outside, feeling like a child when I start pedalling from a standing up position and more importantly having thinking time. I am very fortunate in that I live in a village surrounded by the most beautiful countryside so it gives me a real buzz of inspiration when I look, feel and smell the fields around me.
What I didn’t expect were the lessons that I have learned through cycling. I had a pipe dream that it would be nice to cycle through France. So I mentioned it to my husband who said “Ooookay so how are you going to make this happen”. I then mentioned it to our two sons. One of them was keen and the other one had other plans involving India, which was probably a bit too far to cycle!
At this point I was feeling completely overwhelmed about the whole project and couldn’t see how I could make it happen. There seemed to be far too many obstacles in the way. How much would it cost? What route would we take? Where would we start from? Where would we stay? How would we get back? Would I really be able to achieve it? It was still a pipe dream and not something that I really believed would happen.
It wasn’t until I was talking to a colleague that I made the decision that I was really going to go for it. I am not saying that it was plain sailing but from then on I really believed that it was going to happen and that it was just a matter of getting on with the planning.
In May this year myself and my son cycled from Le Havre to Biarritz and my husband was our support and scout on his motorbike. It was the most wonderful trip and having made the decision I never doubted that we would get there. The added bonus was having a chance to spend two and a half weeks with my 23 year old son.
What I have learned is that I can apply this in other areas of my life and have done so with my business since returning from France. I have found that when you make the decision to go for it you tap into a part of you that believes you can do it. Then everything else falls into place and it is just a matter of systematically working through the obstacles.
My next pipe dream is to cycle the length of New Zealand – North and South Islands. Now that feels really daunting at the moment. It will be interesting to see when I make that decision to go for it.
Posted by Maureen Moore (Gold Performance Coach)
Tags: ATTITUDE, BEHAVIOURS, CHANGE, MOTIVATION, PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY, STRATEGY, SUCCESS, WINNING
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August 10th, 2010 by Cheryl
I’ve just had a conversation with a client who is having difficulty believing just how good he is.
Even though everyone tells him how inspirational he is and his company is investing huge amounts of money to groom him for succession, he cannot understand what everyone sees in him. As far as he is concerned what he does is simple common sense – something that is normal and unexceptional.
Unfortunately his humble approach is likely to get in the way of his success if he continues to underestimate his abilities because it will be very difficult for anyone to take him seriously if he cannot take himself seriously.
According to Timothy Gallway in his book ’The Inner Game of Tennis’ POTENTIAL – INTERFERENCE = PERFORMANCE and my client certainly has a lot of negative self-beliefs that are interfering with fulfilling his potential. If we take a look at the difference between people who succeed and people who don’t I think you’ll see what I’m getting at. Think back to your childhood – what were your dreams? Who did you most long to be?
For all of you who longed to be a pop star/actor/writer, what stopped you? What is the difference between the ones that fulfill their dream and the ones that don’t? Talent? Luck? Or is it absolute self-belief, determination and persistence?
Have you heard the saying ‘If you think you can or you think you can’t you are absolutely right’? Do you get those ‘voices’ in your head telling you that you can’t do something – you’re not good enough, talented enough, brave enough? And how many times does that stop you from even starting the process? If we believe we are doomed to failure then how many of us will be brave enough to risk it?
However, if we believe that we will succeed at everything we try then how many new opportunities suddenly open up to us? Of course we will always face obstacles but if we keep focused on the desired outcome and retain an unshakeable belief in ourselves then failure will never be an option.
Maybe it’s time to revisit those old beliefs that are holding you back and put them in the past where they belong. Every time one of those gremlins gets inside your head again – stop, say ‘DELETE’ and find another way of thinking.
You can always take a leaf out of Nelson Mandela’s book. It is said that every day during his captivity he practised walking like a President – that is how strongly he believed in himself. In spite of years of incarceration and adversity he never gave up hope. How different South Africa would be today if he had allowed those Gremlins to get in the way.
Posted by Cheryl Goldenberg (‘Gold’ Founder & Principal Coach) http://uk.linkedin.com/in/cherylperformancecoach
Tags: ATTITUDE, BEHAVIOURS, CONFIDENCE, DEVELOPING-PEOPLE, INDIVIDUALITY, INTERNAL VALIDATION, PERFORMANCE COACHING, PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, STRATEGY, SUCCESS, SUCCESS-STRATEGIES, WINNING
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