All tagged executive coaching

Clarity is in the distinctions

Clarity is in the distinctions

Rebecca Morley
Leadership

Funny story:

Easter Sunday and my husband set off down our street to hide Easter eggs for our children to hunt.

As he was laying some of them against one of the steps a few doors down the guy came out of his house.

‘What are you doing?’ he said.

‘I’m hiding Easter eggs for the children’ said my husband as he carried on down the street swinging his Easter basket.

‘Thanks very much’ said the guy as he picked them up and went back into his house - much to my husband’s consternation.

It turns out, on speaking to the neighbours that this guy has grandchildren… and, it seems, also now thinks of my husband as a very generous benefactor of Easter treats for the children of our street.

So what went wrong?!

Writing manifesto

Writing manifesto

Rebecca Morley

Sometimes an idea starts to nudge away at your thoughts. At first, it’s a whisper, quiet and polite. But when it’s persistent you begin to realise it might be something important. Soon that whisper starts to get louder. Eventually it becomes a shout. Impossible to ignore.

The only way to do anything about it, is to take action.

3 ways to up your leadership game - today

3 ways to up your leadership game - today

Rebecca Morley

If you feel as though your leadership could do with a tune up after the uncertainty and turmoil of the last year you’re not alone. So many people I’ve spoken to recently feel as though they’ve been in survival mode for months.

With so little certainty over the future, looking longer term has felt impossible. But that feels so tiring and demotivating that many of you are looking for ways to get back on track.

I recent coaching sessions, I’ve found that the same things have come up again and again. Leaders want to feel as though they’re leading again. They want to feel as though the business is going somewhere and that they are in control.

Being able to do that actually tends to require very small shifts but the results are overwhelmingly positive when you make even small changes consistently.

COVID-19 - Should I be spending money on coaching and development?

COVID-19 - Should I be spending money on coaching and development?

Rebecca Morley

If the last few months have taught me anything, it’s how much of a luxury some people still think coaching and development are.

That makes me sad. For me, it’s anything but. My own business has been impacted significantly by this crisis but I’ve doubled my own spend on coaching and supervision as I know it’s a necessity. I work with numerous businesses who feel the same - I know they’ll weather this storm.

Thinking about hiring a coach? Read this first...

Thinking about hiring a coach? Read this first...

Rebecca Morley

If you're thinking about hiring a coach but don't know where to start, then you're not alone. The coaching landscape is incredibly confusing and extremely competitive. I posted on Facebook this week to do a bit of research on how people choose coaches and it garnered nearly 40 comments, many of which had various different descriptions of what coaching even is. It also attracted several other coaches trying to sell their services!

One of the main issues is that coaching seems to be a bit of a buzz word at the moment. The problem with that is, when people realise that they can add credibility to their offering by adding a word like coach, it becomes misappropriated time and time again. When everyone’s a coach, no one is a coach. I imagine it won’t be long before McDonalds rename their servers food selection coaches. 

So if you think you might benefit from the help of a coach, but you don't know where to start, let me help you to cut through some of the crap!

Running a business... it's an emotional rollercoaster!

Running a business... it's an emotional rollercoaster!

Rebecca Morley

"The bit no-one talks about is the emotional side of running your own business" - Steph Douglas, Don't Buy Her Flowers. A quote from a talk I attended at Stylist Live last Friday - three successful female business owners, on stage talking about how to start a business in an industry that ostensibly you know nothing about. 

All three, very impressive women, all three, disarmingly, well, female. Maybe it was the audience (at least 99% women), maybe it was the event (a fashion and lifestyle event), it was probably the brief (make your story accessible) but they were unashamedly and wonderfully open about what it means to be a woman in business.

Patience is a virtue....

Patience is a virtue....

Rebecca Morley

Impatience, that familiar mix of slight excitement tinged with frustration. It creates an energy that has nowhere to go, and if you don’t learn to recognise it and manage it, it can be pretty damaging to your success.

 

It’s definitely my Achilles heel and it has led to several changes in direction for my business as, when things don’t work straight away, I have a tendency to want to move straight on to the next big idea. It's also led to blogs, web copy and Facebook posts being published with glaring typos even though I'm the worlds biggest spelling and grammar pedant - all because I'm too impatient to properly proof read things. For me, broadly, I think my impatience is driven by a need for recognition and results. I’m not very good at plugging away and sticking at things for the long term if I’m not 100% sure they’re going to work out.....