Coaching has exploded in the last decade. If you are thinking about retaining a coach for you or your team, make sure you hire one with training and experience. Anyone can call themself a coach; there is no license or experience required. There are many coaches in...
So often, we take our talents and abilities for granted. We believe because a particular skill or way of interacting with people comes easily, it must be equally easy for others. I often find the acknowledgement of a client's strengths can be surprising to him. When...
Joe runs a professional services business. A few years ago, he successfully merged his business with a larger firm, which has helped him double his billings and reduce the administrative issues he manages. Becoming managing director of the new firm is a goal Joe is...
When starting something new – whether it’s starting a new business, looking for a new job or bringing a new concept to your industry, it is essential that you make room for objectivity when getting feedback from others. It is easy and natural when we are in new...
Q: I just want more efficient solutions to my current operational challenges. Can you develop a plan for that? A: This might be a good time to discuss what coaching is NOT. It's important to understand that coaching is not training or consulting. Coaches do not teach...
Coaching can help you realize your goals in more powerful ways than you could on your own. For starters, you'll have a "team" (yourself and your coach) focused on accomplishing your goals. Plus, with the structure, accountability and motivation your coach provides,...
I often ask my leadership development clients, “Who are you, really?” Knowing yourself is critical to being an effective leader and for many, this is a challenging question.
When we started coaching, Nicole was afraid her boss was sabotaging her success as a leader within the company and would block her promotion. She wanted to respect him as…
Is your work really letting you tap into your passion and use your talents? Or are you in an executive job you do enjoy but feeling you haven’t hit your stride as a leader quite yet?
In Executive Coaching, I always talk to my clients about two key concepts that can have a powerful effect on their leadership impact: Self-awareness and Comfort Zones.
When a company experiences sudden fast growth, its leadership is tasked with managing the new reality; something they might not have the talent and skill to deliver.
(A Client’s Perspective) I had no idea the impact that increased awareness could have on my work. When Susan first told me about the importance of self-awareness to
When it comes to leadership impact, what a leader perceives doesn’t always match reality. Our thoughts can keep us from seeing things clearly and delivering more powerful results.
For those new to leadership coaching, it can be a bit surprising to hear their coach ask them about what is happening outside of the job. Yet, leadership coaching is most successful when
Leadership development can be a transformative experience when you put the right questions on the table and use them to drive the process. As an Executive Coach, a question I often use with my Leadership Development clients is: What’s next? For the person on the...
The Talent Development team at a national financial services company used the insights from the Kolbe assessment tools to significantly improve their team dynamics, collaboration and to bring new talent onto the team. The work occurred over a calendar year. We...
A consulting firm hired me to do a team building workshop to help them work more effectively together. The team was overflowing with good projects but struggled to work together.
Mary Lou is a bright, successful professional who runs a fast-paced consulting group but needed coaching to improve a challenging and frustrating work relationship with her boss.
Kolbe Corp sends out a monthly newsletter, Kolbe Connections. This month the newsletter featured Susan and how she uses the Kolbe tools to serve individual and team clients. Enjoy the article: Coaching and Consulting that is Kolbe Inspired
I recently had the opportunity to spend time with the answerQUEST team and was quite impressed with their organization. answerQUEST is a successful executive search company that is “taking their own medicine” to improve productivity, enhance working relationships and...
Understanding how you naturally solve problems can make a huge difference in your ability to get the job done well with lots of energy. Everyone has an innate way of taking action which does not change over our lifetime. These problem-solving patterns are present in...
Kolbe’s new A to A report hits a grand slam in detailing what happens in relationships. It provides: insights and strategies to be more collaborative areas where we might get challenged, and helpful tips so we can understand what is at play between us and...
The Talent Development team at a national financial services company used the insights from the Kolbe assessment tools to significantly improve their team dynamics, collaboration and to bring new talent onto the team. The work occurred over a calendar year. We...
The Kolbe A Index quantifies a person’s natural mental energy. The index reveals why certain types of actions give us tremendous energy, while other tasks can strip us of energy and engagement. When we work using the mental energy that engages us; we thrive and...
The Kolbe system is a revolutionary, proprietary analysis tool that is based on empirical research and years of experience. Its foundation is built on the fact that our "innate talents" are unchanging and constant. This is in stark contrast to our skills and learned...
How often do you say yes, when you really want to say no? Do you respond with a list of reasons why something isn’t a good idea, when a simple no is what your gut says? Learning when and how to say no is how we create healthy boundaries. It sounds so simple, yet many...
I have found that if you love life, life will love you back. Arthur Rubinstein The concept of Thanksgiving is a wonderful practice for every day. It is a lovely American holiday. It is not a commercial event filled with heavy-duty expectations like the winter...
Kathy Kolbe wrote that line, “Do Nothing, When Nothing Works” several years ago as part of “5 Rules For Trusting Your Guts” in her book, Powered by Instinct. I have to admit I did not really understand this rule until today when it hit me like a thunderbolt. I am at...
I lost both of my parents to dementia. How they handled the challenge was as different as they were. Dad never acknowledged anything was wrong and always fought any suggestion of it. Mom was graceful about her memory challenges, always willing to acknowledge it. I...
Many people have a clear definition of their values, however their daily activities do not always reflect those values. Sometimes the disconnection between values and our work becomes so intense, a career change evolves quite naturally. Catherine recently underwent...
Last summer I had the opportunity to travel to India with my husband, Alan to spend several weeks at an Ayurvedic clinic for our health and well-being. Ayurvedic is a type of ancient, Indian medicine. I was reviewing the blog we wrote from our last trip and thought...
At the end of each calendar year, I provide coaching clients with an exercise to review their successes, disappointments and lessons learned from the previous year. Based on those findings, they define ten key goals for their professional and personal life for the...
I have been self employed as a coach for the last fifteen years. When I began studying and announced I was becoming a coach, many asked what sport I coached. To start, my area of focus was life, and eventually I moved to business and executive coaching. Over time I...
Each year at this time, I invite my clients to review their prior-year results and then open a new year with stated goals. It is a simple process. Spend some time thinking about what would make 2013 an ideal year for you. To complete 2012, there are three things to...
Reach new heights in the role you love by bringing more of what’s amazing about you into it.
Learn how to work together in the most productive way by leveraging the strengths of every person on the team.
Learn how to connect to your greatest strengths