, , , ,

FIVE GAME-CHANGING WAYS COACHING INCREASES YOUR EROI

Five Incredible Benefits Coaching Can Bring To Your Organization

Coaching has taken the business world by storm, and what used to be an exclusive service for C-Suite executives is now being used readily throughout companies to develop their employees.

I remember an instance where I was brainstorming with the CEO of one of our clients about the benefits of coaching. During this time, the term EROI, an acronym for Employee Return on Investment, came to light. Out of that session, came five game-changing ways in which coaching can increase the return on your workforce investment

  1. Employee Retention

A growing concern in the marketplace is employee retention. Unlike days past, today, people are holding jobs for shorter periods of time than in previous generations. Instead of employees spending decades at a company, they are spending on average 4.2 years according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

While there are many factors that influence this shift, companies with cultures of high engagement show 24% to 59% percent lower turnover. This represents astounding savings as that same study mentioned that the loss of an employee can cost up to 1.5 times their annual salary! On the low side, if a disengaged team would typically see 20 people leave in a year, an engaged team would only see 8-15 – ultimately adding up to a total savings of between 600k-1.4MM. 

The biggest factor in employee engagement is management, which to this day remains a typical position for coaching. The study offered coaching services as one of the recommendations to support management in increasing employee engagement.

Companies that have used coaching in the past say that employee engagement is always among the top benefits they’ve seen after the fact. The EROI is incredible here, as you’ll not only see an improved workplace culture, but you’ll also save a ton of money as well.

2. Employee Development

The potential of your organization rests in the potential of your people. When your people grow, your potential grows.

One of the most common reasons we are hired to coach people is to help in their professional development. The desire for professional development also happens to be incredibly important to millennials. In a Gallup article titled,  “Millennials Want Jobs to Be Development Opportunities,” they wrote:[

“Millennials care deeply about their development when looking for jobs and — naturally — in their current roles. An impressive 87% of millennials rate “professional or career growth and development opportunities” as important to them in a job…”

If you want to ensure that your team of employees remains motivated to come to work, you have to keep investing in them!

  3. Employee Productivity

Productivity is going to increase once team leaders, and consequently their team members, have more clarity that allows them to understand their most important goals. This is a big deal, as 50% of employees and managers do not have a clear understanding of what their role entails. 

Coaches work with employees not only to clarify their goals, but to also decide what consistent actions are necessary to accomplish them. Moving employees from setting goals to executing is crucial to the overall success of the organization.

4. Employee Selection

Our company help with employee selection through the use of EEOC compliant assessments. They can help the team go through the process of understanding the required behavioral skills, internal drivers, and competencies needed to drive production. We do this through the process of completing a job benchmark for our clients.

The behavioral skills will show whether or not the person applying for the role has the natural tendencies and abilities to do the job – and even if they don’t have the natural tendencies, they can adapt their behaviors. The key here, is to realize that the more adaptation required, the potential for increased job stress still remains. 

The internal drivers may be the most important factor because this will help to show whether or not someone is a cultural fit with that specific workplace culture. Behaviors can be adapted, and skills can be learned, but an applicant who does not fit the culture raises a red flag. 

Measuring one’s competencies helps to ensure that the person is ready for the position immediately. As mentioned above, skills can be learned and developed. 

  5. Business-Owner Mindset

There is a big difference between an employee mindset and a business owner mindset. One goal in coaching is to help give the cleints a big picture mindset to help drive the company forward. Here are a few differences between an employee mindset and business owner mindset.

  1. An employee mindset focuses around working for the business, while a business owner works on the business.
  2. An employee spends resources to accomplish a task, while a business owner invests money on resources to fulfill a larger vision. 

Once the potential benefits that coaching can offer are realized, it becomes easier to see just why more companies are hiring coaching firms to work with their employees, establish positive company cultures, and drive operational efficiency all across the board. Your company may be the best in its industry, but it can be even better with coaching!

For more information on message or contact us.

/by
, , , , , ,

Five Steps To Crush Your Business and Life Goals

I love the underlying concept of work-life balance, but I don’t love the practicality of it. The word “balance” implies an even distribution over the course of time. So if you work too much one week, you will have to spend more time with the family the next, and vice-versa. You never arrive at your goal because this is an uncertain finish line. Luckily, there is a better way.

For years I have coached and trained others to live a more intentional life, and I am also on the same journey.  I have found that most people have a desire to change but become incredibly frustrated with the results they’re getting. Even worse, they look at those who seem to have it all together and have limiting beliefs that they can’t do the same.  I know how they feel as I have been there as well.

One of the greatest trades you can make when it comes to productivity is trading balance for healthy rhythms. While balance is unclear, rhythms are defined through a series of habits.

Almost forty percent of your actions are simply your habits according to the best selling book The Power of Habits. So if you change your habits, you will change your life. In order to create healthy rhythms, you will need to follow these five steps.

1. Decide on your goals.

The first step in the process of creating health in your life and business is deciding your desired destination, or goals. You need to clearly define what is your most important goal for the main areas of your life. We have our clients fill out a life and business plan.

Your goal should be in the form of x to y by z. For instance, your work goal may be to bring up sales revenue from one million dollars in quarter one to one million two hundred thousand dollars by the end of quarter 2. You may have a personal goal of losing fifteen pounds in the next 60 days.

2. Define your habits.

Once you have clarity on what your most important goal is for an area of life, you need to add the specific habit(s) that will help you to achieve it. Keep in mind that there are some habits, called keystone habits,  that set off a chain reaction for others to happen.

If you are a business owner, one of your habits could be to spend four hours a week working on the business instead of just in the business. Your keystone habit for your sales goal may be to contact ten loyal customers a week to see how they are doing and if they need any further assistance. Your habit to lose weight may be to write down your caloric intake every day and not to exceed so many calories.

Choose one or two habits that when done either on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, that will ensure that you will hit your goal.

3. Disrupt your schedule.

If the way you are currently spending your time is not giving you your desired results, then it’s time for a schedule change. You will most likely need to change your schedule to thrive in your key areas such as self-development, relationships, and business.

Some of your current fruitless activities will change and its place will be slotted for your new habits.

We look at the schedule a week at a time and call it our weekly rhythm. Inside your weekly rhythm is time to accomplish your habits and ultimately ensure reaching your goals.

4. Draw lines in the sand.

You can do anything, but you can’t do everything. In order to accomplish your goals, you are going to have to set some healthy boundaries in your life. There will be times when you say “no” to the good so you can say “yes” to the great.

Since you already have your time slots full of your new habits, you can say no to things since you have a prior commitment. This part will make or break your ability to grow your business or personal life.

5. Dig your heels in.

I would love to say that everything will magically fall into place once you start, but there will be resistance. That resistance will come from the fact you’re already predisposed to your current habits and life itself.

How long does it take to form a new habit? Though it varies, research shows it more likely to take two months or so. This is one of the benefits of our year-long leadership coaching program, the opportunity to solidify many new habits. Here is the good news–once something becomes a habit, it does not require much effort to keep it going.

Take some time and clarify your goals and follow the steps in order. Plan today for the business or life you want to live tomorrow.

/by
, ,

Great Questions to Improve Productivity, Priorities and Perspective

Years ago, I began to focus on time management, productivity and living a priority driven life. It was during this season that adopted the process of making a life, organization, and time plan. As a result of implementing these three plans, I have seen results in all areas.
One of the keys to the life, organizational, and time plan is a periodic review. In fact, a quarterly review and revision of each of these plans are essential. It helps to give you the focus you need for the next quarter.
Recently, I have looked at my whole process slightly different. One of the biggest changes would be the way I try to revise the plans. Typically, you would make sure you are making time for your predetermined priorities.
While I still do this, there has been some slight change of perspectives. One of the best ways to open your heart and mind up to future direction is by asking yourself some questions.
1. What is this season for?
What was important six months ago may not be as important today. In light of changing priorities, this is a good question to lead with as you are revising these plans.
Your highest priorities, likely relationship based, should always be at the top of your list. What you focus on in each season with your priorities can change.
Keep in mind, If you are in a season of huge transition or something new is happening, such as having a baby, launching a new initiative, or helping an elderly parent who is recovering from injury, the way you spend your discretionary time will vary from last season.
2. What do I need to say yes to in this season?
Because each season is different, there will be things that you will need to say yes to in order to focus on priorities. You may have a spouse, parent, or child who needs extra attention and cares this season.  Your marriage may be struggling and you may need to find a small group to learn how to love your spouse more effectively.
The goal once you decide what the season is for is to decide what do you need to do to make sure you are caring and investing in your priorities. So what are your priorities?

3. What do I need to say no to in this season?

Even more important than the ability to say yes, is the ability to say no. Remember, you can do anything, but you can’t-do everything.
I am still a recovering people pleaser. I want to say yes to almost everyone, but I can’t, and neither can you. If you say yes to everyone, you will end up having to neglect your priorities at some point.
Here is a list of a few things you may say not to: working late every night, watching television late every night, putting purchases on credit cards, spending hours a day on social media. All of these add stress to your life or consume a good amount of time while taking away from more important priorities.
I would love to learn which one of these questions are most beneficial, or what other ways have you found helpful to give yourself a healthy perspective for a new season.
/by
, ,

Accomplish More By Focusing On Less

There can be a myriad of things trying to get our attention, and consequently pulling us away from the things we want to accomplish.

Over the last few years, I have set many personal and professional goals. My personal goals usually revolve around my key relationships and family goals, while my professional ones are around developing the people and organizations I lead.

I have had seasons where I was failing at accomplishing most of my goals. While I had clarity around what I wanted to accomplish, I was failing on execution. Then a solution came.

While on the phone one day, someone told me that there were some goals if accomplished would help you accomplish many other goals. So instead of focusing on dozens of goals, we can accomplish more if we have just a few goals.

1. Personal:

Is there one goal personally that if accomplished, will help you accomplish your other important goals?

For instance, eating healthy will help you with your fitness and health goals. Another benefit is that you may eat out less, which will help you achieve your financial goals.

For me, my one goal that helps accomplish many others is waking up early. If I wake up hours before the rest of the house, it helps me accomplish my goals in the areas of faith, health, and my coaching business. In fact, I am writing this post while the rest of the house is sleeping.

2. Organizational:

You have probably seen a company or department have ten to fifteen goals they are trying to accomplish this year. So how many of those get achieved? Very few.

Look at the findings of the Franklin Covey group shared in the book  The Four Disciplines of Execution:

If a team focuses on two or even three goals beyond the demands of their whirlwind, they can often accomplish them. However, if they set four to ten goals, our experience has been that they will achieve only one or two. They’ll be going backward! If they go after eleven to twenty goals in addition to the whirlwind, they’ll lose all focus. Confronted with so many goals the team members will stop listening let alone executing. Why is this so? The fundamental principle at work in Discipline 1 is that human beings are genetically hardwired to do one thing at a time with excellence.

The book also stresses that organizations should only attempt to achieve one or two wildly important goals (WIG) at a time.

The less you do, the more you can do with excellence. If you focus on just a one or two wildly important goals in your life and business, you will get more done, by focusing on less.

What is your wildly important goal in your personal and professional life?

/by
, , ,

Three Fixable Flaws Keeping You From Accomplishing Your Goals

Goals, benchmarks, and quotas, all represent something we are trying to achieve. Most people are not accomplishing the goals they want to achieve, so what’s the deal?

According to an article on Inc.com, over ninety-percent of people who set New Year’s resolutions never accomplish them.  That is a ton of people, not feeling pumped about their results. In fact, a little over forty-percent of people have never succeeded in accomplishing their goals or achieving their resolution.

I have worked in the for-profit and nonprofit world and have seen people and companies set all kinds of goals. Improve client relationships, reach more people, give more money away, or take in more money. Individuals have set goals for spending more time with God, eating healthier, exercising more, making a budget, and so forth. Most of these goals will never be brought to fruition without some extra help.

I want to focus on a few that are the major culprits in many of us not accomplishing our desired goals.

1. Goals are not specific enough.

The more specific and concrete a goal is, the more it inspires us. The most popular goal people want to achieve is to lose weight. However, the goal to lose weight is not specific.

The goal needs to be so specific that it fits in the formula x to y by time or specific frequency. So the goal of losing twenty-five pounds by Christmas, now that has something to hang your hat on. Alternatively, instead of saying, “I need to work out,” the goal should be “I’ll workout Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from six to seven in the morning.”

2. Goals are not staying in the forefront of your mind.

Initially, we are pretty excited about our goals, and they stay at the forefront of our minds for a short period of time. However, after a while, our goal(s) get lost in the whirlwind of our lives unless we have a way of keeping them front and center.

3. Goals are not given the needed time and resources to be accomplished.

In the pursuit of improving, we can try to take on too many goals at once. When we do this, we end up not being able to give the time and attention necessary to each goal. One of the most eye-opening realities of having too many goals came from the book 4 Disciplines of Execution.

If a team focuses on two or even three goals beyond the demands of their whirlwind, they can often accomplish them. However, if they set four to ten goals, our experience has been that they will achieve only one or two. They’ll be going backward! If they go after eleven to twenty goals in addition to the whirlwind, they will lose all focus.

Simply stated, there is a diminishing return when we add too many goals.

While there are other reasons you may not reach your goals, these are the three big ones. Now, it is time to take your goals by the horns and fix the problem with these solutions:

1. Make sure your goals are specific.

Go back through the goals you set and make sure they tell you what you want to do and include by when or how often. Remember, going on a date night with my wife or spending time with my kids is not specific, but a date night with my wife every other Friday at seven in the evening is.

2. Enlist accountability.

The first step to accountability is to keep yourself accountable by reviewing your goals weekly. I encourage you to make this a part of your weekly review. For businesses, your most important goal or two show be very clear to your team members and reinforced consistently and constantly.

You can take it a step further by enlisting someone to ask you whether you are keeping in tune with your goals. One of my clients has his team ask one another over a dozen questions weekly, and they keep track on a spreadsheet of their progress as pictured below.

3. Choose fewer goals so that you can accomplish more.

I know this may seem backward, but if you try to accomplish too much, you may end up accomplishing none of them. So go through your goals and choose the most important two or three goals that you want to accomplish. You will go further faster if you have fewer goals.

Keep in mind that there are some goals that enable you to accomplish others. For instance, if you have a goal to workout and have quiet time early in the morning, but struggle getting up early enough, simply accomplishing the goal of waking up earlier will help you accomplish the other two.

4. Decide on trade-offs.

If you add something to your life, you have to take away something else.

It is not as easy as it seems to simply add a goal to your life without subtracting something else to make room. For instance, if you love to binge watch Netflix shows late into the night, but also have a desire to wake up early in the morning, something will have to give.

As one person has said, sacrifice is giving up something you love for something you love more. Yes, you may love binge-watching Netflix, but you love waking up earlier more so you can work out, write a book, read a book, or have quiet time.

You can do anything, but you cannot do everything. Decide what are the necessary trade-offs and make time for what you desire.

If you follow these four-step process to accomplish your goals, you will accomplish more of what you set out to do.

I would love to ways that have helped you accomplish your goals or what has proved challenging.

/by
, ,

One Thing You Need To Achieve Your Goals

Many people give up goal setting because they don’t achieve the results they set out to.

I am a big proponent of setting goals for your personal and professional life. One of the processes I take my coaching clients through includes making a plan for their life, business, and time.

The goal of these plans is to help them dig in and get from where they currently are to where they always wanted to be. One of the greatest benefits of taking this avenue is that it gives a person great clarity on what they want. Then they simply set goals to get them to their desired future.

By the time these plans are tweaked there can be more than a dozen goals. While the clarity is increased tremendously, many people still don’t hit their goals. One of the main reasons they don’t hit their goals can be summed up in one word; focus.

We set ourselves up for failure when we front-load our goal setting. It is harder to focus on multiple goals at one time, because if you aim at everything, you may hit nothing. Here are a few ways to help you get focused on your goals.

[bctt tweet=”If you aim at everything, you may hit nothing. ” username=”justinsetzer”]

1. Decide what your three most important goals are. 

Instead of having dozens of personal and professional goals, decide what are your most important three are from your life and business.  Now you may think that you won’t have the impact necessary if you set fewer goals. While that can be true if you set goals that have an impact on multiple areas you can still go far.

2. Keep your goals in your face.

If you just write the goals down today and never at them again, it’s unlikely that you will hit them. At a minimum, I encourage people to read their life plan weekly. Better yet, create some kind of visual scoreboard, that will serve as a constant reminder of your progress.

3. Give your goals some time

I am not referring to waiting some time before deciding, but that there should be a time in your schedule to accomplish your goals. One of the most consistent ways to improve it to create a weekly rhythm. In a weekly rhythm, you make time for what is most important.

The reality is that all of your time will not be able to be spent chasing some new goal, there is most likely too much demand on your life for that to be realistic. You may be able to give up to twenty percent of your time to a new initiative.

Once you shrink the number of goals, create a way to keep them in your face, and give the goals the necessary time to accomplish, you will be well on your way to giving the proper focus to reach your preferred future.

 

 

/by
, ,

Six Apps or Hacks That Help Maximize Productivity for Those With ADD

Many children are diagnosed with ADHD (or ADD) in their adolescence, and it goes away as they get older. Then there is the rest of us.

Growing up my parents did not see eye to eye on whether or not to medicate us for ADHD, and I believe they both had good reasons. They spent a small fortune (enough to buy a brand new car) to have my twin brother and I extensively tested. The results after a week were that we indeed had a little bit of an attention problem. Okay, maybe I was given the highest legal dosage of Ritalin as a kid, or at least that is what I remember. Like most people, I stopped taking medication before I became an adult, but guess what; I still have issues with my attention span. Though my attention span has improved tremendously over the years, there are a few apps that help me focus even better while I am at work.

1. Focus at Will:

Focus at Will combines scientific study and music to help you to concentrate for a longer period of time. I remember the first time I used this app, I was able to concentrate for a prolonged period of time. They also have a timer on the app that allows you to set self-deadlines for tasks. There is some learning curve with the different types of music offered with Focus at Will. I use quite a few of them, though I am not convinced that the one listed for those with ADHD works for me. Please do yourself a favor and see if you concentrate better with the app and give me your feedback.

This is the most expensive of all the apps and hacks that I use and recommend, and unfortunately, there are no free options.

2. Rescue Time:

Rescue Time allows you to track how you are spending time on your computer. If you are on Facebook a ton, it will let you know that you are very distracted. It also will compare your current week to the previous week to let you know whether or not you are improving at being a good steward of your time. Luckily, there is a free version of this application. Here is the description of the app from their home page:

“With so many distractions and possibilities in your digital life, it’s easy to get scattered. RescueTime helps you understand your daily habits so you can focus and be more productive.”

3. Stay Focused:

Potentially the greatest value comes from being able to limit how much time you spend on a certain website or a group of sites collectively. So if you are spending too much time on social media sites, you can let Stay Focused know to only allow you to spend thirty minutes total a day on all the social sites.

There is also a nuclear option on Stay Focused. If you want to keep yourself off certain sites that are a time waster for you; you nuke the site. Just remember, you will not be able to get back on that site.

4. Nozbe:

Nozbe is the task management system that I have used for years. It is geared towards David Allen’s GTD (Getting Things Done) system.

This app helps me to remember the things I need to be working on; therefore lowering the risk of me entering into a state of prolonged distraction.

5. Evernote:

It if weren’t for Evernote I would not have an enjoyable way to retrieve much of the digital information I collect. This is my go-to application for many good reasons. Most importantly it is the location where I store many important documents, notes, quotes, business cards, and likes for later retrieval.

The free version of Evernote is very good. I sprang for the premium version because I utilize the premium features on a frequent basis.

6. Weekly Rhythm:

While this is not an app per se, having a weekly rhythm helps me to stay on track by using my time in a predetermined manner. In my rhythm, I schedule a time to finish the needed tasks, develop leaders, develop myself, spend time with family, use my quiet time, and so forth. When coaching an individual or company, I encourage them to create a rhythm to maximize their productivity.

While my attention span still affects my productivity from time to time, these apps and hacks have helped me to move forward tremendously.

If you have any other apps that you use to help you stay focused I would love for you to share.

(Some of the links are affiliate links. I only recommend apps that I am currently using. I use the free version of everything listed, except for Evernote and Focus at Will.)

/0 Comments/by