“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.”
— Thomas Jefferson
 
Focus Question: What are your talents and strengths? How do you leverage these in your work, hobbies, life and relationships?
 
Description
In times of change and disruption it is likely that we are turning to our strengths, maybe even to the point of overuse.

Research/Story
For many decades now, Gallup has studied the impact of strengths on work. They have found some very compelling statistics behind why we should focus more on helping people connect with, and leverage, their strengths every day at work. Did you know:
Gallup has found that when employees get to use their strengths every day they are:

• 6x more engaged
  
• 3x more likely to report having excellent quality of life
• 8.9% more profitable
• Teams which focus on strengths have 12.5% greater productivity.

(Source: Gallup Strengths Center)
 
Author Marcus Buckingham undertook research and he writes that “1.5 Million employees on 50, 000 teams were surveyed, and they found that the most important lever to team performance was ‘Do you have an opportunity to use your strengths at work every day?’ (Reference: Go Put Your Strengths to Work)

Those that “strongly agreed” found:

• 38% highly productive
  
• 44% high customer satisfaction scores
• 50% higher employee retention

(Marcus Buckingham, The Business Case for Strengths, 2016)

While we cannot use our strengths at work 100% of the time every day, over time we may gravitate to jobs or roles which do cultivate our strengths. As we set up businesses or work remotely, being able to leverage strengths regularly can be an important motivational factor. When we are able to leverage strengths, we are more apt to move into flow and find greater job satisfaction.

NOTE: Strengths over-used can become a blindspot. We may over-use of over-lean into our strengths in times of pressure, urgency and resource constraints. Notice what happens when your strengths become over-magnified.
 
Activity
If you have not yet worked with strengths, spend some time identifying what your strengths are.  There are several different strengths assessments you may want to explore including Clifton Strengths as well as Positive Psychology’s VIA Character Survey.

If you have not undertaken one of these assessments to ascertain your top 5 strengths, take a few minutes to do that this week, reflecting on the questions:

• Where are you able to use your strengths regularly?
• How does this support your work and priorities right now?
• Where are you over-utilizing your strengths? What blind spot is that creating?
• What other strengths are needed in your work? How do you outsource these pieces of work, or bring others onto the team, over time?
• If you are part of a team, what do your team strengths look like?
  

Curious about what these look like for you? Set up a 15 minute conversation with me to explore your strengths more in-depth.

As a coach you may also want to refer to the Team and Group Coaching Superpower Quiz which will give you a coaching strengths-based look at your preferences and style. Take the 2 minute quiz now to learn which of the five coaching strengths you may be leaning into.
 
Connection to the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner
There are several touch points throughout the planners to get you thinking about your strengths, including - Section 4 of both books which explores the Ecosystem as well as your individual strenghs and how you may be connecting them for business opportunities.

​ What are your strengths, and how you can leverage them?

Best wishes,
Jennifer


 

Like a compass, values provide an important anchor for us. They influence our decisions, ways we work, and how we connect with others. What are the values which influence your work?
 
Research/Story
Working with Values as a Coach is a foundational part of what we do. There are many different ways to work with values as a coach including:

• Values Checklist (see below)
• Getting people to speak to a peak experience they have had
• Creating a Word String, adjectives which further define who we are.

This week you have the opportunity to revisit your values. Your values as a coach, as an individual and as a business owner. Note when these are similar, and how they are different.
​
​Activity
Values Checklist
Use the downloadable values checklist (found below) ​to highlight different values you hold. Once you have identified your top 5, give them a tagline or 3-4 adjectives each.
For example: If one of my values is high touch, that also means – small group size, integrating 1-1 calls with group calls, and taking time to really connect.
​​
Connection to the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner
Given that values are such a core part of our work, you are invited to review these several times throughout the workbook. Don't have a copy of the Coaching Business Builder workbook yet? Grab a downloadable PDF copy off our website, or head to Amazon for a paper copy book.
As part of the Iceberg you are invited to identify your top 10 values for you and your business. Write these out on page 24 (CBB) or page 25 (PDT). You may want to read through this entire section from pages 23 – 29.

There is also space on page 38 under “Be True to Who you Are” - The Micro-Vision on page 38 (CBB) or page 42 (PDT).

You are invited to return to this in the Ecosystem in Section 4, noting your top 5 values as part of your anchoring system, grounding you (page 104 – CBB; page 108 – PDT). Note your top 5 values there as well. What do your roots look like? Are they deep? Do they connect? Draw them out in terms of what you think they look like.
​
Enjoy!
Jennifer

Welcome back to week 5 of the 52 week series for coaches around building your Coaching Business, with the Coaching Business Builder process. Be sure to check out the first 4 weeks here at the blog.

Questions this week: What's going to get you and keep you in the flow of Momentum (i.e. your daily steps and consistent action?).
What are the smaller parcels and milestones of your bigger goals?

In Focus – WHY
As an entrepreneur it’s likely that your To-Do list will keep growing, day by day, with big tasks merged with little tasks. For many, it can feel overwhelming.

One strategy to combat the overwhelm is the Chunk big tasks down into smaller bite sized pieces. So in other words, break it down to Quarterly, Monthly, Weekly and Daily pieces.

Some common activities you might find at each of these layers are:
Quarterly tasks – reviewing vision, checking statistics, program planning and updates. Use the Quarterly Planning Section in PlanDoTrack or Coaching Business Builder for a structured review process and planning.

Monthly tasks – Setting your top 5 goals, Thinking about key relationships to foster, Project Planning. Lessons Learned, Setting a Monthly To Do List. Setting Your Theme for the Month - maybe rolling the dice or selecting 5 of the Conversation Sparker Charms to frame your theme for the month.  Use the Monthly Review pages part of the PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder books)

Weekly tasks – Review of key stats - i.e. analytics for website, revenue. Use the Week in Review page found in the monthly planning section of PlanDoTrack or Coaching Business Builder to do a structured review of the week - lessons learned, key accomplishments etc.

Daily tasks - Responding to immediate issues, building relationships, addressing strategic issues, program delivery, coaching conversations. At least 5-10 minutes of daily planning and reflection. While PlanDoTrack and Coaching Business Builder were not created as a daily planning tool, there is a daily planning page you can use at the back of it.
​

 

Activity
Pull out your running To Do list check out this blog post at PlanDoTrack for more on the running to do list) and break it down to smaller task bundles. It might make sense to break it down chronologically,  or it may be better to break it down in buckets.

Have a great week,
​Jennifer

​
In Focus – WHY
Goals are just goals which many assert are simply “dreams” unless we make them really tactical and practical. Last week we explored what goals could be. This week let’s look at your milestones.

A milestone is a significant point or event in a project, process, or development that marks a notable achievement, progress, or completion of a specific phase.

Milestones are often used to track and measure the advancement of a project or goal, providing clear points of reference for evaluating success and planning future actions. They serve as key markers along the timeline, helping teams and individuals stay focused, organized, and motivated by breaking down larger objectives into smaller, manageable components.

Milestones can represent various accomplishments, such as the completion of a critical task, the attainment of a certain level of performance, or the achievement of a specific deadline.

Overall, milestones are essential tools in project management and goal-setting, providing a framework for assessing progress and ensuring that objectives are met in a systematic and measurable manner.
 
Activity
Taking a look again at your top 3-5 goals (for the quarter, or the  year). What are the MILESTONES for each one. Write these down and schedule them out. 
Who are you going to be accountable to? When will you share this with them?

Resources
Use the One Page Plan to capture your milestones. You will find a copy of this at the back of PlanDoTrack, Coaching Business Builder and/or in Reconnecting Workspaces (as one of the Team Tools at the end of chapter)