Being a Jedi is cool. You get a light saber. ‘Nuff said, BUT….

How does coaching translate to performance at work?

The answer to this question is an entire book, or perhaps even an entire life’s work. So, let me break down what I see as the 3 key areas, both from a personal perspective (how my coaching affects my performance as the COO of Roar Engine) and how coaching helps the performance of the entrepreneurs I coach.

Time Management

The first and most important part of my coaching work is self-knowledge. A large part of training to be a coach, my speech and movement training, psychology study, as well as the yoga and meditation practice I do, is about insight into who I am, what’s important to me, my values. Clarification of values is also the first thing I work on with clients.

So what does this have to do with time management?

If you don’t know what’s important, what makes you truly happy, how can you possibly begin to set goals and prioritize your time?

Without clear values and goals, the time management techniques I employ are just that, empty techniques. With insight, techniques like quadrant planning become powerful tools for efficiently and effectively delivering the important stuff and ignoring the unimportant stuff.

Human Resources

HR is central to building a successful business. It’s no accident that the team is the primary driver of outside investment in early stage startups. So how do you build a great team?

Insight is again fundamental to this task. Not just insight into yourself but also your existing team and into potential hires. Understanding your own strengths and weaknesses and those of your team is the first step to recognizing who you need to add to that team.

Learning to listen, at a deep level, is another key coaching skill that is crucial to gain insight into others. Other tools that I use include psychometrics such as the Keirsey corporate temperament sorter, and custom insight questionnaires that further deepen the learning.

I believe that a big part of keeping people engaged in their work is to make sure it’s fulfilling. To do that, it has to be in alignment with their values and goals. Insight is the first and most necessary step to achieving this. As I said in a previous post: a company with clearly defined values will attract people with those same values, people who easily understand each other and who are fulfilled by working together to achieve the company’s goals.

Business Development

As Stephen Covey said in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

Business development is about building relationships. Partnerships are the lifeblood of a start up. How can we, in the fastest and most efficient way, achieve traction? Through win-win-win deals (the 3rd win is for your customers). How do we achieve win-win-win deals? Through deep understanding of both our own company’s needs and that of our partners. What do we do if we can’t achieve win-win-win? We walk away.

Clients tell me that they’re not good at negotiating because they don’t have the killer instinct. This is a win-lose mentality. There is no point to win-lose deals. While you may have a great deal on paper, in action, the losing party is going to drag their feet.

Can you listen? Really listen and seek to understand? You can be a good negotiator.

Want to experience the power of Jedi Training? Contact me for a free 30 minute sample coaching session.