Business Coaches Help Workers Produce

As a professional coach, I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of managers to help them produce their optimal results in all parts of their life. While searching the internet I found an article written for the Miami Herald by Cindy Krishner Goodman about how business coaches are helping employees be more effective at work. I could not have said it better myself, so here is the article:

Ever sit through a meeting and have no idea what happened? With increasing distractions, most of us struggle throughout the day to stay in the present.
Now, in a budding trend, business coaches want to teach us how to have a conversation with a colleague or client without allowing our minds to drift. In The Moment Coaching challenges workers at all levels to stay focused at work or home.
Experts say it is the key to better relationships. Our inability to be in the present and really listen when a customer, co-worker, spouse or friend talks to us can cause us to miss crucial information.

Business coach Anese Cavanaugh, owner of Dare to Engage, says although we get stuff done, ''we miss out on huge opportunities to engage and connect with other humans.'' Cavanaugh's Illinois business is designed to help managers work better with their teams. She starts by telling a manager to turn his back to his computer when someone is talking to him. ``When you are in the present and pay attention to what's going on, you learn not just what's being spoken, but also the underlying emotion of a team, and that's when things open to you as leader.

Indeed, some experts say workers are discovering the greatest casualty of our mobile, high-tech age is attention. Most of us have become masters of multitasking, adept at responding to e-mail messages during meetings or while on the phone. We manage to make time for multiple distractions when we're actually trying to get work done. Yet, we feel inundated and overwhelmed.

''It's a real problem,'' says Harvey Sepler, a Miami appellate lawyer, who also teaches at University of Miami law school. ``Often, I'm talking to someone and I'm thinking about something I've got to do.''

Sepler says when he becomes distracted at the office, he's begun to do the same thing he teaches students -- get up, stretch, walk away and then come back and focus.
Workplace expert Gloria Mark discovered the average worker switches tasks every three minutes, and, once distracted, takes nearly a half-hour to resume the original task. We take our distractions home, too, spending time with our family, only to think about everything that happened at work today and what's about to happen tomorrow.

Because everyone's brain is wired a little differently, solutions vary. Miami business coach Roberto Suarez of Biz Champions says attention can be bolstered through training. He teaches office workers to use the same technique for staying in the moment as golfers -- the standing meditation. In a standing position, he has them focus on body position and silence.

Two weeks ago, Suarez held a workshop at Terrabank in Miami as part of employee appreciation week. Terrabank's human resources chief, Adriana Nino, says she had attended a previous coaching session with Suarez. ''People need to forget about the distractions and stop worrying about problems in the future,'' says Nino, who meditates twice a day. ``I'm not at work thinking whether my daughter is doing her homework. The only way to stay focused is to practice at it.''

Sue Bethanis, an executive/leadership coach, says in meetings where everyone is checking e-mail, or thinking about the next meeting, opportunities for staff engagement are lost. Her San Francisco firm, Mariposa Leadership, teaches people to make the most of the moment. ''It's relationship building,'' she says.
To calm a racing mind, she counsels workers to concentrate on breathing, and then bring the spotlight of their attention back again and again to the work at hand or the person talking to them. ``You might even need to write something down which is better than continuing to think about it.''

Sometimes, it takes eliminating distractions. The most common suggestion idea is to try to pull the plug on electronic devices. A typical office worker turns to e-mail more than 50 times a day and uses instant messaging 77 times, according to Seattle-based computer productivity consultant RescueTime.

In her new book, Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age, author Maggie Jackson writes, ``If we jump on every e-mail message or ping, we'll have trouble pursuing our long-term goals. To make inroads on the deep, messy work of life, we need to stay focused.''

Article originally written by BY CINDY KRISCHER GOODMAN;
cgoodman @MiamiHerald.com.

Making Time for What Matters Most

Unexpected emergencies are normally crises that can happen at any time. They arise often seemingly from out of nowhere. Once they are there, you are more or less forced to take time for something or someone that you had not planned.

Quite unconsciously, or perhaps even consciously, you decide that the emergency takes precedence over everything else at the moment, because the person or thing that emerged is more important to you than anything else on your plate at this moment.

Emergencies, such as this, can serve to help you put everything in your life back in perspective rather quickly. When a health emergency arises, either yours or someone else's, you immediately realize the importance of good health, wellness visits, and preventative care. Your perspective may shift to the importance of health, knowing that if you do not have your health, you may not have a productive or long life. Then, health becomes one of your top priorities.

When the emergency pertains to a relationship that is important to you, you recognize that the people you love and connections in your life, make your life worthwhile, so you take time out to take care of and nurture your relationships.

Making time for what matters most need not be relegated to emergencies. Imagine making time for your health, relationships and everything else that is vitally important to you, before an emergency strikes. Imagine taking excellent care of your physical body, your soul and those you love without being "forced" into it. Imagine sharing time, having real conversations, and being committed to understanding your loved ones or co-workers now - not just when emotions run high and things get a bit hairy or out of control.

Do yourself and your loved ones a huge favor and avoid an emergency by making time out of thin air today for what, and who, matters most to you. I am quite sure you will not regret this decision!

Re-Group when things are Chaotic

Lately I have felt like I've had more on my plate than usual. Working on a presentation for an entrepreneurial group, editing my audio book, revising my website, re-branding my company, serving present clients, contacting potential clients, writing my e-newsletter, writing some new articles, taking training for my own professional development and getting certified in a new tool I can administer for my clients, and so much more. Whew! No wonder why I feel so busy!

Several indicators tell me when it is time to re-group. First, I began feeling overwhelmed. Second, I was losing or mis-placing things. Third, I felt this incredible sense of not accomplishing anything. And, fourth, and likely the most important, my family noticed.

My husband recognized that I was always busy going to meetings, on the phone, on the computer but not connecting with him in our usual way. My daughter told me that she thought my work was more important than she was (ouch!) and my son got into some trouble. My exercise fell halfway off the schedule. Fortunately, I was working out 7 days a week doing running or walking for 10-15 miles weekly and a strength training video 2-3 days. Cutting out some of my exercise tended to make me de-energized and I ate more unhealthy foods.

When things start feeling chaotic, they probably are. So, before they get even further out of control. Take a break! Re-group and realign with what is most important to you, to your professional goals, and to your family. Make conscious choices and postpone, defer, delegate or remove some of the activities keeping you busy. Decide if you really need to be as busy as you are because if you're busy doing the wrong things it really will not drive the results you are after.

Begin working smarter! It is not enough to get things done and check them off your list; you really need to be getting the right things done for that sense of accomplishment and improved results.