Tuesday, December 28, 2004

Parental Coaching

Why do parents need to learn how to be parents?

Because no one taught us growing up or at any point in our lives, the skills we need to raise children in the most supportive, effective and stress free ways.

We get flung into a role that we have never trained for and we learn by doing – often making mistakes that hurt our children’s self esteem and/or have us feeling overwhelmed and frustrated as parents.

Some of the things that parents who have learned coaching skills find very useful include:
*focusing on fun;
*deeply listening and connecting with their children;
*better communication with their children;
*how to create mutual respect with your children;
*how to establish good consequences;
*being consistent as a parent;
*being lovingly assertive; curbing their tempers;
*and establishing healthy boundaries.

If you want to begin learning coaching skills to be a better parent, start by showing your kids, consistently and constantly how deeply you love them and that you always love them for who they are even if what they do isn’t so great.

In addition, you can change your language so when your children are doing things that aren’t quite right, you can explain this to them in regards to their behaviors being non-acceptable vs. making the children wrong as people.

I also want you to know that you must ignore many of the negative behaviors you see in your children. By ignoring them, many of the behaviors will go away. So instead of constantly correcting, fixing and policing, find the good in your children and tell them about all the things they do that are right.

Being a parent can be tough. Children are considering things like alcohol, drugs, and sexual activities. You want them to make the “right” choices. To do this, you actually need to loosen up and let them go, once you have taught them to make good choice.

If you don't already have your own copy of the bestselling book, Coaching For An Extraordinary, get it today so you can start to parent with more ease and create successful children. Get complete details here http://www.terrilevine.com/Books.html



Thursday, December 23, 2004

Questions

COACHING QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF.

As coaches we help our clients by having them make commitments. You can do this for yourself, too. Ask yourself the following questions and be honest in your answers.

There is no objective coach listening to your answers, so you must really go deep and fully answer the questions and see what surfaces up for you.

Be honest and be clear.

Questions:

What is MOST important to you in life?

Why is this important to YOU?

Can you vision what it would be like having that? Describe it fully.

What feelings would that bring you?

Are you willing to do whatever it takes within reason to reach your goal?


If you have a coach, run your answers by them for feedback. If you want to know more about life coaching go to http://www.coachinstitute.com and if you want assistance, go to http://www.terrilevine.com.

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Learning To Be A Parent

Why do parents need to learn how to be parents?

Because no one taught us growing up or at any point in our lives, the skills we need to raise children in the most supportive, effective and stress free ways.

We get flung into a role that we have never trained for and we learn by doing – often making mistakes that hurt our children’s self esteem and/or have us feeling overwhelmed and frustrated as parents.

Some of the things that parents who have learned coaching skills find very useful include:
- focusing on fun;
- deeply listening and connecting with their children;
- better communication with their children;
- how to create mutual respect with your children;
- how to establish good consequences;
- being consistent as a parent;
- being lovingly assertive;
- curbing their tempers;
- and establishing healthy boundaries.

If you want to begin learning coaching skills to be a better parent, start by showing your kids, consistently and constantly how deeply you love them and that you always love them for who they are even if what they do isn’t so great.

In addition, you can change your language so when your children are doing things that aren’t quite right, you can explain this to them in regards to their behaviors being non-acceptable vs. making the children wrong as people.

I also want you to know that you must ignore many of the negative behaviors you see in your children. By ignoring them, many of the behaviors will go away. So instead of constantly correcting, fixing and policing, find the good in your children and tell them about all the things they do that are right.

Being a parent can be tough. Children are considering things like alcohol, drugs, and sexual activities. You want them to make the “right” choices. To do this, you actually need to loosen up and let them go, once you have taught them to make good choices.



If you don't already have your own copy of the bestselling book, Coaching For An Extraordinary, get it today so you can start to parent with more ease and create successful children. View the book at: http://www.terrilevine.com/Books.html





Friday, December 17, 2004

Training Company

The Most Important Things You Should Look For In A Training Company

Look for a company with years of service and solid testimonials. They have passes the test of time and have your best interests in mind. Look for a training company that only uses Certified, experienced coaches and trainers. While some “fly by night” companies may look good on the surface, if they don’t engage your employees, all your money for the training might go right out of the door with no results. Look for a company whose employees are certified as coaches. Only coaches who have learned the coaching skills and fully mastered them should be used. When it comes to training your employees, your best assets, be absolutely certain the people doing the work are incredibly knowledgeable, highly trained and utmost professionals.

Be certain that you choose a training company that has trainers that have met the standard of knowledge and expertise set forth by coaching certification standards. The productivity and profitability wealth of your company can be greatly impacted by your choice of a training company. Training combined with coaching, can increase employee productivity by over 80%. Training and coaching together, can result in over 50% higher net sales per employee, and 40% higher gross profit per employee.

Remember, not all training companies are the same. An uncertified, inexperienced training company can cost you employee productivity, employee profitability and take money away from your business and YOU!

The Stop Managing, Start Coaching program is a full training, coaching and consulting program, serving businesses for the past 7 years. All of our associates are put through our rigorous, Certified Comprehensive Coach certification program where they learn all of the newest, most up to date information about training and coaching skills.

We realize that the investment you make in your employees training and coaching directly effects your profits. We have made an international reputation by providing only the best, most professional training services to our clients, available at any price.

We pledge to you that we take that responsibility very seriously. Because when it comes to YOUR business, second best is simply NOT an option.

Don’t take our word for it, ask our clients and here their testimonials at: http://www.terrilevine.com/testimonials.html

For a complimentary “Employee Morale” assessment email: terri@terrilevine.com with Employee Morale in the subject line. This is the most comprehensive assessment in the industry and if offered to you at absolutely no charge.

Wednesday, December 15, 2004

More on Disengaged Workers

Gallup reported some causes of workers feeling disengaged:

• They don’t know what is expected of them at work
• They don’t have the materials and equipment to do their work right
• They don’t have the opportunity to do what they do best every day
• They don’t get recognition or praise for good work
• They don’t feel their superior cares about them as a person
• There is no one at work encouraging their development
• Their opinions don’t seem to count
• The mission of the company doesn’t make them feel their work is important
• Their co-workers aren’t committed to doing quality work
• They haven’t talked to someone about their progress
• They aren’t given opportunities to learn and grow


Without a sense of fun, workers will not cooperate. According to John Naisbutt, business people are mourning the death of the work ethic in America. But the new value is fun. Fun fuels the people to be productive. Fun creates cooperation faster than anything else, says Henry Donaghy, Fonaghy Financial Services. If you don’t put people first and make work enjoyable, there will be no profit, according to Rick Ralston, CEO of Crazy Shirts.

Criticizing destroys self-esteem and creates enemies. It does not engage a worker – this from the Universal Traveler by Don Kohbery & Jim Bagnall.

To overcome this and to get workers to be engaged, many companies hire training companies. Here are the top five most costly mistakes they make when hiring a training company.

1. Hiring a training company to give a seminar.
Seminars aren’t’ the answer. Studies show that management and leadership seminar participants forget 80% of what they learn within 72 hours.

2. Hiring a training company that doesn’t include corporate and organizational coaching as part of the package.
Coaching gets results. According to Fortune Magazine, recipients value their coaching 6 times the cost. 77% report improved working relationships with their direct reports, 71% with their supervisors and 63% with their peers. They also noted a marked increase in job satisfaction up 61% and in organizational commitment an increase of 44%.

3. Hiring a training company whose trainers are not properly trained or certified.
Effective training requires an INTENSE knowledge of organizational development, coaching, training and consulting. Lack of skills in any of these areas can lead to a decrease in employee morale and an increase in worker disengagement.

4. Hiring a company that doesn’t provide a year of more of follow up coaching.
Having training without follow-up coaching, doesn’t stick. You won’t get lasting outcomes or the return on productivity improvement and incremental revenues. Training without coaching only results in an increase of 20-25% productivity according to Public Personnel Management Journal. Companies who combine coaching with the training, increase employee productivity over 80% (Bureau of Justice Statistics, June 2001).

5. Hiring a training company without a track record.
The training, coaching and consulting industries are booming and many companies have newly established businesses. Because many lack the business experience, history and real solid experience of achieving outcomes, you can easily throw money right out the door. Would you hire a brand new CEO who had no experience?

I will finish this theme in the next blog, telling you the most important things to look for in a training company.

Terri Levine, best selling author, Stop Managing, Start Coaching!
http://www.terrilevine.com


Monday, December 13, 2004

Help Your Business

Making Your Employees Happy and Productive So They Help Your Business Prosper and Thrive.



Most of us know today’s worker is disengaged. In addition to being disengaged, they are all out sick more often. According to a survey by the Health Insurance Association of America, one million workers call in sick every day.

My Work Yourself Happy products address and answer these problems. Click here.

Friday, December 10, 2004

Laws of Attraction

The Laws of Attraction and Coaching

Just got off a fabulous call with a client where we spent the entire session coaching on the Laws of Attraction. If you aren’t clear on what this is, think of a magnet – like attracts like.

This is my number one tool in coaching and the most powerful way to shape behavior.

Whatever you give focus to, attention to, and think about predominantly, is what you will get. Once a client realizes this, they no longer feel passive in life or like a victim.

The only thing that keeps people from having what they want is their own thoughts. When they are putting out energy or messages or vibrations about lack, they are bringing in more lack. When they open up and allow themselves to think about what they do want and how good it feels to have what they want and believing what they want is coming to them, they are allowing in the energy that is like.

I highly recommend the works of Abraham-Hicks in parallel to coaching and tell my clients to listen to them about making a mantra of “I a going to make the best of this!”

So, what are you focusing on and thinking about and feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeling about and vibrating with most of the time? Is that what you want in your life? Instead, focus, feeeeeeeeeel and vibrate what you want and you will attract that.

Getting what you desire is an inside job.

Need help? Access free resources at: http://www.terrilevine.com or http://www.comprehensivecoachingu.com.

Want to learn more about the Law Of Attraction concept quickly, visit my special offer at: http://www.terrilevine.com/5MinuteCoach.html

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Work Yourself Happy

The Work Yourself Happy System: How to create employees who are working themselves happy so that key talent is retained and the work environment is more joyful and fun!

Happy and work… do these words really go together? Most people haven't thought of them together. In fact, the mere thought of Sunday ending and work beginning on Monday morning is enough to throw many people into a semi-depression.

We have come to expect that work isn't fun, it's tough, and it's something we have to do. But, what if we changed that story? What if work became an extension of who we are and what our life vision, mission, and values are, instead of just a boring way to make money and earn our living?

Companies who are embracing this new Work Yourself Happy System soon come to realize that it is partially the organization's responsibility to provide their employees with a work environment and a culture that is both fun and pleasant. They see the benefits in structuring the work place to be one where people enjoy coming to work, and they realize the cost savings in decreased employee turnover, increased employee morale, lower absenteeism, and more productive employees.

Go here to read more: http://www.terrilevine.com/WYH.html

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Coaching vrs Advising

What is the Difference Between Coaching and Advising and Does it Matter?

"Don't take advice from anyone who isn't successful
where you want to be successful." ~ Joe Vitale


Coaching involves working with people who usually, but not always, already have some degree of success but are "stuck" and want to move forward and don't know how. There is, in coach-speak, a "gap" between where they are right now and where they want to be, and this may involve their professional career or their personal life, or both. This may also be on a larger corporate scale or on a small individual level.

Coaching is a co-creative process. Coaches assist clients to accomplish their life goals and dreams and discover and fulfill their purpose in life in a process that involves the client 100%. So, regardless of whether the issue is career related or personal, a Coach will help you find out what it is you really want out of life and "coach" you to achieve it. Coaching is always about YOU. Coaches are non-judgmental and do not provide therapy or tell you what you should do next. You hire a Coach to assist you to design the life you want - not the life thrust upon you by circumstances or parental influence. If you want more of the same, that is somebody else's ideas, you hire a consultant.

Coaches also assist career professionals who have forgotten how to "have a life" and no longer have work/life balance. With the increase in company downsizing and added pressures applied to many career executives, more and more of these stressed out individuals hire coaches to help them ease into a new career or start their own business, or just cope with what they are currently doing with more ease and joy. And they do all this without advising.

Read the rest of the article here: http://www.terrilevine.com/difference.html

Saturday, December 04, 2004

Valuable Coaching Article

Becoming a Coach in Every Day Life -
Ten Ways You Can Become More Valuable to Everyone you Encounter





Be the change you want to see occur in the world around you. We can't make other people be more considerate, helpful, honest, etc., but if everyone were to work on themselves and develop these attributes, our world would be a better place.

1. Don't be judgmental. Look for and recognize the good in yourself and in others. We are all capable of so-called "good" and "bad" behaviors and we all have our "good" and "off" days. We are all unique and it is wonderful that we are different and not all the same - in our appearance, our thoughts, our opinions, our likes and dislikes. Being different is not threatening, it is not "bad", it is just "different". Embrace the differences and be happy for the variety. Likewise, forget the concepts of "right" and "wrong". People are not good or bad or right or wrong; they just are. If you were in "their shoes" maybe you would act differently, or maybe not. Being judgmental wastes time and cuts you off from opportunities and meaningful relationships - because you are not perfect either, and your judgment might be worse than the person's you are judging!

2. Respect. Don't make the mistake of thinking your rights are the only ones that count. Don't ignore the other person's rights. Our fundamental right is to be respected. Being wealthy does not make a person more deserving of respect and neither does a high-flying career with a fancy title. Respect is not about material issues or where one sits on the social ladder. Respect is acknowledging another human being's dignity and treating them how you wish to be treated yourself. We all came on to this earth equal and we're all checking out as equals. What happens in between is just a series of different life experiences. The poor man who lives in a slum, who cares for strangers, volunteers assistance without expecting anything in return and lives a clean, honest life is more deserving of respect than a wealthy businessman who dresses in fine clothes, lives in a huge mansion, and treats everyone like pond amoeba, cheats on his wife, swindles his shareholders and has forgotten how to tell the truth.

3. Be a Good Listener. How often do you really listen to other people? How often do you plan what you are going to say next while they are talking, or allow your mind to drift off onto something else instead of concentrating on their every word? It takes practice to be a good listener, but in being one, you are showing respect and in a position to better comprehend the real message being given to you. You avoid misunderstandings and missed instructions. Furthermore, the other person will appreciate your attention and return the courtesy.

4. Be interested - not interesting. This goes hand in hand with being a good listener. People love to talk about themselves and will delight in the opportunity to do so, so ensure you ask questions and take an interest in what they are telling you. Don't worry about them hogging the limelight - you can have your turn during the conversation. Have you ever met someone who only talks about themselves? Count the number of times you use "I" in your conversations. Judging, arguing points, interrupting the conversation, and using "I" a lot are sure signs you need to review your communication skills.

5. Respond from Your Heart. We tend to respond to others using our head, not our heart. We formulate stories about us, we defend our ego, or we judge other people or what they have said. If we respond from our heart, we can respond with understanding and a sense of connection. Find something good to say about people and to people. Build people "up" - don't knock them down. Go with your gut instincts.

To read the remained of the article visit: http://www.terrilevine.com/become.html

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Serving Vs. Selling

In my highly rated sales training program, Selling-Without-Selling, I help sales people shift from a selling mindset to a serving mindset.

They learn to use the right words to build relationships and they understand what they say and how they say it is important.

Here are some tips from the program at: http://www.selling-without-selling.com)

1. Language makes a difference: Use language that comes from a place of service, that provides impact and are attractive to your prospect. Make your language simple and without jargon, so you can be easily understood.

2. Create words that come from a place of serving: Instead of scripting the way people have traditionally used this concept in sales, we teach something else. I would never have pre-scripted ways to overcome objections as they sound phony and are highly ineffectual. Instead, create a list of words and phrases that best express what you want to say. Phrases that really feel good to you, that you own.

Get more tips here: http://www.selling-without-selling.com