Coaching and Training
the Leader within Each of Us
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Coaching and Training |
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CONTENTS:
Employee retention is a major concern for business leaders everywhere. Entrepreneur magazine and Price Waterhouse Coopers recently surveyed entrepreneurs and learned that 73% of founders and CEO's of 340 fast-growth businesses cited staff retention as their number one concern. The next ranking issue, developing new products and services, was named only 38% in importance. You know this- you need to keep your star performers! In Harvard Business Review (March, 2006, p. 79), the authors stated that companies need to target mid- career restlessness, those managers and mid-career employees who should be at their peak of productivity, yet are the most disaffected segment of the workplace. They may be frustrated with career bottleneck, work/life tension, lengthening work horizons, skills obsolescence, disillusionment with the employer, burnout, or career disappointment. Many times we coach the new hires or the highest potential employees. What about this "fat middle" population? Retention is an expensive problem. It costs about 2.5 times an employee's annual salary to replace them. And some sectors, like call service companies, tolerate a 200% attrition rate. What are you tolerating in your business? How do you satisfy the "keepers", those you want to retain? Here are some proven steps for business leaders: 1. Listen well, then offer choices. Each generation wants different value from work, from a paycheck and flexibility, to a sense of purpose and legacy. Offer choices that retain your star performers, including flex schedules, training, benefit ladders, coaching. 2. Hire slowly. Extensive pre-interviews, with diagnostic assessments comparing your cultural norms can lead to retention. Some companies invest heavily in boot camps of successive training for technical and interpersonal skills. 3. Share ownership. Stock options may be well received, and equity shares are gaining momentum. Open book management, 360 assessment, and scorecards all target the same goal- increasing shared decision making. Regardless of the size of your business group, ask: what decisions can we share in order to retain our star performers? 2. ADVENTURE TRENDS: Lessons from Nationals and Moab…(note: Adventure racing is a sport with teammates traveling together in unfamiliar environments. It is a passion of mine. And it is a business metaphor, with good lessons!) Nationals: Last November we went to Tampa, FL to race against 70 of the fastest adventure race teams in the country. The race brought us to Old Florida- a primeval world of swamps, sand, stagnant water, endless palmettos and cypress balds. Navigation was a challenge, because we could be 20' from a checkpoint, on the other side of a palmetto cluster, and miss it. At the start of the paddle section there were so many crossed logs that a sign warned, "Beware all ye who travel here are fools!" We ran most of the 24- hour course, we had high hopes for a top placement, but only placed 30th. . LESSON LEARNED: Never underestimate your competition. The pace was faster than in previous national championships, and we may not have been any faster! The result was a lower ranking. Formerly, we have placed 7th and 15th. We made some small navigational errors that caused us to second guess and travel slower- jogging when we could be running, stopping to check the map when we could be moving. The navigation was 2-dimensional, based only on a direction and pace, and we are accustomed to 3-dimensional navigation in the mountains, with an occasional visible landmark. We had never been in a Florida race before, and the terrain was unfamiliar. I contrast, some of our competitors had raced in similar environments before, and knew how the race director added surprises, like additional maps throughout the race. In business there are similar needs. Do you know your competitor's services and pricing strategies? Do you know what you offer that separates your team? Do you know what they are doing well? Moab: Last week my Primal Quest teammate, Jennifer, and I went to Moab, UT for certifications and skills training. For 3 days we learned from some of the best outdoor athletes in the adventure racing world. And we practiced snow and ice travel, horseback riding, navigation, canyoneering, whitewater kayaking, ascending and rappelling (in a blizzard.) On Monday morning we had a few hours before our flight, so we went mountain bike riding on the world famous Slickrock Trail. It was great fun, until I fell over 10' onto my right hip. It hurt a lot, but we had to get out, so we rode 3 miles back to the truck. A few hours later I needed a wheelchair to make connecting flights. My wife met me with crutches. I learned that I had fractured my pelvis, and should not exercise for 2 weeks. LESSONS LEARNED: Stay in Control. The injury happened because I was "going for it." But when your front tire hits a crack and you're going downhill, that is the wrong time to hit the front brakes! Falling over the handlebars is called an ender. The consequences are significant. I can now walk, but I need to train for Primal Quest in 3 months, which requires hours of running. If only I had stayed in control... A few weeks ago I heard a profound speaker, Erik Whitenmeyer make a similar point. He is a blind climber who climbed the seven highest summits on the seven continents. He also raced Primal Quest and told me, "Never again, it was too hard on my knees!" Erik is humorous, a great speaker, and a fine writer. He makes the point that climbers can only control one thing- their reach. Imagine being on a cliff and using your fingers to seek a handhold. If it is within your reach, you can proceed up the cliff. If you can control your reach, in business or in climbing, you will reach your goals. 3. ACTION STEPS AHEAD: 4 steps for youSo, what is your adventure goal? Regardless of your answer, you will need to demonstrate cognitive intelligence as you approach that goal. Cognitive intelligence may sound like a hefty phrase, but it can simply mean how you make sense of the world. My definition is: the mental capacity for understanding and expressing the logical systems of life. Winter is a great season for idea generation. How do you make sense of the world? It may also be a good time to practice or develop your cognitive intelligence. Here are 4 steps that anyone can do. Cognitive Intelligence Practices
For more specific details, see p. 144-152 of Adventure Coaching, A Guidebook for Action-Based Success in Life and Work (2006) or order the 24-page Cognitive Adventure Assessment Inventory from www.action- learning.com/products.shtml. 4. A GREAT (TRUE) STORY: See it, say it, do it.I love great stories. Credit for this one goes to Josh Hornick, a great coach. The Power of a Mentor Have you ever had someone tell you that you were destined to do great things in life? Did you buy into their belief in you? Sometimes we have to rely on someone else's belief until our own belief kicks in. When Bob Mathias was young, he was an anemic, sickly kid. His love for sports drove him to get involved in track and field in high school. Over time Bob developed into a solid all around athlete but he was not national level in any one event. Four months before the 1948 Olympic Games his track coach Virgil Thomas believed in Bob so much that he told him, "Bob, you have four years. If you got started right away, you could possibly make the 1952 Olympics in the decathlon." Coach Thomas' belief in Mathias was incredible because Mathias had never run the 1500 meters, he had never pole-vaulted, he'd never thrown a javelin, and he had never even heard of the decathlon. To top it off, Mathias was only 17 years old! Coach Thomas belief was so strong, that Mathias bought into it and started training right away. One month after he started training, Mathias competed in his first decathlon. Incredibly, he won first place! Two weeks later he entered the U.S. Decathlon National Championship. He won again! Six weeks later, he was competing in the 1948 Summer Olympic Games. He had beaten his coach's prediction by four years! Now Mathias was competing against much older and seasoned decathletes. The best in the world. Mathias amazed the world by becoming the youngest Decathlon Olympic Champion at the age of 17! Someone asked him what he would do after his victory. Mathias said, "Start shaving" Mathias went on to win his second Olympic Decathlon in 1952. None of this would have been possible if his coach, his mentor, had not seen his greatness, believed in him, and encouraged him to pursue his dream. When somebody compliments you, they have just seen a glimpse of your greatness. They have seen something about you that sticks out like a sore thumb. But it's so natural to you that you discount it. Next time someone compliments you, thank them, and start using your outstanding gift to reach your dream. Surround yourself with winners, find a mentor who believes in you, and win the Olympic Gold in your personal and professional life! NEWS FLASHES:NEW BOOK PRESS RELEASE: ADVENTURE COACHING; A GUIDEBOOK FOR ACTION-BASED SUCCESS IN LIFE AND WORK (isbn 0975884190) New, improved 2006 edition. Available at www.action-learning.com or www.adventurecoaching.net ($15 ea and bulk discounts) or at any online bookstore ($16.95 ea & tax/shipping). My current adventure goal is to sell this new book to thousands of people, so that they can serve others. I need your help to do so. How can you help me get this book promoted in radio, television, or sold at large organizations? Because of your interest, I know that we can help thousands of others reach their goals! |
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