Michele Woodward

Powerful Coaching. Powerful Results.

getting a new job

Believe Your Way Forward

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Slack line in the city park.

Time after time, a huge truth is revealed to me:

Whatever you believe becomes your reality.

About six months ago, a woman came to me for coaching. A Vice President in a Fortune 50 company, she was worried because someone was promoted over her.

Someone younger.

Someone male.

And, in her late 50s, she wondered if she was getting sent a message. Perhaps she was getting sunsetted. Maybe they were getting ready to let her go. Maybe this was her terminal job and she’d never ever get hired again.

After all, who hires someone who’s 57 years old?

As a result of these assumptions, she worked extremely hard and went above and beyond to deliver results. Early mornings, late evenings, travel, conference calls, meetings and paperwork. She did it all.

And it felt like no one noticed. And it was never enough.

When we first met, her stress level was through the roof. I mean, stratospheric.

I knew what she needed – she needed  to rebuild her confidence and develop a strategy to manage the worry. She also had to figure out what was true about her work situation.

Because what you believe becomes your reality.

And she surely believed things were pretty terrible.

Long story short, among the things we did was to create a strategy for her to become more visible – in the office and out of the office. So, when offered a speaking role at a big conference, she said yes.

No, wait a minute. She said, “Yes!!”

Afterwards, people gave her amazing feedback about her presentation and she felt really good about how the whole conference went.

Then, one day, her phone rang. It was the CEO of a boutique-y company that excels in her area of expertise. In fact, they are more highly regarded than her company in this particular area.

The CEO said, “I’ve had my eye on you. Will you come work for me?”

Would she? Let’s see – more money, better title, solid-line reporting to the CEO.

And suddenly the assumption that no one hires a 57-year old woman went out the door.

And a new truth was unveiled:

“I am appreciated for what I do.”

Which is something pretty wonderful to believe.

So let me ask you: What reality are you believing into existence?

 

One of Those CrazyGood Weeks

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There are times in your life – specific days or maybe even entire weeks – you will always remember. Weeks which are indelible, with so much happening, full of such a feeling of profound change.

This past week was that kind of week for me.

On Monday, I unveiled a new look for my website – MicheleWoodward.com – designed to make things simpler and easier for you to find and enjoy. To me, it’s gorgeous, and powerful. Inviting. And just what I wanted,  thanks to the talented Victoria Potts Keale, my Everything Web guru who pulled off an amazing feat in an incredibly short period of time.

Because, you see, I had learned on Friday that The Wall Street Journal would be running a feature on my work with a client on Wednesday of the next week, and I wanted my site to be ready to handle the people who’d come to check me out. And, boy, they came by the boatloads. Folks signed up for the newsletter, sent me messages via email and LinkedIn, and said, “atta girl” profusely on Facebook and Twitter.

The client, Becky Johnson, also received a lot of love from her friends, colleagues and even strangers, including a heartfelt phone call from a reader on the West Coast – just to say how inspired she’d been by Becky’s journey.

Although client confidentiality is in my marrow and I never disclose who I’m working with unless the client discloses first, when the WSJ reporter contacted me to see if I had a good story to tell about a client who made a career breakthrough after getting coached, I immediately thought of Becky. How thrilled was I that both she and her CEO, Lisa Gable, agreed immediately to participate. Their openness and generosity allowed thousands if not millions of people to see that there might be a new way to manage leadership growth within organizations. They saw Lisa and Becky’s success and learned from it. Maybe they’ll even model it.

And, for the curious, all the work Becky and I did together consisted of five coaching sessions. Five. Hours. With some email thrown in there. Five hours and Becky got promoted to VP.

For long time readers, you know I love being a coach. But having a story like Becky’s out in public reminds me about why I deeply love this work. It’s transformational. It’s positive. It’s powerful.

And it works.

Can you say that about your job?

I sure wish you could. Wouldn’t that be something?

This busy past week I also interviewed Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas, retired), who was the youngest woman in history to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Blanche talked about how she ended up in public service, and how she managed to chair the Senate Agriculture Committee while raising twin toddlers. Seems we like to beat up on politicians these days, but listen to Blanche talk about her work with heart, and passion, and you’ll understand her drive to serve – it’s  inspiring.  Take a listen: WiseWork radio show

This week, too, I am launching my Annual Coaching Program for 2014. It’s a rather novel approach to coaching – a deep dive into whatever you want to transform with all the coaching your schedule will allow. I tested the program with six clients this year, and I have to admit – the successes have been compelling. And amazing. And, once again, I am reminded how much I love what I do. Look at the information page for more details, and let me know if you have questions.

And people have started using  the 2014 Personal Planning Tool which is up and ready for your use. It’s a downloadable pdf worksheet you can use to review 2013 and make a solid plan for what you want to accomplish in 2014. There’s no charge for this 13-page tool – it’s my gift to you.

Because when I stop to think about my legacy and what I hope to create in the world, you figure prominently. I want you to have the success Becky’s found. I want you to be clear, and confident, and visionary, and able to handle crisis. To step up and out, as needed. To make changes where changes will help you, and to have the clarity to go out and do the kind of work you can be proud of.

It’s a big vision, I know. But in my experience, utterly, entirely, totally doable.

Let’s get started.

 

Challenge Assumptions

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Grocery shopping cart“So, Michele, it must be nice to be paid to tell people what to do,” says the friend I ran into at the grocery store. I noted the raised eyebrows and head shake, and sensed that he was…amused at my livelihood. “Well, the sad news is that I don’t get to boss anyone – not even my kids, it seems, unless I’m holding their car keys and my wallet. Coaching is more about guiding a client to find the right answers for them.”

As I rolled on down the aisle, I was sort of wincing, wishing I had thrown out a better comeback. C’mon, Michele – What is executive coaching and why does it matter?

Thankfully, the folks at Harvard Business blogs posted something this week that really helped. In Before Working with a Coach, Challenge Your Self-Assumptions, author John Boldoni says to those  thinking about getting a coach:

“Effective coaching is often a matter of challenging assumptions, and the biggest assumptions often reside in the mind of the person being coached.”

Yes! That’s it! I help people challenge their assumptions so they can get extremely clear. And working from that clarity, take the steps necessary to get the results they need.

[Now I am fully prepared for the produce aisle, thankyouverymuch.]

Case in point: my client Joe. Now, of course his name isn’t Joe, but we’ll call him that to preserve his confidentiality. Joe came to me a couple of years ago to reinvigorate his career. See, after a divorce he’d made a decision to throttle back a little on the career front so he could be a custodial parent. Once one kid was in college and the others nearly finished with high school, he decided to throttle his career back up. He wanted to get promoted, use his leadership skills more and do something more meaningful.

But he had a few assumptions about what was really possible, all tied up in confidence, self-esteem, and comfort with risk-taking – key elements required for effectively putting himself back in the mix. We had to tackle those assumptions and plenty of others as they came up before we could construct the plan that he would execute. And day by day, over about eighteen months, Joe executed on the plan.

And just this week, he said to me, “Michele, this coaching thing has really paid off. I wasn’t so sure there for a bit, but everything we’ve covered has put me where I am.” And the place he’s in is this – the candidate for a new big position internally and being recruited for a big position externally.

A few weeks ago, I sat down and crunched some numbers about my executive coaching practice. Who are my clients, and why do they come to me? How do they come to me? Anyone who’s in business for themselves can benefit from this sort of analysis. I learned:

Since January 1st, I have coached 10 men and 21 women in one-on-one, hour-long sessions. This excludes the laser coaching I do in The Club program, which has 44 members.

Of those 31 individuals, nine were senior executives, and seven were lawyers. Six were senior-level job seekers. Five owned their own businesses. Three were mid-level professionals and one was a coach. The bulk of them came to me by referral from past clients or professional colleagues.

With the exception of the job seekers, everyone wanted pretty much the same thing – “how can I be better at my job? How can I lead better? Communicate better? Manage crisis better? Create a strategy? Build?”

And every single client needed to challenge assumptions. Like the assumption that they are too old. Or too young. Or that the gap on their resume is too large. Or that Charlie won’t change. Or that Charlotte is their mortal enemy. That their lack of a specific degree is a deal-breaker.

That this isn’t the path I thought I’d be taking at this point in my life.

Oh, man, I love my work. I truly do. Because all day long, I’m challenging assumptions. All day long, I’m helping people find a new way.

Each day, with every session that concludes, I see minds opening and possibilities born.

I gotta tell you – it’s so much more fulfilling than bossing.

 

When Your Job Is A Soul-Sucking Hellhole

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In last week’s post, Love Your Work? (What Are You, Crazy?) we looked at how you can single-handedly turn around a difficult work situation. Yes, I said, “single-handedly.” And I meant it – when you first look to yourself and change (for the good) what you can – then, you can absolutely, positively, single-handedly turn around a difficult situation. I’ve seen it too many times to doubt that it’s a successful strategy.

And if you are doing the right thing, you are firmly in your integrity, and your work stays a soul-sucking hellhole, then… it’s time to quit.

I wrote about When To Quit a couple of years ago. Come to think of it, I really liked that post. In it, I suggested:

“It’s time to quit when the person you are becoming is someone you don’t like. When you’re in a job, and as a condition of employment you are expected to fudge facts, shift numbers and lie to customers, you become a person who fudges, shifts and lies. Is that who you want to be?”

And,

“It’s time to quit when you find that you love having the problem more than the problem loves you. If you find yourself talking about the problem all the time, stewing and fretting, worrying about it, analyzing it, turning the problem over and over in your head –  is that who you want to be? Is that how you want to use your energy?”

Now, let’s just be honest right here. Some of us slip into a familiar and comfy place where we absolutely love using our energy stewing and fretting, worrying, analyzing. Why? Darlings, it’s an artful dodge. What are we dodging?  Why, fear, of course.  We’re dodging and dancing around the thing so many of us fear the most – fear of change.

We change-fearers expend all our energy mulling things over – which leaves us absolutely zero energy to do the thing we need to do most: change something. So, to snap out of the contemplative coma and get going, ask yourself these questions:

  1. In the past, when I’ve made a change like the one I’m contemplating now – what’s been the outcome? Look back, write it down.  What’s your change experience been like?  How does that inform your actions right now? If you’ve been less than adept at change, what did you lack at the time?  Can you shore that up this time?
  2. What scares me most about making a change right now? I’m not kidding: Make a list. Then look at each item that scares you and say, “If that happens, then what?”  Follow the trail right down to the thing that scares you most.  Such as, “I will become the bag lady who lives in a shopping cart at Westmoreland Circle.”  Then decide:  is that really possible?  This approach puts many fears right where they belong – out of your way.
  3. If I make this scary change, how will I grow? (remember Finally Un-Stuck, where we talked about the power of always choosing growth?)
  4. By staying where I am – do I like myself?  Do I even want to like myself?

That last one’s a zinger, huh?  But coming to terms with whether you’ll ever allow yourself to truly like yourself – now there’s a thought worth pursuing.

So let’s say, for the sake of argument, that you have quieted your fears, you want to feel better and you want to be better.  What do you do next?

You know me – I’ll tell you to focus on your strengths, your passions, your priorities and your values.  I’ll tell you to network, network, network.  I’ll tell you to read Finding A Job 2.0 about the new rules of finding a job.

I’ll tell you to take a deep breath and get yourself un-stuck.  Because there’s so much more to life than that soul-sucking hellhole where you work.

So much more.