Is your coaching blog or web site really ready for visitors?

One of the pleasures of writing this blog is scouring other coaching blogs and web sites for marketing news and information that will be useful to you, my readers. Eager to find the “good stuff,” each week I end up reading dozens of blog posts and visit as many web sites.

Now and then I run into a coaching blog that tries to get it right but stumbles here and there. “Stumbling here and there” is what we humans do. To err is human, right?

Most of us with blogs have had this experience: we edit, proofread, spell check, read it again, and feeling we’ve covered all the bases push that “publish” button. Only then do we see the mistake, the name we didn’t get right, the link that isn’t working, etc. So, back we go, hoping we can correct our errors before anyone sees it.

Today I found a blog post that seemed perfect to discuss on CNE: “The Important Rules of Business Coaching.” We all want to know what the rules are, how they might complement whatever “rules” we currently follow, or if — as some might suggest — there are no rules.

Here’s the link– the actual blog post is useful. I don’t know if it is original material, but that’s not why I mention it. The problem is that the blog itself is not ready for prime time. In the header it reads, “Let us healp you Earn Some Wealth.” Beneath the blog name, “Earned Wealth,” we have those ubiquitous Latin fill-ins “Lorem/Ipsum/Dolorem.” Not exactly the way to build confidence in the author or the wisdom he/she is trying to share with us.

Certainly this is an egregious example of not being ready for one’s readers. However, it makes a point worth making: sometimes the most glaring mistakes are the ones we miss.

For several weeks I had a blog sidebar that was getting pushed down to the bottom of the page. I never saw it because I always used my main desktop computer to work on the blog. Only when I loaded the blog into my laptop did the error show up. Goodness knows how many readers also saw it. So now I review all my web sites and blogs on both computers, each with a different OS and web browser.

In the spirit of ”what are friends for,” perhaps it would be proper to drop a friend a carefully-worded note if we do see something out of kilter on their blog or web site. Besides being a good reason to touch base, your friend will appreciate your thoughtfulness — after the initial embarrassment wears off.

For home-based coaching practices, staying focused is a challenge.

Many coaches operate their practices from home. There are plenty of good reasons to work from home but there are also a few pitfalls. One of the real perils of working from home is getting distracted.

For me distractions mean everything other than work: taking care of the dog, reading non-business email, feeding and re-feeding myself, reading books or magazines not related to my work, surfing web sites, doing chores, reading blogs that are not feeding my business. The list could go on and on and on. . . .

Perhaps even more distracting than non-work related matters is spending time thinking about work ideas that are not related to my immediate tasks. I think it is important to keep the mental doors open to new ideas, to be able to brainstorm, to explore new business concepts or approaches. The problem is, for some of us, those brainstorms can take control of an entire day. . .or longer. The result? We don’t stay focused on our current work.

Here’s the deal I make with myself in order to stay focused on what I need to do today –

Each morning while I am still drinking my first cup of coffee, I give myself 30 minutes to sit with a notepad and take what I call “brainstorming notes” — writing down business ideas that have floated to the surface that I might want to look at more carefully in the future. If something comes up that I think looks promising, I will plan to spend the time I need investigating the idea in more detail. That time has to be scheduled in. . .which leads to my next “staying focused” strategy.

While I am still sitting there with my notepad — before I put myself in front of the computer — I list my tasks for the day, estimate the time for each one, and give them a priority level from A to E. If there is time available, I will schedule in my “brainstorm” ideas. If not, they have to wait for another day. Eventually, I will look at them more carefully — perhaps in the evening when my other tasks are done.

There’s a reason why I write out my task list on a notepad first, before turning on the computer. For me, the computer is one big distraction machine. I want to read all the news I can find, read and respond to tons of email that has nothing to do with work, look at the latest NBA news, check out some blogs, etc. etc. Before I know it, half the morning can be swept away before I’ve even thought about my real job.

So, my rule is that when I go to the computer for the first time each day, my first task is to check the calendar on my Personal Information Manager and enter the task list I wrote on the notepad. That process helps to keep me mentally focused on the things that matter most today. I just remind myself that even home business owners get breaks for lunch (usually), and I can always read the online edition of my local newspaper at noon.

I know that everyone has to develop their own time-management strategy, but I thought I would tell you what works for me. By the way, I’ve used something called Time and Chaos (now called Intellect) for many years as my PIM and contact manager. I’ve tried using Outlook but feel like I am lugging around a 600 pound dead guerrilla whenever I use it. So I stick with Chaos.

This “staying focused” topic has all sorts of alley ways and side-streets — I hope we can go down a few of them.

Got some ideas of your own? Feel free to comment or drop me a line.

Was Obama’s acceptance speech an example of “authentic leadership”?

Guy Bloom, an executive coach and editor of the Executive Coaching Blog Site, thinks it was.

Obama talks from the heart, he is authentic. Being honest I’m not really in a situation to say whether his politics are sound, whether his budget adds up but do you know, “that doesn’t matter”. When you decide to ‘follow’ a leader the majority of the tme you never really know the facts as they get to see them. . . . So what are you really buying into? Simply whether or not you actually trust the person, the human being, the fact that if it all goes horribly wrong, even if you don’t really get it, you trust them to make a decision that you can and will believe in.

Some might argue that authentic leadership also means “walking the walk,” not just “talking the talk.” Trust, as Bloom emphasizes, is a key ingredient in authentic leadership. However, an executive who says one thing and does something else will neither be trusted nor endure as a leader.

Bloom admits that he does not follow politics closely. I’d venture to guess that most Democrats would say that Barack Obama is an authentic leader who can be trusted; most Republicans would argue that he isn’t. Ulimtately, any presidential candidate who actually makes it into the White House will be judged by his or her deeds, not just rhetoric.

So what might executive coaches say about the nature of “authentic leadership”?

A focus on trust is a good place to start. But consider how people talk about “building trust.” We naturally understand that trust doesn’t just happen. It is a process, a series of experiences between one person and another, or a group of others.

One of the best books around about leadership and trust is The Trusted Advisor. I highly recommend it. Although the book’s focus is on the relationship between consultants and their customers, the principles it lays out can be used to create trust in many kinds of relationships – between executives and their staff, between coaches and their clients, between politicans and voters.

The Trusted Advisor was written by David Maiser, Charles Green, and Robert Galford. Here’s their very useful list of “Common Traits of Trusted Advisors”:

1. Seem to understand us, effortlessly, and like us
2. Are consistent (we can depend on them)
3. Always help us see things from fresh perspectives
4. Don’t try to force things on us
5. Help us think things through (it’s our decision)
6. Don’t substitute their judgment for ours
7. Don’t panic or get overemotional (they stay calm)
8. Help us think and separate our logic from our emotion
9. Criticize and correct us gently, lovingly
10. Don’t pull their punches (we can rely on them to tell us the truth)
11. Are in it for the long haul (the relationship is more important than the current issue)
12. Give us reasoning (to help us think), not just their conclusions
13. Give us options, increase our understanding of those options, give us their recommendation, and let us choose
14. Challenge our assumptions (help us uncover the false assumptions we’ve been working under)
15. Make us feel comfortable and casual personally (but they take the issues seriously)
16. Act like a real person, not someone in a role
17. Are reliably on our side and always seem to have our interests at hear
18. Remember everything we ever said (without notes)
19. Are always honorable (they don’t gossip about others, and we trust their values)
20. Help us put our issues in context, often through the use of metaphors, stories, and anecdotes (few problems are completely unique)
21. Have a sense of humor to diffuse (our) tension in tough situations
22. Are smart (sometimes in ways we’re not)