Management by Coaching

Five coaching tools guaranteed to boost performance

What to do when goals and accomplishments don’t mesh

By Kimberly Paterson, CEC

How many days last week did you leave the office feeling less than satisfied with what you had accomplished? Perhaps it was the new business contact you had been meaning to make or the important conversation you wanted to have with a key employee. Maybe it was the client crisis that forced you to cancel dinner with your significant other yet again. For some reason, things that were important when you started your day just didn’t happen.

One of the things I’ve learned in coaching insurance professionals is that most of us are pretty good at setting goals; the devil is in delivering. When goals fall off the radar screen or fail to get achieved, people are quick to say: “There just aren’t enough hours in the day” or, “I’m too busy dealing with everyone else’s problems to get to my goals” or, “I am working harder than ever for half the money. Who has the time or energy to think about a personal life?”

The truth is, for most people there is a major gap between intention and reality; and it comes with a huge price tag attached. That is because nine times out of ten, the intentions we set for ourselves are good and worthwhile ones. Rather than living our intentions, we allow the day’s events to become a series of obstacles that block us from taking the actions that can make a powerful difference in our lives.

Here are five tools from some of the best business coaches that will help you eliminate the barriers that stand between you and what you want to accomplish. Whether you are coaching yourself or focusing on improving an employee’s performance, these tools are easy to implement and will quickly produce results.

The “Absolute Yes List.” What are your priorities? I’m not talking about your “to-do list” for today; I am talking about what is really important to you. What are the leverage points that will jump your business or career forward? What aspects of your job do you love and which ones do you long to eliminate? What kinds of clients do you want to work with and what kinds of relationships do you want to create? How do you want to be viewed by your clients and co-workers? What do you want to make more time for in your life—whether it’s family, fun, sleep, community service, learning a new skill or pursuing a hobby?

Write down your priorities. If you’ve done this before, you may want to do it again. Chances are, those priorities have changed. Take your list and put it away. In the upcoming week, keep track of how you really spend your time—not just appointments and meetings, but how you actually spend 24 hours (including sleep, meals, talking to friends, driving to appointments, etc.). If you’re thinking, “I don’t have time to track my time,” please give this exercise the benefit of the doubt. This is one of the best investments of time you can make.

Once you complete the log of exactly how you spent the past seven days, get out your priority list again. Compare the log to the list. How does your day-to-day use of time stack up against your priorities? If you are like the majority of people, you will see that the things you say are most important often get the least amount of attention.

This exercise is usually an eye-opener. For example, an agency principal I was coaching was an extremely talented salesperson. He loved to sell and was the agency’s most effective producer; yet he was spending only 10% of his time seeing new clients. A commercial lines manager I was working with said nothing was more important to her than spending time with her 8- and 10-year-old sons. A review of her schedule showed she spent less than 20 minutes per day with her kids, even though she was seldom obligated to work late.

Review your priorities and create an “Absolute Yes List.” This list reflects what is most important to you, both professionally and personally. It is your governing document in choosing how you will spend your time. Make several copies of your list and put it in places where you will see it on a regular basis. Use it to ensure that your day-to-day actions support your priorities. When you use an “Absolute Yes List,” you stop reacting to life and start taking control of what gets your time and attention.

Clearing your plate. If you are like most people, you probably have far too much on your plate already. Following through on your “Absolute Yes List” will necessitate clearing your plate and making space for these priorities. This is a vital step when you are coaching employees. It is difficult to get people to set goals, accept change or build new skills when they are already feeling overwhelmed.

Look for ways to clear your plate. Start with your task list. Can you make space by delegating to someone else or hiring someone to do the work? Are there items on your list that don’t support your priorities that can be eliminated?

Are there items on your task list that you keep avoiding—the phone call you dread making, the mountain of unreturned e-mails you need to answer, the candid talk you need to have with the employee who is not pulling his or her weight? These “undone” tasks cause you to worry or nag at your conscience, occupying valuable mental space and draining your energy. It is estimated that the average person loses 75% of his or her energy to these distractions.

Learn when to say “no.” The inability to say “no” is one of the main things that keeps people from living the lives they want. Don’t let your fear of disappointing others, not being liked or rocking the boat and creating conflict stop you from saying “no.” Saying “no” to others means saying “yes” to your priorities.

The enhanced to-do list. Most professionals use a daily to-do list as a time management and organiza-tional tool. Make your to-do list far more powerful by adding two items: the “Absolute Yes List” and your “core values.” While you may never have written them down, you inevitably have core beliefs that guide you. Take the time to articulate what they are. When your day-to-day actions are in sync with your priorities and core values, your energy, power to achieve and level of satisfaction will increase exponentially. When they are out of sync, it adds a significant amount of stress to your life.

When you review your to-do list in the morning, visualize how you want your day to go. Imagine how you’d like to react to the challenges that you’ll face. Imagine how you’d like to behave, communicate and deal with situations. Mentally rehearse positive outcomes. Try this experiment daily for one week and see what happens!

Your energy gauge. Think of your energy supply as a fuel tank. Some actions fill the tank, while others drain it. The reality is, you simply can’t do good work and build quality business relationships if you’re running on empty. Having the fuel you need to stay focused, take action and live life fully means knowing what gives you energy and what depletes you. It is critical information that we lose sight of due to the pace of the world around us. Be conscious of where your energy flows throughout the day. Learn what robs you of your energy and eliminate as much as you can. Learn what replenishes your energy and build it into your day.

Adrenaline seems to be the fuel of choice for too many of us these days. The 24/7 communications speed up our sense of time. We often check our office e-mail when we’re on vacation. We’re bombarded with a constant stream of information. Advertisers spend billions of dollars on advertising designed to raise our adrenaline. Overuse of the adrenal system keeps our bodies programmed to stay on alert. It pushes the body to work harder and faster and depletes the energy reserves we have. Over time, high adrenaline levels can lead to heart disease, diabetes and chronic fatigue. They can also lead to chronic insomnia, suppressed immunity, anxiety and depression.

People who use adrenaline as fuel become so used to living busy lives and rushing to get things done that they’ve developed certain habits and behaviors that create a vicious cycle of adrenaline overuse. There is a simple self-test you can take to see if you’re running on adrenaline. You can get a free copy by e-mailing me at kpaterson@cim-co.com.

An accountability partner. When you are trying to make changes, improve performance, or take your business to the next level, it is important to have a process for accountability. This can be tough when you are the boss and your only accountability is the bottom-line profitability of your company. You may be making money but not making the progress you really want.

Having a person who will hold your feet to the fire on a regular basis will significantly increase your odds of success and the speed with which you achieve it. A business coach can provide that accountability as well as the ongoing structure and support needed to ensure that your goals remain at the top of the list. Another option is to choose a businessperson you know and respect and agree that the two of you will be one another’s accountability partner. As long as you are both committed to the process, this can work very well.

You begin every day with the gift of 24 precious hours. While you can’t control the outside forces that will influence your day, you can control where and how you expend your energy. Knowing your priorities and giving yourself permission to keep them at the top of the list will give you the power to choose wisely.

The author
Kimberly Paterson, CEC and Certified Energy Leadership Coach, is president of CIM (www.cim-co.com), a marketing and consulting firm that works with property/casualty insurance agencies and company clients. She can be reached at kpaterson@cim-co.com.