6. Change equals growth, not pain.
Average bosses see change as both complicated and threatening, something to be endured only when a firm is in desperate shape. They subconsciously torpedo change … until it’s too late.
Extraordinary bosses see change as an inevitable part of life. While they don’t value change for its own sake, they know that success is only possible if employees and organization embrace new ideas and new ways of doing business.

7. Technology offers empowerment, not automation.
Average bosses adhere to the old IT-centric view that technology is primarily a way to strengthen management control and increase predictability. They install centralized computer systems that dehumanize and antagonize employees.
Extraordinary bosses see technology as a way to free human beings to be creative and to build better relationships. They adapt their back-office systems to the tools, like smartphones and tablets, that people actually want to use.

8. Work should be fun, not mere toil.
Average bosses buy into the notion that work is, at best, a necessary evil. They fully expect employees to resent having to work, and therefore tend to subconsciously define themselves as oppressors and their employees as victims. Everyone then behaves accordingly.
Extraordinary bosses see work as something that should be inherently enjoyable–and believe therefore that the most important job of manager is, as far as possible, to put people in jobs that can and will make them truly happy.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

1. Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield.
Average bosses see business as a conflict between companies, departments and groups. They build huge armies of “troops” to order about, demonize competitors as “enemies,” and treat customers as “territory” to be conquered.
Extraordinary bosses see business as a symbiosis where the most diverse firm is most likely to survive and thrive. They naturally create teams that adapt easily to new markets and can quickly form partnerships with other companies, customers … and even competitors.

2. A company is a community, not a machine.
Average bosses consider their company to be a machine with employees as cogs. They create rigid structures with rigid rules and then try to maintain control by “pulling levers” and “steering the ship.”
Extraordinary bosses see their company as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. They inspire employees to dedicate themselves to the success of their peers and therefore to the community–and company–at large.

3. Management is service, not control.
Average bosses want employees to do exactly what they’re told. They’re hyper-aware of anything that smacks of insubordination and create environments where individual initiative is squelched by the “wait and see what the boss says” mentality.
Extraordinary bosses set a general direction and then commit themselves to obtaining the resources that their employees need to get the job done. They push decision making downward, allowing teams form their own rules and intervening only in emergencies.

4. My employees are my peers, not my children.
Average bosses see employees as inferior, immature beings who simply can’t be trusted if not overseen by a patriarchal management. Employees take their cues from this attitude, expend energy on looking busy and covering their behinds.
Extraordinary bosses treat every employee as if he or she were the most important person in the firm. Excellence is expected everywhere, from the loading dock to the boardroom. As a result, employees at all levels take charge of their own destinies.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_88.htm

Once you complete the quiz, be sure to determine whch area you need to improve on the most and make it a goal.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Jim was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed, Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, “This is your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim!” Jim couldn’t believe it. Jim couldn’t even grow his seed.

“How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.

Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead – it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
* If you plant hard work, you will reap success
* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by — still nothing in Jim’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn’t say anything to his colleagues, however, he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil – he so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach; it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.

When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful – in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

“You’ve recently been promoted to “manager.” Congratulations! But as a first-time manager who’s now responsible for the growth and well-being of an entire team, you have no idea what you’re getting into. To help you out, I spoke with a few recently-appointed managers and an executive coach to get some pointers.”

http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/hr/5-tips-for-first-time-managers-1031912/

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

The Comfort Zone

Author Unknown

I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I couldn’t fail,
The same four walls of busy work were really more like a jail

I longed so much to do the things I’d never done before,
But I stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor

I said it didn’t matter that I wasn’t doing much,
I said I didn’t care for things like diamonds or furs and such

I claimed to be so busy with the things inside my zone,
But deep inside I longed for something special of my own

I couldn’t let my life go by just watching others win,
I held my breath and stepped outside to let the change begin

I took a step and with new strength I’d never felt before,
I kissed my comfort zone good bye and closed and locked the door

If you are in a comfort zone afraid to venture out,
Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt

A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true
Greet your future with a smile, success is there for you!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

There once was a rancher named Molly
Whose Ranch was OK, but she not so jolly
The ranch hands were mad, cattle running amuck
Profit was dwindling, poor Molly was stuck

Inventory, weather, food for the cows
Get it all done, she didn’t know hows
She felt very busy, but spinner her wheels
It seemed like she was always back on her heels.

If I could be more productive, get teams to work
Perhaps the important I’d never more shirk
I’d love to know just how to win
To operate my ranch to bring more dollars in.

She needed a strategy to help her sort out
All things of import, the rest she’d toss out
She looked for some help, these topics to broach
And saw the best was to hire a coach.

The ranch became a team, all personalities tested
All working their strengths, while the others, they rested
When one goal was done another was made
The progress she saw, she never would trade.

It just goes to show when life gets a mess
It hampers your business, and just causes stress
So take home a lesson from Rancher Miss Molly
Hire a coach and make your ranch much more jolly!

Every business owner and executive is just like a rancher… with much to plan and manage.
If coaching can support you or a rancher you know, e-mail for a FREE sample session!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

VISION. You will have a clear idea of where you want to go and how to get there. Often we know the end result, but do not see what it takes to get there. This is critical for your success. You cannot do what you cannot see first. Coaching will ask you questions to make sure your vision is strong.

MOTIVATION. You will know what you really want and understand your unique values and motives to keep you moving forward. Stop procrastinating, delaying and putting off because of fears, perfectionism and doubts.

FOCUS. You will be able to operate with clear priorities, doing what is most important things which will allow you to excel In the midst of ‘urgent’ demands and busy chaotic schedules and lives.

CLARITY. Each coaching session deepens your learning about how you work and think. Coaching also prepares you for action and supports you in getting crystal clear on the steps to take. By work with a coach, you will get a helicopter perspective so that you can return to your business and navigate quickly because you have taken time to assess where you are going. You will be able to see what is right in front of you and developed a plan to forge ahead.

ENERGY. You will find yourself working at your optimum potential. Why? When you are operating in line with your values, life just simply comes together in an easy way. Coaching will give you with the encouragement, momentum, and natural dynamics to operate more efficiently and effectively. You cannot get more hours in the day, but if you have more energy, you will get more done and feel great!

SPEED. You will be more effective. Through planning and strategizing, you will be able to eliminate ineffective methods and enhance those methods that are most natural to supporting you in reaching your goals quicker.

PRODUCTIVITY. You will simply get more done. Coaching will keep your goals clear and in line with your vision. Next, it ensures that what you are doing is important to furthering the bottom line, not just want is urgent, easy or obvious. Then, the regular accountability provides a structure that will keep you moving forward, so you can really get it all done.

RESULTS. Through regular coaching and consistent follow-up, you will increase your bottom-line results. Profits. Clients. Personal Passions. Weight Lose. Whatever your objective is, coaching is a strategic partnership to support you in getting what you want as quickly as possible. If you are ready and motivated, you can actually double what you accomplish in a period of time.

SUCCESS. You will be more successful. Through keeping focused on what you want, the goals and the plan, coaching helps you keep the big picture in mind while you implement the small steps. While focusing on the goals, coaching monitors the balance in your whole life, so you are not distracted with life pulls but have all the elements of your life complimenting your actions. Before you know it, your goal is complete!

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN

Here are some things you might ask them:

• How long have you been working in this career?
• Why did you get into it?
• How did you get to where you are today (education to career advancement)?
• What training did you have before employment and what training have you had since to keep yourself fresh?
• What skills are most important for this job?
• What do you love and what do you hate about this job?
• What are the opportunities out there? Is it a tough market for this work or lots of opportunity and room for growth? How so?
• How has this career / work field changed since you have gotten in it?
• What does a typical day look like for you?
• What does the salary look like for this career – starting, mid and advanced?
• What would you recommend I do to learn more about this career (read, class, person to talk to, website, etc.)?
• Who do you think is a good fit for this career and is successful?
• Who do you see trying to do this career but it is not a good fit? Why is it not a good fit? What do they move to?
• What other jobs are like this career but a little different? How are they different? Have you considered those? Why or why not?
• What experience is needed or helpful to have before working in this line of work?
• If I were interested in this work, how would you recommend I get started (networking, connections, training, education, etc.)?
• What titles do people in this line of work have?
• Where does your company and companies that you work for recruit from (where do they find their people?)
• What organizations do you belong too?
• What books and magazines and RSS feeds do you read?

Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer,  Minneapolis, MN