Small Business Interview Series – Executive Coaching, Team Building and Leadership Development
Small Business Interview Series – Executive Coaching, Team Building and Leadership Development
The Evolution of Your Small Business Fuels Leadership Learning.
Can you explain how the evolution of a small business might lead to a need for coaching or team building?
“Most small business owners possess a skill set related to whatever type of business they are starting. As their business develops and grows, the skill set shifts from early start up mode (where everyone does everything) to creating an environment in which jobs might become more specialized. As this happens, the need to focus on creating an overall vision to keep people engaged and working together becomes more important. As a small business matures, the shift to a team culture also becomes more important.
It’s at this point that small business owners may recognize the need to provide people with these skill sets. This can vary from hiring a consultant to do a team building workshop to hiring an individual executive coach to help the owner develop those skill sets.”
Challenging the Status Quo.
How will small business owners and teams be challenged during the development process?
“While people may come to coaching and team development with an open mind and willingness to learn, often they are surprised by how this process upsets the status quo and unsettles people. It’s normal for a bit of resistance from co-workers as people try on new behaviors. It’s also normal for individuals themselves to hang onto their old way of doing things as that’s comfortable and predictable. What usually helps people move forward is a clear vision of how they want things to be different as this vision can pull them along.”
Not Just for Big Business.
Coaching and team development might be viewed as something that only larger organizations get involved in. Do many small businesses engage in this type of leadership learning? What are some of the benefits of coaching and team development for small business?
“In our experience, more and more small businesses are investing in this type of development - their employees are demanding it and owners see the need when they realize they have reached a plateau in their business.
We work with several organizations of 50 employees or less. Small businesses can get even more benefit than larger organizations because they can offer the learning experience to everyone in the company as opposed to a limited number of people (which typically happens in larger companies). Taking your entire staff to an offsite retreat for a day or so can help engage and energize your team – leading to a common vision for the business and facilitating a cultural shift that will help everyone move forward constructively.”
What to Look For In an Executive Coach or Leadership Consultant.
What should small business owners look for in an executive coach or team development consultant? Is it important that a coach be in the same city as the client?
“While location might be important in terms of cost, finding someone who relates to the business owner and shares some common values and philosophy is perhaps more important. Look for someone who has a blend of theory/academic preparation in leadership, learning, teambuilding and practical experience in these areas. Probably most important is personal fit … how do you think the person will relate to your staff and build trust quickly? In my experience this is what contributes to a successful relationship overall.”
Investing in Your Small Business.
Do small business owners see the value of leadership learning or are they hesitant when it comes to investing in executive coaching or team development?
“Small business owners can sometimes be reluctant to invest in employees for fear they may leave. We often ask small business owners the question: What if you don’t invest in your employees and they don’t leave? How will that impact your business?
It’s often a leap of faith to invest money when you are still trying to build the business. We have faced that ourselves as a small business and have been amazed at how our own business grew substantially when we actually invested in our own learning. It paid off in a more diverse skill set and perhaps more importantly, additional confidence to take on clients and business we didn’t feel comfortable with prior to the learning experience.”
Small Business Interview Series Executive Coaching Team Building and Leadership Development - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Smiciklas's Website.
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Coaching is a great way for small business owners to develop leadership skills, build strong teams and grow their organizations. In this installment of the small business interview series, I speak with leadership and learning specialist Tammy Dewar, Ph.D., Principal at Calliope Learning in Victoria, B.C.
The Evolution of Your Small Business Fuels Leadership Learning.
Can you explain how the evolution of a small business might lead to a need for coaching or team building?
“Most small business owners possess a skill set related to whatever type of business they are starting. As their business develops and grows, the skill set shifts from early start up mode (where everyone does everything) to creating an environment in which jobs might become more specialized. As this happens, the need to focus on creating an overall vision to keep people engaged and working together becomes more important. As a small business matures, the shift to a team culture also becomes more important.
It’s at this point that small business owners may recognize the need to provide people with these skill sets. This can vary from hiring a consultant to do a team building workshop to hiring an individual executive coach to help the owner develop those skill sets.”
Challenging the Status Quo.
How will small business owners and teams be challenged during the development process?
“While people may come to coaching and team development with an open mind and willingness to learn, often they are surprised by how this process upsets the status quo and unsettles people. It’s normal for a bit of resistance from co-workers as people try on new behaviors. It’s also normal for individuals themselves to hang onto their old way of doing things as that’s comfortable and predictable. What usually helps people move forward is a clear vision of how they want things to be different as this vision can pull them along.”
Not Just for Big Business.
Coaching and team development might be viewed as something that only larger organizations get involved in. Do many small businesses engage in this type of leadership learning? What are some of the benefits of coaching and team development for small business?
“In our experience, more and more small businesses are investing in this type of development - their employees are demanding it and owners see the need when they realize they have reached a plateau in their business.
We work with several organizations of 50 employees or less. Small businesses can get even more benefit than larger organizations because they can offer the learning experience to everyone in the company as opposed to a limited number of people (which typically happens in larger companies). Taking your entire staff to an offsite retreat for a day or so can help engage and energize your team – leading to a common vision for the business and facilitating a cultural shift that will help everyone move forward constructively.”
What to Look For In an Executive Coach or Leadership Consultant.
What should small business owners look for in an executive coach or team development consultant? Is it important that a coach be in the same city as the client?
“While location might be important in terms of cost, finding someone who relates to the business owner and shares some common values and philosophy is perhaps more important. Look for someone who has a blend of theory/academic preparation in leadership, learning, teambuilding and practical experience in these areas. Probably most important is personal fit … how do you think the person will relate to your staff and build trust quickly? In my experience this is what contributes to a successful relationship overall.”
Investing in Your Small Business.
Do small business owners see the value of leadership learning or are they hesitant when it comes to investing in executive coaching or team development?
“Small business owners can sometimes be reluctant to invest in employees for fear they may leave. We often ask small business owners the question: What if you don’t invest in your employees and they don’t leave? How will that impact your business?
It’s often a leap of faith to invest money when you are still trying to build the business. We have faced that ourselves as a small business and have been amazed at how our own business grew substantially when we actually invested in our own learning. It paid off in a more diverse skill set and perhaps more importantly, additional confidence to take on clients and business we didn’t feel comfortable with prior to the learning experience.”
Small Business Interview Series Executive Coaching Team Building and Leadership Development - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Smiciklas's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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