Feb 17 2011

WEBINAR — The Powerful Act of Coaching Employees

by Michael J. Ferraro | Comment

What do coaching people and driving a car have in common? In order to be successful at both, you have to focus on looking ahead and anticipate the unexpected, with an occasional glance at what is behind you. Drivers (and coaches) that spend all their time looking at what is behind them, ignoring the forward view out of the windshield, are a hazard to themselves and to other drivers on the road. Managers that rely on the performance review to coach their people are “driving” their business with a focus on what is behind them. These managers/coaches are a hazard to those they manage and to others in your organization.

On Tuesday, February 22, 2011, at 8:15 am CST, and again at 9:15 pm CST, I will present a 30 minute webinar, The Powerful Act of Coaching Employees. I am certainly not going to turn you into a great coach in 30 minutes, but I will show you how to focus on coaching your people by looking ahead rather than on what is behind you.

To join the webinar, click on the appropriate link below:

Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 8:15 am CST

Conference Bridge Number: +1-605-475-4261.

Conference Access Code: 504590187.

Meeting / Session ID: 504590187.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 9:15 am CST

Conference Bridge Number: +1-605-475-4261.

Conference Access Code: 504556921.

Meeting / Session ID: 504556921.

Jan 31 2011

Where do great coaches come from…

by Michael J. Ferraro | Comment

It is the college basketball season. Every year there are familiar colleges that dominate the rankings. I prefer to look past the college, because it’s not the college, it’s the coach. Great coaches stay at the same school and that program is a perennial powerhouse. But great coaches can go to new colleges and it isn’t long before that college has a great program. Great coaches can attract great talent, but they can also take average talent and transform them into greatness.

But where do great college basketball coaches come from? For many of them, there is almost a “family” tree. Almost all of the great coaches have been coached (and mentored) by a great coach for much of their career. In fact, when most of these “new” great coaches get their own program, they still maintain contact with their mentor(s).

Mentoring and coaching go hand-in-hand in college basketball, and it should be the norm in business. Great coaches and leaders attract great talent and can also take average talent and transform them into greatness.

Do you want to be a great coach and leader? Continue reading →

Jan 23 2011

Coach early and often…

by Michael J. Ferraro | Comment

During this time of year — the college basketball season — although much of the media attention is directed toward the players, the coaches get their share of coverage.  The other evening, Duke’s coach Mike Krzyzewski notched his 880th career victory, placing him second to Bob Knight, who mentored Krzyzewski and coached him at Army on the way to 902 wins.

One of Mike Krzyzewski’s quotes provides great insight into his coaching style, “A common mistake among those who work in sport is spending a disproportional amount of time on “x’s and o’s” as compared to time spent learning about people.”

How do you learn more about your people so you can coach them to greater things? Continue reading →

Jan 2 2011

Who do you want on your team…

by Michael J. Ferraro | Comment

Beginning a new year is always a good time to reflect on what you did during the last year and what you would like to do differently in the new year.  After all, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Many companies are starting to hire new employees.  I have talked about this in previous entries.  Hiring new employees is always a great opportunity to put people on your “team” that will drive your company forward to even more profitability.  But finding the right people may mean you need to add a new tool to your selection process.

A recent SmartMoney article was describing some completed studies showing the relationship between satisfied, happy employees and productive companies.  One of the employee attributes of a satisfied, happy employee was that of being a “dispositional optimist” rather than a pessimist with similar skills.

How do you find these candidates?

Continue reading →

Dec 29 2010

80% of workers want to quit…

by Michael J. Ferraro | Comment

A few months ago, I cited a UK survey that said that 40% of professionals were actively looking for a new job.  Last week, an article in CNNMoney said that, based on another recent survey, 84% of all workers will be looking for new jobs in 2011 which was up from the 60% of all workers looking for new jobs just a year ago (see below).

Is your company at risk of losing a large population of your people?

Why don’t you find out…

Continue reading →