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Browse every published article connected to Andrea Novakowski, with exact attribution and full-archive search.
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Browse every published article connected to Andrea Novakowski, or search within this exact expert archive.
As introverts know all too well, the holidays can be a challenging time of year. All the parties and gatherings that make this season so enjoyable for some people make it stressful for others, particularly for those of us who find large crowds exhausting, rather than energizing.
At the start of every coaching session, I ask my client: what’s gone well for you since the last time we sat down together? It’s a chance for them to pause, recognize their achievements, and celebrate their progress. But for some reason, people often have a hard time with this question. My client Jonathan, a business owner with a new product, has had a good year by any standard. He brought his product to market ahead of schedule, his company recently received an award as a Best Place to Work, and later this summer, his son heads off for his first year at a prestigious college.
Cara was a manager at a Providence, RI consulting firm who could always be counted on to get the job done. She had a hard-driving style that got results, and her boss recognized how valuable she was to the company. Then one day Cara walked in and discovered she had a new manager, one who didn’t appreciate her take-no-prisoners approach. Suddenly, what was once applauded was now being penalized.
I’ve been the case manager and caregiver for my 91-year-old mother for a while now. If you’ve ever had the role of caring for an elderly parent, you know how exhausting it can be. This past summer, I hit my limit. I found myself getting to a place I didn’t want to be. I wasn’t looking forward to my visits and calls with Mom, and it all felt like a burden. I was the one who had volunteered for this role, I reminded myself. I had no right to ask for help. Not when I’d given my family my word I’d take care of everything.
Not long ago, a client emailed me begging for advice on time management. “I’m too easily sidetracked by all my to-do lists, non-work activities, and sunny weather,” she wrote. “Help!” I’ve been hearing this lament a lot lately. So many things clamor for our attention, both at our jobs and in our lives. How can it be that we’re so busy, yet nothing important is getting done? The answer to this question comes in two parts: How do we get so distracted and, perhaps more importantly, what can we do about it?
I recently read an article about two young women, engineering students, who came up with an amazing invention. It’s a soccer ball that stores the gyroscopic energy it gets from being kicked around and converts it into power for an LED lamp. The women had these balls and lamps produced and gave thousands of them to children in impoverished countries. Now the kids can do their homework at night even if their homes don’t have electricity. It’s such an elegant solution, you wonder why no one thought of it sooner. It got me thinking about where great ideas like these come from.
As I write this week’s Tip, my to-do list is growing, my heart is racing, and I’m overwhelmed by everything in my in-box. I know I should pause for a moment, breathe, and figure out what to tackle next. But it feels too risky to slow down.And I’m far from alone in my panic. Countless business owners and executives tell me they don’t have time to take a break from getting things done to ensure that the right things are getting done. As a result, they’re making snap decisions that don’t always turn out well. Then there’s my client, Gretchen.
William, the owner of a health care consulting business, emailed me last week in preparation for our upcoming call. Should we discuss his goals for next year, he wondered, or should we reflect first on the year that just passed? We can do both at the same time, I replied. Back in January, William created five goals he wanted to work on. (He thought fewer would be better, and I agreed.) Of the five goals, he’d nailed two of them, had gotten very close to two, and had abandoned the last one mid-year.
“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” ~Anne Bradstreet Imagine a soft, cool breeze blowing through your window and gently, gently touching your face. The gauzy curtain flutters. You hear the birds chirping outside. As you breathe in this air, you feel the cool, crispness overtake you. You let go.
You might not think the owner of a computer services firm would face the same day-to-day problems as someone who runs a childcare center. But in reality, no matter what type of company you own, certain universal challenges are almost guaranteed to crop up. In my 17 years as a business coach, I’ve noticed several issues that business owners tend to encounter over and over. On the surface, each situation may look different, but on closer inspection they fall into a few specific areas. Common pitfalls for business owners include:
Getting there isn’t half the fun – it’s all the fun.rn ~ Robert Townsend Labor Day has passed and it’s time to GET SERIOUS! Only 4 months left to hit your numbers for the year.
Are you familiar with that good feeling you get when you know you’ve made the right choice? When faced with difficult decisions, how do you find your way to that good feeling? While you are in the process of making that decision, how can you tell if you’re on the right path to making a decision that you’ll be happy with? I’ve found that there are some very clear indicators to whether my clients are making good, solid decisions, or if they are headed in the wrong direction.
Can it be we’re halfway through the year already? My business coaching clients always like it when we pause at this point to assess how far they’ve come since January. It’s a chance for us to acknowledge all the good work they’ve been doing. Yes, it’s easy to focus on what you haven’t accomplished, but I prefer to focus instead on what my clients have achieved so far.
What if you’ve done all of the right things for yourself and your business, but you still feel uninspired? What do you do? Christina, a business owner, was getting ready to start her day at the office. She’d been doing a great job this year setting goals and achieving them, based on her five-year vision. She’d discovered that the more specific her goals, the more likely she was to accomplish them. But this morning, she wasn’t feeling inspired or motivated. She didn’t have much energy. She knew what she had to do, but she just couldn’t get going.
One good thing about being in business as long as I have is that you no longer need to do something just because everyone else is doing it. At some point, you have to choose what truly fits you. No more trying to put a round peg in a square hole. Working on my 2013 business plan over the last few weeks,I’ve decided this year will be all about doing it my way. That means no more shoulds. No more doing for the sake of doing. For me, 2013 will be less about doing and more about connecting. It’s time to honor my introverted self and do business in a way that takes care of me!
Do you ever feel like something is keeping you from moving ahead in your business, but you can’t pinpoint exactly what it is? As I look back at conversations I’ve had with clients over the years, I see four common obstacles that tend to hold people back. Do any of these ring true for you?
At the beginning of each of the past two years, I’ve come up with a word using Christine Kane’s powerful workbook, “Your Word of the Year Discovery Tool.” Last year, I chose the word spaciousness. It became an impetus for doing things differently, and it led to me making five changes in my business (read about these changes here). Why not choose a word of the year for yourself? This word can inspire you, guide you, and provide the platform upon which all your goals and actions sit. It’s also a mantra that grounds you and reminds you of where you want to go.
Way back in 1977, while I was graduating from Simmons College (and wondering how the heck I was going to get a job using what I’d learned), James Prochaska and his colleagues at the University of Rhode Island were developing a revolutionary new theory about how people change. It was called the Transtheoretical Model (TTM), which proposed that people who successfully change their behavior pass through six stages. * Precontemplation (not ready): You don’t intend to take action anytime soon. You may not even know what the problem is.
If you own a company or manage a department, part of the reason you’ve come this far is because you’re good at what you do. But inspiring the people who work for you to give their best efforts is another skill altogether. It’s hard to complete tasks well and on time if your staff isn’t on the same page with you, or if they don’t share your commitment to success. Are you frustrated by employees who don’t perform as well as expected? It may be time to take a look at your leadership style. Here are five common mistaken beliefs that may be interfering with your effectiveness as a boss.
If you’re a longtime reader of my Tip of the Week (thank you!), then you know that every January I ask my clients to pick a word to guide them throughout the year: a word summarizing their intentions for the year to come. I do the same exercise myself using Christine Kane’s powerful workbook, “Your Word of the Year Discovery Tool“. Today, I’m celebrating my last birthday in the fabulous ’50s. Back when I was growing up, we always played the Beatles’ song “Birthday” as part of our celebration. We’d dance around the house and sing along, and it put everyone in a great mood.
As the calendar changes from summer to fall, it’s time to refocus your energy on your fourth-quarter objectives. One great way to do this is to build – or rebuild – your pipeline of prospects. As I’ve said many times, it doesn’t pay to go solo, even if you’re a “solopreneur.” One proven way to build your business is to reach out to people who can help you. In fact, that’s what I did in order to create this week’s Tip! I got in touch with five colleagues who work with business owners and asked for their #1 piece of advice on networking.
“Lasting happiness can and needs to be independent of our circumstances.” Marci Shimoff In preparing to write this article, I wondered – what does prosperity even mean? I pulled out my trusty Thesaurus and my eyes were opened. Prosperity ranges from abundance to well-being, and, there were a lot of words in-between – bed of roses, benefit, good times, luxury, success, and the good life. As I scanned the list – the word that jumped out for me was thriving.
Matthew, the owner of a computer services company, greeted me at his office door with a big smile. It was the first week of January and he'd completed his 2012 goals worksheet. He was excited to share with me the vision he'd created for himself and his business. But three weeks later, when I asked what actions he'd taken on his goals, Matthew's smile turned to a frown. He'd already run out of gas.
“The market is changing, and not for the better,” Grant said, at the start of our coaching session. “We used to get a ton of leads from our website, and now we’re lucky if we get one a week.”
What do you think of when you picture fall in New England? For me, it’s kids walking to school in their jackets. Cooler nights and cold mornings. Leaves starting to turn. Yellow mums. The smell of apples. A new TV season. I bet you have your own clear mental images. Fall is a very strong “brand,” especially here in the northeaster U.S.
Are you a thrill seeker? Or do you like to play it safe? There’s some evidence to suggest that your level of risk tolerance affects your potential for success. My clients who are business leaders, those senior executives in the C-suite, are almost always risk takers. Big risks can reap big rewards – but they can also lead to big-time failure. The key is learning how to dance on that tightrope, while making sure you have some kind of safety net below you.
Kyle began our phone call by sharing his frustration. “I hate the politics at my company,” he said. “The only projects that get done are the ones sponsored by the company president’s ‘pets.’ The worth of the project doesn’t matter; it’s all about who you know. I do great work, and that should be enough.” I could hear the anger in his voice. “I’m not good at playing the game – and I won’t!”
Somewhere along the line, back when you were working your way up the corporate ladder, someone probably gave you advice.The advice made sense at the time, you followed it, and today you’re the owner, leader, or manager of your organization. Congratulations! Now is the perfect time to take a moment and assess whether that long-ago advice still serves you. In other words, I’m asking you to consider if there’s anything you’re still doing, not because it feels right to you, but because you think you should. Whenever I pose that question to my clients, I get some revealing answers.
When I started my coaching business, one of the first things I did was get a coach of my own. I purposely chose someone who had built a successful coaching business herself. After all, why reinvent the wheel? I wanted to benefit from the expertise and support of someone who had already done what I was trying to do. Later on, after my business was established, I was ready to develop another part of myself. So I found a coach who could help me grow my spiritual side.
Each year at this time, I ask my clients to take a look back at the past year, acknowledge their accomplishments, and assess what worked and what didn’t. This year, I’d like to share my own results. When I wrote about my intentions last January, I declared that 2013 would be about doing it my way. I wanted to take actions in my business that reflected who I am. Here is my assessment of how that went.
As my scheduled time for writing this Tip drew closer and closer, I noticed myself getting very busy. I needed to check my email. Clean out a file. Do a load of laundry. Water the plants. Trim the plants. Check my email again. I didn’t feel confident about my topic, and a small voice in my head was telling me to scrap the whole idea. ARGH! Lo and behold, I was living this week’s Tip.
“The joy of a spirit is the measure of its power.” ~Ninon de Lenclos As you first open your eyes in the morning, where does your mind go? Are you thinking about what “they” are saying in the news? Are you thinking about why you can’t do or have? Are you wondering why you have to work so hard? What if you shifted those thoughts and instead asked yourself: • What brings me joy? • What opportunities are waiting for me? • What do I truly want?
Whenever you find yourself saying, “I can’t possibly…”, that’s a good indication you’re making an assumption. Are you truly incapable of doing that thing? Or are you merely imagining all the complications that might interfere with your goal? Here are five ways to challenge this self-defeating habit.
Fear is a powerful instinct, one that colors many of our decisions whether we’re aware of it or not. Think about it: how often are you influenced, or even paralyzed, by your fears of what could go wrong? Yet some people have figured out how to use fear to their advantage, to harness fear’s energy to help them get things done. How can you be one of those people? Below are five ideas to help you move away from fear and toward action.
It’s that time again. Time to look back at your business during the past year and put together a plan for the upcoming year. How can you let go of what’s not working and make room for what you really want: a different approach to your work, more emphasis on areas that are the most profitable, time to focus on the activities you enjoy most? Be brave and trust the process. Notice which things about your business feel good and which things feel uninspired, hard, or boring. Read on for three questions that will help you get started. What will you stop doing?
Want a way to keep your yearly goals at the top of your mind? Create a vision board. A vision board is a collection of words and/or pictures that represent what you desire in your business and in your life – but it’s also much more than that. As you look for and assemble images that express what’s important to you, the process helps reinforce the goals you’ve chosen. When you’re finished, you have a powerful visual reminder of where you’d like to be. Here’s how to get started building your own vision board.
Summer is a great time to slow down, relax, and dream up new ideas for your business. But all good things must come to an end. As we wind up our vacations and head toward Labor Day, many of my clients are asking: How do I keep that calm, thoughtful energy alive when I get back to work? Of course, I also have clients who don’t feel so energized by their summer vacations. They’ve gotten used to the laid-back pace and now they’re dreading their return to work and the tighter schedules of fall.
“I can’t possibly do this. It’s too hard.” “This isn’t worth my time. It’s too easy.” Do you frequently find yourself making judgments like these? If so, you may be a victim of your assumptions. Imagine if Thomas Edison had said, “Inventing the light bulb is too hard!” Or if Michael Jordan had decided practicing took too much time and had a slim chance of paying off, so why bother.
Have you noticed that no one talks much about perfectionism anymore? My business coaching clients used to tell me their compulsion to do everything perfectly was getting in the way of their success. But these days, with the fast pace of life, the constant stream of information, and the increased workload on everyone’s desks, our struggle for perfectionism seems to have largely disappeared. It’s not that people are feeling guilty or making excuses about not being perfect. It’s just gone from the conversation.
The days of flitting from company to company in search of the best compensation package are fading fast into history. With the economy on a downslide and pink slips in the forecast, it’s more important than ever to secure sound footing at your current job. A survey by ivillage.com found that 55 percent of 7,760 employees said that showing initiative is the most important way to get ahead in the workplace.
You and your friend have a great idea for a business. Your business plan is already half done. You can’t wait to get started: what could be better than working with a friend every day? To launch a successful business with another person, you need more than a business plan. You have to plan your approach to working together, too. Here are some questions to ask yourselves before you rush headlong into business with your friend – or with anyone else, for that matter!
Molly wanted to take her business to the next level, but she knew she couldn’t reach her sales goals with her present staff. It was time to build her sales force. So she invested time in hiring and training a promising new salesperson. Then, at the last minute, he received a better offer from a competitor. Molly was back to square one. If you’re trying to grow your business, like Molly, you’re probably all too familiar with her time crunch problem. Her plate was overflowing. She was desperate for a way to accomplish everything she needed to do. So she came to me for coaching.
Order is a lovely thing; On disarray it lays its wing, Teaching simplicity to sing. - Anna Hempstead Branch All of the organization gurus recommend choosing a small space first, setting a timer and beginning. From a financial perspective, that small space is your purse or wallet. Do you have 10 minutes? Set your timer and let’s go. First: Gather what you need - sticky notes, pen, trash can and wallet/purse. Take everything out of your wallet and lay it out on the counter.
Wisdom comes with winters.rn~ Oscar Wilde In this season of deep freeze outside (at least here in the Northern Hemisphere), I wonder what would happen if I put a freeze on my spending? I close my eyes and listen to my body’s response. I feel relief. I feel relief washing all over my body. A relaxation, a letting go, a sense of calm comes over me. It’s as if I am breathing mountain air with no distractions.