Coaching for Leaders

Latest Episodes:

41: How to Stop Abusing PowerPoint Jun 11, 2012

Show notes

For better or worse, Microsoft PowerPoint has become our default method of framing much of what we present visually to others. While PowerPoint brings many advantages to presenters, it can also serve as a crutch when we don't utilize it well to enhance our presentations. In this episode, I discuss some of the common failures leaders make with PowerPoint and a many of tips you can put into practice immediately in order to enhance the use of PowerPoint (or any other visual medium) in your presentations to others. Rule #1 - The best PowerPoint is one you don't need. Be sure that PowerPoint adds value to the presentation - if it doesn't, drop it. Susan Cain's TED talk is a wonderful example of a fantastic presentation that didn't need (and doesn't use) PowerPoint. Talk to the audience - not the slides To do this, use the 6x6 or 7x7 rule Get a screen in front of you (called a confidence monitor) if you can Feature images rather than text - Steve Jobs was a master at this. Use colors and theme that match the message Colors - use contrast Darker room? Darker slides Lighter room? Lighter slides Free themes available at the Microsoft Office template gallery A few quick tips: Keep animations consistent Do a dry run - and if it fails in real life, be done with it "B" blanks out slides and "W" key whites out a slide # key and enter brings you to that slide (i.e. pressing "1" and then "Enter" on the keyboard takes you to the first slide when in PowerPoint show) Get comfortable with a wireless presenter before you use it - here's the Logitech Wireless Presenter I use and recommend Community Feedback CoachingforLeaders.com/feedback Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

40: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, with Michael Hyatt Jun 04, 2012

Show notes

Michael Hyatt: Platform There are few people who are better examples of getting noticed in a noisy world than Michael Hyatt. Michael is the voice behind MichaelHyatt.com and his blog attracts more than 300,000 unique readers each month. He joins me on today's episode to discuss his book Platform: Get Noticed In a Noisy World. If you have something to say or sell in today's marketplace, this is a must listen for you. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

39: Five Fundamentals to Ensure You’ll Present with Power May 28, 2012

Show notes

The content of your presentation is always going to be most important, but how you deliver your message to the audience is a close second. In this episode, I examine 5 fundamentals that if you can use successfully, will help you to get your message across with more confidence and effectiveness. The five fundamental to deliver a presentation with power can be easily remembered with this acronym: Smile Hand gestures Eye contact Enthusiasm Posture Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

38: How to Build a Good Presentation May 21, 2012

Show notes

Some people have heard that myth that how you look is more important than what you say. In this episode, I address this myth, describe in detail why what you say is the most important part of your presentation, and give practical advice for how to assemble presentation content. You can build a good presentation, even if you don't feel that you have professional delivery skills. I begin this episode by speaking about the often misunderstood study from Dr. Albert Mehrabian that is often cited as evidence by those who claim that how you say something is more important that what you say. Olivia Mitchell from Speaking About Presenting has an excellent article that addresses this issue head on. The bottom line? What you say is far more important than how you say it. "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." -Leonardo da Vinci Article I published last week: How One Key Question Gets Audience Results "...I would rather a really plain PowerPoint, and an authentic, passionate speaker that was engaging, regardless of how many "umms and ahhs". I've been completely bored with some of the fancy presentations, because the speaker wasn't fired up about his or her topic..." -Comment from Jenn Swanson Build your presentation around the answer to the question: What do I want people walking out of the room doing differently? Here are some key content components: Opening - Tell a story or get the audience involved in some way Storytelling / examples - Tell it like you were already there. The best advice I ever received on this was to tell a story like we were watching the video of it happening. Evidence - It's not enough that just you say it...who else provides support for your conclusions? Call to action - What do you want us to do? Closing - Finish strong so the audience remembers you in a positive mindset Don't memorize your talk - and have more available than you can use! Resources Presentation Zen (2nd edition) by Garr Reynolds* Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

37: Three Proven Ways to Become a Better Speaker May 14, 2012

Show notes

Leaders need to be able to speak confidently, clearly, and concisely to others - yet surveys show that at least 10% of the US population fears public speaking more than death. Even if that isn't true for you, chances are that you might not be as effective or confident as a speaker as you would like to be. In this new series, we'll look at what you can do as a leader to both speak and present more effectively, and help coach others to do this too. I started off this episode by talking about how I used to HATE public speaking and feared any speech...for days in advance. My trouble started in third grade and followed me well through college. I describe what I did to overcome these challenges and outlined three steps below that I know will be helpful to you as well. 1) Get in front of people! I looked for every opportunity to speak when I went to events I volunteered to help out at work in giving recognition to others You could also reach out to charities and non-profits - all need speakers! I didn't mention this in the episode, but becoming an instructor for the Red Cross is a great way to start (I did this!) 2) Find someone who will give you positive reinforcement Find a friend, colleague, or mentor that will support you regardless of what happens Join an organization like Toastmasters that will give you tons of position reinforcement 3) Get good coaching Once you're a bit more comfortable on your feet, get honest coaching for someone you trust Attend a Dale Carnegie course - they are the best of the best on teaching people how to speak and present Start to do some teaching...either volunteer work, in your job, or teaching a class one night a week at a community college Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

36: What Every Leader Should Know About Sending People to Training, with Janet Riley May 07, 2012

Show notes

Janet Riley: David Allen Company We turn our final episode of our training series to what every leader ought to know about sending people to training. Since episode #30, we've learned about many aspects of training, so this week we turn our focus to what you should know (and do) when sending people to training. I welcome Janet Riley, a gifted trainer and consultant, to help explore this topic. Janet's extensive career in the learning and development industry has provided her thousands of hours in experience training leaders around the world, most recently with the David Allen Company. She provides important and practical wisdom for all leaders. Here's what I asked her: When is training a good way to develop someone? When is training the wrong answer? What are three things leaders can do before training to support people changing behaviors? What are some of the different attitudes people show up with in a training classroom - and how can a leader respond to each of these? What common mistakes do leaders make when trying to support people in training? What can a leader do to support ongoing implementation of what's been learned after training is complete? What general advice do you have for leaders who use training to develop others? Since this show is about engaging and developing others with coaching, who is a leader that's been an effective coach for you? Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.

35: How to Hire a Training Company, with Aaron Kent Apr 30, 2012

Show notes

Aaron Kent: Dale Carnegie In the opening of this episode, I mentioned the book Soar With Your Strengths, which I recommend. This week, I welcome a dear friend and business partner as my guest. Aaron Kent is the President & CEO of Dale Carnegie of Southern Los Angeles. I asked Aaron the following questions during our interview: What are some common misconceptions leaders have about training companies? How would a leader know its the right time to consider bringing in an outside resource like Dale Carnegie? What should leaders do to prepare for a first meeting with a company like Dale Carnegie? How does Dale Carnegie approach a first meeting (i.e. what can leaders expect?) In your experience, what do leaders who have great success with training do differently than those who have mediocre success? What's one thing that leaders don't do when hiring you that you wish they did? Since this show is about engaging and developing others with coaching, who is a leader that's been an effective coach for you? Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

34: Creating Results with Effective Learning Objectives, with Bonni Stachowiak Apr 23, 2012

Show notes

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Business and Management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, she was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. Bonni is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. The term "learning objectives" might not show up in our everyday conversations, but it's an important tool for leaders to use in order to develop others. In this episode, we'll explain what a learning objective is, how to create an effective one, and how to use it in order to create results. Instructional design most often starts with creating learning objectives. Most people start-and-finish with topics, but they are not specific enough and can lead to a lack of alignment on expectations. For example, the expectation to "know how to use Microsoft Word". Most people only use 2% of features of a Word Processor. One person's idea of "knowing" Word can be quite different than another's. Another example, "Understand how the economy effects small businesses in the US". How would I know if someone "understood" that or not? It isn't about topics! "The critical question, therefore, is not what topics to cover but what you want the participants to value, understand, or do with those topics." -Silberman, Active Training, p. 41 There types of learning and we should address each of these in learning objectives: Cognitive - what we know Behavioral - what we can do Affective - our motivation our knowledge and behaviors These components of an effective learning objective are from Mager, who wrote six books related to learning that should be on every leader's bookshelf, called The Six Pack. Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

33: How to Use Strategy and Evaluation in Training, with Bonni Stachowiak Apr 16, 2012

Show notes

Bonni Stachowiak: Teaching in Higher Ed Bonni is the host of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast, Dean of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Business and Management at Vanguard University, and my life partner. Prior to her academic career, she was a human resources consultant and executive officer for a publicly traded company. Bonni is the author of The Productive Online and Offline Professor: A Practical Guide*. Be sure to align with the organization's mission, vision, and goals: Requires that you have at least a basic understanding of strategy (long-term planning). There are many approaches to strategy. A good person to know about in the area of creating competitive advantage is Michael Porter. Steps to needs analysis: Determine the problem(s) by finding a key business lever that will make a big impact on the organization if it gets fixed/improved. People pay more attention to fixing problems than they do to making improvements. Affirm that the problem really is the problem (work with stakeholders to see if there is consensus on the key problem(s); engage at all levels of the organization, as there can often be a disconnect between senior management and the line staff who typically engage directly with customers). Develop solutions - training is not always the solution, though people tend to go to it as an "easier" way of addressing deeply rooted cultural issues. Two broad types of evaluation: Formative: satisfaction with the training itself. It is the most common form of evaluation conducted since it is the easiest and least expensive way to assess. Summative: extent to which real change has occurred. This is the least common form of evaluation conducted because it is hardest and most expensive - but most important for determining whether ROI has occurred (Jack Phillips is a good person to read on the subject of training ROI). Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation (Kirkpatrick is considered the "father" of training evaluation): Reaction: people's reaction to the training; did they like it or not? Learning: what knowledge was gained as a result of the training; what did people learn? Behavior: the extent to which behavior was changed as a result of the training; what's different now? Results: real and lasting change that occurred as a result of the training; what results have been achieved? Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

32: The Best Way to Do On-the-Job Training Apr 09, 2012

Show notes

Prepare Estimate how much time you will need in advance - then double it. If you fail to block enough time, either you will sell the person short by rushing, or you will impact other business operations by taking more time than planned. Be realistic with how long things will take. Coach the rest of the team and remind them that access to you when you are conducing on-the-job training will be more limited. Be sure to consider the organizational outcome you want to have come out of the new skill or behavior you are working on. It's not enough just to get the other party good at actions - they need to understand how these actions fit into the big picture. Demonstrate You'll want to fully demonstrate what it is that you want the other party to do. Suggest that the other person watch and observer - and perhaps take notes on what it is they see you doing in the skill or behavior. Resist the temptation to explain and train as you go - that will come later. For now, it's important that they see what the "end result" clearly looks like. Explain Ask the other party what they saw. This is beneficial for them since it reviews the process, and beneficial for you because you have a clearer understanding of what they saw and what they missed. Now, walk through the behavior or skill step-by-step. Once you've had a chance to full explain, have dialogue with the other person on where they can first apply this learning. Coach Apply the new skill in a place where they will have the best opportunity to experience success. If possible, avoid situations where their result will be more uncertain. Set expectations with whoever else is involved with the interaction of how you will be involved and what kind of feedback they might observe between the two of you. When coaching, make a clear decision to engage in the moment, direct the person as to what they might be differently, and then praise them for the change. Feedback Afterwards, review the situation in detail. Ask the individual for their assessment of what worked and what didn't work. Again, this will give you insight as a leader on what they perceive to have worked and what they might have missed. Praise them for accomplishments! If something didn't work, discuss it now so that they don't make the same errors in the future. Determine which step to go back to, if needed for more development. Leaders get in trouble when they don't think through these five steps - and then end up missing big pieces! Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

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