Library - Coaching for Individuals
10 reasons to have a Personal Coach
10 reasons to have a Personal Coach
Here are 10 reasons, in alphabetical order, to have a personal coach:
- Accountability: as a coach I will hold you to account, check on your progress, care about you, support, champion and challenge you. Self-help books are great, but they don’t do follow-up.
- Agenda: a coach will normally work on anything you want – however small or random. Not everyone who sees a coach wants to become a CEO or a Member or Partner in a law firm. Some people just want to find the motivation to tidy their room, get on better with a relative, stick to a fitness goal, explore what really matters in life, or just make a change. You set the agenda in coaching and I commit to supporting you.
- Feelgood factor: coaching isn’t like sitting an exam. There’s no right answer. In fact, it’s exciting, stimulating and fun to be coached. I’m entirely comfortable using humour while offering you support, praise and challenge. You should expect to leave every coaching session feeling more resourceful than you did when you started.
- Fresh Start: I have no preconceptions about you. There is no agenda and no history to cloud my view of you. Unlike anyone else in your life, I see you as you show up in front of me – not as your job title or as a parent, child or someone I’ve known for years. I see you as you are and as who you could be. Then I hold up a mirror to you so you can see you too.
- Individual solutions: coaching is not one-size-fits-all. I don’t impose solutions. Instead, I appreciate the uniqueness of each person and know that everyone has a different mix of beliefs, conditioning, needs, strengths, values, wants etc. As a coach I help you understand yourself: what motivates you, what holds you back, what excites you, what gives you purpose.
- Listening: coaches know how to listen. When was the last time you were really listened to, without interruption, so that you could hear yourself think? There’s a reason for asking: “How Do I Know What I’m Thinking Until I’ve Heard Myself Speak?”. It’s not the same as talking to yourself when you’re driving or out for a walk. Neuroscience has found that having attention from another human floods the brain with chemicals that improve your thinking and reduce stress.
- Questioning: I will ask you questions – sometimes tricky ones – to help you find the solutions or goals that are right for you and your blend of attributes and traits. And then you (not I) will find solutions that are right for you. Coaching is like having a bespoke suit that only fits you!
- You: you pay for my time, expertise and ability to partner you in your thinking. We don’t have to take turns in a conversation – you can just indulge in pure “me time” and I may not speak much. When was the last time you weren’t interrupted and thrown off your train of thought?
- Yourself: perhaps for the first time in your life you can be entirely yourself. You can let go of trying to be perfect, people-pleasing, or other habits you have acquired. I create an adult-to-adult relationship in which you will learn that ‘being perfect’ doesn’t exist and also isn’t necessary. Instead, you will learn to accept and even celebrate your minor flaws! What’s wrong with being idiosyncratic? You will learn self-awareness and self-management skills that last.
- Effectiveness: behind every successful sportsperson is a coach. Behind many successful business persons there is a coach. Behind many successful individuals there is a coach. High achievers know they can’t do it all on their own. And there’s nothing wrong in accepting that you can often do more or better with support.
10 Reasons to have a Personal Coach
How can my coaching help your career, anyway?
How can my coaching help your career, anyway?
A version of this blog appeared here on 19th May 2023.
Coaching is widely recognized as an effective development tool for people in (or aspiring to) leadership and other senior roles.
Studies and anecdotal evidence have demonstrated the positive impact of coaching on personal growth, leadership skills, and organizational outcomes.
I’ve seen the effects that my coaching has had on individuals whose career and professional trajectories have gained velocity and resulted in promotion but also in them being more at ease.
But coaching can be a bit vague too. It’s difficult to categorise because it’s subjective and often lacks clearly defined parameters. It’s a case of “You’ll know it when you see it”.
So, to put some flesh on the bone of what coaching involves, here are some (not all) areas in which my coaching could help and support you:
- Improved Leadership Skills: much coaching focuses on developing leadership capabilities, enhancing self-awareness, and refining management skills. It provides a confidential and supportive environment for you to explore your strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots. Through feedback, goal-setting, and action planning, my coaching helps you improve your decision-making, communication, strategic thinking, and interpersonal skills.
- Enhanced Performance: coaching is also designed to drive performance improvement. By identifying and addressing specific developmental needs and challenges, I work with you to identify barriers, overcome obstacles, and leverage their strengths. Through accountability (not as your friend) and ongoing support, coaching help you align your actions with organisational goals, enhance productivity, and achieve better results.
- Increased Self-Awareness: one of the benefits of my coaching is facilitating self-reflection and increased self-awareness. I help you understand your leadership style, values, and impact on others. Your increased self-awareness allows you to identify and modify behaviours that may be hindering you. By gaining a deeper understanding of your strengths and areas for improvement, you can make more informed decisions.
- Effective Change Management: you will, at some time, face challenging organisational changes. Coaching provides valuable support during these transitions. I can help you develop change management strategies, navigate resistance, and maintain focus and resilience in the middle of uncertainty. By providing a confidential and non-judgmental space, I help you process emotions, develop new perspectives to let you lead others through change.
- Long-lasting Impact: unlike training programs that provide short-term knowledge transfer, coaching offers a personalized and ongoing development process. Through regular (usually twice monthly for 45-60 minutes) sessions, feedback, and action-oriented assignments, coaching fosters sustainable growth and behaviour change. You can then apply your new skills, perspectives and habits both at work and at home, leading to lasting improvements in your performance and promotion and wellbeing.
- Return on Investment (ROI): studies have demonstrated the positive ROI of coaching. People and organisations that invest in coaching experience benefits such as increased engagement, improved relationships, higher retention rates, and better financial performance. The personal nature of coaching allows it to address specific developmental needs.
And the good thing is this: what you learn (assuming you’re willing) by being coached is something you can also apply in the rest of your life too; coaching isn’t only a business tool.
What is a Business Growth System
How do I grow my business?
What is a Business Growth System?
You grow your business by having a Business Growth System in place.
A business growth system involves developing a series of business-related habits that create a methodology. This then generates more profit, which in turn not only brings your business more money, but also gives you more time to focus on those parts of your business that interest you most, as well as more leisure time when you can dispose of that money or do other things.
There are four (or five if you think long-term) elements to a business growth system. They’re called (1) Find Your Gap;(2) Do The Basics; (3) Define Your Message; (4) Know Your Numbers; and (5) Consolidation. Each element has several sub-elements that need to be methodically address if the synergy of all five elements are to result in the overall benefits mentioned earlier. Each of them comprises a separate part of the Coaching for Businesses program offered by WynLewisCoaching.
- Find your Gap: is where we start to understand:
- you and your business;
- where you want to get to;
- where you are now;
- the difference between here and there (this is your Gap);
- what you need (financially, personally, practically and in other ways) to bridge your Gap
- a clear goal;
- a sense check of your goal (is it even possible?)
- Do The Basics: this is where we establish the basic requirements of a successful business:
- as the business owner, it’s your responsibility (nobody else’s) to get and keep more clients/customers;
- if you don’t get and keep customers, your business will fail;
- most business owners don’t understand the direct link between:
- rhythmic business growth activity; and
- the rhythmic acquisition of clients/customers as a result;
- being reactive on an “everything will work out fine” basis isn’t enough;
- haphazard “spray and pray” marketing, with no follow-up, doesn’t work;
- to become a (more) professional business person you have to:
- introduce, develop, monitor, refine and leverage systems that result in leads, prospects and clients/customers;
- know your numbers (how much does it cost you to get a client/customer? what is the lifetime value of a customer? what are your margins? what work is most profitable?)
- you have to act and think like an investor with a plan to exit your business a few years’ time.
- the basic requirements for a successful business include:
- a marketing assets audit;
- activating Google Business;
- following up clients/customers;
- re-marketing;
- price review;
- getting reviews;
- publishing content in social media and other places; and
- having arrangements that capture enquiries.
Once you have the basics, all you need to do then is monitor and refine them every so often. But getting the basics in place is often overlooked.
- Define Your Message: this is where we focus on marketing your products or services so that you:
- understand your ideal buyer;
- present your business in a way that makes it memorable and needed;
- explain what your business does;
- think like a potential client/customer – why should they care about your personal circumstances – your product is more important than you are;
- establish your business as the place to go for your product or service;
- create an offer that a potential client/customer would be silly to resist;
- assess and work out the most effective marketing;
- follow up
- don’t focus on selling – focus instead on others buying.
Marketing and messaging don’t have to be “sales-y”. All that it involves is supplying information to people who are already looking to buy something. They key point is to do this in a targeted way. Then do it again. And again. And again. That then creates a rhythm, which creates a habit, which makes marketing easier, which results in business growth.
- Know Your Numbers: this is when we identify, understand and know how to manipulate your management financial data: it’s Business Maths…. The reason it’s important is that:
- most small business live from week to week / month to month / year to year and then send their data to their accountants to get their annual accounts done. But they (i.e. your accountants) only process your data – they don’t understand how your business works;
- many small businesses are OK if there is enough money in current account to pay for overheads, remuneration, tax and some contingencies;
- and most small businesses have no idea of the numbers that would let those businesses flourish and profit, such as:
- how much money did you make in the last 12 months?
- how many clients/customers/sales did you add this year?
- how much does it cost you to get a new client/customer/sale?
- how much is your average client/customer/sale worth to you?
- what is your most profitable work (i.e. which takes you least time and effort to produce the highest profit)?
- which bit of what you do or provide creates the most profit for the least effort?
There are also 12 key numbers you need to know. These are:
- your leads;
- your lead conversion rate;
- your prospects
- your prospects conversion rate;
- your sales;
- your average order value;
- your total revenue;
- your gross margin;
- your gross profit;
- your overheads;
- your remuneration; and
- your net profit.
These numbers let you know how much money you need to spend to make more profit and how effective is that to bridge your Gap. The extent to which you know these numbers will determine whether you focus on “busy-ness” or whether you are a business person. You need to know your numbers. If you don’t know the score, you won’t know your status.
- Consolidation: this is when we accept that business growth isn’t something that can be done once and then forgotten about. Instead, it’s an ongoing process that needs to be developed and refined and, sometimes, changed entirely. It has three stages:
- Stage 1: involves putting everything in place so that you know more about your business and can manage it better. This is what the first four stages are all about:
- Stage 2: involves improving, refining and generally polishing what you now have in place, so that (part of) your business can run itself; this then leaves you free to focus on other things; and lets you build (not create) your business: optimisation.
- Stage 3: is what happens when you have stabilised and maximised. It’s when you can expand your reach, your client/customer base, your products/services:
Everything that’s mentioned above is part of a system, rather than a series of one-of activities. Each activity builds on and/or is related to other activities to build and benefit from the system. It’s having a system that result in someone owning a business, rather than owning a job.
What is a Business Growth System
Independent Thinking, Noel Coward, Leadership and Promotion: what's the connection?
Independent Thinking, Noel Coward, Leadership and Promotion: what's the connection?
A version of this blog appeared here on 12th May 2023.
This week, as a post-6th May 2023 Coronation diversion, I went to the theatre to see Noël Coward’s play Private Lives. I’d seen it several times before in the context of it being a 1930s romantic comedy, but with a twist.
This time, the twist was darker than in previous versions and made me think of how the protagonists needed the support of a coach (not that there was any such concept when the play was written in 1930) to facilitate independent thinking that might have avoided the protagonists’ repeated mistakes and addictive violence.
The foundation of the play is the co-dependency between Amanda and Elyot, who are divorced (from each other) and married (each to someone else) but also can’t live without each other (despite their constant bickering and physical fighting) so run off with each other, leaving their actual spouses high and dry.
A version of that sort of relationship can occur at work.
It happens when you respect or want to learn from someone who is a colleague or line manager, but are frustrated when you can’t put your finger on why you don’t trust them entirely (which can be mutual) but each of you needs the other to get through the day to fulfil your work and progress your career.
This lack of mutual understanding can be wilful, or just the result of not being aware of your environment (or of each vying for attention for promotion) and means you end up sabotaging each other or being mutually unsupportive and raising or even raising grievances arising out of passive-aggressive acts.
So nobody wins.
[Enter Coaching, stage left…]. Coaching can be an effective tool:
- to help you develop the skills and mindset necessary to stand back, observe and be more independent (particularly in situations of co-dependency) and manage a relationship better;
- to help you learn to recognise your own needs and take responsibility for meeting them (rather than relying on others to do so) and how to “read” others in a way that puts them in context, which can be less challenging for you and mutually beneficial for both of you (and everyone else);
- to build self-awareness, set clear goals and develop the confidence and skills necessary to achieve those goals. By doing so, you can be more self-reliant and less reliant on others, breaking free from co-dependency patterns. Your leadership skills also improve.
Having these skills means your colleagues should become easier to deal with when they recognise your self-confidence and open-ness as being mutually beneficial, rather than as no more than a competitive or obstructive trait.
In the context of “Private Lives,” coaching could have helped Amanda and Elyot recognize their own individual needs and desires and how to satisfy them, rather than relying on each other to try (and fail) to meet them.
Through coaching, they could also have learned to communicate effectively, set boundaries, and take responsibility for their own happiness, rather than expect the other person to fulfil or reflect their needs.
And they could have developed a mindset to maintain their independence within a relationship, by balancing their own needs with the needs of their partner, communicating effectively, and setting healthy boundaries.
The same concepts can be applied (and the same benefits can be achieved) in the workplace. The reason is that business relationships often fail due exactly to a failure to be independent enough to “say what you mean” but say it in a context where the purpose is to pursue a mutually beneficial corporate or personal goal.
I can work with you to get you to think independently and improve your life and career and improve your leadership skills (and your own Private Lives) or promotion.
What is a Business Growth System
Juggling holidays and work: 10 coaching nuggets
Juggling holidays and work: 10 coaching nuggets
A version of this blog appeared here on 17th May 2023.
In April 2023 there were numerous articles written by employment lawyers and HR professionals about whether you had the right not to work on the additional holiday that was declared for Monday 8th May 2023 to mark the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday 6th May 2023 (created by Royal Proclamation as permitted by the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971).
The consensus was that there was no particular right to take 8th May 2023 as holiday unless there was an entitlement in your contract to take any public holidays that arise. However, any employer who ran the “you’re expected at work on Monday 8th May 2023” argument would have been brave to do so unilaterally without risking serious damage to employee relations.
Technically, taking a holiday on a declared public holiday (or at any time) isn’t compulsory if your office is physically open (but check your contract). But if you do work on a holiday, then you’re in a large group (apparently data shows that most UK professional don’t use their full contractual holiday entitlement anyway).
But is working on a public or other holiday intrinsically bad? Or can it actually enhance your career? It’s a topic that often comes up as part of career coaching.
Here are 5 career benefits that can come from working on a holiday:
- Financial gain: you can sometimes earn premium rates and generate additional fees to boost your income directly, or create additional output to influence a results-based bonus.
- Work ethic: you demonstrate a commitment and willingness to work in a way that makes you feel good, enhances your reputation and leads to opportunities for growth and advancement within your organisation.
- Networking opportunities: you have opportunities to connect with colleagues or clients who are also working. This can be a chance to build new relationships and expand your professional network.
- Flexibility: you may have greater flexibility and leverage in terms of scheduling time off in the future for a personal event or a holiday that might be longer than normally permitted.
- Experience: you can get new skills and experience by not being interrupted when learning something new, or by doing things that might normally be done by others, which can help with your professional development.
While there can be benefits to working on a holiday, it’s also important to prioritize your own needs and well-being. If you’re feeling burnt out or overwhelmed, then taking a break and prioritizing your own self-care may ultimately be more beneficial to your career in the long run.
Here are 5 career disadvantages that can come from working on a holiday:
- Work-life balance: you sacrifice time with friends and family. This can be challenging if you have young children or other personal obligations or interests you need to balance with your job.
- Burnout: if you’re already overworked or stressed, you can exacerbate these feelings and increase the risk of burnout. This can have negative effects on your mental and physical health and performance.
- Reduced productivity: you may be less productive than usual due to distractions or interruptions when you’re tired from over-working. This can ultimately impact your job performance and reputation.
- Missed opportunities for rest and rejuvenation: if you’re constantly working, you may miss out on the chance to recharge your batteries and come back to work feeling refreshed.
- Legal restrictions: there may be legal restrictions; failing to comply with these regulations could result in adverse legal or financial consequences.
So think carefully: most employers and organisations care less for their staff than the staff care about those employers and organisations.
Ultimately, the decision to work on a holiday depends on your individual circumstances and priorities. It’s important to weigh the potential benefits and disadvantages and make a decision that is in line with your personal and professional goals.
Coaching gives you the opportunity to talk through and test your work ethic in relation to your career and how your work fits in with the other features of your life. Your approach will definitely change as your career progresses and as your preferences and life change.
The overall benefit of coaching, however, is that you will get into the habit of thinking and planning your position in a way is that gives you more control over your career.
What is a Business Growth System
Promotion, King Charles III and Coaching
Promotion, King Charles III and Promotion
A version of this blog was first published here on 6th May 2023.
Are you waiting for a promotion?
This coming Saturday, 6th May 2023, millions of people will be following the coronation of King Charles III after many years of him being Prince of Wales.
HM’s role as monarch will be regarded by many as no more than an automatic next step after waiting in the wings for some time – much like an understudy in a play.
But the success of (rather than just acceding to) HM’s new role will depend on how much (and how well) he will have been performing at monarch level before actually having that status.
This is what a successful promotion is all about: already acting up at your next level before getting the title.
But you’re not royalty.
Instead, you work (perhaps as an executive, perhaps as a solicitor) in a commercial context where promotion isn’t guaranteed and must be earned.
In the best organisations, this means you must already be behaving, performing and thinking at the next level up.
If you’re doing that, then your new role will be easier to cope with than if you’re parachuted in. This is:
- partly because you’ll already know what you’re doing (the technical part)
- partly because your contemporaries – who now report to you – will already respect your competencies (the leadership and politics part).
The problem is that many organisations don’t train people up in advance. Instead, they train people up retrospectively – if they train people at all – which makes post-promotion role more difficult than it should be.
So you have to do as much as you can yourself.
This means that there’s a huge incentive to get yourself ready and noticed for success in your next role (and the one after that) a long time before each role comes along: which means now.
It’s not enough just to wait in the wings until your time has come. Instead, it’s about knowing your words, the choreography and the dynamics at least as well as (and ideally better than) the person who’s currently centre-stage (and the person they report to) so that you are automatically next in line.
But what does this have to do with coaching and King Charles III? This is why:
- Coaching is a process of guiding and supporting you to get your promotion. A coach will help you to identify your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement, and then develop a plan to help you achieve that goal. As a result, through coaching, you develop valuable skills, receive constructive feedback, and gain the confidence, self-awareness and motivation to persist in the face of challenges. You’ll then be promotion-ready.
- Persistence means continuing to work towards promotion despite setbacks, obstacles, or failures. It’s a key ingredient in achieving success, as it allows you to stay focused and committed to your objectives, even in the face of adversity. With persistence, you can overcome obstacles, learn from your mistakes, and eventually achieve your desired outcomes. Again, it makes you promotion-ready.
- King Charles III is (some might say) an example of persistence in the face of adversity. He has faced and faces numerous challenges and obstacles as he takes the throne, including political and public commentary, family drama, personal convictions that have to be subsumed, as well as (presumably – we all have them) personal doubts. Despite these difficulties, he persists in his vision for a better kingdom and ultimately success in his reign. Being promotion-read requires this sort of vision.
Each of coaching, persistence, and King Charles III demonstrate the importance of perseverance and determination in achieving success in personal development, professional growth, or leadership. They make all the difference in reaching your goal and getting promoted.
So: are you promotion-ready?
Well done if you are.
If you’re not, I can help you.
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The Solicitor's Roadmap
The Solicitor's Roadmap
A version of this blog was first published here on 28th July 2022.
Dorothy Gale followed the Yellow Brick Road…
… and, although challenged and exhilarated by several diversions in Munchkinland, was ostensibly disappointed by what she encountered on reaching the Emerald City: a charlatan wizard.
There are, of course, other analyses of The Wizard of Oz, one of the most well-known of which, attributed to Mr. Rick Polito, is this:
- “Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again.”
But there’s more to the film than this…
… although you may well be wondering, given the title to this Article, what any of this has to do with planning and controlling your career as a solicitor.
I’ll explain.
There are at least three elements you have to think about in the context of your career:
- the first is that, whatever stage of your own (yellow brick road) career path you’re on, you’ll be wondering (and if you’re not, you should be) how things will progress – both next and eventually;
- the second is that, if you don’t go beyond wondering and, instead, consciously assess where you are and where you want to get to and then take steps to control how you get there, you’ll end up somewhere else – which may be suboptimal;
- the third is that, at every stage of your own (yellow brick road) career path, you have to make strategic decisions, but wonder if you have the resources, the support and the time to do so (or, even worse, you drift along without making any decisions at all).
This is where two rarely-remembered features of The Wizard of Oz are relevant:
- the first is when the Wizard gives each of the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man a token that symbolizes the qualities they thought they wanted, but didn’t realise they always had: courage, intellect and passion respectively.
So perhaps the Wizard wasn’t a charlatan at all, but was an early-day career or life coach.
- The second is that, in contrast, Dorothy herself was consistent and persistent about her goal: getting to the Emerald City, which is a goal she achieved.
But even she had the benefit of being guided by the good witch, Glinda.
Career coaching involves applying the principles of The Wizard of Oz to your career as a solicitor:
- me being a bit like Glinda: not directing you, but listening, observing, questioning, suggesting, summarising and supporting you;
- you being a bit like Dorothy: taking time to ask yourself where you are, where you want to get to, how you can do that, what resources you already have, what resources you need and not being distracted from your goal by the intermediate demands of others.
I have three programs that form the framework for solicitors at different stages of their careers: the Uncertain Solicitor; the Rising Star Solicitor; and the v2.0 Solicitor. One of those will apply to you.
The benefit to you of recognising that you’re at one of those stages and then working out what to do next is that, later on, you can choose what you do on your terms, rather than on someone else’s terms.
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What can I be coached on?
What can I be coached on?
The range of coaching topics is limitless. You can be coached on whatever you want to think about.
It can be something that’s bothering you (or your employer). Or it can be something that excites you (or your employer).
There is no video that accompanies this Answer, but you’ll see below the aspirations, concerns, hopes, ideas, issues and thoughts about actual and potential coaching topics:
- Accountability | acting up | alternatives | ambition | anxiety | authority | autonomy
- Board membership responsibilities | business development | business growth
- Career guidance | career management | change | clarity | client relationships | coaching | colleague relationships | confidence | conflicts | CVs
- Decision-making | delegating | diary management | difficult conversations | difficult people | director duties | doing, not talking
- Employed to self-employed status | being an expert
- Female executives | first 100 days in a role | fitting in | flexible working | friends and family | future-proofing
- Goals | grief | groups
- Home v. office-based working | hot-desking
- Impact | independence | interviews | interview practice | interview skills
- Job-related issues | job-hunting | juggling work with everything else
- Kindness
- Leadership | leadership styles | leadership trends | liking yourself | listening
- Managing yourself | managing colleagues | making a difference | marketing | maternity | mentoring | mergers | messaging | metrics
- Negotiating | networking | new colleagues | new job (first 100 days( | new job (your predecessor) | new business owner
- Onboarding | organisational issues | outplacement
- Perfectionism | personal development | power | power politics | presentation skills | procrastination | productivity | promotion
- Questioning | quitting
- Recognition | redundancy | relationships | responsibility | resilience | retirement | returning to work
- Self-employment | shyness | stepping up | stuck in a rut | stuckness | succession planning | systems
- Team members | team-working | terms and conditions | thinking time | time management
- Uncertainty | understanding – not just responding
- Values | visualising | VUCA world
- Wellbeing | what could be | work-life balance
- Xyrophobia | other things beginning with an x
- You – and what that means
- Zooming-in techniques | Zone of Deference behaviour | Gen-Z
One, at least, of the coaching topics mentioned above is theoretical, rather than one I’ve actually coached on. See if you can guess which one it is.
What gets you promoted? Politics or Competence? Is it different for women?
What gets you promoted? Politics or Competence? Is it different for women?
A version of the article appeared here on 31st May 2023.
Last Monday, 29th May 2023, I went to see Peter Morgan’s play, “Patriots”. In its simplest form, it’s about how the post-Soviet and post-perestroika Russian business oligarchs elbowed (or worse) their way to quasi-political money-based power within Russia, but without realising that actual-political power isn’t necessarily money-based, but lay elsewhere. The triumph of their misplaced love and misplaced perception of the power of money (over the values of a state that operates for the benefit of its people) naively allowed autocracy in through the back door. The lesson is that politics can lead to advancement and promotion, but not being alert to the moving parts in a quasi- or actual political environment can lead to your own downfall and the success of others.
In parallel, I’m reading a book called “The Politics of Promotion: How High-achieving Women Get Ahead and Stay Ahead” by Bonnie Marcus. The premise is that, when it comes to women in the workplace, promotion is often a direct result of politics (she cites the men who work only 80% as hard as women, but then spend 20% of their time talking to others about how good they are and get promoted over equally-as-good or more competent women anyway) not ability or qualifications. The lesson (again) is that politics can lead to advancement and promotion, but that not being aware of the choreography of workplace politics can lead to you being side-lined or left behind, while others get promoted beyond their own levels of competence.
The intersection of this type of politics – by which I mean an awareness of relationships within the workplace, rather than a belief system – and its effects at work then led me to speculate on two questions you might ask yourself, plus one affirmation with which you need to be comfortable, if you want to progress your career with velocity (i.e. speed, but also with direction):
These are the two questions:
- “What are the dynamics and relationships between (i.e. the politics relating to) the people I work with and for (and between them and me) and how can I work with and within those relationships (i.e. their political relationships to me) to get, and then stay, ahead?”
- “Where would I be today if I had previously been more politically aware and tuned in to the way decisions are made; and what are the future opportunities and possibilities for me if have the tools and learn how to navigate those workplace politics?”
This is the affirmation:
- Although the usual approach to “politics at work” is negative and that “politics” is a dirty word, being political doesn’t mean I have to be a sly with no integrity; if I change the label from “politics” to “observing and leveraging relationships at work” I’ll feel more comfortable and much less inhibited.
There are, of course, different stages of being politically conscious at work. You need to be aware of what those stages are, as well as where you sit on the awareness scale. Coaching can help with these stages:
- Stage 1: is when you’re a grinder and are oblivious to the politics. Essentially, you’re a gofer.
- Stage 2: is when you’re still grinding, but you have an awareness of who are the movers and shakers within your organisation. Essentially, you’re conscious (barely, but waking up).
- Stage 3: is when you’re still focused on working but may have grinders working for you and you start to build up your network and personal brand in a way that makes others aware of you and what you’ve done and are doing. Essentially, you’re working the room.
- Stage 4: is when you’re still focused on working, but people know when you’ve entered the room and are looking to you for advice and leadership (because you continue to tell people what you’ve done and are doing). Essentially, you’re working the politics.
In this context there’s a fair amount of theory about the different approaches to promotion between men and women. It’s complicated, but one theory is that girls are taught to equate success with achievement (so women expect to be noticed and rewarded at work because of competence) whereas boys are taught to equate success by winning (so men expect and demand to be rewarded at work because of shouting loudest about what they’ve done, even though it may be less good). I suspect there may be some knowing nods relating to this scenario…
Whatever may be the gender-based difference (and clearly it’s much less binary than is written here) there are tools that can be used by everyone in a way that ought not to cause even the most self-effacing person to blush by being “political”. Here are eight of them:
- Self-evaluation: you need to know your value to others. This involves thinking about the things you’ve learned and know from all aspects of your life (not just at work) and how these synergise to make you worth more at work than you think you are.
- Self-promotion: you need to work on how to communicate your value to others in a way that resonates with them (and will make them look good too because you align your values with their goals) so they will want to work with you and advocate you to others.
- Self-reviewing: remember that if you don’t have a clear idea of where you want to be (i.e. your goals, both short- and long-term) you might end up somewhere else, which could be suboptimal. So review your goals every few months to see how things are shaping up.
- Self-improvement: being ahead of the pack is always helpful. Stay updated with the latest trends and advances in your field; take advantage of training programs, workshops, conferences, or online courses to enhance your skills and knowledge; and seek out opportunities to develop both technical and soft skills relevant to the promotion you want.
- Self-knowledge: actively seek feedback from colleagues, mentors, line managers or supervisors. By doing this you understand your strengths and areas for improvement, and work on addressing any identified weaknesses or areas for improvement or different behaviour.
- Networking and alliances: you need to build relationships and form alliances with influential individuals. Being well-connected within an organisation provides access to opportunities and increases visibility simple because others know of you and what you do.
- Strategy: remember that networking isn’t just about knowing more people. It involves getting to know people who can help you in different ways – people who can (for example) advise, challenge, criticise, introduce, mentor, support, tell-it-like-it-is and spread the word about you.
- Knowledge of Process: understand the promotion process and familiarise yourself with the criteria, timelines, and requirements within your organisation. If in doubt, get clear on (and talk to someone about) what’s expected. Tailor your efforts and focus on those requirements.
All these tools are capable of being regarded as political. But all of them are equally capable of being regarded as no more than sensible strategic steps towards self-improvement that have the side-effect of promotion. Working through all of them is, however, tricky.
This is where coaching comes into play. I can work with you to get you to become so familiar with these tools that you use them automatically on your way to getting promoted. Look at my services here or book a free no-obligation Teams chat here or call me on 077 7088 3207 instead.