Coaching Archives - Page 8 of 25

What is influence?

Most people think influence comes with power, authority, experience, and position. It is true that these factors may affect your influence, but I have found they are not the most relevant. INFLUENCE IS ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION. Communication is the very foundation of influence. However, when discussing the subject of communication the topic of influence rarely comes up. The impact of communication on influence becomes even more significant when one considers we can not communicate. Virtually everything we do professionally and personally communicates a message and therefore IMPACTS (positively or negatively) our ability to INFLUENCE others. Authors Boone and Kurtz in Contemporary Business estimate that leaders, “spend about 80% of their time (6 hours and 24 minutes) of every eight-hour day in direct [...]

By Bob Fashano|2022-01-22T15:56:40+00:00December 22nd, 2021|Coaching|0 Comments

Is it the message or the delivery?

What I know to be true is people are influenced by what you say, and how you make them feel. If your message and delivery are in sync, others will perceive you as trustworthy, credible, sincere and authentic. When your words match the way you behave, how you look and how you sound, your communication is the total package. What your listeners hear, see and feel is in harmony, consistency builds trust, which in turn builds influence. In reading Professor Albert Mehrabian’s work on communication, he states the following “When communication is unclear, when the message and the delivery are inconsistent, we pay more attention to nonverbal cues to interpret the meaning.” Here are two examples: when a customer service [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-12-21T20:53:25+00:00December 15th, 2021|Coaching|0 Comments

Mining for gold.

Andrew Carnegie was an excellent businessman, leader, and coach. He came to America from his native Scotland as a small boy. He did a variety of small jobs, and eventually ended up at the largest steel manufacturer in the United States. At one time he was the wealthiest man in America, and he became a great philanthropist. At one point during his career, he had 43 millionaires working for him. In the late 1800s, a millionaire was a rare breed. A reporter once asked Carnegie how he managed to hire 43 millionaires, with which Carnegie replied, “They were not millionaires when I hired them.” The reporter’s follow-up question was a simple, yet provoking one, “How did you develop them to be [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-11-23T19:10:51+00:00November 24th, 2021|Coaching, Development, Leadership|0 Comments

Get serious about feedback and positive reinforcement.

One of the many lessons I have learned about encouraging performance is this: if you are serious about getting better results, you must deliver feedback on performance quickly, honestly, and consistently. Nobody likes to live in the gray area. People will not grow when they live in gray. As a leader, our job is to observe, analyze, and deliver fast feedback. Spending time with the troops in the trenches and observing and listening to them will prepare you for your feedback delivery. Always be prepared and ready to give positive reinforcement. Give it quickly -- that way it maintains its punch. Don't worry about giving too much positive reinforcement. I've never heard someone tell their leader, "Hey Boss, you reinforce me too [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-11-23T19:09:59+00:00November 17th, 2021|Coaching, Development, Leadership|0 Comments

Developing your internal elevator speech.

There is no question that everyone in your company should know the importance of building deep, authentic customer connections. There's a delicate balance between messaging financials, metrics, dashboards, and the customer experience. If you're spending too much time on the business, and not enough time on the experience, danger may loom. My recommendation is to develop an "elevator speech" for everyone in the company to make sure they get it. To develop the speech, ask yourself the following questions: Where are we going? Paint an inspiring vision that includes the ideal relationship with the customer. Write it from the customer’s point of view. What do you do that matters to them? Why are we going there? It has to be [...]

By Bob Fashano|2021-10-13T12:09:10+00:00October 13th, 2021|Coaching, Leadership|0 Comments