Action Coach Portsmouth

Action Coach Portsmouth

Chloe Smith

Understanding the rules of the game

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Entrepreneurs, owners of large businesses, executives within corporate entities and management within any market sector or industry all have something in common. To stay at the top of their game, they must understand the rules of the game. It really doesn’t matter who you are, or what you’re providing, the rules your team live by are key to achieving the best results.

Setting the rules

Employees need to understand the cultural rules laid down within your business – otherwise they’ll create their own which may not always have the company’s best interests at heart.

The process of setting your individual rules of the game will include morals, ethics, values, as well as ensuring that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined and understood.

What rules do your team live by?

How do you make sure that new team members align with your existing team? As coaches we firmly believe that a successful team is never built on chance. It’s built on mutual trust, respect, and an understanding of behaviours and consequences.

For instance, one of the rules could be that we never lie. We’re honest, open, transparent and if we do happen to make a mistake, we own up to it and put it right. We’re human and we all make mistakes. The most important rule of the game must be taking ownership and dealing with our mistakes, being accountable.

However, sometimes a member of your team may act outside of the set boundaries for a genuine reason – when they have the best interest of the company at heart.

Aligning your team

To ensure your team are geared up for success, they’ll need to follow a process of getting to know each other and building trust. Building trust means all your team gain confidence. They know their voice can be heard, they know their opinion matters and they are committed to their accountability. This in turn generates a desire to achieve and succeed.

Your challenge

My challenge to you is to think about the rules you want within your business. How do you expect your team to behave and how are you going to ensure their vision is aligned? If your ultimate aim is trusting them to make the correct decisions, how do you set about putting relevant processes in place?

Creating ground rules takes time and commitment. Your team needs to know how to work together to raise its performance and deliver results.

If you need any help or advice in setting your rules and aligning your team to work together, we’d love to happy to help. Get in touch or call us on 02392 454 111 if you’d like us to help you achieve your goals.

Smaller goals to bigger milestones

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Our vision, our dreams and our long-term plans and ideas are the big milestones in both our business and our lives, but how do we achieve them?

Setting smaller, specific goals, also known as stepping stones, enables you to measure your progress. You can visualise what you need to do without becoming distracted and going off course. Today we’re going to look at a vital concept – using these stepping stones to achieve bigger milestones.

A clearly defined journey

Think about how a young child learns to develop vocabulary and communicate effectively. Those initial meaningless babbles soon turn into words, sentences, and then recognisable speech. It’s a process of taking one step at a time and building on what’s been achieved. They’re the stepping stones towards the end goal.

What are your stepping stones?

To discover your small stepping stones you have to understand your goal. Your stepping stones are the small things which enable you to get there.

Think about your 12 month goals. Where do you want to be in a year’s time? Then consider how you’re going to achieve it. Think about the time and resources you have. How many hours will you need to work? How many team members will you have? As you become busier in your organisation will you need to recruit more team members? Do you have an effective plan in place for doing this?

Personal stepping stones

Your personal stepping stones can also be included in your business ones. After all, your business is your driver, getting you to where you want to be and delivering all you want. And this is a great way to connect your business and personal life.

Here you need to think about what you would like to achieve next year. A new home, going on holiday, time off work etc. What are the small milestones that will allow you to reach your dreams? What’s currently standing between you and your dreams? We encourage you to take time to sit down, define your milestones and the steps you’ll take to reach them, and then tick them off as you go.

The next 12 months

Earlier we mentioned thinking about the next 12 months; where you’d ideally like to be and the steps to get there.

It’s important to realise that while you may not achieve everything you wish – outside influences can get in your way – you’re certainly not a failure. Be proactive and think about it from the perspective of being well on the way to getting there. Your stepping stones are in place and you’re progressing along the journey.

We’d love to help you understand your own personal stepping stones to achieving those milestones. Get in touch or call us on 02392 454 111 if you need any help, advice or support.

International Women’s Day 2022

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“Why don’t we talk about how we support women throughout the year, not just on International Women’s Day?” was a conversation in our office last week. And they’re right. We should be shouting about how we as a firm are inclusive, flexible and celebratory towards EVERYONE in our team; men and women alike.

It’s easy to make this comment too as we do genuinely support our women in the workplace every day. We live and breathe inclusivity and flexibility, so this isn’t a way for us to jump on the International Women’s Day bandwagon as some may think, and indeed do. I’ll tell you how in just a minute.

And it’s probably good for me to clarify that this is being written by me – a woman. A woman who was asked what days and hours would suit ME when I was offered the role as Marketing Executive. A woman who asked for a certain salary and was offered more. A woman who was told I could go on any training course that helped me upskill, to keep getting better at my job.

I felt included, important and valued before I even set foot into the role. And this has continued throughout my 6 months at ActionCOACH Portsmouth & Chichester.

Helping to #Breakthebias

This year’s theme for International Woman’s Day is Break the Bias.

Comparable to how empowered I feel in my role, when I talk about my part time role to friends, family and connections, I still find myself explaining that “just because I’m part time doesn’t mean I’m part committed. I’d have the same level of commitment whether I was 3 or 5 days a week”.

And this is the problem. There is a stigma surrounding part time mums. A stigma that you’re less committed, work is less of a priority. For me this should be celebrated. The fact I am able to juggle being a mum and work a fast paced, pressured role equally is a good thing. It means I can prioritise, balance, multi-task, demonstrate patience…the list goes on.

Being a mum who wants to spend time with my young child doesn’t make me less driven, less of a team player or less committed to my career.

Whether people are making assumptions that I’m less committed just because I’m part time or whether I’m making those assumptions for them, I need to stop. I too need to break the bias and not inadvertently apologise for being part time.

Equality in our workplace

It’s important to highlight some of the way our firm supports women in the workplace:

• We have a 50/50 ratio of women and men in the office
• Team members are remunerated based on their skills, not gender
• Women are treated as professionals
• We are ALL encouraged to speak up and our opinions are considered

How leadership is driving inclusivity

I asked one of our leaders, Steve, to tell me how he is breaking the bias. He told me: “one of the common challenges as a business owner is finding the right talent.

“One of the best ways we find to recruit and retain GREAT talent is to give flexibility. By recruiting women who are returning to work after starting a family, whilst giving them the flexibility to fit this round their family is a great way to find the best people.

“Making the work environment one where they can thrive in their careers whilst maintaining a healthy balance with a family is key. It opens you up as an owner to a great talent pool who will help take your business from strength to strength.”

How you can play your part as a business owner

Diversity, inclusion and equity has come a long way but there is still work to do. As a business owner, here are some things you can do to promote equality and inclusivity in your workplace:

• Hire people based on their skills, not gender
• Give women the opportunity to train and progress their careers
• Empower employees to express themselves and speak up
• Give employees multiple ways to give feedback
• Identify and change any unconscious bias

Northface Connections Ltd’s journey

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Hearing about someone’s coaching journey is invaluable. Everyone has a story. A story of when they decided that something needed to change and why they chose to invest in a business coach.

And we can keep telling you the reasons why investing in a business coach can change your life, but we know hearing someone’s first-hand experience can mean so much more.

So, we’ve asked our clients to tell you their journey into coaching with us and the impact its had on not only their business, but their personal lives too.

Read Kelly’s from Northface Connection’s Ltd coaching story…

When did you decide you wanted a business coach?

As a business, we seemed to go in 3 year cycles; two good years then a bad. We were in the worst of the bad and a big contract we were banking on didn’t happen, we literally had no work for our engineers. We really were on the edge. It could have ended, and that would have been a shame after over 20 years in business, so I was looking for anything to help. One last try so to speak. By chance I saw an advert for a ‘5 Ways’ event and registered….but I was sceptical.

Why did you choose to work with us?

I sensed immediately in the 5 Ways event and afterwards in my meeting with Sarah that I was with someone who could help. I was worried by the cost of working with a coach at first but Sarah coached me on our price strategy, gross margin and profit (I was and still can be terrible with numbers, she will kill me for saying that!). I took the leap of faith in 2018 and never looked back.

What impact has business coaching had on your business, and your life?

Massive! When we started, we were in decline and the business turnover had dropped to around a quarter of what it used to be. Within a year we had over doubled turnover, won the business growth award and moved from a loss-making scenario to being healthy and back into 5-figure profit. It was such a rewarding feeling. I had really gained confidence as a leader

The year after I started coaching with Sarah, I took a holiday for the first time in ages…for 2 whole weeks! I DIDN’T take calls or answer emails. That had never happened before.

I get to spend more time with my kids and that is a huge shift. I also ENJOY working on the business and I don’t get the dreaded “Sunday Feeling” anymore…it’s exciting again!

For those who don’t know, tell us about your company

We are Northface Connections, a family business in every sense. We help businesses communicate – meaning connecting their teams through cabling, data and fibre – making sure businesses can operate and keep in touch. We are lucky enough to work nationally with major companies who rely on us to keep their business communications operational.

What is the next step for your business?

Four years ago I would not had an answer to this. Now I have confidence to say that Northface will grow at double digits for as long as we want it to. The tools and the support is there to make that happen. Working with Sarah has kept me on track, helped me see the company potential but helped me grow and see MY POTENTIAL. My mindset has changed massively, culture is so much better and we are a team again. I’m really ready and excited again about leading and running this business. I’m proud of what we have achieved.

Photograph of woman in grey jumper smiling at the camera in an office

If you are interested in achieving any of the above outcomes, we’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to give our team a call on 02392 454 111 or complete this form.

Diary planning and outcome-driven bookings

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Have you ever taken time to consider… well, time itself? It’s an unusual resource as once it’s gone, that’s it. You’ll never get it back. Time is your greatest asset – it’s important to use it wisely.

As action coaches we believe that one of the most effective ways to manage time is by diary planning and prioritising.

How well do you plan your diary?

If you take a casual look through the entries already in your work diary, can you honestly say they’re all important?

Let’s explain this further. What do you give priority to? If someone says they’d like to book a call with you, or they request a meeting, do you automatically allocate a mutually convenient time in your diary without giving it a second thought?

If so, at a later point when you’re looking to squeeze something else in, you’ll likely realise that your priorities are jumbled.

How should you plan your diary?

Your diary needs to work for you. Think about the things which actually lead to an outcome.

Instead of blindly scheduling endless calls and meetings, ask people what outcomes they’re seeking from it. This gives you a sense of purpose. You know why you’re going to invest your time in that phone call or meeting, and you have an idea of the result you’re aiming for. In other words, that’s an outcome-driven booking rather than perhaps just being a waste of your valuable time.

Creating your ideal diary

From experience, we’d recommend you start by listing the regular tasks you need to do and allocating sufficient time for them. You can then see how much time you have left over to think about the day-to-day things which may crop up.

Think about your personal working day. If you want to become really efficient over the next 90 days, how structured would your diary need to be? How would you need to plan your daily tasks so that everything’s taken care of by the end of each day? If you’re able to complete your day with all your allocated tasks taken care of, you’ll have a clearer mind for everything you need to do tomorrow, but also know exactly what your priorities are.

Remember those outcome-driven bookings

What are some of the things you should plan in your day-to-day tasks that make a difference to progress? Perhaps you could take time to update strategy or ensure staff are up to date with news. Could you review your competitors progress or catch up with a supplier or client to be aware of their needs and how you could help them.

Efficient diary planning is a great habit to get into. However, we totally understand that it’s not always possible to completely stick to your schedule. Things overrun, unforeseen eventualities occur and it’s important to accept it – life’s like that!

We’d be delighted to help you with your diary planning, understanding priorities and recognising outcome driven bookings.

Feel free to drop us a line on 02392 454 111 or get in touch if you’d like us to help you create a more effective diary that works for you.

Recruiting a successful team

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Recruiting the right people for your team is a vital skill. It’s also one of the most difficult things you’ll ever have to do.

Selecting the best candidate for a role means you’ll need to assess their industry knowledge and expertise whilst also considering their personal attitudes and values. To help you with this process, we’re going to discuss what makes a successful recruitment process.

Skills and expertise vs values and attitude

Take a look at current recruitment advertisements both in specialist industry publications and online. What do they mainly focus on?

As action coaches we often notice that so many businesses have adopted inadequate recruitment processes. Very few seem to realise that factors such as skills, qualifications, responsibilities, hours of work, etc are a starting point. If you’re hoping to attract the right applicants – those who will work well with your existing team and add to overall efficiency you’ll also have to think about values and attitudes – the so called ‘softer skills’ – and ensure these are reflected within your advertisement.

Cultural fit

Cultural fit centres around which of your applicants would be best suited to the culture and ethos of your organisation, but how are you going to find this out?

We suggest you put a two or three stage recruitment process in place to enable you to assess both skills and values. Perhaps you could set up situational testing – ensuring a certain level of skills are met or involve the team who the successful candidate would be working with. Most importantly, you need to be very clear about your company’s values and working culture and make sure these are communicated well to potential employees.

Your recruitment process

Let’s think about this in a slightly different way. Assuming you’re able to find an applicant who you think possesses the right attitude, does your business have up to date, relevant and appropriate systems in place? Is there adequate training available within your business to enable this applicant to become a great performer and a real asset to your team?

If not, you’ll have to reconsider your entire recruitment process. The challenge is for everyone to understand that, in order to develop as an organisation, you need to bring people through who already have the correct attitude and then work on them to be high performers.

All too often we notice the opposite view tends to be adopted. Too many recruiters see things purely from a skills perspective. Recruiting someone with the right skills, qualifications, expertise, etc, but poor attitude is a real gamble. They’ll more than likely alter the status quo of your company culture. Can you really afford to take this risk?

The human side of the recruitment process

Always put the human side of the recruitment process first. Remember, successful recruitment revolves around fit. If the candidate fits the business – and the business fits the candidate – the easier it will be to build a team that works well together, and in turns becomes integral to your overall success.

If you’d like to learn more about the systems and processes we use with our clients to improve their recruitment system, feel free to call us on 02392 454 111 or get in touch if you’d like us to help you achieve your recruitment goals.