Every quarter I review my coaching notes session and call notes to share what are the common themes, which are bubbling up to the surface and offer a coaching tip to help you reduce the stress or strain that others are also experiencing.
Improving Confidence
Everyone from one-person startups to the largest companies suffer from confidence issues and imposture syndrome. Remember the CEO of large businesses have to build their c-suite around them to help them build the company and make key decisions for and with them.
- Many leads are struggling with their own confidence
- Their team’s confidence is struggling (too) and leading to poor communication and performance anxiety.
- Coaching Tip: Break out of the day-to-day always-on approach. Take a morning or an afternoon to dedicate time to review your plan and run before action reviews (BARs) and after action reviews (AARs) to ensure you can leverage learnings and tackle issues heads-on while building the team and individual confidence
Imposture Syndrome
- Everyone struggles with imposture syndrome. There’s quiet imposture syndrome (suffering in silence) and then there’s imposture syndrome and seeking help.
- CEOs have said they have suffered periods of imposture syndrome in the hardest of times especially when having to let team members go.
- Coaching Tip: Not everyone is an expert in everything. The most important thing to say is I don’t know, I’ll discuss this with my team or I’ll run some analysis and come back to you with the proposed solution (my previously shared 1 problem 2 solution framework really helps junior and senior members here)
Delivering On Unreachable Goals
OKRs are not always to blame but are often hindering how people set goals and break down the steps to get there. Think BIG act small by when are often easier framing for Departments to handle OKRs and KRs
- Many C-suite execs have raised issues with goal setting and hitting the goals that have been set. Reviewing quarterly targets and goals against re-forecasts is causing more issues as the ask is always for more
- With headcount losses and a reduction in spending, many companies have struggled with delivering on their goals and waited to communicate issues before their deadline time.
- Coaching Tip: Create a directly responsible individual (DRI) for each goal, create a weekly asynchronous check-in and have a five-point scale (1 Exceeding – 3 – On Par – 5 Off Course) and share what’s working, what needs optimising, what is not working and how you can support each other.
>> Request a copy of my google sheets the think big, act small by when framework
Over-Reliance On One Channel
This isn’t actually just from CMO and CGO coaching, this came up with founders and a CEO.
- When struggling with goals, there is often an overemphasis on one or two channels that drives leads, sales and or downloads. What many have suggested is they worry about the over-reliance on that one channel that works and it stops or stops being effective.
- When there is over-reliance many Growth & Marketing leads are told to do more or spend more to drive more, the anxiety and stress being pushed throughout the team are causing too many meetings and disconnection between Growth & Marketing Teams/Departments
- Coaching Tip: Manage expectations with one channel dependencies, suggest why you need to continue to diversify and why over-investing is going to be problematic. Ensure the team is aware of the pressure but also has the opportunity to celebrate their successes.
Owning Time
Time management and ownership are not just about managing invites and what meetings you attend, it’s about improving processes and setting others up to succeed.
- Every exec has raised concerns over having enough time or being able to own their time with where it is spent
- Many execs this quarter has listed issues with feeling like they own their time and how to deliver in this time they have left.
- Coaching Tip: Run a calendar audit and ensure you are spending your time effectively. Optimise how your meetings are run (ensure what success looks like is included, there is a proposed agenda and why you are invited when it can be optional attendance)
Need help or thinking about getting a coach to take you to the next level?
Get in touch by emailing coach @ dannydenhard.com