What do these elite world-class athletes have in common? No, not orthopedic surgeons (though they might): They each have a coach/mentor helping them…and they probably each have more than one they rely on to help them identify blind spots, build on strengths, and correct for weaknesses or areas of insufficient skill.

 

All the more reason for you to have an experienced coach or mentor in your corner to help you “excelerate” your leadership and career.

 

We all have skill deficiencies and blind spots to keep our careers from moving forward at a faster clip. And we can all use expert advice at times to help expedite our success.

 

At times, you may need help with applying strategies and tactics for building engagement skills, positioning your authority as a new leader, incorporating influence and persuasion language, building your brand platform awareness, or developing persuasive presentation practices. I can offer specific ideas and suggestions as options for you to consider.

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What Can I Expect About the Coaching Approach?

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The coach’s job is not to give answers but to help you find your own answers that will work for you. The coach acts as your thinking partner, to help you get unstuck from inside your stories and perceptions (your self-talk narrative that might block your progress). The coach helps you think more broadly for yourself—beyond any blinding anxieties, inherited beliefs, and half-truths or assumptions—that restrict possible actions.

 

Armed with new perspectives and knowledge, you’ll discover new approaches, act on those you may have avoided or even ignored, and commit to long-term changes in thinking and behavior more consistently. Self-realization and self-discovery have more “stickiness” to them than if told what to do and how to do it by someone else.

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Coach or Mentor: What’s the Difference?

 

The secret to being a great coach is to be “an awakener.” As a coach, I’m not showing or telling people what or how to do something specifically; I’m stimulating and guiding their own problem-solving capabilities.

 

A coach does most of the listening to develop questions that will help you discover for yourself the direction to pursue or a decision to make. The challenge in a coaching relationship is to avoid too much “how to” advice and direction. A little goes a long way. Most coaching relationships are less than six months long.

 

The coach’s job is not to give answers but to help you find your own answers that will work for you. The coach acts as your thinking partner, to help you get unstuck from inside your stories and perceptions (your self-talk narrative that might block your progress). The coach helps you think more broadly for yourself—beyond any blinding anxieties, inherited beliefs, and half-truths or assumptions—that restrict possible actions.

 

Armed with new perspectives and knowledge, you’ll discover new approaches, act on those you may have avoided or even ignored and commit to long-term changes in thinking and behavior more consistently. Self-realization and self-discovery have more “stickiness” to them than if told what to do and how to do it by someone else.

 

A mentor relationship is more direction oriented and usually lasts between six months to one year. In a mentoring relationship, the mentor does most of the talking, teaching, and advising. I recently participated in a six-month mentoring relationship with a UNICEF Director in New York City, and a medical auditor executive in Dubai.

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Beyond Mentoring

 

Beyond mentoring, advocate-protégé relationships are most often found between an established corporate executive or board member and a fast-rising vice president or senior leader. With many advocate – protégé relationships, there’s an unspoken quid pro quo arrangement where favors granted to the protégé (access or exposure to other high-level executives or corporate initiatives) may be called in later by the advocate (loyalty, exceeding expectations—not once, but consistently throughout the relationship).

 

Such relationships are long term, usually several years, as the thought is that the protégé is being groomed to succeed the advocate in the corporate suite. It's a succession planning tool. So, an advocate-protégé relationship is a high-wire one that often doesn’t include a net.

 

Why Long-Term Coaching Programs Aren’t for Everyone

 

Don't get me wrong...there's nothing wrong with having a long-term coaching relationship with someone if you are a high-level executive, consultant, or entrepreneur. I was a client of one of the best speaker/consultant coaches around for more than two years, but I followed his free webinars, blog posts, and videos for a year before that. I saw that I wasn't taking advantage of his availability during the last six months of being a client, so I didn't renew with him. My time with him during that period is still paying dividends. 

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If you aren’t already in a senior or executive leadership position, you very likely don’t need (or want) a long-term (a year or longer) coaching/mentoring program. The problem with most long-term “subscription” or “membership” type programs (gym memberships, magazines, software, gaming applications) is that the success model is based on your failure to fully use the subscription/membership…and you continue paying each month until the end of your contract.

 

In other words, you have to be motivated and driven to do the work and participate for it to pay off for you. 

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For example, “unused gym membership” syndrome often finds parallels in the coaching field. According to a study reported by NPR, 67% of people who sign up for a gym membership never show up to use it. And gyms like it like that. A common marketing/sales approach is to recruit people who hate to exercise but gamble that most of them will stop showing up beyond the initial few weeks (or not at all) yet are bound to honor long-term contracts. The gyms are always crowded right after New Year’s Day, but by late February, the new people are long gone (along with their New Year’s resolutions).

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VIP Coaching Programming Options

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You don’t have to be an executive, billionaire entrepreneur, or world-class athlete to benefit from having the RIGHT coach or mentor in your corner. In fact, most people building their leadership abilities don’t need a coach or mentor by their side for extended periods of time.

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Think of Triple-A, the “American Automobile Association.” Your membership provides access to several emergency service options when you need them. You could hire a tow truck driver to follow you in your vehicle everywhere just in case you get a flat tire, have a dead battery, or get into an accident, but that would be prohibitively expensive and inefficient. Instead, you pay to have the selected level of services available when needed, and it’s a much less expensive option.

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Think of a coach/mentor as your personal AAA: “Always Available for Advice” when you need it.

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Here are the three VIP Coaching options:

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• Option 1: 30-Day VIP Basic Coaching Program. Unlimited email coaching/mentoring advice, strategies, and tactics where I respond with video to your email or text questions (no phone calls): One-time payment of $495.00 (Option to renew or upgrade at the end of 30 days.) PAY HERE

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• Option 2: 30-Day VIP Enhanced Coaching Program. Unlimited email coaching/mentoring advice, strategies, and tactics where I respond with video to your email or text questions and provide scripts, templates, and examples [where necessary] to help you accelerate your career/leadership success. Includes two 30-minute Zoom coaching calls with me (recorded, one every two weeks) to ensure your progress is aligned with your goals: One-time payment of $1,297.00 (Option to renew or upgrade at the end of 30 days.) PAY HERE.

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• Option 3: 45-Day VIP Fast-Track Coaching Program. Unlimited email coaching/ mentoring where I respond with video to your email or text questions and provide [as needed] scripts, templates, examples and several Weapons of Mass Persuasion short courses to help you accelerate your career or leadership success. Includes three 30-minute Zoom coaching calls with me (one every two weeks) to ensure your progress is aligned with your goals: $2,697.00. (Option to renew or downgrade at the end of 45 days.) PAY HERE

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The VIP Coaching Program is an Affordable Advantage for Your Success

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Think of these programs as having me as your personal coach or mentor on retainer for a certain period of time to help you work through personal challenges, deal with project issues, or provide advice on leadership strategies as you step into higher positions of accountability, authority, and responsibility. You can go that route on your own or you can get help from a coach or mentor who’s been there, done that, and has the tools and the experience to help others get to their destination faster.

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• After paying for the program you want, click on the link to my calendar to schedule your initial Zoom consultation call (20 minutes) where we will determine your exact goals and current challenges.

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• Expect to be challenged to dig deeper to uncover the root causes of issues, problems, or “career inertia” to help identify obstacles in your pathway to more tremendous success.  

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• You have unlimited coaching contacts with these programs, but the best use of my expertise is when you need it for a particular problem, challenge, or opportunity. Think of me being your coach/mentor on retainer.

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• You will receive a video recording of my coaching responses.

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To paraphrase an old Chinese saying: “The best time to plan your career success was 20 years ago; the second-best time is TODAY.”

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Frequently Asked Questions

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What coaching areas are offered in this program?

My expertise is in leadership, influence/persuasion, and personal brand building, all of which have been developed as a result of my nearly 40 years on the decision-makers side of the desk and as a strategist, coach, and mentor.

 

Decision makers hire you, buy from you, and contract with you for one reason: You help them get something they want or need better than anyone else. I teach you how to make that happen with strategies, processes, and tactics designed to put you at the top of any decision-makers list.

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This coaching program does not address the specifics of your particular technical/professional expertise.   

 

Is this program only available for people in the U.S.?

No, the program is available to clients in all geographies. All coaching videos and materials are in English.

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What if I want to renew my coaching option for another period?

Yes, you can renew any of the coaching options for another period. By having only 30- and 45-day coaching options, it's more affordable for you to get advice and expertise for the short term than to sign up for six-month or year-long coaching programs (costing many tens of thousands of dollars) that you may not fully utilize.
 

What if I need to call you with a question?

Due to other projects and life priorities, I will respond via video only (except for scheduled consultation calls).

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What is your turnaround time for responding to coaching emails and texts?

For emails/texts sent to me, I will respond within 24 hours with a link to your video.  

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How do I get started?

Click on the link above to the program you're interested in and submit payment. I will be notified of your enrollment at that time. Submit your coaching issue at any time after that and I will respond via video, usually within 24 hours.