<![CDATA[Ascender Professional Coaching, LLC - Certified Career, and Professional Executive Coaching Services

<![CDATA[Ascender Professional Coaching, LLC - Certified Career, and Professional Executive Coaching Services - Blog]]>Sat, 28 Dec 2024 14:15:46 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[BEST WAYS TO SURVIVE THE 2022 LAYOFFS]]>Thu, 13 Oct 2022 13:23:32 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/best-ways-to-survive-the-2022-layoffs

We all remember 2021, right? That was the year of mass resignations. Now that we are well into 2022, I predict that this year will be known as the “Year of Mass Layoffs”. I started wondering about this when I started seeing a much higher number of people posting their “this is my last day” as captured in my LinkedIn feeds. I started thinking something was up. A couple days later I saw the META (Facebook) was going through its first layoffs ever. I started doing some research and found that many companies were going through layoffs from September 2022 to the present time. Many of the companies laying off workers were Netflex, Snap, Google, Docusign. Some other companies laying off workers in October 2022 include Microsoft, Twitter, Amazon, Walmart, TikTok, and Tesla. This is far from a complete list. Truth be told, I predicted this would happen, and wrote about this months ago. But I was not sure about the exact timing of mass layoffs. So something is afoot. As a working professional you need to be aware of the recent trends of layoffs, and build a strategy to survive a layoff. I want to discuss briefly why I think we got here, and what specific steps you can take to minimize your risk of being part of the laid off workers. These steps are not guarantees, but they should help your position to stay employed with your current company.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING: Like most things in life, the reasons why companies are laying off workers is complex, and a response to multiple factors. I do think in the case of some well known tech companies, the stocks have been over valued. It is difficult task to assess value for a platform that just provides a space to exchange pictures, ideas, and opinions. Opinions have some value, but they are not a “product” in the way that a car, a house, or a loaf of bread is a product. There can be a lot of enthusiasm around some of these platforms, but in many cases the enthusiasm does not match up with the true stock prices, the utility of the company. The bigger economic impact that is hitting not only Tech companies, but by retail, software, and manufacturing companies is the cost of borrowing money. I don’t want to spend too much time on root causes here, as my main objective is to help people survive layoffs. Suffice it to say our current administration has made the (questionable) decision to pump record amounts of money into the economic system. This has led to historic 40 year inflation. In an attempt to slow, and reduce inflation to a more conservative rate, the Federal Reserve has implemented several interest rate hikes in 2022. The last interest rate hike was in September 2022. When interest rates go up, the cost of borrowing goes up. And this includes business loans. As costs of doing business go up, companies look for ways to cut costs. One way to cut costs is to release some percentage of their employees. This is what is happening. As a professional that wants to keep their job (at least right now), what can you do to minimize the chance you will be part of a layoff?

DON’T WORK REMOTELY: A lot of people don’t like to hear this, but there have been a number of studies that say managers are much more likely to layoff remote workers before they would layoff in-office workers. A study by Beautiful.ai, a presentation software company, that surveyed 3,000 managers in the US about the future of the digital workplace, indicated that 60% of managers said it’s very likely that remote employees would be laid off first if downsizing became necessary. Brian Kropp, chief of human resources research at the consulting firm Gartner, recently told The New York Post. ” Managers believe employees who work remote are lower performers than those that come to the office...They will on average be more likely to lay off those who are working remote than those who are coming into the office...Simply put: it’s out of sight, out of mind.” This is the gist of what is at play. When you are an employee that works in the office, your manager tends to have a deeper, more personal relationship with you, compared to a remote worker on their team. So take advantage of this insight. If you are working remotely, and have the option to do your work in the offices, do so. From a human perspective it will make it harder for your boss to lay you off.

Work for a Company that is Growing: This may require that you make a move to another company, but if you work for a company that is growing, even in volatile economic times, you are less likely to be laid off. Working for companies that are growing, or at least stable (like healthcare related companies) all equal, you should enjoy better job security. To find companies that are growing can take some time, and effort in researching, and networking. Business journals, many of which are now online, can help you to target one or more companies to pursue. Once you have found one or two expanding companies, using networking, including social media to get to know employees within those companies. Let it be known you are open to opportunities within your target companies. Reach out to people in your target companies, and even schedule some meetings, or informational interviews. Then get yourself hired.

Work Long Hours and Let your Boss Know It: OK, this option does take a big commitment, and reduces your time away from your job. You need to decide for yourself if the extra effort, and time at your job is justified, or better yet, work with a career coach, or career consultant to weigh this option. Brian Tracy, says in his article “7 Steps to Getting Paid More, and Promoted Quicker”, “…Everybody knows who the hard workers are in every business. The hardest workers are always the most respected in any company of value. They are always paid more and promoted faster for a very simple reason: They are more productive…They are more valuable to the company. They set a better example, and are the kind of people bosses are proud of and want to keep more than anyone else.” The key point here is that if you do work longer hours, and/or weekends, let your boss know you did. This is easy to one to fit into casual hallway conversation. For example, BOSS: “How is it going today Judy?” DIRECT REPORT: “Gee, I’m a little tired. I was at the office till about 10 pm last night. But I’m glad I stuck with it, I’m in good shape on my operations reports.” Your boss will not know that you worked late, unless they hear from someone, and sometimes that needs to be you. In short, if you work long hours – make it know. By working longer hours you are showing your management that they are getting more from you, than from your peers. If you show you have more value to your company, you are less likely to be laid off.

Ask for more Responsibility and more Projects: By asking for more responsibility, and delivering, you are making yourself more valuable to your boss, your boss’s boss, and your organization. By asking for more responsibility, more projects and being successful, you are building a track record of success. It is human nature to give more responsibility to those that have had success when given more responsibility. Again you are showing your management you have great value in your company. The greater value you can display, the less likely you will be laid off.

Can-Do Attitude: Tied with the suggestion above, people that project a “can-do” attitude tend to be given more challenging work, and more responsibilities to manage. If you believe you will fail with an endeavor before you even get started, you most likely will. But if you project an attitude that says “I can do anything you ask of me…I will do whatever is necessary to see this project succeed”, you will exude confidence, and your manager, (and others) will feel they can trust you to take on more responsibility, and more challenging work, and they will not be disappointed. Even if your initiative ultimately falls short, you have displayed you are not afraid to take on more challenging work, and you gave it best effort. Don’t be surprised if you are tapped again for more challenges, and more responsibilities. Companies want people working for them that have the right, success-oriented attitude. When you can show this positive attitude in what you say, and what you do, you increase the chances of keeping your job through layoffs.

Engage with a Career Professional: If you have the ability, engage with a career professional like a career coach, or career consultant. This is definitely a time where you are going to need support. In addition to support, a good career professional can provide guidance on how to increase your skills, performance, and confidence to make you more valuable to your company.

Much is out of our hands when the economy becomes volatile. But you do not need to feel like a victim. There are action steps that you can take to minimize your chances of being laid off. If you have a choice, do NOT work remotely. Get yourself into your offices, even if it is just a couple days a week. Deepen your relationship with your boss, and your company. From the human perspective, you will improve your chances to stay with the company. If you are working for a company that is shrinking, look to make a move. The writing is on the wall. Be proactive and research, and get hired into a company that is growing, or at least stable. If you are up it, go the extra mile. Work longer hours. Show the company that you are giving more than your peers. If you have any bandwidth, ask for more responsibility, and more projects. Again you are showing your boss, and your company you have great value. It can be discouraging during layoffs, but demonstrate a “can do” attitude. Show confidence in what you say, and do, and you will be valued more by your management. If you have the resources do seek out, and engage with a career professional, such as a career coach. They can provide support at a critical time, and work with you to increase your value to your company. This is a list of concrete action steps. Most of us can implement at least some of these suggestions. In the end, by increasing your value to your company, you are working to minimize the chances that you will be laid off - you are maximizing your chances that you will be retained for your services.

AUTHOR: Brain Kail, MBA, CPC, CCC is a Professional Career & Executive Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach.com

]]><![CDATA[The Ultimate Guide to Selecting a Career Coach]]>Thu, 24 Feb 2022 19:20:57 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-selecting-a-career-coach

So you find that you are not really loving your job. You are seeing some signs of this. For example, you dread Mondays. You have a sense your job satisfaction is pretty low. Or you find yourself looking to check the time over, and over again in the afternoon. Or you may be successful, but you are wondering if the work you do has any real value. Or you may find yourself forced into a job search, because of downsizing, or your position was eliminated. It could be any of the cases I mentioned above, or there may be other signs that you are picking up on that are telling you it might be worth while looking at other job options. If it is something you can afford, hiring a career coach can add great value, and give structure, purpose, and focus to a job search. They may even be able to help negotiate a salary, or other benefits. But with so many options. So many career coaches sprinkled over a dozen coaching directories websites, what are some things to look for to narrow the list? Are there characteristics, earmarks to help you select and hire a great, even an exceptional coach? I believe the answer is yes, and as a professional career coach, I hope to give you tips on what to look for in hiring your next career coach.

ARE THEY LICENSED OR CERTIFIED: Unfortunately, unlike the Project Management field, where PMP is the gold standard, there is not just one license, or certification that represents professionalism, and achievement in the coaching field. There are many. The ICF CACC, (Certified Accredited Career Coach™), is a widely respected certification that requires significant tracking, and documentation regarding a coach’s client coaching history. My certification is CCC (Certified Career Coach) that I earned through several months of training, and testing out at the WCI (Word Coach Institute). The point here is, look for certification in your coach. It will be represented by an acronym that you can research, or ask the coach about. The certification tells you that you are dealing with a professional that takes their role as coach seriously. They care enough about the coaching field that they put time, effort, and money into the process of being certified. There is consumer protection in working with a licensed or certified professional. This is why I list this first.

UNDENIABLE EXPERTISE: I need to mention that thoughts around undeniable expertise, come from presentations I have recently heard from Business Coach, and entrepreneur Don Markland. Don emphasizes that a coach’s real strength, and success is tied to the coach being an “Undeniable Authority” in a very focused coaching niche. I have written before about looking for a coach that has had success, and experience in the niche they are working in. But this idea of “Undeniability” appeals to me, and underscores that a great coach truly needs to be an expert in the niche they are working in. In the niche of career coaching, I often see people with human resources, or recruiting backgrounds making a switch to career coaching. This seems reasonable to me, although the emphasis I expect is on the recruiter perspective, not so much the candidate perspective. A lot of my work as a career coach is in working with professionals to map out a new career, or change in career direction. I have personal success stories to share around this as I first started out my career in light accounting/records management to supporting marketing departments to leading marketing projects to Information Technology (IT) first in software training, then server and network management and support, and finally software/systems development. So depending on how you count them, I personally have made three to six successful career changes myself. You can discern some level of expertise by reading a coach’s bio. If they interest you enough to have a conversation with them, a good question to ask a career coach is “tell me about your successful career” or “tell me your story of how you transitioned from one career to another” If they are not convincing, they may not have demonstrated “Undeniable Expertise”.

DO THEY HAVE A METHOD: This may be called a “program”, or “methodology”, or just “method”. The jargon may be different from one school, or one coach to another. The question here is, does the coach follow a process that is successful, and repeatable? In my case, I was trained in one method, but over the years saw the value of developing a new method, and have built a complete coaching method that I still use. Look for a coach that has an outline, or method that they work from. In this way you are working within a framework – avoiding a case where the coach seems to invent things every session, or has no outline.

LISTENING SKILLS: Why listening skills? Everyone knows how to listen – right? Actually, no, not everyone is an effective listener. This is a skill that normally needs to be learned, and practiced. You will only be able to know of the coach has good listening skills when you have an actual conversation with them. If the coach does not give you enough time to respond to their questions, of if they ask multiple questions before you can respond, the coach has not mastered listening skills. Another way to say this, would be “is the coach patient, respectful of your input, and encourages you to express yourself”. If they are not, best to move on.

PUBLIC RECOMMENDATIONS: There is an old expression “the proof is in the pudding”. There are reasons these old expressions stick around – that is because there is truth in the expression. Does the career coach have a proven record of success working with clients? Does the career coach have strong recommendations that are available to the public? If the career coach is not willing to share recommendations, they may be new to the coaching world, or they may be struggling to met the expectations of their clients. My recommendations are posted publicly on LinkedIn.com, and also NOOMII.com.

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE: In the past I have written about looking for some experience when selecting a coach. Over time my opinion has evolved on how much experience to look for. In my case I certainly grew a lot in the first year of coaching. Many of the processes I still use go back to my growth in the first couple years. But looking at my own personal growth as a career coach, I continued to grow and implement better processes over time. This is not a strict “line in the sand” but my suggestion is to look for three or more years experience in the coach you select. Coaches that have less expereince can certainly be good. But I expect most coaches are like me, in that they work to get better over time. Take advantage of this.

COLLEGE EDUCATED: I don’t fully know why, but the criteria of being college educated is becoming a bit controversial. This may come from a trend where students, colleges, and universities offer more and more degrees, and departments with very limited opportunities outside academia. Be that as it may, the reasons I suggest working with a coach that is college educated, is because they will have demonstrated a good command of the English language. Your chances of working with a professional with strong language skills, and a broader vocabulary will be increased. To me obtaining a college degree also shows that the coach is a committed person. One that can set a long-term goal of several years, and have what it takes to see this to fruition. Is this a deal-breaker in a career coach? No. But with many to choose from it adds to the appeal of the coach, and their breadth of knowledge.

Career Coaches are not cheap. Good Career Coaches are not cheap because they can provide great value. Coaching tends to be a profession that draws in a lot of first time entrepreneurs. With low overhead, and a small amount of training just about anyone can call themselves a “coach”. So there are many options. By using the list above you should be able to shorten your list of potential coaches. It is worth the effort to go through this process. The reward of the work is finding just the right career coach to help you identify your passions, and strengths, and partner with you to elevate your career, your sense of worth, and your life.

AUTHOR: Brain Kail, MBA, CPC is a professional Career, and Executive Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach.com

]]><![CDATA[The Core of Coaching]]>Fri, 21 Jan 2022 14:34:37 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/the-core-of-coaching

After many years in the coaching field, I still get the feeling that most people do not have a clear understanding of what coaching discipline is, or what professional coaches really do. Most people have a vague idea of what they think coaching is. They equate it to counseling, maybe involving motivation, or may even think of coaching as a special type of therapy. I wanted to write a short piece to answer the question “What is Coaching really?” Coaching is a discipline that is fairly new, but growing. For example, from the 2020 Global Coaching Study report, complied by the ICF (International Coaching Federation) “ Globally, it is estimated that there were approximately 71,000 coach practitioners in 2019, an increase of 33% on the 2015 estimate.” To set guardrails for this discussion, I want to make clear that I am not defining one niche of coaching, such as Career Coaching (which is where I work), or Wellness Coaching, of even Life Coaching. I want to define coaching in the broadest sense, so potential Clients get a clear, simple explanation of what the coaching discipline is. I want to start by identifying the actors involved.

ROLES: In the most simple arrangement there are two roles in the coaching relationship. The first role is the “Client”. The second role is the “Coach”. I will define “Client” as an individual that is seeking help. I will define “Coach” as professional that is attempting to provide help. I expect these roles are straight forward, and clear cut. There can be a situation where a third role (third party) can be involved. That is the role of “Sponsor”. This is a situation where a third person, or a business, pays the Coach to work with the Client. This practice is more common than you might think. In fact, my very first Coaching agreement involved a Client, me as coach, and a Sponsor who paid for coaching sessions.

NATURE OF THE WORK: Typically the Client comes to the Coach with a problem - something they need help with. In the broadest terms, this could mean finding a new job, loosing weight, seeking to improve a relationship, or even developing heal tier habits. Following coaching best practices, the coach will ask probing questions of the Client to clarify, and define the problem, and to address the problem, work with the client to set a goal.

SET GOAL: Goals are not arbitrary. Goals address the problem, or problems that the Client presents to the Coach. A good Coach will listen to the Client regarding the problem they want to solve, or challenges they are having, and suggest a goal (or goals) that will solve or minimize their problem. Best practice is to get the stated goal(s) on paper so that both Client, and Coach have a clear understanding of the goal. Going back to my previous examples, the goals could be stated as: Lose 10 pounds, Improve relationship in a measure able way, or develop a healthier life style.

ACTION STEPS: Goals are the desired outcome, but they don’t normally show the Client how to achieve the goal. This is where action steps come in. A good Coach will have the ability to work with the Client to create a high level plan to help the Client achieve their goals. Goals are not achieved magically, the Client needs to take some action. An astute Coach will break the plan down into one or more action steps, and the Client will often be able to provide suggestions as well . It is best practice that the action steps are recorded, and agreed upon by both Client, and Coach, and a deadline set for the next action step.

ACCOUNTABILITY: A good coach will hold their Client accountable for action steps. In my sessions with Clients, I start out by getting any recent news from the Client, then immediately put any outstanding action steps on the table. I want to know if the Client completed the steps, and if not why. In my practice I don’t use shame - I don’t shame the Client if they did not get their action step(s) completed, but I do want to know why. I want to help them complete their action steps. I work to identify any blocks that got in the way for the Client, and find ways to minimize, or remove them.

SUPPORT: For most people, the word “coaching” brings to mind a level of support, and encouragement. And indeed, this is an important element of coaching. Where Coaches hear, or sense lack of confidence, they work with Clients to build their confidence, and optimism. In addition to words of support from the Coach, there are other techniques that can lead to improved confidence such as regular affirmations, or listing out personal, or professional accomplishments.

RELATIONSHIP: It is important to understand that the coaching process is not “transactional” - the coaching relationship transcends “transactions”. At its core the Client, and Coach are in a relationship. It is a professional relationship, but non the less a true relationship. The Client needs to trust the Coach as conversations tend to be informal, interpersonal, even intimate. A certified, or licensed coach provides the Client with a promise on confidentiality, and should maintain a track record that they have not disclosed Client information without the Client’s approval.

SUMMARY: With the above as background, let me try to define Coaching. The ICF, the world’s largest Coaching Professional association defines Coaching as: “Coaching is partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.” In my mind, this comes pretty close to defining “Coaching”. Here is my definition: "Coaching is a relationship-based process that is undertaken by a Client, and a Coach, the purpose of which is to understand, and capture the Client’s goals, and with the Coach’s support, and guidance, complete action steps to move the Client toward their goals." As sated earlier Coaching has many niches. There are Life Coaches (the most common type), Wellness Coaches, Spiritual Coaches, Recovery Coaches, Christian Coaches, almost as many niches are there are type of goals and problems. A good resource for seeking out coaches from a variety of niches is noomii.com (I am listed on noomi at https://www.noomii.com/users/brian-kail ). If you are interested in learning more about Career, and Executive Coaching see http://www.ascendprocoach.com/index.html . My personal contact information is listed there. I hope this article has helped the lay person to have a better understanding of what professional coaching is.

AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a Professional Careeer, and Executive Coach.

]]><![CDATA[HOW TO PREPARE FOR 2021]]>Fri, 08 Jan 2021 20:44:32 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-2021

Coming out of the year 2020, many of us feel like we are coming out of a recurring dream like “Ground Hogday Day” where we wake up imagining w will get dressed normally, and head to the office to start our “normal” day. But once we start waking up, we realize that no – the dream continues, and (if we are lucky) we are working from home today. Just like yesterday, and the day before. For recreation we try to remember where we left our surgical mask, and consider venturing outside. For those of us that work out regularly, we may consider a trip to the gym. But depending on where you live, this may not be an option. I could go on, and on, but you get it. Because you have been there. You have lived it in 2020. Voluntarily or by force, many of us have hunkered down, and tried to eke out a life, and a living. In 2020, many of us have lost jobs, and I do have some suggestions on job seeking in 2021. Where has 2020 left us, and how do we plan for 2021? Year 2020 is in the rear-view mirror. Coming out of such an extraordinary year, how do we move forward? Here are some thoughts on this topic.

REALIZE THAT NOT MUCH HAS CHANGED: There have been some changes since COVID19 hit the US, and the world. Vaccinations have been cleared and people are just starting to get vaccinated. More test vaccinations are waiting to be cleared in the US. This is good news, and should generate some optimism. But for most of us, the way we live, the way we conduct business, and the way we live our daily lives – not much if anything has changed. The first thing we need to recognize in planning for year 2021, is that it looks, and feels a lot like 2020. This will most likely continue the first few months of 2021, until a large percent of our population gets vaccinated. Change will happen slowly.

CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN: In the often quoted “Serenity Prayer” (written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr), we say “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference”. This is a poetic way of saying, not everything in life is in our control, but some things are. We need to understand this at a primal level. It also reminds me of an old Star Trek episode, where Captain Kirk is trying to vet “Charlie X” in the ways of the adult world. Kirk says to Charlie “There are a million things in this universe you can have and a million things you can't have. It's no fun facing that, but that's the way things are.” Perfect. It makes sense, and rings true. But we tend to forget this as we get caught up in our pride, our emotions, what WE think the world should be like. We need to consider both truths given here. There are many, many things we can’t control, but again there are many things we can. Embrace this. We need to patient on things we can’t change, or can’t change today, but we also need to engage, and celebrate the things we can control. We can control when we get up in the morning. We can control what we eat, and drink. We can control what exercise routine we have put in place. The more you realize, and embrace aspects of your life you can control, the less you will feel a victim, and the more you will develop positive, healthy patterns. You can start doing this TODAY. Right NOW. I encourage you to do this.

FRAME OF MIND IS KEY: Your success in 2021 depends mainly on two things. Your frame of mind, and taking action. To feel angry, and frustrated is human. You have probably felt those emotions in 2020. You may have felt them, and lived them a lot. I have. I encourage you to use those emotions in a positive way, and to develop a positive mind set. If you are angry, find a healthy outlet for this. Exercise, and a workout, maybe some light weight lifting is a great way to channel anger and frustration. It provides that extra spark to do more, to exert more effort into your exercise. If frustration is getting the best of you – try something different. Try a different approach. Try a different routine. Remember that suggestion to control the things you can? This is where you can utilize this mind-set. Like the stages of grief, you may need to go through process. But over time I encourage you to consider the positives in your life, whatever they may be, and project a positive attitude, and positive messages, and demeanor in your life. Keep it simple. Start today. Be a more positive person TODAY. Don’t aim for perfection, look for small positive changes. As you do this, you will find that people will be more attracted to you. They will be more likely to engage with you, and spend time with you. Even if this might be virtually. People will be more inclined to have you in their life, and help you. And recommend you, and help you if you are doing a job search.

ACTION STEPS: Thinking good thoughts, having a positive attitude is a great start. But this just helps to point you in the right direction. It is the first step in moving forward. Your success in 2021 requires taking action steps. At a very high level, this is the essence of the coaching discipline. Coach, and client discuss what the client wants to change, creates a plan or vision, and then breaks this plan down into do-able action steps. Action steps can support your life, or career plan. Your plan may be as simple as “get a job”. If you are doing a job search, engaging with a career coach, or career consultant can be of great value, as they can help map out your passions, skills, and target a specific role that would be most fulfilling to you, then help market you into your next position. If you are in a position to engage with a professional, certified, or licensed coach, I encourage you to do this. If not, here are couple suggestions. Write down your plan, your goal. By writing it down, it becomes more real. It becomes tangible, and defined. As reported in Forbes, and other sources, studies show that by writing your goals down you are 120% to 140% more likely to be successful in your goals. Once you have a good plan, share it with others. They may have suggestions, and will probably help you with the plan. They will support you in achieving your goals. Next break your plan down into realistic action steps. Again, write these steps down. Action steps should be traceable. Action steps are binary. That is “either you did the action step or you didn’t”. If you want to learn more about my coaching method, and action steps, refer to my articles on the ASCEND COACHING METHOD©.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES: This may seem contradictory, but with the spread of COVID19, there has been growth in some areas. The more obvious example is in health care, pharmaceuticals, and nursing. A longtime friend of mine who retired from nursing is getting on-going solicitations to return to practice. There have also been opportunities in supply chain, distribution, and logistics. Consumers are going out to retail, brick and mortar stores less. They are looking to companies, and systems to deliver products to them at their residence. Home delivery of food, and medications are growing. Another area of growth has been in sanitary masks, and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). These and other shifts in consumption, and safety has created new opportunities in the COVID19 economy. This will continue into 2021, along with a slow migration out of lock-downs, and back to offices, and accelerated manufacturing, and finance opportunities later into 2021. One thing I am sure of, the US Economy is resilient. It has started to rebound, and this will continue given the chance. If you are doing a job search, I would have another suggestion to consider. Don’t get hung up on industries you have worked in before, or job titles. These are things I stress in my career coaching practice. Your opportunities may well come from unexpected industries, or through unconventional channels. Job boards, even discipline specific job boards are only one way to learn of new opportunities. Again, an experienced career coach, or career consultant can be of great value in uncovering other channels to generate job leads. The point is, don’t limit yourself by only considering job titles you held in the past, or only industries where you have past experience. New opportunities may require a remapping of your abilities, and messaging.

NORMALCY SLOWLY RETURNS: As referenced earlier, as more people get vaccinated, much of the “normal” ways of life, and doing business will return. I expect the job markets in health, clinical settings, supply chain, logistics, pharmaceuticals, and PPE to remain strong for much of 2021. In addition, I see a resilient US economy continuing to recover and many other core industries will grow such as manufacturing, finance, technology, and banking over the course of 2021. Part of me does believe that the option to work remotely, that was more or less mandated by the COVID virus, will be a residual change that will stay in place for many of us for the long term. There will be some organizations that put priority on in-office work, meetings, and communications. But the needle has permanently moved toward remote or working from home as an option. And there are great convenient and cost savings reasons this will continue and grow. For job seekers, emphasize traits that support working remotely. Keywords words, and phrases such as “excels in time management”, “self-directed”, and “results driven” can send the right message that you can be trusted to work from home, and meet or surpass expectations.

Our world in 2020 was changed. This has been painfully clear. And it is not our fault. That said, we don’t need to be victims. And it is as clear as a winter starry night, that there is reason for optimism. Vaccines have been produced in a remarkably short time. This is a tremendous achievement. To produce an effective vaccine, and start vaccinations in under a year is unheard of. Some of us have already been vaccinated. I truly see this as the beginning of the end for COVID19/COVID20. We are still operating in a new normal. But as you reflect on 2020, and prepare to live in 2021, I encourage you to consider that despite some limitations, there are still many parts of your life you can still control. You can set your own routines. Your own diet. Your own exercise regimen. Your own goals. The more you embrace this, the less you will feel the victim. One of the biggest things you can control is your mind. Specifically, your frame of mind as you move forward into 2021. People that think positively. That say, and act in a positive way. That project a positive demeanor are people that other people want to engage with. They want positive people to be part of their lives. Once you have some optimism, you can consider where you want to take 2021. This is the perfect time to make a plan, and set some goals. Once you have created, and written down your plan, break your plan down into do-able action steps. Make your action steps realistic, and traceable. Consider new opportunities. A new world, a new norm can reveal new opportunities. If you are doing a job search, don’t limit yourself to your last industry, or your last job title. New opportunities may come from new, non-traditional channels. If you can, engage with a career coach, or career consultant. An experienced, certified, or licensed career professional can provide great value here. Over the course of 2021, I fully expect much of the normalcy of life, and doing business will return. The US economy has proven it will rebound, if given any opportunity. In addition, working remotely, or working from home will be seen more and more acceptable. There is reason to be optimistic. Good changes, and good, exciting opportunities are on the way. But you don’t have to wait. You can make your first change TODAY. You can make it NOW. And what better time to make a change, as 2021 is here.

AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a professional Career, and Executive Coach.

]]><![CDATA[ASCEND COACHING METHOD Step 7: Deliver Goals]]>Thu, 02 Apr 2020 20:16:38 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/ascend-coaching-method-step-7-deliver-goals

Why do we make plans, and take actions? We should be doing these things to receive results. The seventh, and final step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD© is the fruition of all previous work; it is the delivery of goals. High level we move from past state to future state. For some background, the assumption for this new coaching method, is that certain processes, and methods from technology development, can be married with best practices in the coaching discipline by professional coaches to improve client’s lives. Informally, I have been using this new approach in my career, and executive coaching practice for several years. I organized this approach, and have published an outline of its steps over the last few months. In this final step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, we see stated goals delivered to the client. Before I share some thoughts specific to this step, it is worth a short recap of the previous steps. It is important to state the new coaching method is sequential. That is, each step relies on work done in the previous step.

PREVIOUS STEPS SUMMARY: The first phase or step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, the coach will “Ask Questions”. High level, the coach interviews the client in a specific way. The goal in this step is to understand the client’s vision, current state, time-lines, and expectations. The best way to conduct these client interviews are by using open-ended questions; questions that encourage clients to open up to discuss their dreams, or visions, their expectations, and any concerns. When step one is completed successfully, we will understand the client’s vision, or as we say in IT, the “future state”.

After capturing of the client’s vision, coach and client can move on to the second step in ASCEND COACHING METHOD the “Assessment” phase. This step is an evaluation of the important information the coach has gathered from the client interview in step one. In the “Assessment” step the coach seeks to compare the client’s vision (future state), to the client’s current state to determine how realistic the vision is, and to map out the effort that is needed to deliver the vision. The coach also determines if any limitations will block progress, and if so, if any of those limitations can be removed, or at least reduced. In this step, the client’s time frame needs to be considered, and discussed. Coach, and client need to determine if the time frame is realistic. Deadlines that are unrealistic can lead to frustration for the Client. High level deadlines need to be discussed, and greed upon by client, and coach.

Once the coach, and client have completed the first two steps, they can move forward to the third step in the method, which is “Set Goals”. For those that have studied the coaching discipline, we know that goal setting is core to the coaching practice. Under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD we will see that in addition to an articulation of the client’s needs, and wants, we will also formalize, and set scope to the work to be done. SMART goal setting format is simplified under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. The simplified format for goal setting under the ASCEND METHOD becomes: 1) specific goals, 2) measurable goals, 3) include a time frame, and 4) be achievable.

When the client’s goals are captured, and agreed on, under the “Assessment” step, we are ready to move forward to step four in the method, “Create a Plan”. Under this step, the coach initially drafts a plan, but ultimately the Client “owns” the plan. A proper ASCEND COACHING plan includes: 1) A re-statement of the client vision, and the client goals. 2) Identifying of all the resources needed to support execution of the plan. 3) Outline of the action steps to be completed during execution of the plan. 4) Estimate of the time needed to complete the execution of the plan. 5) Calling out of any constraints, or block to completing action steps, and suggested approaches to reduce, or remove blocks. Lastly, the completed plan then needs reviewed, and agreed to by both client, and coach.

With the plan created, reviewed, and agreed upon by all important players, coach, and client can move forward to the fifth next step, “Execute the Plan”. “Execute the plan”, simply stated means completing the action steps. It means doing the work. There is an old Roman expression “Divide, and Conquer”. And we have seen that the Coach can aid the client by breaking down plan milestones, or goals into workable action steps. Action steps are binary; either they are completed, or they are not completed. Completed actions should be celebrated! If an action step is not completed, the coach needs to partner with the Client to identify, remove, or at least minimize any block to completing the action step. Techniques exist to help with procrastination, including the “Five-Minute Rule”, or breaking the work down into time spent versus number of action steps. A good coach will seek to support, and motivate the client to complete action steps. Praise, and accountability are key. Very often, despite best intention, and best planning efforts, there is can arise a need to monitor progress, and reassess goals, and time-lines. This then leads to step six in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, “next steps”.

The core to step six, “next steps” is evaluation of progress, and adjustments to the existing coaching plan, and associated action steps. This step is a tracking, and consideration of the next best steps, as part of progress monitoring, or when execution of the coaching plan varies from what we expected. On the one hand, “Next Steps” is simply a monitoring of progress, and a positive thing. It may not indicate any particular problem – just a maintenance piece in the process. But if significant gaps develop, coach and client need to discuss if a reassessment of goals, or time-frames is needed. Some of the reasons that coach, and client may need to consider a change in coaching scope, or time-frames include: Missed deadlines (this is the most common reason based on my coaching experience), Client motivation, or lack of resources (this can mean money, and or bandwidth). Whatever the underlying cause, if significant gaps start to develop, coach (or client) need to call out the need to reconsider the original goals, action steps, or plan. An experienced coach can work with the client to understand what the gaps are, and employ the best techniques to get work back on track, and adjust the coaching plan if need be. Step six, “Next Steps” in addition to a monitoring of progress, provides a way to reconcile actual work, against planned work as outlined the coaching plan. It supports keeping momentum moving forward to deliver the client’s goals and vision. Under this step, the coach can continue to provide value to the client, and help deliver the client’s vision, and goals that are more realistic, but still inspire the client.

STEP SEVEN – DELIVER GOALS: This final step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, "deliver goals" is the fruit of all the previous steps. Ideally, it is the realization of the Client’s vision. Of course, this is the most rewarding step for the Client, but can be rewarding to the coach as well. The coach has invested time, effort, and sometimes patience in working with a client. I can say from first-hand experience to see a Client’s goal realized is a wonderful thing to be part of. Below are some reflections regarding this final step, based on my years of experience as a Career, and Executive Coach.

DELIVERY MAY COME IN STAGES: This is especially true when the client lays out goals that are across many different life areas. A desired relocation to a different part of the country, or world, may be realized at a time-frame different that say attaining an executive position with an international corporation. But a single client can certainly have these two goals as part of their life vision. Another very common example of delivery coming in stages can be found in some common executive coaching goals. For example, “improve my leadership” is a common goal in executive coaching. But this is a dynamic goal, and there is never truly a point at which we want to say “I have improved enough”. This is also a great example of how a good coach can help the client by translating the long-term goal into smaller, realistic steps. Delivery of the goal comes in stages such as: Learn a new management style, take on a board position for a charitable organization, or Be promoted to a senior management position

DELIVERY MAY BE PARTIAL: In the world of career coaching, most of my work involves job searches. In the current economy, this is most often a situation where a client has a job, but there exists a gap for the client. More often than not, the client does not feel fulfilled, or does not have passion for the work, or the company mission. In working with a client on a job search, at some point I usually have the client put down on paper what the requirements are for their next position. This often includes salary, along with other requirements as reported by the client, such as flex hours, or the ability to work remotely. To my I experience I have had clients that obtained their “perfect job”. But it is more often the case that the next job is an improvement, and a very positive change, but may fall short in one or two requirements. Hopefully these are low priority gaps, and the client is still very excited for the new opportunity; and they are. In this example the overall goal of “find a new job” is satisfied, even if it may fall short of the ideal. Strictly speaking, the goal was delivered, but not 100% aligning to the client vision. I still consider this scenario a success, and delivery of a major goal.

GOALS CAN CHANGE: As discussed in an earlier step (step 6) as time goes on, and especially when the client’s life situation changes, the original stated goals may change. Goals might need to be reassessed, and reconsidered if there are changes in resources, unforeseen blocks, or if the motivation of the client changes. This is not a failure, in fact changes are an attempt to overcome a problem. My context under step 7, is that “delivery of goals” may not be the original goals. It may be the revamped goals that were established in an earlier step.

DELIVERY OF GOALS TAKE TIME: In the course of the previous steps, a good coach tries their best to keep expectations, and time-lines realistic. But it can happen that the client goal is delivered later than expected. Sometimes, a lot later. After the client – coach relationship has ended. As a career coach, I have seen client accept their new job before we have finished our first month together! But I have also seen clients continue with their job search after our relationship has ended. One thing (one of many things) a career coach can not control is the specific job market. We also need to recognize that unless the client is miserable, we want the change to be a position one. A marked improvement. It may not be wise to accept the first position that is offered. This is where a good coach can provide some objectivity, and insights. When a position is offered, this is a good time to revisit the original job requirements that I mentioned earlier.

Step seven, “Deliver Goals” is the final step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD©. It is the product of all the previous steps in the methodology. It is the step where the fruits of the work between Client, and Coach are manifest. It is closure. Both Client, and Coach can feel some satisfaction, and they are justified in doing so. Even if the work takes longer than first anticipated, or if the goals realized do not reach the ideal, there is improvement, and this will rightly be celebrated. Through the process, Client, and Coach has completed assessment, planning, as well as action steps, that improve the life of the Client. Client, and Coach remained committed to the process, and made adjustments to time-frames, and goals as warranted, to keep the process moving. Where does this leave the Client? It should leave the Client in a better state. That we surely must recognize. But does culmination of the process mean an end to striving? An end to the Client’s vision? An end to dreaming? The answer lies just beyond the horizon.

AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a certified Career, and Executive Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach.com

]]><![CDATA[ASCEND COACHING METHOD Step 6: Next Steps]]>Fri, 31 Jan 2020 16:30:33 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/ascend-coaching-method-step-6-next-steps

Things do not allows go as planned. This is especially true with careers. If we are thoughtful, we do an assessment, set goals, create a plan with action steps, and move forward with the expectation of meeting our goals. But to paraphrase John Lennon, “Life happens while we are busy making other plans”. We might have plans to complete a 4 years degree while working a full-time position, and then find that we are having a growing family, and as a result we are not able to meet all our responsibilities, and complete our course work as planned. Our we may have a plan to position ourselves for a management promotion, then discover that the company has been sold, and new management is coming in. Or we may be planning to undertake a career make-over, then see that there have been departures in our department, that puts more work on our lap, which makes personal goals nearly impossible. These things happen. But the real question is, “How do we respond”. My suggestion is that we not abandon our goals, and our plans, as we have identified them as being important, but rather reassess, and consider alternative steps, or time-lines, and move forward. This reassessment, and consideration of goals, and action steps becomes step six in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. Simply said, step six is an assessment of progress, and determination of the next appropriate action steps. Relating this step to the software development cycle, this step six corresponds to “checkpoints”, and if needed, “change requests” that are common during the build phase in development. Before we take a closer look at what this step means in the method, it is worthwhile to consider the previous steps in the method, because each step tends to build on the foundation of the previous step.

PREVIOUS STEPS SUMMARY: For those that have read previous segments, you will remember that the new ASCEND COACHING METHOD is a marrying of best practices in the Coaching discipline with methods I have seen used in software, and systems development. It is important to state the new coaching method is sequential. That is, each step relies on work done in the previous step. In the first phase or step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, the coach will “Ask Questions”. Briefly stated, the coach interviews the client in a specific way. The goal is to understand the client’s vision, current state, time-lines, and expectations. We have found that the best way to conduct these client interviews are by using open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage clients to open up to discuss their dreams, or visions, their expectations, and any concerns. If step one is completed successfully, we will understand the client’s vision, or “future state”.

After step one, capturing of the client’s vision, coach and client can move on to the second step in ASCEND COACHING METHOD the “Assessment” phase. The assessment step is an evaluation of the important information the coach has gathered from the client interview in step one. The goals of “Assessment” are to understand the client’s vision (future state), and compare this against the client’s current state to determine how realistic the vision is, and estimate the effort that may be needed to deliver on the vision. In this second step, the coach also determines if any limitations will block progress, and if so, if any of those limitations can be removed, or at least reduced. Also, the client’s time frame needs to be considered, and discussed. It needs to be determined if the client’s time frame is realistic. Deadlines that are too aggressive, and unrealistic can lead to frustration for the Client. High level deadlines need to be discussed, and greed upon by client, and coach.

Once the coach has completed the initial interview in step one, and completed the assessment process in step two, coach and client can move forward to the third step in the method, “Set Goals”. Goal setting is core to the coaching discipline. Under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD we will see that in addition to an articulation of the client’s needs, and wants, we will also formalize, and introduce scope to the work to be done. The SMART goal setting format is simplified in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. The simplified format for goal setting under the ASCEND METHOD becomes: 1) specific goals, 2) measurable goals, 3) include a time frame, and 4) be achievable.

Once the client’s goals are captured, and agreed on, we are ready to move forward to the next step in the coaching method; “Create a Plan”. It should be stated that it falls to the coach to initially draft a plan, but ultimately the Client “owns” the plan. Components of a proper plan include: 1) A re-statement of the client vision, and the client goals. 2) Identify all the resources needed to support execution of the plan. 3) Outline of the action steps that need to be completed during execution of the plan. 4) Estimate of the time needed to complete the execution of the plan. 5) Calling out of any constraints, or block to completing action steps, as well as suggesting ways to reduce, remove, or work around any blocks. The completed plan then needs reviewed, and agreed to by both client, and coach.

With the plan created, reviewed, and agreed upon by all important players, coach, and client can move forward to step 5, “Execute the Plan”. Execute the plan, means doing the work, completing the action steps. This is easy to understand. But understanding, and completing the action steps are two different things. In the previous segment we have seen the Coach can aid the client by breaking down plan milestones, or goals into workable action steps. Simply said, this step is about completion of action steps. And action steps are binary; either they are completed, or they are not completed. Completed actions should be celebrated! This is helps keep the client motivated, moving forward. If the action step is not completed as promised, the coach needs to partner with the Client to identify, remove, or at least minimize any block to completing the action step. As detailed in the previous segment, techniques exist to help with procrastination, including the “Five-Minute Rule”, or breaking the work down into time spent versus number of action steps, as well as motivation from the coach. Despite best intention, and best planning efforts, there is usually a need to reassess progress, goals, and time-lines. This then leads to step six in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, “NEXT STEPS”.

STEP SIX – NEXT STEPS: The core to step six, “Next Steps” is evaluation of progress, and adjustments to the existing coaching plan, and associated action steps based on changes in the client’s life, missing of deadlines, or changes in the client’s goals. Relating this to project work I have witnessed in software, or systems development, it is very common for certain teams working on building the solution to fall behind, and miss a deadline. The reasons for missed deadlines can be many, and it often is not due to lack of effort on the part of development teams. But the key point here is that indeed, missed deadlines can happen. In fact, they often happen. Does this mean the project is scrapped? Not usually. Deadline are remapped. Sometimes scope of the project is narrowed. And often other downstream teams, such as testing, or quality assurance teams, are ramped-up, with the expectation they will be doing more intense testing of more features in an attempt to still meet the original deadlines. The main point here is that there are accommodations that are made. Sometimes this is changes in deadline dates, sometime removing some of the deliverables, and sometimes teams are ramped up to try to make up time that was lost in the missed deadline. In the world of IT, these changes touch many people, and many teams. Changes also can have a financial impact. In the case of a coaching relationship, the two parties most effected are the client, and the coach. It is important to call out, that “Next Steps”, a reassessment, may happen more than once in the completion of the method. Indeed, execution may need to happen several times in the execution of the plan – anytime gaps are identified, and best next steps are considered. To give some clarity, it probably is worth looking at the type of changes that can impact the original plan, and a consideration of the best “Next Steps” given those changes.

MISSED DEADLINES: Based on my years in career, and executive coaching, this tends to be the most common reason where things deviate from the plan. Clients often start out with the best of intention, but coaching work, and the associated action steps tend to be “just one more thing” added on to a weekly workload. A good coach can provide value by working with the Client to understand why the deadline was missed and providing guidance. If the general goals are still the same, and the client is still motivated, the easiest resolution is to reset the deadline, and review with the client if there are any obstacles to meeting the deadline.

CLIENT MOTIVATION: Sometimes client motivation can waiver. This is especially true when undertaking a job search. Offers may not come from the first or second interview. No one likes rejection, and there can be a lot of rejection in a job search, especially if offers take longer than expected to materialize. A good coach will find ways to keep the client motivated. One exercise I sometimes use in my practice is to have the client visualize, and then write down how a new job will benefit them. It may mean more money, or more time with family. Or it may mean just spending more time doing work that they love, and have passion for. Another technique is to review with the client the work they have successfully completed, and the value they have in the market place. A great coach will understand the best techniques to use on a particular client, and implement them.

CHANGED GOALS: Sometimes the client’s vision change, and this will change the goals, and the action steps. For example, the client may have started with a plan to enter into the accounting profession. They may have an action step to complete a couple basic classes in accounting. But after completion of the first class, they may begin to doubt they would be happy in the accounting field. In this case the coach needs to work with the client to understand why accounting is seeming unpleasant to them, and review why they considered accounting as a profession in the first place. Perhaps the appeal was around doing analytic, detailed work. Perhaps the appeal was having better job security. Regardless, the coach needs to have a conversation around these topics to see if the original goals are still valid, or if new goals need to be considered, and mapped out with the client.

SCARCE RESOURCES: Resources can be time, or money. During execution of a coaching plan they may struggle to find enough time to complete action steps. In this case, the coach can work with the client on time-management, and suggest setting some boundaries so that work can continue as planned. Sometimes money becomes an issue. Clients may experience some family obligations that make the original plan more difficult, or even find it hard to pay for extended coaching sessions. A coach can offer help in budgeting, and work with the client on setting priorities. Also, some coaches may suggest less frequent coaching sessions to accommodate the client’s budget. In this way the coaching relationship can be maintained, just with less frequent sessions.

There are certainly more changes that can arise during the execution of a coaching plan that require a reassessment, and consideration of next best steps, but the above are the most common. In summary, we have seen that step six in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, “Next Steps” is an assessment, and consideration of the next best steps when execution of the coaching plan varies from what we expected. Reasons that things may vary from the original coaching plan can include missed deadlines, client motivation, changes in the client vision (or goals), or challenges with time, or money. The client should not be left to struggle on these issues alone. A good, and formally trained coach can work with the client to understand what the gaps are, and employ the best techniques to get work back and track, and update the coaching plan if need be. If the original client vision, and goals were worked through, and created thoughtfully, we should assume that they had value to the client. But in the real world, despite diligent planning, things change. Step six, “Next Steps” provides a way to reconcile actual work, against planned work as outlined the coaching plan, so momentum can keep moving forward to deliver the client’s goal and vision. Utilizing this step, the coach can continue to provide value to the client, and help deliver the client’s vision, and goals that are more realistic, but still inspire the client.

AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a certified Career, and Executive Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach.com

]]><![CDATA[ASCEND COACHING METHOD Step 5: Execute the Plan]]>Fri, 20 Dec 2019 15:57:14 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/ascend-coaching-method-step-5-execute-the-plan

When we ask a peer or subordinate to report on the completion of a task, have we heard “I meant to”, or “I need to do that”, or “I stated to work on that”. These kinds of replies are attempts to minimize the lack of action. But what really matters in taking on a task, or action step, is “was it completed? Or was it not?” Execution of a task is binary; either it was completed or not. In this continuation of the series, we will look at ASCEND COACHING METHOD: Step 5 – Execute the plan. Which is really completion of action steps that the Coach, and the Client previously agreed to. Part of this step is for breaking down the plan into action steps, or tasks and then monitoring progress on the tasks. As an overview, the goal in this series is to show how proven existing coaching practices can be integrated with certain frameworks, and methodologies I have seen utilized in software, and technology development to form a new Coaching methodology. Relating this step back to the software development cycle, we can think of this step as the “Build” phase, where developers write, and edit code, and begin to create, or modify system screens, and sourcing developers produce scripts to capture data that is needed to support the project “solution”. This methodology has been branded as the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. In this segment I will give some techniques to help with the completion of action steps, which is how we “Execute the Plan”. Before laying out my suggestions around “Execute the Plan” it is probably worthwhile to summarize the steps in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD we have covered so far.

PREVIOUS STEPS SUMMARY: This new Coaching method is based on sequence. And there is a best sequence to follow in working with this new coaching method. In the first phase or step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, the coach will “Ask Questions”. In this first step it is the job of the coach to interview the client to understand the client’s vision, current state, time-lines, and expectations. We have found that the best way to glean this information, which will be the foundation for future steps done, is by asking questions using a specific technique. The technique I suggest is to ask open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage clients to open up to discuss their dreams, or visions, their expectations, and any concerns. The goal of this first step is to understand at a high level, the client’s vision, or “future state”. In software development this parallels when the project owner first stakes out their high-level vision of the system’s future state. In waterfall methodology the document produced by the project owner, in this first phase is literally called a “Vision Statement” or “Vision” artifact.

After step one, the coach can move on to the second step in ASCEND COACHING METHOD the “Assessment” phase. This second step concerns evaluating the important information the coach has gathered from the client interview in step one of the methods, “Ask Questions” to map out what it means to the coaching process. The goal of “Assessment” is to understand the client’s vision (future state), and the client’s current state to determine how realistic the vision is, and approximate the effort that may be needed to deliver on the vision. In this second step, the coach also needs to determine if any limitations will block progress, and if so, if any of those limitations can be reduced, or removed. Also, under this step, the client’s time frame needs to be considered. Coach, and Client need to determine if the client’s time frame is realistic. The coach can provide value to the Client, and the process, if they call out time lines that are unrealistic. Deadlines that are too aggressive, and unrealistic can lead to frustration for the Client.

Once the coach has collected critical information from the Client in step one, and completed the assessment process in step two, coach and client can move forward to the third step in the method, “Set Goals”. The idea of setting goals is nothing new in coaching. But under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD we leverage processes pulled from software, and technology development, and we will see that in addition to an articulation of the client’s needs, and wants, goal setting under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD will also formalize, and introduce scope to the work to be done. SMART goal setting method provides a solid foundation, but one that is simplified in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. Under the new coaching method, a valid goal needs to be 1) specific, 2) measurable, 3) include a time element, and be 4) achievable. Writing down goals improves the Client’s success rate, and also sets the scope of the coaching work to be done. Once the client’s goals are captured, and agreed on, we are ready to move forward to the next step in the coaching method, Step Four, “Create a Plan”. In the previous segment I fleshed out the details of “Create a Plan”. A key point of “Create a Plan” are that ultimately the Client “owns” the plan. But it falls to the Coach to create the draft of the plan. Components of the plan include: 1) A re-statement of the client vision, and the client goals. 2) the plan should call out all the identified resources needed to support execution of the plan. 3) at a high level the plan should call out the action steps that need to be completed during execution of the plan. 4) The plan should contain an estimate of completion time for execution of the plan. 5) In addition, if the coach identifies any constraints, or block to completing action steps, they need to call these out, as well as suggesting ways to reduce, remove, or work around any blocks. The completed plan then needs to be shared and reviewed with the Client. The last step in the “Create the Plan step is agreement, or a “sign off” on the final plan. With the plan created, reviewed, and agreed upon by all important players, coach, and client can move forward to step 5, “Execute the Plan”.

STEP FIVE – EXECUTE THE PLAN: High level milestones will be contained in the Client Plan. In “Execute the Plan” these milestones, or high-level objectives are broken down into specific action steps by the Coach, and the Client. Once the action step, and a deadline is agreed to, there is a commitment made, and the action steps, or tasks need to be completed. This usually means there are recurring coaching sessions setup to track progress, and to keep the plan moving forward. Both Coach, and Client are responsible for tracking progress. To provide inertia the Coach needs to make note of the action steps agreed to, and keep the Client accountable. One of the first things I suggest in recurring coaching sessions, is for the Coach to review any open action items with the Client. If there are blocks to action steps, the Coach needs to discuss these with the Client, and work with the Client to come up with ways to reduce, or remove these blocks, or provide a work around. This may be one of the easiest steps in the new coaching method to understand, but sometimes the easy steps are the most difficult to do. The step could have been called “do the work, and track it”. Since many of us have trouble “getting off the dime” and actually taking action steps, here are some suggestions to help cure procrastination, and drive forward “Execute the Plan”.

THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE: I wish I could take credit for this technique, but I can’t. In fact, the origins of the “Five-minute rule” go back to a cognitive behavioral therapy technique. Here is how it works: Find a task to do that may be unpleasant for you to do, something you have been procrastinating on, get the tools you need to complete the task, (and here is the important element) give yourself 5 minutes to work on the task, if you find it too unpleasant to continue, give yourself the permission to stop doing the task, and move to something else. Most times we use this technique, if we make it the first five minutes, we will continue on, and may even complete the task! The five-minute rule is a powerful technique to get things done. Especially tasks we find unpleasant. Try the five-minute rule today! You will be surprised how well it works.

TIME VS. ACTIONS: When you have a larger task, or action step to complete, consider if you want to complete the work based on time spent, or number of actions. Some of us will do better with tasks if we block off a set time on our calendar, and have at it. These people probably feel some comfort in knowing “I’ll spend an hour on this, then I’m done for the day. Yippie!” They take comfort know the work, which might be unpleasant has a set end time. Others of us, like myself, would rather measure progress in the number of actions taken, and not the time spent. An example on how this would look under the two different scenarios might be the exercise of making sales cold calls. If you are a “time” person, you might block off an hour every day devoted to making cold calls. If you are an “actions” person, you would set the number of calls you will make per day, and try to meet the goal whether it takes an hour, 30 minutes, or 90 minutes. It does not really matter because your thinking is something like “I get these 25 calls completed, and I’m done for the day, Yes!” There is not right or wrong approach here. The important goal here is to get you moving to do the work. If you base this on time spent – great! If you base it on number of actions – great!

CELEBRATE COMPLETION: One fun way to make progress on action steps is to celebrate the completion of an action step. The “celebration” may look different from person to person, but even saying the phrase “I needed to get this done, and I completed it” are a kind of celebration. Any phrase that helps you to feel you are making progress is legitimate. Another example might be “that’s one off my to do list”, or even telling yourself, “you are making progress. Good Job!” A reward of some type can be part of the celebration. This might mean a dinner out, going to a sporting event, or glass of your favorite beverage. A good coach can join in the celebration. In fact, a coach should be doing just that. As the client completes an action step, the coach should be offering up a “Great Job!”, “Fantastic!” or “Great effort, congratulations!”. Having a celebration, whatever that looks like for you has practical value; it keeps you motivated to keep moving forward with executing the action steps.

Step five in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD is an easy enough step to understand. But understanding, and executing are two different things. The Coach can provide guidance in this phase by breaking down plan milestones, or goals into workable action steps. A good coach will review progress of action steps with the client. At its core, this step is about completion of action steps. Action steps are binary; either they are completed, or they are not. If the action is completed, coach and client can celebrate the completion. This is an important element as it keeps the client motivated, and keeps momentum moving forward. If the action step is not completed, the coach needs to work with the Client to identify, and remove, or minimize any block to completing the action step. Some techniques to help with procrastination are using the “Five-Minute Rule”, breaking the work down into time devoted or number of action steps, and a celebration of completion of steps. Despite best intention, and best planning efforts, there is usually a need to reassess progress, goals, and time-lines. This then becomes the next step in the new method, “NEXT STEPS”, which will be discussed in the next segment.

AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a Professional Certified Career, and Executive Coach.

]]><![CDATA[ASCEND COACHING METHOD Step 4: Create Plan]]>Fri, 01 Nov 2019 15:28:51 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/ascend-coaching-method-step-4-create-plan

The goal in this series is to show how best existing coaching practices can be married with certain methodologies I have seen utilized in software, and technology development to form a new Coaching methodology. This methodology has been branded as the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. There is a best sequence to follow in working with the new method. With the previous steps as foundation, I will outline step four in the method, called “Create a Plan”. As the previous steps have established the “what”, step four is around the “how”. That is, “how” will coach, and client work together to deliver the client’s vision, and the client’s goals. High level the plan will outline the steps, or actions that need to be completed to deliver on the client’s goals, or wants, and needs. The plan should outline what resources are needed, what work is to be done by the coach, and what work is to be done by the client, as well as an estimate of time frames to complete the work. This step closely mimics the overall Project Plan in software projects, that is typically created by the Project Manager, with input, and help from the project owner, and sponsors, and various technical teams that will deliver work to complete the project. Before we do a deep dive into “Create Plan”, let me recap the previous three steps.

In the first phase or step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD, the coach will “Ask Questions”. In this step it is the job of the coach to understand the client’s vision, current state, timelines, and expectations. We have found that the best way to gather this information, which will be the foundation of the work to be done, is by asking the right kinds of questions. And the right kind of questions tend to be open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage the client to open up to discuss their dream, or vision, their expectations, and any concerns. The goal of this first step is to understand at a high level, the client’s vision, or “future state”. In software development this often parallels when the project owner first stakes out their high-level vision of the future state. In waterfall methodology the document produced by the project owner, in this first phase is literally called a “Vision Statement” or “Vision” artifact.

After step one, the coach can move on to the second step in ASCEND COACHING METHOD the “Assessment” phase. This second step is all about evaluating the important information the coach has gathered from the client in step one of the method, “Ask Questions” to understand what it means to the coaching process. The goal of “Assessment” is to clearly understand the client’s vision (future state), and the client’s current state to determine how realistic the vision is, and approximately how much effort will be needed to deliver on the vision. In this second step, the coach also needs to determine if any limitations will block progress, or if any limitations can be reduced, or removed. Also, in this second step, the client’s time frame needs to be considered. Coach, and Client need to determine if the client’s time frame is realistic. The coach will provide value if they call out time lines that are unrealistic. Deadlines that are too aggressive, and unrealistic can often lead to frustration for the Client.

Once the coach has collected critical information from the Client in step one, and completed the assessment process in step two, coach and client can move forward to the third step in the method, “Set Goals”. The idea of setting goals is not new in the coaching practice. But as we leverage processes pulled from software, and technology development, we can see that in addition to an articulation of the client’s needs, and wants, goal setting under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD also formalizes, and introduces scope to the work to be done. Several goal setting methods can be considered, but the SMART goal setting method provides a solid foundation, but one that is simplified in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. Under the new coaching method, a valid goal needs to be specific, measurable, include a time element, and be achievable. Writing down goals improves the Client’s success rate, and also sets the scope of the coaching work to be done. Once the client’s goals are captured, and agreed to by both client and coach, we are ready to move forward to the next step in the coaching method; “Create a Plan”. “Create a Plan” has several components. I will outline these in some detail.

OWNERSHIP: This first question to consider in “Create Plan” is who owns the plan? Ultimately, the Client owns the plan as the method itself is “client-based”. Said another way, the method, and processes exist to satisfy the vision, wants, needs, and goals of the client. However, clients will look to the coach to be an expert in their field, and as such initial creation of the plan falls to the coach. It should be mentioned, that this new method diverges from some other coaching methods, such as Wieser Coaching method which puts setting of the agenda on the Client. Drawing from my several years in Career Coaching, I see again, and again, that nearly all the clients I have worked with prefer me, the coach to set the plan and the agenda. They perceive me as an expert in the career field, and look to me for guidance and an overriding plan.

PARTS OF A PLAN: There should be several items to be addressed in a valid plan. One of the first is a reinstatement of the vision, and client goals. These should already exist, but should be captured again in the plan to call out the scope of the work to be done. There should also be a calling out of resources. That is, who, and what will be leveraged to deliver on the client’s goals. The obvious resources will be the coach, and the client themselves. But there may be others. For example, if the plan is to have the client complete evening coursework, and they have family obligations, the added resource may be a significant other that needs to step up and cover family obligations so the client can attend, and complete courses. And in this same example, the school becomes a resource, as it is needed to fulfill on the client’s goal. More than just identifying resources, it needs to be understood what each resource will be supplying. In the case of job interview practice, the client will be providing time, attention, and answers in a mock interview, and the coach will be providing interview prep, asking questions, taking notes, and finally be providing constructive feedback to the client. This mapping out of resources to provide different types of support may change over time, but it is still useful to go through this exercise so resources can be identified, and obtained as needed. In the case of one parent taking on evening coursework to reach a goal, their significant other needs to commit to be supportive, and may need to step up to take on added responsibilities for the plan to be successful. The plan should contain an outline of action steps. The coach needs to understand the proper sequence of the action steps, and at a high-level call this out in the plan. The action steps should be specific, and measurable. For example, “Complete Accounting 101 class”. This is an action step that is either complete (successfully completed the class) or incomplete (enrolled, but dropped out – leaving it incomplete.) Another action step example could be “obtain 5 professional letters of recommendation”; this is either complete (obtained the 5 letters), or incomplete (have not started, only have 3 letters – both can be measured as “incomplete”, or if you like, a “work in process”). The point is these action steps are measurable as completed, or not completed. Also, a high-level time line needs to be called out. Will it take weeks, months, or years to deliver on the client goals? This time frame needs to be realistic, and called out in the plan. Also, if there are limitations, or constraints that impact the execution of the plan, these should be noted, and possible remedies, or work-arounds provided by the Coach.

CLIENT REVIEW: As stated above, as the coach is responsible for draft of the plan, but ultimately the client “owns” the plan, the plan needs to be shared with the client, and any feedback collected, and edits put in place. If this is a plan that requires a long-term engagement, say several months, or even years, my suggestion is that this is done in a formalized way. This means the plan should be created as a document, sent to the client for review, and then reviewed together in real-time by both coach, and client. This is done so any concerns, or mistakes can be addressed, and edits made to the plan to obtain sign-off by both Client and Coach. For example, in the interview process the Coach might have understood the goal of “Complete a bachelors in Accounting”, when the client really meant “Complete a bachelors in Managerial Accounting”. These gaps can be identified, and usually resolved when they are called out in the plan, and reviewed by both coach, and client. In some cases, the client may have very useful ideas, and input that can change the plan. These alternatives need to be discussed high level during the plan review, and the best options incorporated into the plan.

AGREEMENT: After review, and incorporation of any edits, the Client, and Coach can come to agreement on the final version of the plan, and it can be signed off by both Client, and Coach. In extreme cases, if there is great reliance on other resources, it makes sense for them to also review the final plan, and get buy-in. An important point to mention is that the plan is not “etched in stone”. Life can, and often does, introduce changes to the best of intentions. But it still has value to create a plan that says in essence “at this point in time, knowing what we know now about the client’s current state, vision, and constraints, here is our agreed plan going forward”. The aim is to impose structure around the work to be done.

As I move forward and describe the steps of the new method in detail, I think it is easy to see that these steps are like building blocks; one step logically follows the prior step. You can’t build a plan, if you don’t understand the goals, and you can know the goals until you have interviewed the client. Just is in building a structure, the footings need to come first, before the first floor is built, and the first floor needs to be roughed in before the second story is roughed in, and so on. In the detailed description of step four “Create a Plan” I have stated that ultimately the Client “owns” the plan. However, as the Coach is generally considering the expert in the process, it falls on the Coach to create the draft of the plan. I have also laid out the necessary components of the plan. The first component is to re-state the client vision, and the client goals. This is done to clarify what the desired client future-state is. It is called out to answer the question “why are we going through this effort?” and “what is the point of this coaching work?” The answer should be to deliver on the client’s vision, the client’s goals. These points are so critical they need to be contained in the coaching plan. In addition, the plan should call out all the identified resources needed to support execution of the plan. At a minimum this would be client, and coach. But it may identify other people, or institutions if they are critical to success of the plan. Also, at a high level the plan should call out the action steps that need to be completed during execution of the plan. The action steps need to be measurable to track progress within the plan. The plan should contain an estimate of completion time for execution of the plan. Will the plan take many weeks? Many months? Or even years to complete? The plan needs to estimate the timeline for completion. In addition, if the coach identifies any constraints, or block to completing action steps, they need to call these out, as well as suggesting ways to reduce, remove, or work around any blocks. The completed plan then needs to be shared with the Client, who ultimately owns the plan. By way of review by both Client, and Coach, any mistakes, suggested edits, and alternative approaches need to be discussed, and any improvements incorporated into the final plan. If there are critical resources, and stakeholders impacted by the plan, it is best to draw them also into the plan review. The last step in the plan process is agreement, or “sign off” on the final plan. I recognize as well that a plan may change in time, due to life changes, unforeseen obstacles, or other changes we can not always predict. But is still has value to go through the process of creation, review, and sign off of a plan so both client, and coach can agree “given what we know now, and with the aim of delivering the client’s goals, here is our plan going forward”. With the plan created, reviewed, and agreed upon by all important players, coach, and client can move forward to step 5, “Execute the Plan”. This next phase will be discussed in the next segment.

AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a Professional Certified Career, and Executive Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach.com

]]><![CDATA[ASCEND COACHING METHOD Step 3: Set Goals]]>Fri, 04 Oct 2019 14:39:34 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/ascend-coaching-method-step-3-set-goals

the world of coaching, the idea of setting goals is not a new one. It is in fact one of the cornerstones of the coaching practice. But under the new ASCEND COACHING METHOD there are some distinctions on what we are calling a “goal”, and what we are calling the client vision. For example, under the new method “improve work/life balance” would be considered (at least part of) the client vision, and “block off five hours per week for family activities” would be considered a goal. Another important aspect of “Set Goals”, the third step in the new methodology, is that in this step we get closer to an agreement, or contract between the coach, and the client. In software technology development, this corresponds to identifying specific features of “the solution”, and detailing specific requirements. It is a focus don the “what”, not the “how”. Before give more information on step 3, Set Goals, let me summarize the previous two steps.

“Ask Questions” is the first step in the methodology. With this step the coach, and the client engage for the first time. In this step it is the job of the coach to understand the client’s vision, current state, timelines, and expectations. The best way to gather this information, which will be the foundation of the work to be done, is by asking questions, and more than that, asking the right kinds of questions. In short, the right kind of questions tend to be open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage the client to open up to discuss their dream, or vision, their expectations, and any concerns. The goal is to understand at a high level, the client’s vision, or “future state”. In software development this often parallels when the project owner first stakes out their high-level vision of the future state. In fact, in waterfall methodology the document produced by the project owner, (sometimes with the help of a business analyst, or project manager) in this first phase is called a “Vision Statement” or “Vision” artifact.

As the second step in ASCEND COACHING METHOD the “Assessment” phase is all about evaluating the important information the coach has gathered from the client in step one of the methodology, “Ask Questions” to understand what it means to the coaching process. The aim of step two is to clearly understand the client’s vision (future state), and the client’s current state to determine how realistic the vision is, and approximately how much effort will be needed to deliver on the vision. The coach also needs to consider what the client’s limitations, or constraints are. In this second step, the coach also needs to determine if the limitations will block progress, or if any limitations can be reduced, or removed. Also, in step two, the client’s time frame needs to be considered. Is the client’s time frame realistic, given the estimated effort needed to move the client from current state, to the realization of the client vision (future state)? The coach will truly be helping the client if they call out time lines that are unrealistic. Deadlines that are too aggressive can often lead to frustration.

To recap, in the two previous steps the coach has engaged with the client, asked open-ended questions to understand and capture the client’s vision, and completed an assessment to understand how the particulars will impact the coach’s approach. With these foundational pieces in place coach and client can move forward to step three, “Setting Goals”. It will help to clarify what this step is about if we break in down into some core components. The first is defining what makes for a valid goal.

GOALS DEFINED: There are existing formats for goal setting that are widely used. One format that is appealing, is the SMART format. As defined, and published by the professional organization, the Corporate Finance Institute, “A SMART goal is used to help guide goal setting. SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Therefore, a SMART goal incorporates all of these criteria to help focus your efforts and increase the chances of achieving that goal.” This definition is appealing, but under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD it is simplified. Below are the parameters the methodology considers in setting a valid goal.

VALID GOALS: We need to define what makes for a valid goal before we proceed. A valid goal has a couple key components. First a Goal should be specific, and second it should be measurable. A third piece is that a goal should have a time frame. The last element to consider is if the goal is achievable. To give an example “Complete a Master’s degree in Accounting, or Finance within 3 years” is a valid goal because it is specific, measurable, and has a time element. Assuming the client has the time, and resources, the goal is probably achievable. “Educate myself on Accounting, and Finance” is not a valid goal under the methodology, because it is not specific, and not measurable. Although this statement might be a good element to be contained in the client “vision”. Another example of a valid goal might be, “I want to lose 10 pounds in the next two months” is a valid goal, as it is measurable, specific, has a time frame, and if the client is given structure and guidance, is achievable. “I want to become more fit” is not a valid goal as it is not specific, and does not have a time frame. Here are some other aspects to consider when setting a goal.

GOALS and VISION: Does the stated goal fit under the client vision? (The client vision is identified in step one.) If so, it becomes part of the core of the coaching experience. If not, it still may be able to be worked in the coaching process, but would be worked as a side-goal by the coach, and client. If the goal falls outside of the client vision, it can still be considered important, but may not be dependent on the main work the client and coach engage in.

CAPTURE THE GOALS: A critical piece in working through goals is to capture the goals; put them in writing. According to Psychology professor Dr. Gail Matthews, at the Dominican University in California, you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Another consideration under the ASCEND METHOD is that by capturing, or writing down the goals, both the coach, and the client have a clear picture of the deliverables that are to be produced in through the coaching work. Put simply, by writing down and reviewing the goals both client and coach agree on the targets, they both understand the “scope” of the coaching work to be done.

Setting goals is nothing new in the coaching discipline. But as we leverage processes pulled from software, and technology development, we can see that in addition to an articulation of the client’s needs, and wants, goal setting under the ASCEND COACHING METHOD also formalizes, and introduces scope to the work to be done. Of the existing goal setting formats that are often discussed, the SMART goal setting method provides a solid foundation, but one that can be simplified. Under the new coaching method, a valid goal needs to be specific, measurable, include a time element, and be achievable. In addition to improving a client’s success, writing down goals also sets the scope of the coaching work to be done; it creates a list of targets that client and coach will drive forward. Once the client’s goals are captured, and agreed to by both client and coach, we are ready to move forward to the next step in the coaching method; Create a Plan. This fourth step in the ASCEND COACHING METHOD will be discussed on the next segment.

Author: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a Professional Career, and Executive Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach.com

]]><![CDATA[ASCEND COACHING METHOD Step 2: Assessment]]>Tue, 02 Jul 2019 13:59:51 GMThttp://ascendprocoach.com/blog/ascend-coaching-method-step-2-assessment

My premise is that methods I have seen used in Technology, and Software development life-cycle can be the basis of a new coaching methodology. In a previous segment I put forward the idea that methodology I had seen used in technology, and software development could be reframed to form the core of a new coaching methodology. This method that draws from software development life cycle, as well as the best proven practices in coaching industry has become known as ASCEND COACHING METHOD. The method starts with asking of questions, which was discussed in the last segment. And continues with an assessment phase, the second step in the method, that I will be discussing shortly. After the assessment phase, the method continues on with a phase of capturing of goals, then creation of a plan, and execution of tasks, or the build phase. The next phase is a tracking of progress, and if there are obstacles or bottlenecks the next steps are considered. The final phase is the delivery on the solution, or put another way, delivery of the goals. These seven phases became the foundations of the ASCEND COACHING METHOD. A coaching methodology that strives to understand the vision of the Client, assess the Client’s current state, create and execute an action plan, and ultimately deliver on the Client’s goals. The method puts the Client’s needs first, and puts the coach in a responder role, working to satisfy the Client’s vision, and agenda. In short, the method’s aim is empowerment of the Client. In this segment, I want to dive deeper into step two, which is the Assessment phase.

To recap the previous step, “Ask Questions”, which is the first step in the process, the coach, and the client engage for the first time. It is the job of the coach to understand the client’s vision, current state, timelines, and expectations. The best way to mine this information, which will be the foundation of the work to be done, is by asking questions, and more than that, asking the right kinds of questions. The questions the coach needs to focus on are open-ended questions. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage the client to discuss their vision, expectations, needs, and blocks. The coach also needs to set aside their own assumptions, and expectations, and be an active listener. Coaches will do this best when they exhibit the four precepts of an active listener. Being an active listener means you seek to understand the client first, avoid judging, you give undivided attention, and use silence effectively in dialogues with the client. By asking the right, open-ended questions, and by using best practices of an active listener, the coach will strive to capture the client’s vision, needs, blocks, limitations, and current state. A skillful coach will devote enough time, patience, and effort to extract this critical information from the client.

If the first step “Ask Questions” was completed successfully we have a great deal of important information collected from the client. The coach has critical information on the client’s vision, desired future state, timelines, and current state. In the second step in the methodology, we consider what all this information means to the coaching process. Said another way, the coach deciphers the client information to understand what needs to be addressed in the work that will become the coaching experience. This second step of “Assessment” parallels the phase in software methodology where system architects, development leads, and other technical resources create a “swag” of the general effort needed to move the current state forward to the future state, or “vision”. There are several pieces to this process of “Assessment”.

The important first piece in the assessment phase is to understand the client’s vision. That is, to understand the client’s desired future state. I the space of career coaching, where I work, this can mean higher compensation for the client, but more and more I am seeing that it means using the client’s passions in their job, and career. The consideration of higher wages becomes less important. To better understand the client’s vision, the coach may ask more in-depth questions, or the coach may use tools that call for the client to describe the duties, the interactions, and the location of their “perfect job”. Or perhaps ask the client to write a short description on a “Day in the Life at your Perfect Job”. These are just other techniques to help the coach understand, and record the client’s vision. The coach works to understand, and capture the client’s aspirations, and their dreams.

The next important piece in doing the assessment is to understand clearly the client’s current state. It is to answer the question of “where is the client now” in their life, and their journey. This becomes the starting point that the coach will compare with the client’s vision, or desired future state. In comparing current state, and future state, or vision, there is normally a gap. This gap tells the coach the delta; that is, how far the client is from realizing their vision. This is a rough cut on how much effort is needed to realize the client’s vision.

Another element to build into the assessment is the client’s timeframe. What is the client’s expectation on how long they believe it may take to arrive at their desired future state? A good coach can be expensive. Ideally the coaching experience is really about building a long relationship with the client, but financial constraints can often drive the length of time the client has to work with a coach.

The coach also needs to assess any client limitations, or constraints the client has to contend with as they work to deliver on their vision. In the world of career coaching, if the client is in a junior position, and wants to advance to an executive level, but does not have a college degree, then the lack of a degree might be a constraint to the client in reaching their aspiration. Another limitation might be the client’s bandwidth. For example, the client may want to move forward with a job search, but they are over-worked, and have family obligations, such as being caretaker for an aging parent. The coach needs to identify these constraints, or limitations, and make this part of the overall assessment.

During the Assessment phase time lines also need to be called out. In short, what are the client’s expectations in terms of time to arrive at their future state? When the coach clearly understands the client’s vision, or future state, and also understands the current state, while accounting for any constraints, the coach should be able to make a determination if the client’s time lines are realistic, or unrealistic. In my work in career coaching, I sometimes hear from a client that is well into six figures salary that they want to make a move to a different industry, and get this done within a month. To my experience this time line is very aggressive. I’m not saying it is impossible, but certainly very optimistic. As an expert in the coaching niche, a good coach will call out time lines that appear unrealistic. It is fine to be optimistic, but at the same time the coach needs to weigh out how realistic the client’s time frame appears. In general, it is better to error on the side of allowing too much time, than not enough. Missing unrealistic deadlines can be counter-productive, and lead to frustrations.

As the second step in ASCEND COACHING METHOD the “Assessment” phase is all about evaluating the important information the coach has gathered from the client in step one of the method, “Ask Questions” to understand what it means to the coaching process. The aim of step two is to clearly understand the client’s vision (future state), and the client’s current state to determine how realistic the vision is, and approximately how much effort will be needed to deliver on the vision. As the coach is making these determinations, they also need to consider what the client’s limitations, or constraints are. The coach needs to determine if the limitations will severely block progress, or if these limitations can be reduced, or removed. In addition, the client’s time frame needs to be considered. The coach needs to evaluate if the client’s time frame is realistic, given the estimated effort needed to move the client from current state, to the realization of the client vision (future state). The coach will truly be helping the client if they call out time lines that are unrealistic. Failing to achieve deadlines that are too aggressive will lead to frustration. One critical role of the coach during the Assessment is to help client understand realistic time lines, and set realistic expectations. With important client information gathered in step one “Ask Questions”, and analyzed with regard to current state, and future state (client vision), the client and the coach is prepared to move on to the third step in the method, “Set Goals”. “Set Goals” will be the topic of the next segment.

AUTHOR: Brian Kail, MBA, CPC is a professional Career, and Executive Coach. For more information see AscendProCoach.com

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