Subscribe (RSS)This week’s post by Zack Lemelle, iPEC’s Managing Partner of Corporate Engagement Services, is a video blog that discusses employee engagement and how it is affected by the engagement that comes from the leadership within any organization. Please leave comments below!
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Are your Leaders Engaged?May 20th, 2011THROUGH – Not TO – the Finish LineMay 13th, 2011Cycling up a steep hill, I was reminded of an invaluable lesson from a friend. The last few moments, the last few yards as you climb a hill on a bike, require a push. But many cyclists, when they make that push, set their sights on the exact peak of the hill (their goal) and they pedal and spin to that point. And what they invariably find is that they really start to run out of steam before they get to the peak. The hill takes pride in zapping the last bit of remaining energy from the cyclist. The cyclist will just barely make their goal, and have very little left in the tank. However, top cyclists don’t focus on the exact goal, the exact peak. They look beyond; they pick a spot that they know is a stretch, but pushes them far past the goal most focus on. They set their sights where the hill evens out beyond the peak. Whether they can physically see it or not doesn’t matter — they know it’s there. While others struggle to reach the top, the professional cyclist goes powering by and cruises through their goal — and having felt the ease after the peak (where most people need to stop), their legs and minds rejuvenate knowing they’ve got even more to give. Where do you focus? Do you run to your goal or through it? When you achieve that goal, what reserves do you have left? How can this change in focus change your focus? What will the payoff be? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please comment below! Live on Fire! D. Luke Iorio, CPC, PCC, ELI-MP Building a Winning BusinessApril 29th, 2011Organizations continue to experience one of the most tumultuous times in history. Bank failures and automotive industry struggles (to name just a few), coupled with near depression-era unemployment rates, find a struggling economy limping its way to a recovery. Without question, these issues have had a profound impact on the viability and profitability of companies, worldwide, as many have had to downsize, outsource, continuously cut budgets, and, in many cases, rethink everything. Amid all of these challenges and changes, what’s been the impact on the most valuable asset of an organization — its human resources? For starters, there’s anxiety, disempowerment, fear, and a lack of trust. Such thoughts, feelings, and high levels of anxiety, lead to low energy, decreased engagement, and moderate levels of performance. With a desire to help organizational leaders shift their catabolic cultures, we leveraged our Core Energy Coaching™ construct — the most effective leadership framework and change process in use today — to create the Coach Centric™ Leadership Engagement Program (CCLEP). By helping leaders to build engaged, energized organizations for innovation and growth, organizational behaviors become driven by collaboration, teamwork, and continuous learning. You know what else happens? Employees begin to shift – they have a desire to go the extra mile, to reach beyond the status quo, to get involved in special projects, to communicate willingly and effectively, to proactively problem-solve, and to seek innovative solutions. You know what else? They look forward to coming to work every day! As iPEC works with leaders and leadership teams who want to inspire and motivate their staff, Human Resource professionals who want to create business leaders, and project teams who want to increase project success rates, it’s abundantly clear what it takes to build a winning business. It’s not the company. It’s the people. What’s your strategy for building a winning business? Zack Lemelle, CPC, CBC One Engaging GuyApril 22nd, 2011Last week, we introduced Zack Lemelle as the Managing Partner of our Corporate Engagement Services Division here at iPEC. This week, in an effort to give you a bit of insight into this “engaging” guy, we thought we’d share an excerpt from a recent Q & A session with him. What’s the most important skill you learned at iPEC? I embraced all the skills I learned during my coach training experience at iPEC, most notably those that fostered a keen understanding of new ways to connect with colleagues on both a personal and professional level so that, as a team, we were able to move forward in the most effective and efficient way possible. These new competencies directly impacted my ability to keep my organization engaged, energy levels high, and performance strong. In fact, during tough times of downsizing, outsourcing, and deep budget cuts, our cultural value survey results were always the best across our global corporation. We consistently achieved double-digit improvement in our scores. iPEC’s coach training program also strengthened my leadership skills and those of my staff. I’ve always patterned my leadership behavior around this compelling question, “if they take away your title, will they still follow you?” The power of that question, especially when combined with the Core Energy Coaching™ process, has helped me to guide my previous organization through some of our most challenging times. What’s your hope when it comes to working with organizations through the Corporate Engagement Services offered at iPEC? My hope is that organizations realize it’s time for a new approach to the traditional methods of leading and engaging employees because great things happen when leaders increase the energy of their teams and get their people focused away from current circumstances and onto higher aspirations. The stated objective of our Corporate Engagement Services Division is to be the leader in building engaged, energized organizations for innovation and growth, and to fundamentally change how organizations lead, inspire, and grow. What are the common misconceptions that you see when it comes to coaching? That coaching is only for individuals that have performance gaps. In fact, coaching is for everyone. Leaders at all levels of an organization can benefit from adopting the skills and competencies of iPEC’s Core Energy Coaching™ process. The results are undisputed! Companies that embrace coaching as a core competency see improved performance in every aspect of their organization. Morale increases, enthusiasm increases, engagement increases, and performance increases. The Core Energy Coaching™ process shows tangible, measurable outcomes, which is what leaders certainly like to see. Who inspires you? First and foremost, my unwavering faith in God! Second, Robert Savage, a former senior executive of a large multi-national corporation who epitomized the leadership question I shared with you earlier, “if they take away your title, will they still follow you?” Everyone drew from Bob’s energy. He inspired us all to look beyond our present circumstances, and to focus our attention on what was possible in order to accomplish extraordinary results — in spite of the tough challenges we faced. Third, William Weldon, the guiding light of Johnson & Johnson, a company for which I had the pleasure to work for many years, whom I admire for his steadfast commitment to the J & J credo, a document which espouses the company’s tenets. Next week, Zack will share his perspective on what’s driving the need for organizations to re-engage and re-energize their workforce – right now! What’s your perspective? Who inspires you? How Coaching Changed my LifeSeptember 8th, 2010By Guest Blogger Karen S. Richter I am so grateful for how coaching has enhanced my internal capacity to handle whatever life hands me. So much so, that I want to share the amazing experience and resulting self-awareness, inner peace, and happiness with others. Several years ago, I was in a place where many parents find themselves – feeling pulled in multiple directions, and living on autopilot. I had too little time and energy to devote to all the conflicting priorities in my life, and ended up feeling a bit inadequate at them all. My Human Resources role drastically changed on September 11, 2001. Through helping our employees (our offices were across the street from the World Trade Center), I got a glimpse of what it was like to truly help others – to have a significant impact on their lives. It was an amazing experience. I felt so alive! I loved being able to help others in such a big way. I worked with a life coach to address my feelings of frustration and inadequacy, and to identify ways to continue to feel that value of truly helping others. I got clear on my priorities and began living according to my values. As I experienced the transformational powers of coaching first-hand, I realized that this was the way to help people live their lives to their fullest potential. I attended iPEC training and learned the coaching process that allowed me to see things in a much more positive light and completely changed my life. I realized my passion was not to just live my own life to the fullest, feeling fulfilled as a parent, wife, friend, etc., but to help others find that same fulfillment and inner peace in their own lives. I decided to pursue a career in coaching, and founded Cohesive Outcomes, a company dedicating to enriching the lives of parents through coaching and outdoor adventure retreats. The proof of how much the coaching process enhanced my internal capacity to handle all that life throws at me came when I was faced with a shocking personal tragedy. I was able to handle the situation with much more grace and ease than I ever imagined, due to what I had learned through coaching. My husband was shot in the face in a random act of violence. Instead of feeling like the victim (“How could this happen to us?”), instead of feeling sorry for myself (“How can I cope with all the stresses of this situation?”), I was able to see all things I had to be grateful for (he’s alive, he’s going to fully recuperate, we’ve got access to great doctors, we have a network of wonderfully supportive family and friends). I realized I was not a victim of my circumstances, but in control of my reactions and resulting situations. I began to live with an amazing calmness, knowing that I was able to live life on my terms, and actually create the life of my dreams. I continue to be thankful of how coaching has enriched my life. Every day, I’m able to more clearly see the abundance in my life. I find ways to spend time enjoying all the things I have to be thankful for. I’ve stopped using up my precious energy on negative things, or things I can’t change and instead find positive energy that allows me to focus on keeping my family and friends a priority. So much energy that I’ve been able to find enough to train and complete a full marathon – yep – 26.2 miles! And coaching has allowed me to find clarity in my life – to realize that my purpose is to help others. And that’s why I’m here – to help parents realize they can achieve balance and satisfaction in lives. And that people can, not only survive in tough times, but thrive! About Karen Richter: |