If you have been thinking about working with an Executive Coach to help you make a greater impact this year but still debating, let me tell you more about the process here to help you understand if it would be the right move for you now.

When I think back to who I was in my 20s and early 30s, I was a Powerhouse. I climbed the corporate ladder quickly and was a vice president within the financial services industry by the age of 31. I was armed with an MBA, a strong voice, and a quick mind. I also was physically strong, as a certified personal trainer/fitness leader and completed several triathlons.

But life can sometimes find a way of throwing us curve balls (or maybe teaching us lessons that have the opportunity to shape us if we are brave enough to be honest with ourselves). And that is exactly what happened to me on July 18, 2012.

It is hard to believe that we are soon approaching the end of another year. Has anyone else felt that time has moved even quicker since the COVID-19 pandemic?

It has been a busy month for me, and no doubt for you, too! I have had a lot of projects to finish and then, of course, Christmas shopping and the events that come with the Season.

But now I remind myself I have a choice. I can continue to keep ramping up high speed throughout the holidays with social outings and doing lots of prep work to blast into an exciting new work year, or, I can allow myself some time to rest. I don’t have to keep going at the pace that I have been carrying on now. Yes, I needed to have an energy burst to complete some things I had been working on, but I now get to choose if I take my foot off the gas pedal or not.

A big part of Executive Coaching is asking powerful questions and then using my gut instinct as a coach to follow each question up with important observations, more insightful questions and space for important reflection.

I know I can’t coach everyone who reads this blog. But, I would like to share with you some of these coaching questions to help you reflect upon the importance of this year in your professional and personal growth and development. I would highly recommend grabbing a journal or a few blank pieces of paper and actually handwriting your answers to these coaching questions down.

Journalling will make a big difference in terms of how deep you can go with your reflection. And the deeper you go, the more insights you have that can help propel your direction in a more solid way for the exciting year ahead!

So, grab a cup of tea or coffee, a pen and paper, and let the reflection begin!

I have been an Executive Coach for 15 years. Before that, I was a vice president in the business. So I understand both sides of the equation. If you are a CEO, HR leader, or someone else tasked with managing leadership development, this article is an important read for you.

The difference between an ultra-successful development strategy untilizing executive coaching and an okay one is the systemic coaching approach. This requires a little bit of effort on the part of the coach and the organization, but the extra steps are well worth it!

One of the top 5 issues leaders and aspiring leaders come to me as an Executive Coach to work on is improving their executive presence.

I believe everyone can 100 percent have an executive presence. To me, it is the ability to own who you are as a person/leader and display that authentically and confidentially in the workplace.

How does your Executive Presence stack up? Take my quiz!

I have worked with a lot of people over my years as an Executive Coach and seen them make amazing transformations. How are most of them doing it? Baby steps!

I know there can be the appeal of waiting for that one life-changing moment to turn things around and propel you to where you want to be. But, the reality is that it often doesn’t happen like that.

Sustainable change happens when we take small steps every single day, which alters our habits and rewires our brains so that over time, a real shift can take place.

Very few people I know have received any formalized mentorship training/coaching. Yet, most people have a strong component of mentoring others as part of their job.

Mentoring others isn’t just a nice to do, it is a need to do. If you want to be competitive in the marketplace, you need to have strong people. One of the best ways to create strong people is for them to have mentors. Either everyone struggles themselves along their career journey, or they have people to help teach them.

Tips to continue to grow to be a strong mentor?