What on earth is executive coaching?

Good Morning Powerful Ladies.   Today's blog is a little different than the normal format.  I appreciate you indulging my desire to tell my story.  I promise to get back to the format you have come to know and love next week.  

This weekend, at a family gathering, I had the opportunity to meet a second cousin from another state that I had never met before.  My cousin, a surgeon before retirement, turned out to be a man of insatiable curiosity.  A curiosity that led me to articulate and define coaching in ways I never had before.  Upon meeting, this cousin asked me the obligatory questions about my children, our home, my job, you know the drill and the questions.  He mentions that he heard from my aunt that I practiced law and that I worked at the law school in our city.  I told him that I had done those things but that I had given them up to start my own company and become an executive coach.  He smiled politely at my answers and moved on to talk to the next relative.  Little did I know, that this was just the beginning…

Several hours later this same cousin approached me again.  He had a very perplexed look on his face and he said, I know you are a coach and you have your own business; but, I have talked to your grandmother, your Mom, and your sister and no one seems to know what it is that you actually do.  He then asked me to explain a little more about the details of how I earn my living.  Not wanting to bore him or sound like a commercial, I told him that I worked with other professionals to help them grow their businesses.  I told him I taught a class for professional women and that I spent a lot of time simply having conversations with clients about their challenges, goals, or other relevant driving forces. 

Again, my answers seemed to satisfy him for a little while as he moved on to mingle with other family members.  But again he returned, this time he sat very close to me and asked, “How do you know how to help other people?” I laughed and explained that I had received coaching training and that I also used all of my college degrees, job experiences, and life experiences in my work.  I told him that I believe this is the first job I have ever had where I truly used all of my education and my entire skill set.  This seemed to satisfy him and he once again moved on.

A few minutes later, having considered my earlier answers, he was back again and this time he asked the flood gate question which netted him more information, more dramatic responses, adventurous metaphors, and impassioned speech than a political pep rally.  The question, “So do you like being a coach?”  To which I responded, YES- I like being a coach!!!!

  Without any additional prompting I went on to explain that I enjoy coaching it allows me the opportunity to help people rediscover how truly amazing they are.  Coaching prompts people to remember who they want to be when they grow up.  Coaching is like having your BFF, an adoring fan, and your favorite teacher (you know the one that was ridiculously tough, pushed you to your limits, and helped your discover the joy of reaching your full potential) all rolled into one.  I explained that many professionals feel disconnected from their families, their friends, & their work.  They reach a point where they are so busy keeping up with the workload that they forget to love the process.   As a coach I help them find ways to manage the workload and rediscover the inner joy that drove them to this work in the first place.  I explained that coaches are not perfect.  There are many days where I see a name on my calendar and I wonder what I will be able to teach this person.  Yet-that is the beauty of coaching, the teaching comes from the student rediscovering what he or she already knows.  Sometimes the student has forgotten the lesson in the midst of his/her busy life, sometimes the student is afraid of the knowledge and is engaging in thinking or activities that limit their potential in order to avoid the fear, and sometimes the student has never taken the time to think beyond the paycheck, billable hour, trek to partner, or next bonus, to see the lesson hidden in the depths of their soul.  

Yes-I like coaching!  It is a new fantastic adventure every day.  Every student has their unique twists and turns and a different ultimate goal.  Often we take a roller coaster ride together through all of the mysterious dark caves of their professional lives, we climb the long slow hills up the coaster through years of bad habits, sometimes bad deals, bad partners, and other unsavory experiences to the epiphany moment that plunge them into professional exhilaration and excitement.  For many the plunge of excitement is something they have not experienced in a long time- for some ever.  

I went on to explain that during a coaching session my clients and I often learn together the unique values and offerings they have to give the world.  We discuss how to package their offering in a way that attracts exactly the type of client they truly want to work with and will give them the life they really want to lead.  

I tell him that I used to think that I loved sales, my former career, because my attention span never allowed me to remember the last rejection or the last victory leaving me living a dog’s life always hungry for a new day.  Now I realize it is not a lack of attention span that allowed me to love selling it is a love of people, learning their stories, their hopes, their fears, & their desires-often hidden deep within their hearts completely unrealized because they don’t fit within the conventional box of their profession.  I go on, unlike sales, coaching allows me to offer real solutions, support, & strength to help my clients make the jump from someone who sells their time by the hour to someone who lives each day with a mission and maybe even a passion!  

In my wildest dreams I am not sure I would ever have articulated a desire to become a coach.  I did however articulate a desire to help others, put my education to good use, and make an immediate difference in the world.  This knocking at my heart led me down a career path that has culminated in a profession, a business, and a life that ignites my personal fire.  I explain what a joy it is to be on fire for what you do and to wake up anticipating with glee the day’s work.  Yes- I like being a coach, you might even say I LOVE it!  

P.S.  To my family, thank you for making me realize that I have not done a very good job articulating how I spend my days.  To Cousin Gary- thank you for your interest in coaching.  To my coaching clients and Honoree-thank you for opening my heart’s floodgates.

About Jonelle- Jonelle Vold is an attorney, ten-year sales veteran, wife, mother of twins, and an executive coach.   Her coaching philosophy is that each of us has the potential for greatness.  To reach our potential, we must crack our personal code and live with intention.  Jonelle does a lot of work with attorneys and other high-stress professions.  Her goals is to help each client grow their business and reach maximum success while enjoying the process.  You can contact Jonelle at 520-225-9053 or jonelle@jonellevold.com 

Powerful Ladies Unite!: The Power of a Plan

Powerful Ladies Unite!: The Power of a Plan: "In my former career, I had the pleasure of working for a very talented salesman. In fact, this man was so talented the company we both..."

The Power of a Plan

In my former career, I had the pleasure of working for a very talented salesman.  In fact, this man was so talented the company we both worked for created a sales training program based upon a book this man wrote.  The book had lots of valuable gems.  My favorite was a “magic” question that sales people were instructed to ask to gain insightful knowledge of their customer’s business and their customer’s true concerns.  The magic question, elicited very interesting responses.  I found that it did provide insight into the customer’s business.  However, what I found more interesting was that is uncovered whether or not the customer had a plan.   

The question seemed basic,  “What few things must go absolutely right in the next few months for the next few months to be a success”   But the responses were amazing.

The customers with a plan loved the magic question.  Their answers contained specific-concrete-objectives, goals, and metrics.  The energy and excitement of describing what needed to go right would transform the conversation.  Suddenly instead of being on a sales call you were on dream building call.  Cool stuff! 

In contrast, for those without a plan it was the most painful question you could inflict on them.  Often the customer would spend an uncomfortable amount of time staring back at you like a deer in the headlights.  The stare of horror was generally followed by a meandering diatribe with no clear message, no logical sequence, and no actionable items.  The answer frequently felt like death by a thousand paper cuts as the customer attempted a stream of consciousness response not appropriate for anyone ears but their own as he/she attempted to work through in their own minds what success might actually look like. Just as the question filled the room with excitement for those with a plan, it just as quickly deflated the room of any energy if the customer did not have a plan.

The stark contrast between the two types of responses was as different as night and day and yet the only variable was one customer had a plan and one did not.  Having a plan in place is a critical step toward achieving success in any setting as it provides the WHAT and the WHY- what do you want to accomplish and why do you want to accomplish it.   Many people get hung up on the how and therefore skip the plan.  The how is determined day by day with your action items.  But, you won’t know the how until you know the WHAT and the WHY- i.e. the plan.  Just like my sales customers who were either energized by the opportunity to discuss their plan or deflated by the realization that they did not have one, the same is true for each and every one of us for anything we want to accomplish.  

I meet plenty of high-level professionals who are going through the motions, with no plan for business success.   This phenomenon seems to be worse with women-particularly Moms.  I see a lot of working Moms who have traded a plan for business success for day-to-day survival.  I understand the importance of day-to-day survival, particularly in the early days; survival may be all we are capable of.   But if you remain in a state of survival your career is likely to stagnate.  Without a plan, the Mommy guilt of leaving little ones at home, the economy, the horrific boss, the lay off, the illness, the … (fill in the blank with any other external circumstance you can imagine), can derail your desire and ability to move up the ladder.  If the ladder is no longer the golden ring, then you need a plan to reach the newly defined golden ring.  Either way, YOU NEED A PLAN or the weight of day to day responsibilities will crush your spirit slowly like death by a thousand paper cuts leaving you on a meandering path with no clear path, no logical sequence, and no action items (sound familiar?)

In order to achieve success, we have to have a plan.  Think about every success you have had-there was a plan.   If you play sports, you knew the rules of the game and what it took to win.  You may have had a specific conquest you were after- a state championship, etc.   In school, you knew you needed a certain grade to advance to the next level and you had a plan for how much schooling you wanted/needed to achieve your desired career.  A diet-you had to know what you were trying to lose- a certain number of pounds, a certain % of body fat, or even fit into the dress you bought 6 months prior.  The same holds true for every facet or our lives and our businesses.

My challenge to every Powerful Lady reading this blog is to spend the time to think about what you are really after, what is your golden ring.   Then, create a plan to reach it.  Don’t get caught up in the how.  The how will be a series of small action steps but you won’t know if you are stepping in the right direction until you know the plan.  We each get one life, are you living yours on purpose with a plan for success or are you in a state of constant reaction to whatever life throws your way?  I vote for having a plan!

About Jonelle- Jonelle Vold is a business coach passionate about success.  A mother of twins, former Assistant Dean at a tier-one law school, attorney, and seasoned sales professional, Jonelle understands the challenges of high-level professionals.  Her coaching philosophy is every person has the ability to achieve greatness by cracking their own personal codes and living with intention.  You can reach Jonelle at jonellevold@me.com, 520-225-9053, or www.coachhonoree.com/jonelle

The Power of Action

OK Ladies, it is Monday morning.  Spring is in the air and new growth is everywhere.  What a perfect time to dust off the old New Year’s resolutions or create a new set of goals.  If you are daydreaming about making changes in your life NOW is the perfect time to start taking concrete steps to make those day dreams a reality.  Maybe you have always wanted to own your own company, write a book, have a multi-million dollar book of business, or climb a mountain.   Whatever desire is knocking at your heart- it is time to get started.   
"How?" you say- simple, take action.  So many of us spend so much time living in our own heads.  We are like the old Tom and Jerry cartoons with the angel and devil on each shoulder. Angel-  “I want to bring in a new client” Devil-“You are too young, too old, too new, too much estrogen, to bring in a new client” Like every great debate, each thought has a point and then a counter-point.   For every desire the angel identifies, there is a limiting belief or fear that the devil identifies.  And so the mind debates go on, and on, and on leaving us paralyzed and truly stuck on the hamster wheel.   The only action we ever take toward making concrete changes is to expend our energy and brainpower moderating our own cerebral debate.  Well, now is the time to put an end to the debate cycle, and to start making progress.  
I understand that the fears and limiting beliefs feel well founded.  Maybe you had a horrific experience at another point in your career, maybe someone fed you the belief growing up, maybe you have lived by the belief for so long that it has become larger than the rest of your brain which is packed full of powerful know how and amazing knowledge.  Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter.  I am going to give you a simple but full-proof system to start moving yourself forward no matter how big the fears and justified the limiting beliefs.
The first step is simply to DECIDE you are going to do whatever it is you want to do.   You don’t have to know how you are going to do it, but you must decide that you are going to do it.  Deciding means you stop looking for the reasons your desires cannot come true and simply trust that they will.  So, are you ready?  Decide.  Write it down.  It doesn’t have to be huge, but decide what you want to accomplish and put it to paper.
The second step is to take action.  Yes-that is right, DO SOMETHING.   You don’t need to get organized, you don’t need to do an analysis of the possible actions and choose the one that is most effective, you simply need to do something- anything.  If you want to find a new client, go somewhere there might be clients, call an existing client, take a friend to lunch, put an ad in the paper, it really doesn’t matter-just do something.  Get out of your head, come from you heart, and take some sort of action.
The final step-is to pay attention.  Set the goal, decide you are going to achieve it, take action, and then PAY ATTENTION.  Is the action you are taking working?  If so, do more of it.  If not, do something different.  And then pay attention again.  Taking action will shift you from the analysis paralysis toward actual progress.  Keep taking action until you find something that works.  As you take action, allow yourself to take chances and make mistakes-you never know whom you will meet and what you will learn on these little detours.    In my own life and career, I have stumbled backwards on to the right action many times.   But, you have to be in motion to be able to stumble.  
I know it sounds simplistic but trust me, you can reach those goals that you have been putting off until someday.  Here is the formula:1.     Decide2.     Take Action3.     Pay AttentionAlong the way you may decide you want some support.  If so, there are a plethora of groups, books, and online support systems.  If your goals are professional your company, bar associations, marketing director, HR professional, or colleague may have resources for you.  As you decide to achieve your goal, don’t worry, the resources will appear.  If you get in a bind, email me, I have plenty of resources I can suggest.  Plus, I would love to be a part of your progress.
Powerful Ladies, today is the day, no more excuses, no more debates, in the spirit of March Madness and its NIKE sponsor,  JUST DO IT!    I know you can and your life will never be the same once you do!
Jonelle Vold is a business coach passionate about the success of women.  A mother of twins, former Assistant Dean at a tier one law school, attorney, and seasoned sales professional, Jonelle understands the challenges of professional women.  Her coaching philosophy is every person has the ability to achieve greatness by cracking their own personal codes and living with intention. Jonelle would love to be a part of your success today.   You can reach Jonelle at jonellevold@me.com, 520-225-9053, or www.coachhonoree.com/jonelle

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