By Kara Anderson


​In the hustle and bustle of professional life, it's easy to lose sight of our needs amidst the demands of our careers. However, true success stems from a foundation of well-being and continuous self-improvement. Just as important, it's essential to prioritize self-care strategies that rejuvenate and empower us in our professional world. In this blog post, we'll delve into key tactics every professional should periodically undertake to refresh, enhance, and nurture a positive self-image.

Revitalize Your Resume

• Update Regularly - Your resume is your professional snapshot. Regular updates ensure it remains current, accurately showcasing your latest achievements and experiences.
• Quantify and Qualify Achievements - Highlight what you've done and how it impacted your organization. Use numbers and metrics to quantify your accomplishments and underscore your value.

Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

• Professional Photo and Headline - Ensure your profile picture is professional and your headline reflects your expertise and aspirations. It's the first thing people see.
• Craft an Engaging Summary - Write a compelling summary that encapsulates your professional journey, skills, and ambitions. Make it engaging and easy to read.
• Skill Endorsements and Recommendations - Request endorsements and recommendations from colleagues and supervisors. Genuine endorsements add credibility to your profile.

Invest in Yourself

• Continuous Learning - Enroll in courses, webinars, or workshops relevant to your industry. Stay updated with the latest trends and technologies.
• Professional Certifications - Pursue industry-recognized certifications that bolster your credibility and demonstrate your commitment to staying at the forefront of your field.

Networking

• Attend Events and Conferences - Participate in industry events to expand your professional network. Engage with fellow professionals, exchange ideas, and build lasting relationships.
• Utilize Online Platforms - Leverage social and professional platforms like LinkedIn to connect with peers, join relevant groups, and engage in discussions.

Take Care of Your Well-being

• Mental Health - Prioritize mental health by taking breaks, practicing mindfulness, and seeking support if needed. A healthy mind is vital for making sound professional decisions.
• Physical Health - Exercise, maintain a balanced diet, and ensure adequate sleep. Physical well-being impacts your energy levels and overall productivity.

Time Management and Goal Setting

• Set Clear Goals - Establish short-term and long-term career goals. Break them down into achievable milestones to maintain focus and motivation.
• Manage Your Time Effectively- Implement time management strategies to maximize productivity and minimize stress. Prioritize tasks and allocate time for self-care activities.

Remember, investing in yourself is the key to long-term success. By dedicating time and effort to refresh and enhance your professional image, you'll improve your marketability and lay the groundwork for a fulfilling and prosperous career. So, take that step today and elevate your professional persona!

About the Author
​Kara Anderson is a partner at the Thomas Watson Group (TWG). Founded in 2013, TWG provides executive search, executive coaching, and consulting services. With offices in Connecticut, New York/New Jersey, and Florida, the firm's partners have more than 60 years of combined experience providing talent solutions to clients in four industry verticals - healthcare, insurance, financial services, and business services. To learn more about TWG's services and offerings, please visit thomaswatsongroup.com

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I get asked some pretty basic questions about executive coaching by leaders at all levels. Some who inquire have known an executive who had a coach and have some familiarity. Others have no idea what coaching is or can do for them.

Often I sense a hesitancy to ask about executive coaching. Rather than take the risk that some will not ask, and miss out on the benefits of hiring a coach, I decided to provide an outline of executive coaching – and what to expect.

What is an Executive Coach?

An Executive Coach is an unbiased, objective thought partner. They focus on professional and work-related matters.
Follow-up questions and answers:

• Is there a difference between a Coach and a Mentor or a Consultant? A: Yes. The best Coaches are skilled at getting a client to broaden their perspective and explore alternative possibilities on a wide array of topics. They will not give you the answers as a Mentor or Consultant does, although they may selectively provide advice. 
• Why don’t Coaches just give you the answers? A: There are several reasons, but the most profound is that if you don’t come to your own conclusions, you will not be as convicted as needed. In the future, when you inevitably encounter challenges, you will not be as likely to persevere if you have not spent the time to think through / work through “your” approach or plan and become committed to executing it.

Can I Benefit from Hiring an Executive Coach?

That depends. While everyone has the potential to benefit from hiring an executive coach, you have to be “coachable.” A disciplined executive coach will gracefully decline to accept a new client that is not really ready for coaching.To determine if you are coachable ask yourself the following six questions:

• Are you willing to be coached?
• Do you believe that even the most accomplished executives have some area that they can improve upon, even you?
• Are you willing to be open-minded, and consider new ways of thinking about things and operating?
• Are you able and willing to dedicate the time and effort to coaching and do the work required outside of coaching meetings to achieve your desired goals?
• Are you willing to hold yourself accountable for making progress?
• Are you willing to ask others – not only your coach - for support?

If you can honestly say “yes” to all six questions, then you are coachable. You should absolutely expect to benefit from coaching.

Skilled executive coaches have helped thousands of professionals at all levels, not just executives. Consider what sports coaches have done to help star athletes excel and perform at a level that never would have been possible on their own. Executive coaches can provide that same advantage.

What Happens During an Executive Coach Meeting? And, How Long Do Clients Normally Work With a Coach?

There is a pretty standard process that certified coaches use, however, there are differences depending on the training program the coach went through. Moreover, some coaches have chosen to adopt their own approach, despite how they were trained; and other coaches were never professionally trained.

Most executive coaching meetings are scheduled for one hour. What is covered in any particular session has a lot to do with the topic(s), the communication style of both the client and coach, and the stage in the coaching process. The length of time a client engages a coach varies, but three to six months is fairly common. However, some leaders seek a coach for a single meeting, while others retain a coach perpetually, requesting time sporadically, as needed.
There are three main phases in a coaching engagement that spans three to six months (or longer) that you can expect a well-trained coach to follow.

• What’s Up? In this initial phase the coach seeks to understand what you want to accomplish. To be helpful the coach needs to get some context, and learn who the players are … the competitors, obstacles, and limitations. Before moving into the second phase, they may test your assumptions, beliefs, and perspective, working with you to objectively diagnose the situation.
• What Matters? In phase two the client and coach will dig in, explore the options, and co-create a plan of action. Depending on the topic, this phase can take several weeks or months.
• What’s Next? In the last phase, phase three, you and the coach will focus on execution. The coach will likely challenge you, while providing encouragement and support.

​What Kind of Topics Can I Bring to an Executive Coach?

You can bring any kind of topic that you want to an executive coach. Some coaches specialize in certain areas and may make a referral to another coach if your topic is outside their area of expertise or comfort zone.
Below are just a few common coaching topics.

• Evaluation of a Tough Strategic Decision and the Trade-offs

If you have a tough strategic decision to make an executive coach, who is unbiased, can be extremely helpful in working through the options and trade-offs. Determining when to add a new product line, how to allocate finite resources, or whether to make a strategic acquisition are all great topics to cover with a coach. Often founders and small business owners without a board or with limited leadership teams engage a coach to get help with strategy.

Career Advancement

Almost every senior leader I have met who hired an executive coach later in their career has expressed the same sentiment – that they should have sought out a coach earlier in their career. Seasoned executive coaches can provide pivotal advice and dramatically change the trajectory of a high potential leader’s career.

Many highly capable leaders early in their career look at the most successful executives in their company and wonder how they got into the C-suite. Hiring an accomplished executive coach can be a game-changing move. A coach can help you create a career plan, chart a course, avoid pitfalls, and provide the necessary encouragement to ascend to roles that might not otherwise have been possible.

Discovering Your Blind Spots – Before They Derail Your Career

Skilled executive coaches can recommend the most effective assessments that will provide invaluable insights into your (negative) tendencies that you might not have otherwise recognized. The fact is, being aware and mindful of blind spots can enable you to escape the fate of derailing your career.

Assessing Your Core Values and What Truly Motivates You

A coach can help ascertain what your core values are, how they may have evolved over time and whether or not they are consistent with what you do day-to-day. Realizing that you are in a job that clashes with your core values can have a monumental impact on your satisfaction and joy at work. Many people just move through life not taking the time to think about what motivates them and could be more fulfilling.

What do Executive Coaches Charge?

The fees for executive coaching vary greatly. One of the most acclaimed executive coaches is Marshall Goldsmith, his fees for an engagement are in the six-figure range. On the other end of the spectrum, it is possible to find rates as low as $100 per meeting. Like most things, you get what you pay for, so consider the credentials, background, and experience of a coach before you dive in.

Executive coaching is an investment in you. Take some time to explore the options and find the right fit just as you would do with any other meaningful investment. You should be able to find a highly qualified coach with fees that average out to between $250 - $1,000 per meeting as of this writing.

A couple of other tips: 1) most coaches offer a free initial consultation, and there is no shame in taking full advantage of the opportunity to get to know them and understand their coaching process before engaging for an extended period, and 2) many companies will pay for the cost of executive coaching, so depending on the sensitivity of your topic you may want to inquire and evaluate that possibility.
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One final point, looking back X number of years from today, will you regret not having made the relatively small investment of time and money in an executive coach? Isn’t the potential to improve your professional career, your success, and your lifetime income too significant to pass up engaging an executive coach?

Executive presence (EP) is a term that is often cited, but poorly defined – even by those who reference it in talent decisions. In a recent study, the majority of HR leaders struggled when pressed to describe it, defaulting to “I know it when I see it.” In another study, of 400 CEOs and other leaders with hiring and promotional decision-making authority, 78% stated that limited presence holds people back.
 
I was unsatisfied with the notion that something so important to the career success of those I work with on executive searches and coach could not be adequately described, understood, and potentially developed. So, I spent several months doing primary and secondary research, and in this month’s blog I share a synopsis of my findings.
 
Let’s dispel some misconceptions upfront. Executive presence is not just charisma, nor gravitas. It is also not the mere physical presence of a leader, even those with an imposing stature. Executive presence is an amalgam of qualities, and no single individual possesses every characteristic at maximum levels.
 
Two of the most comprehensive studies of executive presence were done by: 1) Gavin Dagley and Cadeyrn Gaskin and 2) Suzanne Bates and her team of researchers. Both groups conducted extensive research and empirically defined executive presence. Their work illuminates the term by describing the characteristics of leaders with EP.
 
Below I weave together those key characteristics from the respective studies, as well as other sources, and provide insights about how to project executive presence.

Reputation. Individuals with EP have had significant achievements in their career, which generates an aura and a mystic. I would highlight that a successful track record is the cornerstone on which EP is built. Past success provides a level of credibility that is foundational.
Confidence. Those projecting great confidence display a special calmness and composure.
Communication. These leaders articulate messages in succinct, clear, and convincing ways. They share a view of the future which inspires others. Their messages are thoughtfully tailored to their audience. They’ve learned how to make themselves heard, using voice modulation when appropriate.
Self-awareness. The leaders with EP have high EI/EQ. They are attuned to their impact on others and show concern and empathy.
Appearance. They bring a level of energy and are seen to be on top of their game. These leaders are eager to engage, friendly, and charming. They are mindful and considerate of culture, and dress and groom appropriate to the setting. Their use of nonverbal body language, such as eye contact, style of walk, and posture is deliberate.
Integrity. These leaders display high standards of morality, adhere to their espoused personal values, and are found to reliable and trustworthy over time. 
 
There are other characteristics, and a few are admittedly innate. However, most of those DNA-based characteristics (like physical stature) have been found to be of less relative significance. The conclusion, executive presence can be developed.
 
Now What?
 
You can start to develop your EP right away. While it is not advisable to try to be someone you are not, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek to represent yourself more favorably and increase your odds of career success and earning power.
 
A great first step is to get some objective data to determine where to focus. The Bates team took their work further and created a statistically validated assessment tool called the Bates ExPI. It is an anonymous, multi-rater assessment tool that provides insight into why people have, and what circumstances led them to have, the perception they do about your level of EP.
 
As you reflect and consider your own executive presence, there is one other significant point I want to add - EP is about balance. When one virtuous characteristic overpowers another, it can detract from how you are perceived. What is all too common is those leaders most passionate about climbing the corporate ladder discover (some don’t) that their bias for action that served them so well mid-career is now causing them to be overlooked for that coveted C-suite role. The feedback from the interviews is: “as an independent contributor he got things done, but he is too aggressive. I don’t think he’s learned how to get work done through others.” And, “he doesn’t have the interpersonal skills needed, nor the emotional intelligence to build commitment and sustain a team’s momentum.” It can be hard to self-diagnose and determine what has been holding you back. Often the candid feedback you need is not given, or perhaps not accepted. Find an astute, accomplished executive coach, and get to work on developing / refining your executive presence.
 

All great CEOs want a CFO who will help them drive results. They are looking for what I call an “operating” CFO, that is, someone who will get involved in the business and positively influence outcomes. 
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Some CFO mistakenly view their role too narrowly. They think their job is just to accurately report results. That is important, and a core part of the job, but insufficient. To become a more effective and valuable CFO you’ve got to broaden your focus.

When I conduct a CFO search for our clients, I am looking for someone who sees their role as being responsible (alongside the CEO) for delivering outperformance. I want to hear multiple, concrete examples in the interview of how the CFO candidate identified an issue or opportunity early, took action, and drove a superior outcome. I’m listening for what the CFO did specifically and probing to assess if he or she was just along for the ride or was actually in the forefront steering the initiative and persevered.
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In particular, I’m looking for six things … and so are the CEOs and board members who will ultimately be speaking with those candidates that make it past my screening. If you’re not doing these things today, make a shift and take your game up a notch. 

• Vision & Strategy. It’s always important to start with the big picture & continually reevaluate the articulated direction of the company. The vision and strategy of many companies are stale and in need of extensive change. The right strategy will guide where you spend your time and how you make resource allocation decisions. So, before you jump to tactical actions to improve performance - stop - and consider whether changes are needed to the strategy. Raise thoughtful adjustments to your CEO and lock arms in a collaborative partnership.
• Management Process. I haven’t stepped into a company yet, in any capacity (as an executive or consultant), that had a comprehensive management process in place running at full tilt. Get to work on putting new processes and practices in place. Note: If you haven’t been trained in establishing and operating a comprehensive management process  see the Contact Us page. 
• Your Finance Team. It’s important to make sure your own house is in order. Look at your organization with a critical eye before you start poking into other areas of the business. This will serve you well in the future as you assert yourself in driving change across the business. Consider where your peers would place your team members in a blinded 9 Block review relative to their performance, and make the personnel changes necessary.
• Impact revenues, not just expenses. The most effective CFOs are more concerned about growth initiatives than how to squeeze expenses. In fact, myopically dealing with just the expense side of the P&L will lead to reduced long term company performance. Your job is to proactively determine well placed bets, and support and fund critical investments.
• Bond with the CHRO. One of your closest professional relationships should be with your company’s Human Resource leader. You’ll need their support and backing in the role of “change agent”; there will be people who challenge or even try to undercut you.
• Show your emotional intelligence (EI). You may well be the smartest person on the executive team, but you have got to exhibit interpersonal skills and maintain working relationships. It is extremely important to solicit input, genuinely listen to your peers, and partner with them in making changes. If you impose your positional power over and over you will eventually find yourself outside the organization. In coaching hard-charging CFOs and other executives I often say, “just because you’re right, doesn’t mean you win.” 

Keep in mind, all six are necessary, miss one and you’re missing the mark. 

Almost nothing is as exciting and invigorating as being part of a high growth company.  People are upbeat, opportunities abound, and the financial rewards can be significant.  However, a number of companies that start to grow find they can’t scale, and the growth and euphoria is short-lived.

Planning for Growth Before it Hits
Ideally you have anticipated and planned for exponential growth.  You’ve thought through whether the growth will come from a few jumbo accounts or a large number of discrete customers.  The right scaling solution varies greatly depending on the source of new business growth and the duration.  

It’s also important to evaluate whether your business is prepared to handle more than a single wave of growth.  Is your business robust, and can you manage sustained high growth?

Do You have the Cash Required?
If you’ve brought in investors who expect the business to scale to get the return required, make sure you’ve gained agreement upfront about the investment required (and the timing of those investments).  Do your financial backers support investing ahead of the growth?  Will cash be readily available when needed?  There may be a delay between when revenue is earned and recognized on the books, and when it is turned into cash.  A/R doesn’t pay bills, cash does.  It is possible to grow too fast.  

When High Growth Surprises You
One of the things that often happens when a business unexpectedly starts to grow extremely rapidly is issues emerge in one area of the organization and then move to another.  The analogy of a rat being eaten by a snake is often used (and, while that may be a bit disgusting to think about, it provides a pretty good image of how problems move from one area of the organization to the next).  What makes this so difficult for the management team that is unprepared is that just as they finish getting things back in shape in one part of the business, another, different set of issues pops up elsewhere.  This can be exhausting and overwhelming.

Gaining Control & the Questions to Ask
One way to regain control if growth surprises you is to reset customer expectations.  Quickly assess if there is a way to sequence installing sold business so customers needs are met, but you don’t compound your problems by turning on more than you can properly support.
Consider what happened.  Was it sheer volume that caused a concern or issue, or did you accept too much non-standard business?  Do you have appropriate approval processes in place for sales commitments, especially product or service exceptions (i.e., special requests)?

Other Considerations
If you find you need to react immediately and scale there are a number of other considerations.

Staff & key person dependencies – is there just a single person or a limited number of people who are the only ones that know how to do certain critical functions or tasks?  Do you have the ability to hire rapidly, or are there areas where you’ll need more people who are in tight supply or uniquely skilled?  Do you have the physical space to house all the resources that are needed?  Can you outsource, and what will be the impact on service and quality?  

Training - can you ramp up new hires quickly enough?  Are your core processes standardized (repeatable, trainable)?  How long does training normally take, and where and how can instructions be communicated and delivered?  Will those potentially large new groups of resources know how to get things done and who to consult if old processes break down?  

Leadership - can you afford to appoint one of your executives full time to oversee the scaling effort if needed?  Do you truly have someone who is capable of executing such an effort?  Do you have the management team in place to operate a large, inevitability more complex organization?  

Issues management - is there a streamlined process for handling issues?   How will issues to resolve get divvied-up?  Is there a predetermined way of prioritizing issues?  And, if a lot of the issues will fall to the technology organization, for instance, will they know how to deal with the competing demands for their finite time?  Is there a discipline in place to ensure the most forceful personalities in the organization don’t secure precious resources for less critical problems?

Processes - has authority and decision rights been delegated to the right places in the organization?  Is it clear who should be consulted and simply informed versus who has the authority to make the decisions (based on the relative impact of the topic or item under consideration)?

Are your workflows optimized?  Consider bottlenecks.  Specifically, evaluate connection points between departments / processes.  Are there places where things will get jammed-up, especially those that are hard to fix quickly.

Technology - arguably one of the most important areas to scaling a business is leveraging technology.  There is so much involved and unique to this aspect of scaling that I’ll limit the points of consideration to three areas: 1) Do your systems have contention points, where they can’t handle certain volumes on an hourly, weekly … absolute basis?

Have you assessed every area across your technology infrastructure, not just some? 2) Have you already built up technical debt, and how will that impact your ability to scale?  And, 3) Don’t short-change testing in your race to put new technical solutions in place.

One watch-out: be careful what you assume will be capitalizable, if that expense gets reclassified to operating expense under a year-end review / audit, it could severely impact EBITDA.

Crisis Management
Finally, force the time to figure out what to do if your inability to scale becomes a crisis causing clients to leave.  What damage control steps will you take?  What will you sacrifice to mitigate the situation?