How to get unstuck...

As so-called high performers we often define our success as being promoted into positions of leadership

Finally we get to do the things which other leaders before us, failed to get done

When the first few promotions come, we excitedly check the increase in our bank account. We 'accept' the invitations to the ‘important meetings,’ previously above our pay grade. We lean forward in our chairs, relishing the intellectual challenge of new projects and responsibilities. We thrive with the opportunity to lead our team and prove our collective value

Then the reality of our leadership roles kick in and we can often feel 'stuck', sapped of energy and overwhelmed with the task in front of us

Change is constant, targets are tougher, yet the cash and resource often required to hit those targets is constantly cut. and I haven’t even mentioned the politics, goodness the politics!

When we have a catch up with our boss - what we need is momentum, energy, insight - what we often get is 30 minutes of 'leadership chat' and an even tougher target, on - you guessed it - fewer resources

We smile, we stand up tall we 'accept the challenge' and 'commit to delivering' something in our hearts we know is close to impossible - we then go and have exactly the same conversation with our own teams - what they need is momentum, energy, insight and yet we are so stuck ourselves - we have nothing to give...and so it goes on...

If you’ve ever driven a car, you will at some time have experienced the cars battery dying, it stalling, and staying well and truly stationary. If you’re the driver it’s impossible to move the car forward. You can’t do it sitting in the driving seat. To gain movement there needs to be an external impetus, someone else needs to help you. Although the energy and effort required to get the stalled car moving at first is significant, once it starts it easily moves and picks up speed

Here’s the connection -  what we need - is a Coach. The Coach is the external person providing the different impetus. The driver is the Coachee. The Coach’s insights enable the car to move again. The effort though is not on the drivers part, it’s on the external persons part – the Coach

That mirrors Jo's experience of coaching over 1000 senior execs. Insights appear for people through the coaching in a way that just doesn’t happen without the impetus of coaching - this is what we all need as leaders and this is what gets us unstuck

We need someone to help us get unstuck and pick up pace - in whatever direction we choose to go. That's why coaching is so impactful - it accelerates growth

I bet you agree that now, more than ever, people of all levels and walks of life need as much help and support as they can get to make smarter, more effective decisions? So they can we can all create the innovation. the transformation and the positive, sustainable growth so desperately needed in our world today

When I found myself in this position. I was first optimistic, then outraged, then determined

To lead a high performing team in today's environment, I wanted insights, frameworks, tools to help me. If I wasn't going to get it from my business, I was going to take my development into my own hands. Seriously. I paid for my own executive coach - and that executive coach was Jo - my now co-founder at Progressfull

At first this seemed an odd decision. Why should I pay for something my company should be paying for? True - of my peers - I did not know a single leader who pays for their own executive coach. They may pay privately for 'life coaches' or 'therapists', but they don't pay for executive coaches out of their own pocket

To me, this seemed crazy. My rationale was simple, why spend money on a fantastic car, or an amazing beach holiday when you might die young from a stress related heart attack? I literally know a super-talented, super-fit guy who drives a Porsche 911, has over the last 3 years taken 2 week holidays in Ibiza, Bora Bora and Costa Rica and 6 months ago had stress related heart surgery. Yet he would never in a million years pay for his own executive coach. He didn't need therapy, he didn't need the 'woo woo' of a life coach - he simply needed some independent insights and tools to help him deal with complex and stressful work and life challenges. He simply needed some insights to get him unstuck and give him momentum. I know this because that’s what I needed. This is the stuff of excellent executive coaches

The thing is. And here really is the thing. Seriously - how to find one? The really good ones, and I know this from personal experience, are very hard to find. This is because the executive coaching industry is full of great people who major in psychology but have very little experience in actual jobs in real organisations. The rare ones who combine deep knowledge of all areas of psychology with an understanding of the latest findings from the world of neuroscience and real-life leadership experience are super effective, super expensive and typically a CEO's best kept secret. Jo is one of these rare ones. Because they are so few and far between and in such high demand, the best executive coaches charge between $3500 and $10,000 an hour and are fully booked for months ahead

If you have a real desire to progress, yet feel stuck about how to excel and move forward and would like to jump-start your performance and accelerate your development through the support and challenge of coaching then we are offering the same insights Jo gave me in our Progressfull™ Coaching offer yet at a price point that makes it available for everyone!
Honestly it will not only get you unstuck  it will help you reach destinations you never imagined possible. Each session is high impact, high focus and moves you forward. Explore more about Progressfull™ Coaching here

As Maya Angelou said,

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style”