Coaching

Susan M Barber Coaching & Consulting, LLC > Blog > Coaching

Do you have what it takes to be visible?

I was listening to a podcast today that was talking about ways to get visibility as a leader.  It was very interesting to hear the guest speaker on the podcast truly practicing what he was preaching.   He was sharing helpful strategies for leaders to get more visibility and build connections.  At the same time, he was working into the conversation what he has done himself and how he connected with influential people to make it happen.  Visibility and self-promotion go…
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Are you scared of ghosts and goblins?

Since it is Halloween, I thought it might be good to talk about things that are scary.   No, I am not really talking about ghost and goblins, but what are the things that scare us and hold us back from moving forward? It is pretty common to be scared when you are trying something new.  For example, I remember when I was little and I rode a bike without training wheels or swam in the deep end of the pool…
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To be an authentic leader, just be yourself.

I met a leader who was getting feedback from his manager at work that he was not being seen as authentic.  I will call this leader Tom.  I asked Tom some questions to better understand his perspective on the feedback.  What did he think was holding him back from being an authentic leader?   Is he trying to be what someone else wants him to be?  Is he comparing himself to others and trying to be like them?  Is he different…
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How do you define your leadership?

My very first team leader experience consisted of managing 3 direct reports and 20 indirect reports.  Since this was a new experience for me, I asked for advice from some people who had been managing teams.   What did they do to prepare themselves to lead a team? I pulled together their ideas and came up with my plan.  I asked myself the following questions: What qualities did I want to emulate or reject from my previous leaders? What are my…
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Top 5 Coaching Skills for Leaders

When I first started out as a leader, I was much more directive than I should have been.  I didn’t know another way to lead a team yet.   Now many teams and many years later, I have learned that there is a much better way to lead.  This style of leadership sets the vision for the organization, empowers the team and helps the team learn the skills they need to be successful.   Being a leader who leverages coaching skills helps…
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Coaching: What is it and why should I do it?

I recently sent out a survey to do some research on challenges that leaders have so I could build some coaching programs. Some of the responses included some questions about coaching and how it works. I thought it might be helpful to answer those questions here in this post. What is coaching? The International Coaching Federation who is the governing body of certification for coaches defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them…
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Connect now before it is too late.

I attended a family anniversary party over the weekend.  It was great to see everyone and celebrate the momentous occasion.  There were people there that represented the different parts of the couple’s lives.  People they had met in high school, at work, their neighbors, their family and children.  Over a lifetime you meet so many people.  Some that you continue to connect with throughout your life and others that may come into your life for a very short time.  Seeing…
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Who Cares What Other People Think!

I have a confession to make.  I absolutely love to collect quotes.  I have them saved in my One Note and in my Pinterest account.  There are thousands of quotes that people save and re-pin on Pinterest every single day.  Quotes are used in so many ways.  They may be used for motivation, inspiration, reflection and as a way to help people move forward in their lives.  Have you heard a quote as you are going throughout your day that…
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Focus on this key lesson to build a great team

I have always found it fascinating to see how people learn.  Do you know your own learning style?   I was only familiar with Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic styles.  As I have done additional research, I have found that there are actually 7 styles.  In addition to the ones that I named, the others are Verbal, Logical, Social, and Solitary. Here is a list of the styles and descriptions of all of them: Visual – you learn by what you see in…
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Why is being a leader important?

What is interesting about the title “leader” is that you don’t get that title unless you are leading a team, an organization or a company.  By definition, it means that you have others who are following you. Although there are some companies out there trying the concept of not having formal leaders in place, this is still evolving and it may only work for certain types of companies. In my opinion, being a leader is really one of the greatest…
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