Ditch the crackberry

Ditch the crackberry.... you need an executive coach

Paul Hugh-Jones, Director, Insight Edge

We all love a challenge … otherwise we wouldn’t be working in professional services!

Shared services executives and partners in management positions have goals which inevitably involve driving change and improving performance.

We can see huge potential to make a difference and I know from experience how satisfying it is when you execute a successful program and see your firm embrace it. You get a buzz and become more confident, your internal credibility grows and this helps you achieve your next goal, as you build a reinforcing virtuous cycle of success.

Our ability to achieve our full potential in our roles is completely linked to our firms achieving high performance.

But I also know that we work in one of the most challenging business and cultural environments. Do any of following ring true?

• It’s lonely at the top; you can’t show weakness; and  there’s no one you trust to help solve your issues
• High expectations, but tight resource (especially since the GFC)
• Priorities that change daily
• Long term planning = over 6 weeks
• It’s like herding cats … except cats are cute & cuddly
• Politics, passive aggressive, silos, sole operators
• Partners want everything tomorrow, but have no time to contribute … and lose interest after 3 months
• Work Life balance is off the scales … and speaking of scales I never seem to get to the gym
• Thank God for friends and partners – except they don’t really understand
• Thank God for wine ….. and my crackberry

The reality is we can’t solve everything ourselves – simply working harder and being permanently connected via your crackberry won’t help you achieve your goals and overcome your challenges. We need to reach out to others to help:

• Clarify goals
• Identify and address challenges/ barriers/  issues/ concerns
• Bounce ideas off
• Evaluate strategic options and support needed
• Set actions
• Review outcomes and adjust strategy & execution as needed

This is the role of an Executive Coach – an experienced professional who understands professional services, is 100% in your corner, whom you can trust completely and whose sole motivation is to see you achieve your full potential.

The good news is that more and more firms are taking on Executive Coaches to help their executives and partners reach their full potential and build a high performance environment.

Paul Hugh-Jones is an Executive Coach for professional services firms – working with shared services executives and partners in management positions.  He is passionate about it and loves to see the person he is coaching succeed.
If you are interested … please give him a ring.

Paul Hugh-Jones, Director of Insight Edge, M 0408 400 885,
E paul@insightedge.com.au, www.insightedge.com.au