Archivio tag: executive coach India

Embracing Quality over Quantity in Executive Leadership

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In a rapidly evolving business landscape, a staggering forty per cent of global CEOs believe their organisations might become economically non-viable within a decade if they persist on their current trajectories. This alarming insight emerges from a survey of 4,410 CEOs spanning 105 countries. Their concerns don’t end there. With nearly three-quarters predicting a decline in global economic growth in the upcoming year, they’re grappling with various immediate challenges.  From shifting customer preferences and regulatory changes to skills shortages and technological disruptions, the pressure on executives, emphasizing “quality over quantity,” is intensifying.

Embracing Quality over Quantity in Decision-Making

As they navigate this tumultuous terrain, darting from one task to another, it may be wiser to value quality over quantity.

The Pitfalls of Managing Too Many Tasks

In the high-stakes world of executive leadership, the adage “less is more” holds profound significance.

When executives attempt to juggle multiple tasks, their focus can become fragmented, undermining their decision-making prowess. The dispersion of attention can lead to a loss of strategic vision, resulting in misallocated resources and overlooked golden opportunities.

Repercussions don’t stop at mere strategic missteps. An overtaxed executive is a prime candidate for burnout, with ramifications that extend to their health and overall efficacy.

Their teams, too, bear the brunt of this overload. Without clear guidance, team morale can plummet, breeding an atmosphere rife with confusion and inefficiency.

Hasty decisions, made in the throes of overwhelm, can have dire consequences for a company’s trajectory and reputation.

Take Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s former CEO, for instance. Her rapid-fire acquisition strategy, including the $1.1 billion Tumblr purchase, failed to rejuvenate Yahoo, as intended. The subsequent massive write-down of Tumblr’s value stands testament to the pitfalls of hasty, unfocused decision-making.

Similarly, Andrew Mason of Groupon grappled with the dual challenges of managing meteoric growth and preserving the company’s essence. His journey underscores the delicate balance executives must strike between expansion and sustainable management.

Employing the Quality Approach

When it comes to Executive Leadership, the mantra “Quality over Quantity” resonates with profound clarity.

It’s not merely a preference; it’s a strategic choice, advocating for depth over breadth in decision-making. This philosophy champions the idea of immersing oneself deeply into a handful of pivotal tasks or projects rather than scattering attention across many.

Beyond tasks, this approach underscores the essence of profound understanding over cursory knowledge. It’s about forging impactful, meaningful connections rather than settling for a sea of superficial ones. Such depth in leadership transforms decision-making, making it more discerning and reducing the chances of oversight. It’s this very depth that becomes the bedrock of innovation. Instead of merely scratching the surface, teams are encouraged to dig deeper, often unearthing revolutionary insights.

Strategically, a quality-driven mindset fosters long-term vision. It ensures that strategies are not just reactionary but are robust, encompassing, and future-oriented. The magic of depth, however, isn’t confined to tasks and strategies.

Internally and Externally: Quality in Relationships

Internally, it translates to building trust-filled relationships with team members, cultivating an atmosphere where collaboration flourishes.  Externally, it’s about forging bonds with clients and partners that transcend mere transactions. These bonds, rooted in mutual respect and understanding, often evolve into lasting, win-win partnerships.

For a deeper dive into the world of quality-driven executive leadership and to explore additional strategies for implementing the quality mindset, please visit the full article here.

If you want to enhance your leadership skills further, consider booking a complimentary business coaching session by ActionCoach Business Coach Ratish Pandey. You can learn more about it here. Feel free to get in touch!

Employee Coaching: Elevating from Good to Great

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Organizations and employees often prioritize degree or skill-based hiring, but research has shown that success is driven more by EQ than IQ, with 80% attributed to EQ. Industry leaders suggest hiring for attitude over skills.

An all-star team isn’t enough without support and collaboration.

While senior management is responsible for building a thriving workplace, it can be challenging.

An executive coach can provide a solution by helping senior executives acquire coaching and management skills while enhancing personal development. With an unbiased and skilled perspective, executive coaches bring fresh insights and make coaching more acceptable to employees.

According to a recent International Coaching survey, people who participated in coaching saw a median Return on Investment of 3.4 times their initial investment, with one in five reporting a staggering 50 times Return on Investment.

In addition, the same survey revealed that 95% of individuals who worked with a coach gave them a “good” or “outstanding” rating. proving that investing in coaching may help an organisation grow and become more productive.

A young firm may find it difficult to determine which coaching is the best fit for their organisation, given the possibilities and variety of coaching solutions on the market.

Learn how employee coaching can transform good employees into great ones. Discover tips and strategies for effective coaching from industry experts.

What is product strategy? What do you do to ace it?

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Have you ever wondered about the secret sauce to the success of seven companies like Amazon, Ikea, Microsoft, or Coca-Cola? The common denominator in achieving their global ambitions is their product strategy. A survey conducted across top organizations shows that nearly 70% factor in their product strategy when making quality business decisions, such as the marketing strategy for a new product, research and development, and customer use cases. Startups and Small and Medium businesses can learn from these organizations to develop a winning product strategy for their products and services. But what is product strategy, and why is it essential for an organization to develop a great product strategy? We discuss this and the best framework to create a successful product strategy.

What is A Product Strategy? 

A product strategy is a series of steps to help companies bring the envisioned product/service to life. Essentially, the product strategy is a road map that helps employees understand what the company wants to achieve with its products and the steps involved in accomplishing it. A product strategy helps identify how a company’s product first into the market, the target customers who’ll benefit from it, and how it complements the other products and services in the company’s portfolio. A well-thought-out product strategy can help position the product right, clearly differentiating it from available offerings in the market and identifying why it will be the preferred choice for the customers.

There are several benefits to developing a successful product strategy. When a clear and well-thought-out plan is in place, teams at the company will be in a better position to work together to deliver their best and achieve the set targets. In addition, the sales and marketing teams in the organization will be able to better identify and articulate their unique selling propositions. Customer success teams will also determine the use cases for their products to better help their customers deal with support. The product strategy helps the development team keep true to the drafted vision and stay focused.

In addition to helping employees better understand the product and their roles, the product strategy also helps prioritize the roadmap. Building a compelling roadmap with a high-level action plan will help management prioritize the straightforward tasks that will help advance the vision to get the product to market. In the absence of a roadmap, the likelihood of misaligned prioritizations, measurement metrics and allocation of time and resources is given, resulting in delays and many mishaps – a product strategy fixes this, making product development streamlined & result oriented, saving both cost & time.

Click Here to learn more about the best framework to create a successful product strategy, its types and why you should employ one.

For executive coaches, when listening stops and talking begins

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A recent survey showed that 67% of the participants believed that leadership coaching increased employee engagement and satisfaction, while 50% said it improved overall productivity. When it comes to coaching practices, leaders have traditionally employed a trust-based approach that focuses on working with employees to come up with solutions to new challenges. However, in a dynamic, ever-changing business environment, there are certain situations where leaders as executive coaches should resort to a direct-coaching process that maximizes goal attainment. 

Let us first understand the traditional coaching process and how it differs from a direct approach for understanding the two situations. 

The Traditional Coaching Process 

Leaders today are expected to have all the answers. Given the dynamic business environment that we operate in today, it is an unrealistic and ill-advised expectation. One way for leaders to manage this expectation is to adopt a new role: that of the coach. A coaching approach will help employees understand complex organizations better and get the job done without being told what to do. Successful coaching entails using three practices: Asking, Listening, and Empathizing. 

Asking Open-Ended Questions  -The coaching process starts by asking an open-ended question. Leaders ask questions to establish receptivity to the topic, and it also helps avoid presumptions that could typically limit the conversation. Time spent asking questions will challenge the employees’ thoughts, egging them to arrive at a solution for the problem. 

Hearing vs Listening  – Once a coach asks open-ended questions, the coach must LISTEN – unearth the concerns and challenges, both expressed and implied. Most leaders as Executive Coaches struggle with a situation, as most cannot tell the difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is a cognitive process that occurs internally, but listening is involvement – the presence of the person both in body and mind with a single-minded focus on the conversation. A survey of 8,000 participants in businesses found that the average person only listened efficiently to 25% of conversations. Thus, effective coaches use listening to understand the context and emotions of those they are coaching. 

Effective listening  – A study conducted across 8,000 participants in businesses found that they communicate as effectively or more effectively than their co-workers. However, the same research showed that the average person only listens at 25% efficiency. 

There’s a great deal of difference between hearing and listening. Listening in a Coaching Context requires significant eye contact and focused attention to capturing facilities expressions, gestures, and tics, which conveys a strong sense of engagement and interest from leaders.  

Empathizing  – Empathy is understanding a different point of view and establishing the interpersonal connection that enables effective coaching. Empathy is critical in helping employees manage their morale and think creatively about solutions. Empathizing shouldn’t prevent leaders from holding people to high standards but is a crucial step in assisting employees build resilience and learn from setbacks.  

Leadership Coaching makes employees feel heard and understood while giving them the leeway to find solutions. It entails asking questions, listening to the employees’ concerns, and empathizing with their challenges. So, in essence, the traditional coaching process lasts for several weeks and months. In fact, in high-performing companies, it is an always-on program. 

While the traditional coaching process is effective over the long term, certain situations may require Coaches to speak rather than listen, a quick and effective resolution. 

There are certain situations in which leaders need to take a direct approach to coach. Click here to learn more.

In an uncertain economy, how can businesses adapt?

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In today’s article,  Business Coach Ratish Pandey  will discuss a topic you suggested – Given the Uncertain Economy,  how can Businesses Adapt . 

As in a human being, for business, too, it is the mindset that defines adaptability. The frame of mind is to accept change, respond to it, and adapt effectively. We have to remember that change is only CONSTANT.

In times of drastic, unexpected change, as we faced during the pandemic, it is the time to open your mind – seek counsel, share ideas, brainstorm, and learn unashamedly from others about how they are addressing the situation, what is working, what is not. 

It is time to challenge the traditional approach to business. One must explore and welcome new ideas and ways to run one’s business. In today’s context, technology adoption across the organization is one new entrant that all companies cannot avoid. 

Next is keeping the ear to the ground. See how the change is impacting your customer and the purchase journey. 

A business that is nimble in responding to the customer’s changing demands will thrive.

Adapting to the customer’s altered purchase journey may call for change in operations or product offerings, the go-to-market approach, accessibility, or post-sales support. Whatever be the requirement – as an entrepreneur, you need to be swift in your response.

But how does one challenge the “old thinking”? Simple, by new and different thinking.

Think out of the box; in other words, let go of the barriers. Welcome new ideas and explore innovative ways that come to the fore – which in turn will help the business navigate these uncertain times successfully.

In coaching, we have an adage- “It is better to be consistent that be perfect”. So do not wait for perfection; instead, value speed and consistency. Start now and let improvement be an ongoing process.

All this is good going, but for it to sustain, there is one more important step. Leadership style will need to change for new ideas and ways of operations to take wing. Leaders must be keen listeners and be more inclusive, empathetic, and supportive. On the other hand, leaders will need to be decisive and lead from the front.

If you have any questions on this topic, let me know, and we would love to address them.