Through serving as a leader of an executive mastermind group, advisors broaden their industry knowledge and gain paramount perspectives that enable them to provide experienced guidance to members of their coaching groups. By learning from surrounding perspectives, executive coaches can provide first-rate, credible advice built on a wide range of experiences.  

 

To grow a business as an executive coach, it is imperative that professionals effectively establish trust and credibility. Demonstrating credibility as a potential coach can be daunting because credibility is dependent on individuals varying judgments and interpretations. 

 

To develop business based on experience, professionals should work to understand the components that construct others' perceptions of an individual's credibility. Credibility is proposed to be composed of three components- competence, character, and compassion.  

 

Competence 

Professionals generally establish competence through explicit knowledge and understanding of technical topics. In the workplace, competence is generally measured through accuracy and the ability to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the subject matter relevant to an individual's role. In forming relationships with prospective participants, appropriately demonstrating competence can be challenging. Individuals are quick to judge and can be easily offended by overbearing or “know-it-all-all” behaviors. Executive coaches must rely on their own past experiences or past coaching experiences to establish their expertise in a specific subject matter when connecting with a potential client.  

 

Character 

Individuals present character by exhibiting their moral compass.  In the workplace, individuals are given opportunities to demonstrate their character in situations of ethical dilemmas. When engaging with a prospective client, coaches should be intentional in building a relationship and effectively pivoting coaching styles to best fit each individual. In speaking to potential clients, executive coaches can show character through honesty, respectfulness, and accountability. However, coaches must be deliberate in their decision-making because a poor impression of character is extremely difficult to reverse. 

 

Compassion 

Compassion is commonly demonstrated through empathy, understanding, and general concern for others. For executive coaches working to grow their businesses, compassion is a vital element to success. In the inherently interpersonal relationship of coaching, it is crucial for coaches to demonstrate compassion in order to grow their business. Individuals seeking guidance and advice value authenticity and genuine interest from their advisors. In the workplace, compassion can be shown through flexibility and understanding or overall care for colleagues. Executive coaches have the responsibility of expressing compassion and support as participants navigate unfamiliar circumstances and problems.  

 

To better explain the benefits of executive coaching experience and the impact of credibility, consider Lori. Lori recently transitioned out of her industry position to follow her passion for coaching. Lori has started an executive mastermind group and leads the group with guidance and structure from Ambition in Motion’s executive coaching licensing opportunities. Through leading her own executive mastermind group and serving as a coach for professionals across industries, Lori has significantly broadened her understanding and experience, enabling her to become a better coach.  

 

To best elaborate on the importance of experience in building business, here are 3 potential streams from which Lori could grow her business and how varying relationships will impact her credibility as an executive coach: 

 

1- Existing Connections 

Lori’s business as an executive coach may grow from existing relationships such as members of her old firm, college classmates, or industry peers she has connected with over her career. Through these existing relationships, Lori’s authority and experience are likely recognized so Lori does not need to establish herself but must work to maintain the credible reputation she has developed. Additionally, in an existing connection, trust has likely been built between Lori and the client, which is a crucial part of establishing a productive coaching relationship and can be a challenging relationship to develop. 

 

2- Referrals  

A common source of new clients for businesses are referrals from peers or colleagues. When engaging with a referred potential client, Lori likely has the advantage of good praise from their mutual connection that referred the prospective client. However, Lori is still responsible for establishing her authority relevant to the industry and circumstances of the potential client. In the circumstance of a referral, Lori has the benefit of a connection that speaks to her character and compassion so, Lori should focus on establishing her competence in the individuals industry to best build her credibility. In addition to building credibility, Lori should focus on establishing a trusting relationship to best advise new participants. 

 

3- Cold Clients  

Cold clients are clients that do not have any mutual connection or referral to a business. Although daunting to most professionals, finding new clients without a previous connection is a crucial component of growing a business. In interacting with a new potential client, the onus is on Lori to establish all three aspects of her credibility and build trust. In the instance of connecting with a new potential client, Lori should focus on communicating the interpersonal-focused aspects (compassion and character) to build trust. Building business through this type of prospect may be challenging because it takes time to develop the trust that is paramount to a successful coaching relationship. Once Lori has established a connection with a prospective client, she can shift to demonstrating her competence in coaching the individual within a specific role or industry.  

In guiding members through new circumstances and experiences, executive coaches build better businesses based on expertise and diverse perspectives. Through providing advice and guidance to their clients, coaches continuously develop their skills and competence, enabling them to grow their businesses. The development of executive coaches and their businesses is exponential; through serving one client, executive coaches are able to learn new ideas and techniques that will improve the guidance given to other members.  

 

Executive coaching requires patience and business development can be a challenging process. However, serving as an executive coach builds experience that continuously improves credibility. From gaining new perspectives, executive coaches can apply diverse approaches to problem-solving in turn, expanding their expertise and business. 

Welcoming new hires into company culture is an integral part of sustaining a productive workplace environment. Through integrating new hires into organizational norms, values, and expectations, the workplace culture built by today's leaders is carried into future generations of professionals. The process of cultural integration promotes continuity and bolsters growth within an organization. 

However, new hires face challenges when the company culture is not accurately communicated to them. A misrepresentation of a firm's work culture can create an alarming environment for new team members. Effectively communicating and integrating new hires into firm culture is paramount for long-term success and organizational commitment. Ensuring that each member of a team embodies the groups culture will testify to the importance of upholding a positive work environment. Furthermore, when leaders emphasize the value of firm culture, their direct reports will follow suit in working to continuously build and integrate company culture. 

Additionally, it is crucial for company professionals to authentically demonstrate workplace culture. Although challenging for many, it is necessary to display culture in an authentic manner rather than creating a company profile that is not necessarily an accurate representation. Integrating new hires into a developing culture can be a challenging task, here are 7 tips leaders should consider to streamline new hires into company culture: 

Through structured onboarding processes, new hires can better grasp company culture, group norms, and expectations. In structured onboarding, companies will have planned timelines and content to share with incoming professionals. On their first day, a new hire may receive a training timeline, a list of their expected role competencies, and human resources information. Pieces of training in onboarding could include a basic skill overview, speeches from human resources, or even professionalism training. After receiving this information, individuals in a structured onboarding process will have a firm lead training to slowly walk through different procedures and office norms to help new members better grasp the company culture. Discussing company expectations and benefits is a great way to exhibit a company-wide culture or initiative. 

2. Buddy or Mentor Pairings

In addition to helping train individuals, buddy or mentor pairings serve as a fantastic tool to communicate a company's norms. Suppose a new hire mentor is outgoing and willing to answer any questions. In that case, this experience will provide a different understanding of culture for new hires compared to a mentor who is closed off and not very easy to communicate with. Additionally, mentors aid in demonstrating company culture by telling stories and building genuine connections that make someone new feel welcomed in a new and intimidating environment. 

3. Social Events

Company-wide orchestrated social events can be a great way to help demonstrate workplace culture and facilitate connections. Through out-of-office social events, individuals tend to come out of their shells, talk to new colleagues, and build friendships. Social events can display company culture through professionals enjoying discussing with their colleagues and spending time as a group whereas, without these opportunities to openly converse, new hires tend to feel isolated. 

Social events enable employees to connect with each other beyond their responsibilities within an office. Through social events, new employees are able to openly discuss and learn from professionals within the firm who will help them transition into their new roles. By providing opportunities for new hires to connect with their colleagues, organizational culture will strengthen, a benefit to both employees and the company. 

4. Live the Culture

Many companies' culture and their advertised culture do not align. Every employer markets themselves to have great working environments and cultures yet, only some actually fulfill these claims. Ensuring that all employees embody the company culture throughout the workday is paramount to effectively integrating new employees into the firm culture. New employees observing the attitudes and behaviors of professionals embodying the values of firm culture is an outstanding method to foster informal learning of both technical and interpersonal expectations. 

5. Cross Team Collaboration

Cross-team collaboration is a great way for firms to showcase a company-wide culture. Individuals willing to discuss, collaborate, and learn from each other create a welcoming culture that supports new hires through stages of onboarding and learning. Lack of cross-team collaboration can leave new hires both lacking education in certain subject matters and isolated from other groups within the company. To best encourage new hires to integrate, managers should consider assigning projects that will move them slightly out of their comfort zone, encouraging meeting new individuals in building connections. 

6. Open Communication

Open communication is crucial to creating a harmonious alignment of new hires' values and norms within a group. Through open communication, company leaders are enabled to share their expectations and experiences that shape the work environment. Additionally, in a positive work environment, open communication encourages learning, growth, and embracing mistakes. 

Through open communication, leaders are able to effectively set clear expectations and establish cultural norms from the start of a new hire's career at a firm. Furthermore, open communication promotes psychological safety within the workplace, creating an environment that promotes discussion, asking questions and learning from feedback. 

7. Aligned Opportunities

When company opportunities promote firm initiatives, new employees can clearly understand the culture within the workplace. Aligned opportunities for learning and growth convey the value of a long-term, sustainable, company culture. Additionally, cultural immersion through training opportunities generally involves exposure to executives within a firm along with further explanations of how each individual may contribute to firm culture.  

Changing workplace behavior requires a sustained effort and is a daunting task. Leaders must prioritize their values and find creative methods to create an environment where employees embrace change in the workplace. 

Many leaders face challenges in shifting from negative or counterproductive workplace habits to favorable workplace practices. Once a group or team has routined unfavorable work habits, it is significantly more challenging to pivot behavior.  As always, it is essential to be patient in orchestrating workplace activities and changes, specifically in changing culture. Leaders should be prepared to readjust and pivot their efforts based on employee receptiveness. Nevertheless, if leaders remain diligent and dedicated to promoting positive change, they will inspire confidence through cultural changes. 

Initiated by the COVID-19 pandemic workplace changes, there has been a major influx of professionals leaving their workplace industry to begin their careers as executive coaches. The number of executive coaches have multiplied consistently over the past five years, but the demand has not changed. Now, the introduction of these executive coaches has overpopulated the supply, with minimal change in the demand for their work. 

With these recent industry changes, executive coaches heavily compete for business and therefore must find creative methods to set themselves apart from competitors. Coaches have clients across industries and commonly offer one-day training on focuses that provide great value to teams in building culture, productive workplace habits, and creating a comforting environment for professionals along with a variety of other focuses. 

However, industry leader, McKinsey and Company has published an article sharing their findings that leaders prefer a group of peers to relate to and discuss with than a lecture style training. Once professionals reach executive levels in their organizations, coaching and training for growth is challenging. The ability to openly learn from other executive leaders is an amazing opportunity that encourages training, learning, and development in a non-conventional manner. 

Rather than focusing on day-to-day trainings executive coaches could consider leading an executive mastermind group to build a more impactful connection with the participating professionals. These groups meet for discussion on a regular basis for peer collaboration and advising. Coaches can lead and organize these groups and purchase materials and content to assist in leading mastermind groups to provide the most benefit to all participants. Inviting individuals to join an executive mastermind group can be a great way to spark business connections, encourage networking, and learn from industry peers and leaders. Additionally, professionals may find benefit in the cost-effectiveness of executive mastermind groups rather than a more costly executive coaching or consulting agreement. 

The value of peer collaboration and feedback add great benefit to executive mastermind groups for both coaches and participants. Executive mastermind groups provide a pivotal opportunity for coaches to refine their leadership skills and provide a platform that promotes learning from diverse perspectives and gaining peer insights. Furthermore, mastermind groups create a comforting environment for growth and support in making mistakes. Through mastermind collaboration efforts, leaders are enabled to achieve team goals, stay attuned to industry changes, and cultivate a community of support and psychological safety for learning and growth.  

In leading an executive mastermind group, executive coaches are given the opportunity to build relationships and a trust-based culture with leaders across varying industries. Providing a welcoming platform to facilitate networking and building relationships is a crucial aspect of developing a quality, focused mastermind group. In building this platform, individuals create a space of psychological safety and embrace mistakes that promote collective growth. 

Through executive mastermind sessions, executive coaches enhance their skills and contribute to the continuous evolution of professional education as a whole. Here are the top 6 reasons that executive coaches should consider starting an executive mastermind group:

By having an executive mastermind group, coaches are able to create a safe place for prospects to begin discussing their challenges. Executive coaching and training are intimate relationships built on high trust. An executive mastermind group creates an environment for coaches to build trust with their prospects who, when the time is right, will come to them seeking higher value engagements.

2. Networking and Relationship Building

Executive mastermind groups create a valuable environment to build long-lasting relationships and network with other executives across different industries. Through mastermind groups, coaches can learn more about specific industry measures that impact individuals, and, coaches are able to build their network and demonstrate their knowledge and ability. 

3. Expanding Impact

Through executive mastermind groups, coaches are able to further impact the professionals they advise. However, in a mastermind group, the executive coach is not the only individual leading towards team growth. Participant engagement and collaboration provide incredible benefits to professionals that cannot necessarily be gained through basic trainings. Executives face unique challenges and the solutions to these challenges cannot always be found in a textbook. Executives guide each other through continuous discussion and collaboration using their past experiences. Through executive mastermind groups, coaches are able to reach a larger audience with impactful guidance to leave a lasting impact on participants. 

4. Risk Aversion 

Through executive mastermind groups, coaches can benefit from a risk-averse strategy to expand their business. Rather than enacting a change across a team, department, or company, these individuals work with just a few leaders. By working with fewer individuals, coaches reduce the risk to their brand image and reputation. Additionally, for coaches still developing their businesses, mastermind groups provide an opportunity to network with leaders across industries which is crucial for expanding brand image and recognition. 

5. Scalability

An incredible perk of leading executive mastermind groups is the ability to easily scale groups. With flexibility benefits, coaches leading mastermind groups can guide a larger audience without sacrificing the quality of the session. Rather than a one-day training course on a specified topic, leaders can meet for 2 hours every other week and achieve similar results for personal growth because many executives are contributing to a group effort of guiding each other rather than the coach alone guiding the group. 

6. Brand Enhancement

By leading an executive mastermind group, coaches are able to enhance their leadership skills, industry knowledge, and brand image simultaneously. Partnering or using a specific company's mastermind group content is a great tool for coaches to start with, followed by adapting the materials for their specific client group. Through a reliable and well-designed mastermind course, coaches brand image and credibility will continuously increase.

Building an executive mastermind group cohort can be an incredibly strategic step for coaches to grow their businesses. Investing in mastermind group content offers a variety of benefits to both the leader and participants who collectively learn from each other. Through utilizing curated materials, mastermind group leaders can provide executives with a psychologically safe, supportive environment to share diverse experiences and learn from peers. 

If you are an executive coach and are interested in setting up your own executive mastermind group, schedule a conversation with Ambition In Motion to learn more.

The state of California has proposed new legislation that will discourage managers and supervisors from contacting their employees outside of contract work hours. If enacted, this legislation could significantly impact modern work expectations in California and potentially across the country. 

Setting work boundaries is crucial for individuals to avoid burn-out and keep a healthy work-life balance. However, it is challenging for professionals to set these boundaries with their supervisors and bosses when each party has a different understanding of the expectations. A legal obligation to honor contract hours as the only available hours for an individual will set a clear boundary, beneficial to promoting balance for both direct reports and executives. 

When managers stay past normal work hours and email, chat, or contact others on their team they send implicit communication that those receiving the communication should be working as well. Even if a superior says they do not expect overtime, their sending of emails or messages implies to others that they should be working as well. Getting a late-night email from a boss can be stressful and lead to overworking and burnout of professionals across all levels. Limiting these communications will enable individuals to truly log off at the end of the day and step away from work. 

The California law is based on a concept called “right to disconnect.” Right to disconnect means that once an employee is outside of explicitly stated contract hours, they have no obligation to respond to any communication unless related to an emergency or schedule change within the next 24 hours. Several countries around the world have adopted this mentality working to promote work-life balance and mental health, France, Canada, Portugal and others work to support their citizens (CNBC).

Nevertheless, monitoring employee contact outside of contract hours is a challenging task and will likely take weeks or months for the turnaround in the government to report a complaint to eventually charge a fine to the individual in violation. To better promote work-life balance in this sphere, managers and leaders should consider new ways to limit work to work hours. For example, managers should set clear, explicit team expectations for work and communication habits. Additionally, managers and leaders should be considerate in utilizing their team's preferences and experiences to create a team norm. 

To further promote work-life balance, managers should consider “transition time” to and from work that will optimize efficiency and energy within a team. Transition time is a short amount of time in between different parts of a person's day that allows a small break to reflect and prepare to move forward while leaving the stress from the previous focus behind. Transition time helps mitigate stress and burnout and aids in creating feelings of control and preparedness. Many individuals may have transition time on a train or in a car during a commute. Through the COVID-19 pandemic transition to online work, many individuals lost their transition time between work and home life changing professionals' ability to recharge and prepare for the next phase of their day. 

Although it is sometimes challenging for managers to limit work contact, managers should be deliberate in promoting transition time. When a team member has adequate time to mentally prepare for their day, they will have higher energy and show increased efficiency while at work. On the other hand, without transition time, individuals may come into work feeling disorganized or unprepared, leading to a disheveled and inefficient work day. Once managers have set clear expectations with their team, they may focus on promoting autonomy for their team's growth and learning. 

Moving forward, promoting transition time for remote or hybrid employees is a great tool for improving focus and preparedness in the workplace along with prioritizing mental health and work-life balance. Transition time is a critical component of a person's day that encourages well-being and productivity. Here are 3 tips for individuals trying to find transition time to cultivate healthy habits and optimize performance. 

Transition time can appear in all different mediums. For example, some individuals may like to sit and listen to music or meditate. To be effective in using transition time, individuals should consider making lists to prioritize what items need to be handled in a day in which order. For example, an individual may get to work and create their work to-do list for the day and after work, they could do the same thing for their home life. Or, an individual could use transition time every day after work to create their to-do list for the next day. Either way, lists are a great tool for transition time to focus on activities and priorities. Knowing the order of tasks, time constraints and priorities allows for increased productivity and efficiencies throughout the day. 

2. Recap Activities

Transition time could be a moment of reflection or a recap of big events. For example, if an individual is nervous about a meeting, they may take time before to prepare their resources and a moment after to reflect and recap the meeting. Using transition time in between different focuses enables individuals to leave the stress from the first task behind and move into the next task energized and prepared. 

3. Set Boundaries

As discussed above, after-hours communication and messages from bosses can be a significant stressor in an individual's personal life. Using communication boundaries and set expectations can add to the impact of transition time. If an individual logs off for the work day at the end of contract hours and takes a moment to reflect and prepare for the next day but is later contacted by their boss, the value of their transition time is lost. Transition time works best when individuals are shifting from one focus to another, but if after-hours communication is occurring, this deteriorates the benefit of transition time for the direct report who is now asked to shift back to work mode. 

In working to prioritize mental health, work-life balance, and boundaries in the workplace, it is crucial for direct reports and their superiors to fully understand the mental impact of burnout and its causes. Managers who promote balance and well-being for their employees will see increased productivity and focus within their teams. 

Although sometimes intimidating, it is crucial that individuals are able to advocate for themselves in the workplace. Facing the undue challenge of sexism in the workplace is a delicate and daunting subject. 

Making sure each member's voice is heard and valued should be at the forefront of each manager's priorities. However, many individuals are subject to unconscious or subconscious bias against others, meaning that they do not realize the inappropriate nature of their behavior, tone, actions, or attitude so, bringing it to their attention is a sensitive subject. The subconscious or unconscious intent of sexist behavior does not make it permissible but, it does create a learning opportunity.  How can individuals address these concerns with their superiors without jeopardizing their relationship and impression or creating a workplace adversary? 

Consider Tom, who is the Chief Marketing Officer of a small consulting firm. Tom is in his early 40s and has three young children at home. Tom's colleague, Jennifer is the Chief Technology Officer of this firm, also in her early 40’s with young children. In a recent meeting, executive leaders of the firm were discussing how to streamline some processes within the office using new technology. Jennifer suggests implementing Microsoft Teams within the office rather than strictly using email. Tom responds by sharing that most people would rather “stick to what they know” and use email. The conversation continues, and several other executive members agree with Tom. Eventually, Christopher, the company's Chief Information Officer chimes in sharing that Teams is a good idea because “it will make communication faster.” Other members begin to agree with Christopher and the meeting concludes with all members in favor of implementing Microsoft Teams, crediting Christopher for the great idea. Jennifer is left feeling unvalued by the team for her contributions because when she suggested implementing Teams, her idea was shot down, despite her industry knowledge, years of experience, and background data. 

Jennifer is now tasked with approaching board leaders to express the discrimination she has been facing and find a remedy. However, Jennifer is concerned that approaching Tom or other executives may affect her reputation and relationships around the office. Jennifer needs to find a method of advocating for herself without negatively impacting her office status or alienating herself from her colleagues. Jennifer has a couple of approaches she could consider:

Jennifer could stop the meeting at the point of inappropriate behavior and call out the group as a whole. In this situation, Jennifer does not assign blame to any one individual but to the group as a whole for undesirable practices. This is a good strategy because Jennifer does not single out one person but points out poor group norms for the whole team. 

Alternatively, Jennifer could first call out Tom for his poor behavior, accusing him of shooting down her idea without proper consideration. This strategy is a risky approach because Jennifer would be singling out Tom in front of others, likely making him upset and defensive. This strategy could be detrimental to Jennifers' reputation and professionalism in the office. 

Jennifer could speak directly to the instigator of this conversation, Tom, and point out his inappropriate behavior. In this meeting, Jennifer has to be direct and confront Tom in order to advocate for herself. Jennifer must carefully prepare for Tom’s reaction and be ready to continue a conversation if Tom is dismissive, defensive, or rude. 

Jennifer could avoid confrontation with any specific individual and instead bring the topic to the company's Human Resources department. A representative from HR will be a great listener and could help guide Jennifer moving forward to navigate these challenges. HR may be able to speak to the other executives on Jennifers' behalf but, there is little follow-up or enforcement when a reprimanding comes from an “anonymous” source. 

While these are some options for Jennifer, there is not always a “right answer” to approaching situations like this. Role dynamics, personality types, and workplace norms heavily impact the best route for dealing with discriminatory or offensive colleagues. In any situation relating to these concerns, it is crucial to remember these 4 tips:

In entering a “crucial conversation,” it is important to be prepared to be clear and collected during a meeting. When discussing a threatening or upsetting scenario, many individuals may be taken aback by emotions or feelings clouding their communication methods. If individuals prepare in advance with written points, feelings, and experiences, they are better able to stay on track and remember the points they were considering when the scenario took place. Additionally, in planning ahead individuals should prepare for the different outcomes possible in a confrontation. For example, individuals may become defensive or disagreeable and derail the important conversation. 

2. Choose the Right Time and Place

In protecting an individual's own professional impressions and relationships, it is crucial to select the correct time and place. In private, many individuals will be more calm and willing to discuss because their reputation is not at risk in front of others. Individuals are more willing to apologize and accept their faults without public embarrassment or accusations. 

3. Be Specific

Clearly explain the comment, attitude, or actions and why they were inappropriate. Individuals suffering from subconscious or unconscious bias are generally unaware that their actions may be negatively impacting others. Explaining why behaviors are offensive clears miscommunication and misunderstanding on the topic and provides individuals with a learning experience of why what they said or did was wrong. 

4. Know Available Resources

In working for self-advocacy, it is most crucial for individuals to know all available resources. These resources are great tools for planning and learning to navigate while balancing different factors in a new situation. 

Overall, it is important for individuals to practice self-advocacy in calculated measures. Weighing impacts of group impressions, professionalism and relationship building heavily impacts the approach individuals should take. Although a delicate subject, there are no improvements in individuals' behavior if they are not corrected. Self-advocacy is a crucial tool to promote self-independence, growth, empowerment, and fair-treatment.