Cape Lookout Lighthouse

It’s encouraging to see articles like this from Fortune contributor Anne Fisher, emphasizing the incremental, “slow and steady wins the race” approach to reaching goals. It makes me think of the beautiful, big old lighthouses my husband and I love to visit. They were built under challenging conditions, one small brick at a time. Yesterday I hosted a marketing strategy meeting to review VERY BIG PLANS for 2012. I was excited, motivated and envisioning bold new directions for my business! My smart colleagues reminded me I need to be patient, to move mindfully and gradually, or risk feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and far from my destination by year’s end. In short, I might consider following my own advice!

Winter Walk at Sunset (Durham, NC)

As 2012 begins I’m celebrating last year’s accomplishment: I walked my talk! My January 2011 new year intentions included the somewhat daunting promise to walk outdoors for an hour a day (365 days in a row for 60 minutes). Other than two “sick” days of yucky stomach issues, I walked throughout 2011. Three days I was forced to step indoors due to weather, so the final tally looks like this: 363 days of walking, 360 in the great (and not-so-great) outdoors. Some treks were breezy and blissful; others boring, painful slogs. I learned a lot about putting one foot in front of the other on the slow, steady path to a positive habit. Now I know what it’s like to KEEP a deep, authentic, heartfelt intention… to will it into being, no matter what. I did not do this alone: I had help from my amazing, supportive husband, friends, walking buddies and terrific clients who helped me get CoachWalks℠ off the ground again, after a long hiatus. I’m feeling lots of gratitude as I walk into the new year!

Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life.

Do you like walking? Wish you had more time for it? I encourage you to walk for more than the usual reasons (e.g., the dog needs to do his business, it improves cardiovascular health and burns calories). I invite you to take your work for a walk℠. Walking offers an opportunity to think more creatively about a business challenge. If you choose a quiet, safe path (free from traffic and distractions), set an intention, open your mind, and put one foot in front of the other, you may be surprised at the outcome.

This week, I’ve walked with clients while advising them on leadership, communication or career-transition issues. Since January 1, 2011, I’ve walked daily, sometimes only with my iPhone — handy for capturing “aha” insights — other times with my husband, friends or clients. Each trek has underscored the value of moving away from the desk, office or routine for a change of scenery and perhaps a change of mind.

Often, my best thinking happens during walks. I may start off feeling sluggish and uninspired, but being outdoors and on the move usually shifts my energy and attitude. I’m more efficient and focused on priorities once I’m back in my office.

It took me years to accept this: I’m not good at some habits associated with “productivity” and successful entrepreneurship. I could choose to see this as a problem (and I have beat myself up about it, too often) but now I appreciate my nontraditional approaches to getting things done. Walking works for me and it’s time to share how it works, in case others may benefit. I’ll be blogging more about how I integrate walking and work. I hope you’ll try a business-focused walk and I welcome comments about what you discover on the path.

P.S. I took most photos on this blog during my walks!

Seat at the Table? Now it’s “Laws of the Jungle,” and 7 Tips for HR to Survive.

Bridge to 2011...

My goals for January include hopeful new year intentions (instead of “resolutions” I associate with grim determination and inevitable disappointment when I stop being resolute, usually by January 7). My intentions include informing people about Coach Notes, posting more often and responding to readers’ feedback. So far, this blog has been a quiet experiment, read by a few friends and clients. In 2011 I intend to attract a significant number of new readers. On that note, I received the following information from WordPress, summarizing how Coach Notes is doing. 

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,500 times in 2010. That’s about 4 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 6 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 24 posts. There were 24 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 19mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was July 26th with 60 views. The most popular post that day was Listening, leadership and respect.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, blogs.hbr.org, linkedin.com, feeds.feedburner.com, and mail.yahoo.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for respectful communication, respectful communication in the workplace, julie mitchell, julie, and respectful communication at work.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Listening, leadership and respect July 2010

Is respectful communication at work an oxymoron? January 2010
2 comments

About Julie Mitchell October 2009
1 comment

Business communication tip: Change the e-mail subject line October 2009
2 comments

New HBR research report on coaching January 2009
1 comment

Sometimes I’m impatient or not very interested when I talk with older people, assuming I already know what they have learned. I lost my grandparents many years ago. Fortunately, I sought out some of their stories before they died. Unfortunately, I did not have the insight or maturity to ask much more. If my grandparents were still alive, I would interview them for hours on end! Perhaps other elders in my life could offer me their wisdom, if I took the time to ask.

Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday reminding me to appreciate simple things I take for granted… my sense of hearing, for instance. Too often, I’m a poor listener, but my ears are working well at age 51. Today, I’m tempted to complain about the roaring, clanging sounds of garbage trucks collecting in the neighborhood. Yet how grateful I am for weekly pick-up by people to whom I’ve never said “thanks” for noisy, smelly work I depend upon.

I know senior citizens who are excluded from conversations because of poor hearing. Sadly, many with rich  experiences to share will not wear hearing aids (or can’t afford them).  Others will never be asked to tell their stories. I’m thankful for those who include and honor me with their listening, when I’m asked to coach, consult or give friendly advice. What if I could not understand their requests? What if they stopped asking?

I have more to write, learn and practice on the topic of listening. For now, I’ll appreciate my ears and sounds from my open window, including the breeze blowing leaves off the trees and garbage trucks rumbling in the background.

LISTENING = RESPECT. (Because I want to encourage listening, I write these words instead of using PowerPoint slides. More on this in a future post.) Often I’m allotted only 15 minutes to speak on listening, a topic that requires a lifetime of patience and practice. Unfortunately too little time is spent on this critical interpersonal skill.

Listening is overlooked or marginalized for numerous reasons, including over-estimating our ability, or taking it for granted as something we all learn to navigate school, relationships, jobs and life. We may assume that good listeners receive few rewards in the work place. We notice our bosses promoting people who are “excellent communicators,” measured by speaking ability. Yet, listening can be the single most important interpersonal communication skill when your job requires dealing with others (which is the case for most of us).

Leaders who take the time and have the courage to listen are more likely to earn respect, admiration, and loyalty. People want to innovate, collaborate and cooperate with great listeners because they feel heard as important contributors. This seems obvious, yet I’ve observed many executives who believe they are good listeners have no idea how much they could improve, and how much their organizations would benefit as a result.

“Respect” is a good place to start when I invite people to consider the importance of listening. It’s true that articulate, confident speakers are needed in organizations. Leadership requires being able to deliver strong, persuasive messages. Nevertheless, the leaders who earn the most respect also value and practice effective listening skills.

On a personal note, the people I like the most are attentive and demonstrate they have heard and tried to understand my point of view, even if they don’t agree with me. This is true for most of us. When I ask seminar participants to name the most admired, well-liked, influential, helpful and positive people they have known the list invariably includes those who proved respect and caring through listening.

It’s natural to appreciate someone’s undivided attention. It makes us feel good! Sadly, we expect or demand this attention far more often than we give it. This is especially true as we experience information overload. Devices and distractions proliferate. I’m guilty as anyone.  At times I’ve been engaged with my iPhone when I need to remember the person in front of me is more important. So how do we begin to practice better listening skills when it seems more difficult than ever? It begins with a healthy respect for the value of listening. Future posts will offer specific suggestions.

Overall, I noticed an over-reliance on cookie-cutter content, acronyms, jargon and reading from or pointing to PowerPoint slides. None of this is new, especially in the academic environment where scholar-inventors are trained to prove expertise through such measures as number of peer-reviewed publications or prestigious research grants. Let me be clear: I respect and admire these people. I’ve loved working with physicians, esteemed research scientists, professors and technical/R&D experts over the years. I expect them to analyze and understand every detail when they are teaching a graduate seminar, performing surgery or creating a drug that may or may not make me feel better. However, there is a time and place for simple, clear communication.

I’ve coached hundreds of entrepreneurs, investment bankers, CEOs  and others on pitching their businesses or services in highly competitive environments. It’s imperative to make the most of brief, valuable “face time” in front of interested people. This means telling the story of your new venture in a compelling, natural way, i.e., being conversational and innovative instead of scripted and predictable.

It’s appropriate to inform the audience – BRIEFLY – that you’ve done your homework and have earned advanced degrees. Let them review 30 years of research another time, if they desire. The goal during a pitch is to capture attention and imagination, to invite or enroll the listener into inquiring further. Paradoxically, people will want to learn more about your work because you have shared less. This requires paring down the content of your pitch, even when convinced you must include several components. Be smart about what you say. Focus on a few memorable, positive points about the potential of your business, delivered with enthusiasm. Slides or visual aids should be used minimally, only when they enhance or clarify a point in a way the audience can grasp immediately.

Unfortunately, poor presentation practices are taught at many business schools and reinforced in too many organizations. Perhaps the folks I heard were coached by well-meaning mentors to use lots of slides or to cover specific criteria — throwing in financial, legal or scientific jargon — in their five-minute spiels. However I could literally see and hear relief in the audience when speakers got off script. The best presenters connected with listeners by telling and showing what they had to offer in concise, clear terms. They tried something other than referring to excruciatingly detailed slides that make little sense when trying to make the most of limited time with audience members who may be in a position to help launch a business.

Remember: to maximize your business pitch opportunity, keep it simple. Don’t be afraid to break the rules. Stand out by making your remarks more real and less complicated. Brilliant ideas deserve to be heard in the best light!