Reflections from a coaching conversation

A few weeks ago, I was wrapping up a 6-month coaching engagement with a client who is new to his role and somewhat new to our industry.  This purpose of our final call together was to talk about his progress, learnings and his plan moving forward.  

Why am I writing about this? Well, this was one of the best wrap up calls I’ve ever had! I’m super impressed and blown away by the monumental progress he made during our time together and his continued commitment to learn and grow. Without a doubt, one of the best parts of my job as a coach is witnessing growth in my clients — because they are the ones who make it happen, I just help them along the way.

At the end of our wrap up calls, clients get to ask me questions (finally) and put me on the spot for information (or in this case — guidance). I really enjoy the questions, and I get the opportunity to share my many years of experience and learning with them...

How learning from others can impact you as a leader

Have you ever met someone that you knew would have a positive impact in your life, from the moment you met them?  Someone with a story so powerful that it made you reflect on who you are and where you are going. A person you would like to spend hours talking to and become friends with. Hopefully you have, because it’s an amazing opportunity and experience.  And it happened to me recently.  

While attending the BIMFA 360 Leadership Conference, I had the pleasure of meeting Ernest Shackleton. His story is amazing, his impact immeasurable, his commitment to his people aspirational, and his legacy is one that will be told for years to come. Ernest is a courageous leader that lead his team through turbulent times and created an atmosphere of commitment and loyalty by putting the needs of his team first.    

But here’s the issue, Ernest Shackleton died in 1922. I would have never met...

 If you wait until you're ready, you'll be waiting for the rest of your life.

I'm Sid Meadows, and welcome to Success Soundbites. I'm really glad that you're here with me today because you know what? If you wait until you're ready, you'll be waiting for the rest of your life. That is a really powerful question, or statement. And why is that? Because, guess what, friends? You're never ever going to be 100% ready.

I'll use myself as an example. Three years ago, when I started embarkCCT, I had a little bit of a business plan, a little bit of a financial plan and a couple of clients, but I was nowhere near 100% ready. And if I had waited until I was 100% ready to start my business and to enter the world of entrepreneurship, I'd still be waiting today because there's no such thing as 100% ready, because you cannot prepare for the unknown. You can't prepare for the things that you just don't realize are going to happen or haven't thought of because I've experienced so much learning...

Are you a student or a worker? It's kind of a strange question, isn't it? Well, let me tell you the answer.

I'm Sid Meadows and welcome to Success Soundbites. I'm really glad that you're here with me today while we take just a moment to explore being a student or being a worker.

Recently, I was wrapping up a coaching session with a client. And at the end of my coaching sessions, I give my clients the opportunity to ask me any question they want to, and I will answer it as honestly as I possibly can. And so, this client, particularly, asked me what it was that he needed to do in order to further his career and to advance his career. You know what my answer was? My answer was to be a student.

What I mean by that is, be a student of your industry, be a student of your job, and learn and educate yourself as much as possible about the industry that you're in and the job that you perform. It doesn't matter whether you're in sales or customer service or marketing or any role...

Three simple actions you can take to make 2020 your best year yet 

It’s February and according to the research, 66% of you have given up on your New Year’s Resolutions. You made it a full month (or almost a month) working on your resolutions, or at least attempting them, before you got side tracked or gave up on them all together.  So, now what?  

Hopefully, you still have the desire for improvement and growth in your life and career! If you want to create massive momentum to make 2020 your best year yet, I’ve got 3 simple actions you can start implementing today — and here’s a hint — they aren’t hard or complicated, they just require commitment!

Action #1: Cleanse

No, I’m not talking about a juice cleanse. Though I’ve never done that before, I hear it’s great and challenging all at the same time, it’s just not for me —at least at this time. What I’m referring to, is a digital cleanse....

Do you control your calendar, or does it control you?

Welcome to Success Soundbites. I'm Sid Meadows, and I'm the founder and principal of EmbarkCCT. I'm really glad you're here with me today for this week's version of Success Soundbites as we talk about controlling your calendar.

As we venture into not just a new year, but a new decade, increased productivity is important for all of us. And my clients, on a regular basis, are asking me, "Hey Sid, what are simple ways that I can improve productivity?" And I always start with the very first question, "Are you controlling your calendar or are you letting other people control it?" And the typical answer is most people agree that other people control their calendar. So how can you really improve your productivity? I believe the answer to this question is simple and a really easy thing for you to implement and it's called block timing.

Block timing is a concept where you make an appointment with yourself. And in making that appointment,...