Do you fear that you will eventually be discovered as a fraud and you might get found out at any minute? Then you are experiencing something often referred to as imposter syndrome which stems from a sense of inadequacy, despite objectively being competent. You may never fully overcome these feelings, however, there are opportunities to better balance your thinking and self-perception.
Tag Archive for: Purpose
Know your ‘why’.
Values and gaining an understanding of your key drivers and motivations matter. I know this because people keep telling me.
Maybe not in specific values-related language, but certainly when they describe how they feel and what is happening at that time.
Knowing your core purpose, why we make certain decisions and the influence of values impacts lives. They affect how we feel about our job, relationships and life in general. What is satisfying at work? What is frustrating? How relationships are going? The joys of a new friendship…or an old. Your ‘why’ influences all of these questions.
It is when values align and we develop understanding of self and our motivations that genuine satisfaction and comfort is felt. Conversely, we are often at our most vulnerable and emotional when core values are being breached. Or, challenged when asked to compromise the things that matter the most.
Purpose:
- the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
- a person’s sense of resolve or determination.
Values:
- the importance, worth, or usefulness of something
- principles or standards of behaviour; one’s judgement of what is important in life.
When developing, maintaining and growing my business, I have focused heavily on the ‘why’. Similarly, during coaching and mentoring sessions with clients, I find myself delving into the same theme. Not everyone can answer these questions about themselves easily, however. Understanding your passions, why you do what you do and your core beliefs will help you understand not only who you are, but assist to drive your future goals and direction. (1)
Values and purpose are often downplayed, both in concept and understanding.
Core values are the guiding principles that dictate behaviour and action. Values facilitate self-awareness and help people to know what is right from wrong. They can help organisations to determine their direction and align business goals. They also create a sustained, unwavering and unchanging guide.
It is this degree of self-awareness and self-acceptance that is central to personal and professional development. Taking time to reflect and understand what your purpose is, may be one way that you can learn to describe better influence and connect with others. Ensure that your team members, colleagues and friends can understand your perspective and decisions.
Whether it is your boss, members of your team, spouse or peers, the opportunity to delve, understand and explain has great power. This type of conversation goes some way to breaking down the barriers that exist when we allow others to assume what is most important to us. Be clear about your purpose and ‘why’ and share this detail with those who matter most.
Diversity and points of difference between people can be one of the most important drivers of individual and team success. But, only when the time is taken to improve self-awareness, learn more about other people and the best ways to work together. This rarely occurs without appropriate effort and focus.
I have developed and facilitated workshops focusing on the theme of diversity, specifically the differences that naturally exist between people. Diversity has quickly become one of CoachStation’s most popular themes/programs, when working at group level or with individual clients being coached and mentored. Developing a core purpose, why and set of meaningful values is as important for teams as individuals.
People lose their way when they lose their why – Michael Hyatt
Articulating beliefs and reflective thoughts to people creates a potential common ground of words and language. It certainly provides clarity and opportunity for deeper and more authentic connection. Knowing your values connects with a deeper set of motivations. They help to understand why you make certain decisions, choices and drive your actions.
What we know about people at work is that at the end of the day, they want to matter, to feel significant. They want to be respected, heard, honored, and supported; they want to win, learn, grow, and do their best. What we need are cultures that recognize this principle, and lead accordingly. By creating a leadership culture where people feel they matter, everything else the business needs to do will happen—productivity, quality, customer satisfaction, and profitability. (2)
Help people to help you by providing details about your purpose, values, beliefs and motivations.
The alternative is to foster ambiguity and allow people to make assumptions about what matters most to you. Which would you prefer?
Watch the CoachStation video clip below to learn more about values and their influence on your life.
Why do you do what you do?
Understanding your purpose, what motivates you and most importantly using this knowledge to advantage is key to your success, both professionally and personally.
My eldest daughter, Maddy, is currently in year 9. One of her elective subjects this year is Business and as part of the curriculum Maddy was asked to interview a business owner to better understand why, how and what was required to set up the business. I am proud that she chose our business for many reasons.
Firstly, it is an opportunity for Maddy to fully understand what I do and why I do it. This is important for any parent and child but possibly even more so as I work from home and I do sometimes wonder if our daughters find what I do a bit of a mystery! This has provided an opportunity for us to spend time together with purpose, but with a different context than much of the rest of our relationship, which has been fun. Finally, it has forced me to think about and clearly articulate answers to the excellent questions that Maddy had developed.
The process had other benefits. It encouraged additional reflection on my purpose, both personally and through my business, CoachStation, while both answering the questions and in the few weeks since. It provided the opportunity to delve more deeply into my initial answers on the importance of knowing why I do what I do and how that influences my direction and future focus – a process I encourage you to do too!
If you have not had the opportunity to view or read any of Simon Sinek’s material regarding marketing and to ‘Start with Why‘, I highly recommend you spend a few minutes doing so. Interestingly though, I have found that his key concept has as much bearing on how we see ourselves as it does with tangible things such as businesses. Knowing your purpose and why we do what we do matters…both in business and in our personal lives.
What does that even mean? To explain this concept, Sinek has developed what he calls the “Golden Circle,”. The golden circle has three layers:
- Why – This is the core belief of the business. It’s why the business exists.
- How – This is how the business fulfills that core belief.
- What – This is what the company does to fulfill that core belief.
Sounds simple, but what Sinek found is that most companies do their marketing backwards. They start with their “what” and then move to “how” they do it. Most of these companies neglect to even mention why they do what they do. More alarmingly, many of them don’t even know why they do what they do! (1)
What does that even mean? To explain this concept, Sinek has developed what he calls the “Golden Circle,”. The golden circle has three layers:When developing, maintaining and growing my business, I have focused heavily on the ‘why’. Similarly, during my coaching and mentoring sessions with clients, I find myself asking the same questions. Not everyone can answer these easily, however. Understanding your passions, why you do what you do and your core beliefs will help you understand not only who you are, but help to drive your future goals and direction.
It is my story that I would like to share via an abbreviated version of Maddy’s case study questions and my answers. When working with my clients it is this type of understanding that comes from increasing self-awareness and honesty with self that is the baseline for development and growth. Possibly through answering the same questions, there may be a similar opportunity for greater knowledge of yourself and your purpose.
Knowing why CoachStation exists has been paramount to my success to date. I am sure it will be in the future also. As is always the case when writing my blogs, I hope that this information inspires you to think more about not only what you do but why you do it. Let me know how you go.
Could you summarise what CoachStation offers and does in a few sentences?
CoachStation helps people and businesses to become more effective and efficient in what they do. We do this by developing awareness, skills and capability at an individual, business and organisation level. CoachStation provides consulting and business advisory, coaching / mentoring and human resource related offerings. Ultimately, CoachStation focuses on the people side of business.
When did CoachStation start?
I started building CoachStation (website, social media etc.) in 2010 and started full time work in the business in 2012. However, the real creation of the concept was being developed throughout the previous 14-15 years as I became more aware of my capability, passions and the need to develop more effective leaders. I often feel like it has been a 25 year apprenticeship to this point.
What roles have you previously been in that have added to your expertise that allowed you to set up CoachStation?
I have been a leader throughout my whole career which started in late teens when I was fortunate enough to be provided with an opportunity to participate in a two-year supervisor traineeship with a large retailer in Adelaide. This meant from a young age I knew that leading, not just managing and working with people was something I would always pursue. My career from that point has almost always been in leadership roles within the retail, hospitality, finance and contact centre industries in Australia and overseas. My last two senior roles were as National Customer Experience Leader with GE Money and Head of Customer Service for Toyota Finance Australia.
Do you think that your previous work history had a significant role in your thought processes leading up to the setting up of CoachStation?
Yes. As I mentioned previously, the work and experience gained from over 25 years of employment led me to this point. Certainly as with all of my roles, each opportunity honed my skills, provided exposure and built acumen. Although it may have taken a different form, I believe that coaching and consulting was always the ‘end game’ and I would have still have ended up here. Being exposed to the business environment helped to drive me and you only have to speak to most employees to know that there is genuine opportunity to develop more effective leaders in most industries. Whether managers are prepared to acknowledge this is another point altogether!
Why does CoachStation exist?
Purpose = Building Success, Making a difference.
Vision = To make the world better, one leader at a time.
Mission = Through developing trust and strong relationships, we use our skills and resources to help people and organisations be the best they can be.
What are the most important CoachStation values?
We have 7 core values and they are all important. Any member of my team and frankly, my friends, share these values.
- Fun and Enjoyment
- Optimism and Hope
- Respect
- Learning and Growth
- Health and Wellbeing
- Values-Driven
- Leadership in Practice
Can you give a brief summary of CoachStation’s work in the past 12 months?
Primarily our work is based in Queensland and New South Wales, however that has been rapidly changing. Industries we have worked within include finance, architecture, recruitment, health, government and local council. CoachStation is currently in a significant growth phase with a team of business partners joining us recently to extend our reach and influence. I am so very excited at this opportunity as I have been able to align the people who mean the most to me, their individual values and the CoachStation purpose and values. This means that we will be able to continue to grow, assist others and make a difference without compromising on what matters most to us and our clients.
Why are the current members of the CoachStation team involved? How did they become involved?
As mentioned, they are long term relationships and friendships based on a shared belief in values, doing the right thing, giving natures and of course highly capable and skilled people. I am passionate about helping those who have assisted me in my career and life and are authentic in all they do, not just when it is convenient.
Why did you decide to start your own business as opposed to being employed?
There are many reasons. Primarily, I wanted to have the opportunity to be responsible and accountable for my own success; increase the level of flexibility and autonomy in my own and my family’s life; and use my skills and capability to best effect (I have choice, control and options to work with who I want to, when and how). Interestingly, it is because I started to truly understand my purpose that made this transition so much easier and obvious, to me at least. People have sometimes commented about how ‘brave’ I was in doing what I did. To me it was a greater risk to keep moving down the path I was on than to make the leap into running my own business. I recognise it is not for everyone, however.
How do you stay motivated to continue to do your best?
By seeing the difference that we are making with and for others in reality; developing myself and my team; whilst also continually developing new relationships and product offerings.
What separates you or makes you different to your competitors?
Genuine desire and ability to make a real difference in people’s lives – making it more than a tick box exercise and following through on our purpose and values is feedback we receive consistently as a key differentiator.
What benefit do you believe having experienced business partners has opposed to people who are new to this field of work?
It’s critical in the work CoachStation does. The ability to make a genuine difference and help people can only occur when you have deep capability to relate to different types of people, use various experiences and history and provide solutions to their problems. Credibility is core to making this happen, as ongoing work and recommendations are all critical to our ongoing success.
What products and programs do you use within your workshops and meetings?
We have created most of our own original workshop material; coaching models; assessment tools etc. I am also an accredited DiSC behavioural assessment facilitator and uses other tools such as Gallup StrengthsFinder and the Real Deal Values assessment. Having said that however, these tools are simply that…tools. It is how you use the information that the resources, assessments etc. generate, along with the increased self-awareness that makes the real difference. I often say, “you need a hammer to build a house, but it is not the only tool”, meaning that it is a part of the story but you cannot rely on the tool itself to generate change.
How do you use social media to your advantage?
It’s massive! The modern business marketing and technological opportunity that social media provides is one of the greatest marketing tools for any business, particularly small start-ups. It is cheap, accessible and dominant all over the world. Whilst I understand the negative aspects of social media, I am still a little surprised by the polarising nature and reactions of many senior leaders when it is mentioned in business circles. Like anything, there are good and poor ways to apply a system or tool.
How do you show ethical values i.e. honesty and fairness, non-discrimination?
Personally and professionally I am influenced heavily by my ethics and standards. I believe that anyone who knows me understands this. Too often I see managers, and people generally, who display integrity and are ethical mostly, but pick and choose those times on occasion. In my world it is one of the few genuinely black and white areas. Ethical standards are also shown by always following through, earning trust and being trusting. Our actions show genuine commitment to clients and caring about improvement through the results. It’s about delivering and always giving more than expected, which relates back to my earlier point about the need to provide more than a tick box exercise.
(1) http://blog.hubspot.com/customers/3-takeaways-from-start-with-why
Reviews
Steve is a great mentor and coach and has helped me immensely in both my professional and personal life. His approach is very personalized and relatable that it made it easy to build a relationship from the start with a strong foundation of trust. He genuinely cares about your development and goes above and beyond to help whenever there is a need. This was evident from the way he answered my call at an unscheduled time and the way he provided guidance, encouraging me to reflect on my core values, answer my own questions, and come to the realization of the actions that needed to be taken. Steve challenged me, made me feel accountable, and made me discover a side that I haven’t explored. His unique way of coaching goes beyond the tools and materials he provides and brings about positive changes and results. I am very grateful to the time spent, especially meeting Steve at a time that was crucial for my career and personal growth. I would not hesitate recommending Steve as a mentor and coach to anyone who is pursuing positive changes in their personal and professional life.
I highly recommend this program with Steve, the skills, experience and understanding on how to be a good leader I have gained throughout the program have already made a strong and positive impact in my abilities as a leader. I began this program at the same time I was promoted into a new leadership role, I was struggling with time management and self confidence in new role which was hindering my abilities to perform to a high standard for the business and my team; I needed some coaching and guidance. Steve immediately built a great rapport with me making me feel comfortable speaking with him openly and honestlyBy building such a strong foundation early we really were able to make good progress. Steve shared his expertise and experience which I could relate to and with his guidance he encouraged self-reflection which gave me so many insights into my skills, my progress, an understanding into my areas in need of improvement. We collaborated well and implemented strategies into my time management and my day to say roles as a leader, I immediately noticed a huge improvement which benefited myself, my team, and the workplace. Over the course of the program a learnt a lot about myself both personally and professionally noticing growth in both areas. By feeling more comfortable and confident in my role I was able to decrease my stress and improve overall as a leader. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Steve and would recommend anyone wanting to take their career as a leader to the next level to work with Steve.Thank you, Steve, for providing me with lifelong skills and understanding that I will be able to use personally and professionally.
Simply put, if you are looking for a professional performance coach to help you grow your self-awareness, be a better leader and learn practical techniques to immediately improve team or individual performance then look no further than CoachStation.Having worked with Steve over the last year I can confidently recommend him to you. With Steve’s expert coaching and mentoring I’ve been able to take practical steps to be a better leader to my team, while gaining the perspective necessary to navigate the transition from sole-contributor to leading a department. While I’ve only just begun my journey Steve’s tried and tested approach has left with the tools to climb the steps I need to get to where I want to be. He has helped me to recognise and understand my personal values, motivators and strengths. Empowered with this knowledge, I’ve been able to create a plan for my professional development that extends well past the formal coaching period and has the right ingredients to help me achieve my personal goals, build relationships and take the next step in my career.Whether it’s performance coaching, mentoring, professional development or business strategy, Steve from CoachStation, can and will help you.
I met Steve at Coachstation at a time in my career where I was at a crossroads and facing difficulty in seeing past the next few years.. possibly months. I felt invalidated and broken and I think that is how I opened the conversation. I have now spent 12 months working with Steve, refocussing my thoughts and identifying new goals to push into a different framework for success and most importantly change.Steve has been invaluable in my journey to identify what was holding me back. He is part strategist, part thought provoker, and part cheerleader. Steve helped me to identify my values and where these values aligned and how to invoke the skills to bring out a clarity of purpose and desire that is often hard to pinpoint on your own. Steve was a safe place to talk about challenges and a calm voice to steer me when I was not seeing issues clearly. Steve gave me confidence, focus to rewrite the narrative and has culminated in a change of career direction.I am so grateful to have worked with Steve during a challenging period professionally and highly recommend his services to anyone who is looking to transform their career or even just gain clarity for their professional development.
My experience with Steve has been one of self reflection and growth. Steve has a fantastic insight on what it takes to be a great leader. His method is very conducive toward introspection which results in inspiring change. The overall experience has helped me personally identify my strengths and weaknesses and specifically how I can tackle the latter via my personal leadership style. His coaching is fully tailored and personalized and there has been a great attention to detail in the approach. I think every up and coming and established leader will greatly benefit from Steve's coaching in order to take their leadership to the next level.
Since starting at my current company, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Steve, both in a formal capacity and informally.First and foremost, Steve is people-centric. He is a uniquely gifted communicator, able to convey difficult, sometimes hard to hear feedback in a way that means you’re still happy to have a beer with him at the end of the day.Steve has played an immense part in my professional development over the last 5 years. As my role has adapted during this time, he has proven an invaluable voice of reason and experience.Having had the benefits of Steve’s coaching from an early point in my professional life, he has helped foster self-awareness, leadership and empathy: all key factors for the success that I have seen so far.For anyone invested in themselves and their career, I could not recommend CoachStation any higher. Steve’s passion for inspiring development creates an engaging and personal coaching experience, the fruits of which I believe I will be seeing for years to come.
I was lucky enough to introduced to Steve's program through my employer. I have never been a big believer in coaching or mentorship however I have come to realise and appreciate the impact it can have after my experience working with Steve over the last 12 months and now see it as invaluable.Steve helped me understand myself and how I interacted with others and it has really helped me to me to grow and improve as a person. From a work perspective is has really helped me to get the best out of myself and my team.Best of all Steve has challenged me and held me accountable to what I have committed to and been an invaluable sounding board when working through challenges. Thanks for all of the support Steve!
I had the opportunity recently to participate in the Coaching and Mentoring program run by Steve from CoachStation. This program run over a 12-month period focuses on developing and enhancing skills to create more effective leaders both professionally and personally.Early on in the program it was clear to me that Steve had a great style, and we were able to create a genuine and authentic working relationship. At the end of each of our 1 on 1 sessions I walked away with new skills and tools and renewed motivation that has allowed me to continue to develop on my leadership journey.At the end of this course, I have a much clearer understanding of my core values, my leadership style and how I can adjust and tweak my approach to get the best out of my people. I would highly recommend Steve for anyone that is looking to develop effective leadership skills.
If you are looking for a motivational program filled with feelgood taglines, this is probably not the program for you. If however you are looking to make change or develop your competencies and is willing to be challenged, be vulnerable, open to feedback and putting in the work, Steve will take you on a journey that can change your life, personally and professionally.Steve is first and foremost a people person, with extensive commercial experience, who clearly has a deep passion for working with people and bringing a better version of you to the fore. In our 15 month relationship, he helped me break ingrained habits and implement strategies and practice ideas to address areas where I could do better. Understanding what my value system is, is impacting not just how I approach things and interact with people, it is also guiding me in my longer term goal setting.I highly recommend this program. Thanks Steve!
I was fortunate enough to be nominated to Steve's Coaching and Mentoring Program in early 2020. Unfortunately in May 2020 I had a serious health issue followed by the COVID lock downs so I had to post pone my coaching & mentoring program until 2021. Steve was brilliant, incredibly caring, truthful and insightful. Steve made me think about what my true values are. I never really understood or appreciated the power of mentoring but after my sessions with Steve I have never looked back. I have used the lessons learnt from my mentoring sessions to be a better leader and have meaningful discussions with my team. I strongly recommend Steve for anyone wishing to improve their leadership style or wishing to develop their relationships with their staff, peers or leaders.
Steve has been an excellent coach for me over a period of two years. I commenced with CoachStation while transitioning from being IN a sales team, to managing that same team. Over the course of the coaching I shifted from simply managing, to truly leading, and have successfully navigated a number of challenging situations with Steve's support. Steve both supported and challenged me through this period and has assisted in setting me up for success in the future. His methodology of values / passions alignment, and significant real leadership experience means he has many things to draw from to support you in any phase of your career. I would recommend CoachStation to anyone that cares about their career and is willing to put in the effort to grow.
I have known Steve since 2017 and been part of his coaching program for four years. Steve is a rare individual who understands people and instantly makes you feel safe and secure when you are working with him. I have held a few roles whilst working with Steve and he has assisted my thinking, self-awareness and attitude towards my career but ultimately they are life skills that can be used every day.I truly believe that Steve has lifted my capability as his techniques and approaches are realised subconsciously which makes the learning easier to apply.Steve has become a true business partner and friend of mine in which I am forever grateful of meeting him through coach station. I highly recommend Coach station for anyone wanting to develop themselves.Thanks Steve.Neil Peters
I never realised the impact a coach and mentor could make in both my professional and personal life until I met Steve.After working for a big corporate firm for the last 13 years, I thought I knew myself and how I worked. Moving into a smaller professional company and into a completely different role, has opened my eyes to new methods of how more effective and efficient I can be in the workplace. Steve has helped me learn to tap into my strengths, understand my core values and focus on areas where I have the potential to grow.It was and continues to be, eye opening during coaching sessions with Steve. What we discuss has most definitely resonated with me and changed the way in which I see myself and how I think both in my personal and professional environments. I value and look forward to our coaching sessions! Steve is professional, honest, approachable, poses good thought provoking challenges and is willing to listen.I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to meet Steve via my current employer who understands the significant impact and value coaching and mentoring can have for their staff.
Steve's coaching has been the most beneficial experience in my working career and I have developed skills that I will take with me as my career grows. He changed the way I thought of coaching from a results driven approach to a journey of self development and realization.Within the first session, I felt like I was able to trust him and open up. He provided insight into my communication behaviours that I was not aware of and how that would effect how people receive my message. As I was having issues with training a new employee, Steve's was able to provide a framework of knowledge, run through examples of difficult conversations and guide me through areas to focus on. I was able to convert my uncertainty to useful planning which helped me manage those difficult conversations. Every session was tailored to my developmental needs and there were action points after each session for me to work and reflect onI would highly recommend Steve to anyone as the skills developed can be transferred to any aspect of your life.
Working with Steve over the past two years has been a journey of self awareness and personal development. As a newly appointed Manager in our our organization, I'd had limited experience with managing others and Steve's coaching has helped me navigate the challenges that come with that - such as having difficult conversations with staff who were once your peers. The coaching program was well paced, thorough and worked on identifying existing strength of character but also identified areas of opportunity for self development. Whilst there were some self awareness observations Steve made throughout the sessions, his feedback was always supportive but candid. I thoroughly enjoyed working with Steve, the lessons I have learnt will serve me well in my career now and in the future.
