I hate to admit this but a month or so ago I got myself a bit log-jammed. I mean I couldn’t decide what I should be doing in my work. I don’t mean I had a bad afternoon. Or a unfocused day.

This lasted for days. More days than I care to admit to. Quite frightening really.

During which time I messed around. I shuffled some papers. I did all the easy stuff.

I had three big objectives yet I couldn’t knuckle down to any of them. So I did nothing (of importance). I am quite shocked at this because I should, and do, know better. But the logjam happened none the less. Like a football player losing form. I guess it can happen to the best of us.

“Physician, heal thyself” I can hear you all bellow.

Fair comment. So I did. And this is how I did it:

I coached myself. Well I’m supposed to be a coach so I coached myself.

I took myself through a classic coaching process coupled with some extra bits that work and some stuff from goal-setting best practice.

What was important was I gave myself the time to go through the entire process. It was like a system reboot. It wiped clean my confused and addled brain. I was like new.

I’ve put the process into a Word doc for you (click on the image above to get it).

If you’re feeling a bit log-jammed, frustrated and feeling as if you’re not really focusing on the most important stuff, have a look at the document. But you’ll need at least 30 minutes, maybe a bit longer. But it could well be the best thing to do right now.

It really worked for me. The process got me to focus on priority number one (funnily enough, not the one I thought it was), and define and take the first step. And a lot more.

So I’ve now got a major goal achieved and I’m just about to start on the next one. The logs are all flowing down the river again.

Coaching – I love it.

I was looking for a picture to describe management – all of it. A bit of a tall order I know. But I Googled around a bit and here’s something that caught my eye.

I really like this management skills pyramid. (Thanks to F John Reh over at http://management.about.com/)

It starts at Level 1 – basically getting through the day…

…by planning, organising, directing and controlling. Taking care of business. The ultimate definition of management – doing things right.

Moving onto Level 2 – developing your staff…

…motivation, training and coaching, fostering staff involvement. I prefer inspire over motivate. You cannot motivate anyone, but you can inspire them. However it’s all good stuff. Helping staff to grow so that they can allow you to step up to the next stage…

Then Level 3 – improving yourself…

…time management and self-management. Two favourites of mine. Because they are the facilitators of greatness. And so it seems in this model, because they facilitate…

Level 4 – Leadership…

…you are no longer a caterpillar…you are a butterfly. Doing the right things.

Here’s a pdf of the Pyramid

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on Getting Some Help.
“The same things win. It doesn’t matter where you coach them. The game’s the same.” – Mike DuBose
I have an accountant for my accounts, a golfer for my golf swing, an investor for my investments, a trader for my trades and my wife to tell me where I’m going wrong…
They all help, in their way…
Some have hard skills; some soft. But they all help.
But more than this…
I have Drayton Bird to help me with marketing. I have Michael Porter to help me with strategy. I have a man to help me with changing my business model. I have another to help me with internet marketing. I have Mr X to coach me (that’s not his real name – that would be weird).
There are literally dozens more. Dozens. I pay all of these people, one way or another. Some I have never met, but they still help me.
I have no ego…
Not when it comes to seeking help. Help with my business. And with managing me.
Anyone who spends their time re-inventing wheels is nuts.
This is a call-to-action. Get some help.
You may think…
…this Pearl is self-serving. That I am touting for business. I’m not. I actually believe this stuff. If you’re not convinced, ask yourself this as you try to re-invent the wheel: as a manager grows and becomes more successful, do you think he or she, in general, makes more or less use of coaches and mentors?
It’s more. Fact.
I have spent…
…many thousands of pounds of my own money in the last year alone on coaches and mentors. I’d like to spend more. The return on investment will be at least 50 times the spend and possibly a lot more. But it’s up to me to take the massive action required. I am and will.
Ask a professional athlete to imagine life without a coach. They will look at you as if you are stupid.
They cannot imagine it.
A teacher – someone who shows you how to do something. They have a skill to impart to you.
A coach – someone to help you realise your potential. They may not be better at the activity than you, but that’s not the point.
A mentor – someone who has done what you want to do and can show you the way. Like satnav for your aspiration.
Some people think asking for help is a sign of failure. No. Not asking is a guarantor of failure. People will read a manual on how to work the telly, but they won’t read a manual on how to run their business, or themselves.
Any colour, as long as it’s black…
Even if you do reinvent that wheel, and it doesn’t take too long, you still have to re-invent the engine, and the tyres, and everything else. And once you’ve done all that, you have something that looks like a crap version of Henry Ford’s 1896 classic Quadracycle.
But we’re living in 2010.

Get some help.