What is of your making

Eating up content is relatively easy. You can read it, listen to it, scan over it, click on it and get endlessly lost in it. 

But do you make? 

Do you work out what you think and put it out there for others to consider? 

For example, such a small percentage of LinkedIn users make and share their thinking. 

So how about it? Let’s make something!

Pick a topic you're interested in. What are three things you think people need to know or they get wrong or would do well to try? 

Write about it. 

And if you’re not a regular writer, maybe you’re more of a talker. Hit ‘record’ on the voice memo on your phone and talk for a few minutes. Your thoughts and opinions will become clearer. 

The world needs more future thinkers; not the same voices, reading the same authors and sharing the same quotes. 

That’s an ever-decreasing spiral. 

Your diverse and different point of view is needed. We need to hear it - whether it’s a story of your experience, an opinion about some insights you’ve had or a projection of how you think the future could be. 

What are you seeing? What are you noticing? What do you think? 

I’d love to consume more of your making. 

“I love your stuff Lynne,” they said.

What is our stuff? 

It’s our perspective. It’s what we think and how we package that up to share it with others. 

It’s how we express ideas and how we explain things, our views and values and experiences. 

It’s also our MO - modus operandi or our way, our method of doing things. 

So ... what’s yours? 
Have you thought about it? 
Are you already working on it? 
And do you share it?

The need for us to declare who we are and what we believe is on the rise: there is the growth of personal branding, sole business operators, your name dot com, individuals as brands and the opportunities available to share our stuff via social media profiles. 

Even if you don’t run your own show, having a profile and sharing your stuff helps build a body of your ideas, thinking and work that can help you carve out your career.

Do you know what your stuff is? And have you worked on it recently?

Toning it down or sparking it up

Are you holding on to your ideas, not launching or sharing them?

Fear can keep us contained and restricted. We have ideas but are worried about the impact of sharing them. 

So we withhold them and keep ourselves protected. 

But sometimes an idea we have keeps on coming back. It’s as if it won’t be pushed down or quietened. We believe it so strongly, it just won’t go away!

If you’ve got an idea that won’t go away, slide it out there into the world. 

The Spotlight Effect is at play : it’s the bias where we think people are paying more attention to us than they really are. 

That means even if we think ‘everyone’ will see our idea, they won’t. Many people are busy in their own world and often our stuff doesn’t initially reach as many people as we might fear ... or hope. 

The thing with sharing ideas is, it gets easier the more you do it. 

I used to be scared of sharing and expressing my ideas. Wouldn’t share them at all! And now, it’s daily - and more frequently if you include workshops, keynotes, mentoring and meetings. 

So are you toning things down? Or sparking it up and letting your ideas loose? 

Get sparking - I’d love to see your ideas out there!

You are sooooo much more than a coach

The commitment to being a coach runs deep. To spend time with someone, one on one. To take time to uncover the situation, identify some possibilities for breaking through and achieving that shift that is needed to help people reach their best.

There may have been accreditations and development and courses to get you to this space of being able to do it seemingly effortlessly, artfully and craftfully.

So when people set up their business as a coach, life coach, business coach, coach's coach or executive coach, I often twitch a little and think to myself, ‘Oh but you are soooooo much more than a coach.'

Ingenious and Interlocking

You might call yourself ‘coach' so people can find you and that explains what you do, but the art of coaching runs way deeper.

Yes, the capabilities are complex and interlocking, layered and so very clever - ingenious even - to be able to connect with people and help them unlock or breakthrough and reach greater clarity, progress, understanding or heights.

But why do so many coaches only deliver these brilliant services primarily as a coach?

Many coaches have developed their own IP or curriculum, models or processes - or they’ve adapted ones they’ve learned to suit the field or industry they coach in.

So why don’t they do more with their coaching skills?

If they’re content and happy, great. But for many, it’s hard work, earning a decent living and having time to spare for self and others.

Commodotised or Differentiated?

If you say you coach, you coach. Actually, it can become a bit commoditised. You’re at risk of getting locked into corporate coaching panels and day rates aligned as the ‘same as’ the services of so many others. What differentiates you?

Don’t get me wrong; this can be great, right, perfect for where you’re at. But even saying you’re an ‘executive coach’ still puts you with the others. 

What if you had skills, knowledge and IP that wasn’t being tapped? That there was work, impact, influence, change or money 'left on the table’ or there were people you weren’t helping but could?

More than...

So what else could you do with those skills that don't involve the often labour intensive one-on-one sessions of coaching?

There are other ways through which you can deliver your coaching prowess.

The first most obvious is to take that knowledge and deliver it to a group, not 1 on 1.

A group. Anything bigger than two people. Now you’re in facilitator mode.

Not coach, but facilitator. Helping make the group’s work easier, not just an individual’s.

(Hello: If you don’t like groups and you’d rather coach one-on-one, carry on. But if you’re thinking ‘hang on… maybe there’s something in this, I tried it a few times and…’ read on)

As a facilitator, you’re asking questions, eliciting information, using models and processes and your wonderful capabilities to guide or help a group reach its potential.

Not just one person at a time.

The leverage and impact you have here is significant. Massive. More getting done, in less time, for more people. The power of the group is all powerful. The synergy (yes, synergy, a corny word but that’s what happens in a group - a mini explosion of euphoria as they bounce off each other and build a wonderful bubbling of possibility and insight) of the group is like... wow!

Yes you still see individuals in the room. You can see their challenges, barriers and sticking points but you can see it as it affects the group, as well as the individual.

Helping them with leverage

Increasingly, businesses and organisations are needing facilitators who will help teams and groups make breakthroughs and progress and get clarity and do awesome work. Not just coach individuals.

You can carry on being all one-on-one but it’s gonna take so long to get around to see and work with everyone. And many businesses just won’t take the time for everyone who needs it to have their on-on-one transformational journey. It's not leveraged enough; it's not productive enough and it's too pricey. Bottom line is not a good enough return on investment.

How can you help a business leverage their people and their time AND bring your expertise as a coach?

It’s to use your skills as a facilitator. To coach a group. To facilitate.

Oh, and relax....

And you can relax… you still have your coaching abilities to offer when individuals need your guidance and expertise. You don’t need to stop this or remove it or delete it. It's because you are more than a coach.

So hey, don't label yourself just as a coach or only as a coach. It’s limiting your expertise and reducing their leverage. Plus it means there are teams and groups and businesses and organisations out there who could be benefiting from your great skills ... but they are having to wait in line until it’s their one-on-one time. 

The power of a book, no matter your job or role

Books have become a powerful marketing and branding tool of today. They're better than a business card and can become a key part of your social media content. A book authored by you is an immediate way to show that you've got a point of view and that you have some wonderful expertise.  

Yes, authoring a book shows you have a story to tell, advice to give or you want to provide an accompaniment to your services. This is ideal if you’re a coach, trainer or business or management consultant or have your own business. 

Imagine being able to drop a book on the desk or table of a prospective client… it's powerful, influential and impactful.  You’re saying ‘here’s my thinking on the topic’, and 'this is why we know what we're doing'!

But writing a book is a big deal. There are plenty of people who start but can’t finish. Or they don't start because they’re not sure of what's really involved ... it can be a tricky process to think, write and publish!  So, yes, a book is a BIG project.  

Starting and then fizzing out...

Many people start with great intentions, some clever ideas and a few words here and there with their initial attempts to write a book.

I sure did! Several times. I think I had six different books that I'd started - and none of them finished, published or available for sale or put out into the world to go to work for me! That's a missed opportunity. A BIG one.

A book can seem insurmountable at times; especially if you start with a flurry and then it all fades away and other things in life seem to take a higher priority. You might feel like you lose that initial spurt of energy or enthusiasm. You might even wonder if writing a book is a bit of a 'brag'. 

Having a book (a hard copy book or an e-book or digital download) with your name on it isn't an ego thing at all. In fact the opposite is true; it's saying 'here is my thinking', 'here's what I'm working on' or 'here's where I'm heading next'. It's helpful, instructive, supportive and clarifying. 

A book is a vital marketing tool for today. With social media available for you to share your thoughts, ideas and opinions, a book is the perfect way to bring these - and other -  ideas together in a focused, professional and contemporary way. 

From average to leverage

Having your own book published can help take you from being lost or hidden in the crowd.

With so many businesses, consultants, entrepreneurs, marketers and job hunters looking to stand out and have a profile, it's too easy to slip into a space where everyone else is. Being a commodity or the same as others doesn't give you a competitive advantage. You're lost, hidden. 

If you appear the same as every other consultant or coach, business owner or entrepreneur, how do you get ahead, build your profile or get known for your unique offer, services or expertise?

Whether you're starting up your own business - or hope to in the future - having your services clearly positioned early on in the journey is smart thinking. And if you're already along the journey of being a freelancer, sole trader, entrepreneur or business guru, the best time is always ...now. 

Getting the leverage of a book looks like this...

Break clear

Writing and publishing a book is a strategy to help you break clear from average. 

You'll build your profile in the fields or industries you're interested in, strengthen your identity and be able to leverage the power of having your thinking, ideas and knowledge in print and able to be shared.

This powerful combination helps position you in the market or industry in which you work - or would like to work. And if you're writing a book for the pleasure of it, you'll position your unique thinking and ideas in a way that no one else has. 

You'll move from commodity to identity; from average to leverage. 

Once your book is published, you have incredible opportunities to build on the profile and positioning that come from authoring. 

Make 2016 the year you write and publish your book.