This week, we invite you to meet Maggie Helm of Helm Coaching, a Martha Beck® Certified Coach who consults on behalf of clients with an emphasis on career, leadership, and personal growth acceleration.
Not everyone is familiar with executive coaching. Can you explain how you empower business leaders, entrepreneurs, and executives?
Executive Coaching is a way to accelerate your career trajectory through exploration, insights, stretching, accountability, and support. As an executive and leadership coach, I empower clients to identify purpose and values, overcome obstacles through more self-awareness and emotional intelligence, and ultimately, lead with their strengths. I support them in whatever way they need – from solidifying leadership style to strengthening their brand profile to creating a business plan.
When do you know it is time to hire an executive coach?
When you recognize it is time for change, and feel uncertain about exactly how to move forward. The easiest way to say it is “when you feel stuck.”
If someone isn’t ready to hire their own coach yet, what online or free/low cost tools do you like to suggest as they begin their journey?
There are so many incredible resources online – if you are curious and dedicated enough!
I love all of Co-active Coaching’s worksheets for high level purpose focused inquiry AND more tactical/practical things like goal setting and business planning.
I also really recommend a couple of books and their corresponding websites: “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek (for entrepreneurs), “The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni and “Dare to Lead” by Brene Brown (leading, team building).
Self-assessments like Myers Brigg or VIA Character Strengths are always useful, to learn more about yourself and how you interact successfully (or not) with others.
Byron Katie’s “The Work” is another simple (but not easy!) free tool to reckon with limiting beliefs that might be getting in your way of more success and satisfaction.
What is something that you have read recently that has especially resonated with you?
“The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership” by Dethmer, Chapman and Klemp. It gives you an accessible practical road map (and stories… I relate most to stories!) for leading with empathy, curiosity and openness. The world would be a better place if everyone practiced these commitments in their daily lives.
Often times, working with a coach can create ripple effects in other parts of your life or unexpected but nonetheless positive outcomes. Can you share an anecdote of how this happened with someone you have worked with?
I was working with a young woman who knew she wanted to change jobs (she works in traditional corporate job, looking to stay in same industry) and before you know it, she’s also decided to expand her search to include other cities, and feels ready to move away from “home” plus has excitedly deactivated her dating apps (that were distracting her from her purpose) and also got certified as a yoga instructor, which she is doing as a “side hustle”. In like 3 months!!! Change yourself, change your life! The ripple effects are inevitable, yet always surprise me.
If our readers are able to make one small change today, what are a few things you would recommend to them?
Spend 15 minutes alone and do a visualization of what you want your “ideal day” to look like in 5 years – starting from when you wake up and go through your entire day until your head hits the pillow for bed. Where do you live? Who is with you? What do you do for work? Do you bike there, drive there? What happens at dinner? Are kids being dropped off at school? Etc…
Once finished, take a look at what in your current life, supports that visualization. If there are things that clearly get in the way of achieving this “ideal day”, consider deleting each one from your life at a time that makes the most sense (we can’t all quit our day job tomorrow simply because it didn’t show up in a 5-year visualization).
Even if you don’t feel compelled to do the visualization, I wholeheartedly support deleting out parts of your life that no longer “light you up”. If there are commitments or things you do because you “should” do them, start there. “Should” is a blinking word to notice … When clients use the word SHOULD, I encourage them to pause and think, “Huh? Should? Really? Why? Who says? For whom? What happens if I don’t do it?”
To learn more about Maggie’s work, connect with her on LinkedIn and Instagram.
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