Michelle Clarke ↻ Motivcoach

ProActive or ReActive? They both still Active!

Oftentimes it seems that the world urges us all to be proactive types. We’re called on to self-motivate, initiate and get-started. Yet, not all of us are natural initiates, some of us are wired as more reactionary people. So, quite naturally, we might go about frustrating each other (“Hurry up, let’s go!”, “Hang on, I’m still thinking”) Now, if we can learn to speak each other’s language, as Shelle Rose Charvet points out in Words that Change Minds: Mastering the Language of Influence, we can beneficially influence each other, each other’s responses and behaviors. Let’s look at the two patterns; […]

I work with only a select number of clients at any time. If you think we are a good fit, please email me on motivcoach@gmail.com

Permalink
Gallery
Life is a Cycle – where are you?

Executive Coaching, Personal Branding

Life is a Cycle – where are you?

This morning I received an email from a potential new client. She details the past [...]

Permalink
Gallery
Why we keep doing the same things – over and over again

Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching, Personal Branding

Why we keep doing the same things – over and over again

Consider this : A friend of yours is made redundant. Although she was in a [...]

Permalink
Gallery
Leaders! Awaken the Living Dead!

Executive Coaching, Leadership Coaching

Leaders! Awaken the Living Dead!

David Bolchover pulls not punches when we unveils the truth behind the corporate myth. In his [...]

Permalink
Gallery
Take Stock: A personal review ahead of the final quarter

Executive Coaching

Take Stock: A personal review ahead of the final quarter

I am amazed at how quickly the times goes. We’re at the end of September 2012. Already! Some of my clients are shifting into high gear for the final push of the year. I often find that when this happens, we tend to put task ahead of self-reflection. Before we run head long into the final Quarter of the year, let’s take stock to ensure we’re on the path we intend to be. […]

I work with only a select number of clients at any time. If you think we are a good fit, please email me on motivcoach@gmail.com

Permalink
Gallery
On Hitting the Wall, or; The Crises of Meaning

Executive Coaching

On Hitting the Wall, or; The Crises of Meaning

Have you heard of a Psycho- synthesis? It was conceived by a Dr Roberto Assagioli in 1911. Assagioli was a student of Freud who rebelled against Freud’s ’limited’ vision of man—suggesting that we possess a higher nature and asserting that much of the psychological dysfunction in the world stems from frustration or even desperation about the lack of meaning and purpose in our lives. A psychosynthesis-viewpoint invites you search for meaning, to look at life as a developmental journey, to see the creative potential within each problem, to see obstacles as stepping stones and to imagine that we all have a purpose in life with challenges and obstacles to overcome in order to fulfil that purpose. To demonstrate the point, I’ve collated and adapted this information from John Whitmore’s third edition of Coaching for Performance together with these two-dimensional graphical models which give a helpful visual of how or why, we experience this crises of meaning; […]

I work with only a select number of clients at any time. If you think we are a good fit, please email me on motivcoach@gmail.com

Memo to Leaders

This extract from Susan Scott’s Book Fierce leadership tickled me. It’s frank, it’s funny and it’s real—a 10 point memo to today’s leaders. The only piece if advice not made explicit is this; get a coach. A confidential thinking partner to help you navigate the complexity of 21st century leadership. We all deserve some straight-talk on the challenges that leadership demands of us. […]

I work with only a select number of clients at any time. If you think we are a good fit, please email me on motivcoach@gmail.com

Permalink
Gallery
Can any One Word describe the Power of Exercising the Mind?

Executive Coaching

Can any One Word describe the Power of Exercising the Mind?

I’ve recently been inspired by this question asked of me by a colleague, “What is the one word that best describes the outcome of coaching and development for you?”. Dozens of words come to mind! In my inspiration, I posed the same question to other coaching colleagues. It seems they too were challenged to select just one word for the array of benefits that arise as a result of the coaching process. Still searching for my one word, my truth, I grabbed a copy of Mark Forstater’s book ’The living Wisdom of Socrates’, and found myself deep in the musings of one of the world’s most celebrated philosophers (dare I call him a Coach?) for over 2300 years. […]

I work with only a select number of clients at any time. If you think we are a good fit, please email me on motivcoach@gmail.com

The Fine Line between Arrogance and Confidence

At large component of my work includes working with senior executives to develop stronger Personal Branding. Executive presence is a vital ingredient in a leaders ability to influence internal and external stakeholders. In exploring the personal branding elements, we invariably have a number of key conversations about behavioral values. Questions that often emerge are how we display “Asserting” vs “Aggression” and the fine line between “Arrogance” and “Confidence”. I’m intrigued by these subtle distinctions. […]

I work with only a select number of clients at any time. If you think we are a good fit, please email me on motivcoach@gmail.com

Success Scales for Celebrating even small steps

The human psyche tends to recall first that which we ‘do not do’ before celebrating all that we ‘do do’. Here is a simple, slick and effective tool to invite those whom your coach, and yourself, to celebrate each small step we take toward our success goals. Emerging from the solution-focused disciplines of coaching and change, the so-called Scales Tools provide an elegant tool for tracking even small steps. Here is a (simplified) example; […]

I work with only a select number of clients at any time. If you think we are a good fit, please email me on motivcoach@gmail.com

Living in the Spirit of Coaching

I am presently in negotiations to join into a collaboration arrangement with an international team of associate coaches. Before I am offered the green light, my potential partners want the heads-up on my coaching philosophy. They want to be sure that my philosophy aligns with that of the coaching group and with that of their high-profile clientele. Being a philosopher by nature and a prolific collector of ideas, I am not short of philosophies to share. (see some of them under the About Michelle button on my website at www.motivcoach.com). In my research-rich-style, I love to explore the philosophies of other coaches whom I truly admire. Amongst others, I want to share with you this wonderful insert from Ian McDermott & Wendy Jago’s book The Coaching Bible. Chapter 15, called Living the spirit of Coaching, begins with this beautiful quote from Joseph Campbell’s The Hero’s Adventure; […]

I work with only a select number of clients at any time. If you think we are a good fit, please email me on motivcoach@gmail.com

The Creative Art of Leadership

I was once married to a writer. It was not said explicitly but it was regularly inferred—he was the creative one—the artist—and I, as a pursuer of business, was the facts-figures-hard-core thinker. I knew it then and I am certain of it now—business is a creative pursuit. All businesses are dynamic, moving, growing (or shrinking), in a constant change of flux dependent on market conditions, resources, capital and the like. We, as leaders are the artists, the creators of the responses our businesses make and take in order to succeed. Our canvas is the marketplace, our palette is our people and our creativity is our own intellect. […]

I work with only a select number of clients at any time. If you think we are a good fit, please email me on motivcoach@gmail.com