10 Lessons I Learned from Starting 10 Years Ago with 0 Clients

10 years ago, my role as principal of a K-8 in Atlanta ended and I immediately hung my “Impactful” shingle.

Voila! I was now a coach/consultant… of exactly 0 clients.

Which meant that I had no idea how I was going to...

pay for my family's relocation to NJ, one of the most expensive states in the nation;
make meaningful and consistent income as a new-to-market coach/consultant with a freshly hung shingle; and
put myself through graduate school to complete my doctorate.

Thank God, I managed through that difficult early phase, and can now count many thousands of people who I have been blessed to serve through coaching, consulting, training, keynotes and talks, and my books and articles.

Here are 10 lessons I learned along the way.

Why and how leaders can monitor and review

As each project is unfolding, stay on top of things and correct or redirect when necessary. This motivates colleagues (who don’t feel abandoned) and helps you catch problems early on. Recognize key milestones, such as completed steps and sub-components, along the way. Obviously, inexperienced colleagues will need more direction, tighter controls and oversight than seasoned ones.

Be Prepared to Delegate

Delegation offers many benefits to managers, direct reports and organizations. And yet it remains one of the most misunderstood and underutilized techniques in leadership practice.

Planning for Maximal Productivity

Workplace productivity is a huge challenge for nearly every company, business and organization. Leaders struggle to get their own work done (and do the RIGHT work,) while also guiding, empowering and motivating their people to achieve maximal productivity. While the projections vary, estimates suggest that businesses worldwide lose hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars annually due to underproduction.To help my clients address this important issue, I have divided the path to increased productivity into 4 steps:

Plan it. Plan the process in advance to get really clear on task, process and outcome

Share it. Involve others in the work through meetings, communication and delegation

Do it. Get the work done by removing distractors and optimizing your time and energy

Sustain it. Develop a mindset and self-care approach that ensures continuity

Each “step” contains five action items, for a total of 20 items.In this post I will address Step 1, “Plan It.”

Delegate But Don't Abdicate

Leaders want to delegate so they can clear their desks and get more done.

But many make the mistake of punting away the work, or abdicating, and not offering those that are helping them the tools they need to succeed.

Learn how to empower and support your people to help ensure the success of your next delegation project.

Delegate to Accelerate Lesson 4: Empower and Monitor to Ensure Success (DTA Registration is open!)

This fourth and final “Delegate to Accelerate” recording addresses how to empower your people and monitor their progress to ensure a delegated project is completed properly.

We cover these topics:

Granting authority
Learning to trust others
Being prepared to assist
Monitoring progress
Correct or redirect as needed

Listen in to the below recording to learn more and to bring yourself that much closer to true acceleration!

Oh, and by the way, I describe a special offer in this video that you don’t want to miss!

Delegate to Accelerate Lesson 3: How to Plan the Delegation Process to Ensure Success

This third “Delegate to Accelerate” recording (first can be found here; second can be found here) addresses how to plan the delegation process to ensure its success.

We cover these topics:

Why we need to develop a delegation culture
How to decide what to delegate
Building others’ skills and efficacy
Be clear on tasks and outcomes

Listen in to the below recording to learn more and to bring yourself that much closer to true acceleration!

Oh, and by the way, I mention a special offer in this video that you don’t want to miss!

Delegate to Accelerate Lesson 2: Who to Delegate to

This second “Delegate to Accelerate” recording (first can be found here) addresses who we should be delegating to and how to get them up to speed so that we can trust them to do the job right.

We also address what to do if such a person is not presently employed by you.

Listen in to the below recording to learn more and to bring yourself that much closer to true acceleration!

Delegate to Accelerate Lesson 1: When (and When Not) to Delegate

Do you want to learn how to delegate so that you can accelerate your business and life? Well, this is the place to be!

This first “Delegate to Accelerate” recording addresses key elements of delegation, including…

what delegation is… and what it isn’t
what to delegate… and what not to
my own “Delegate to Accelerate” journey
the “Delegate to Accelerate” journeys of two of my clients

Listen in to learn more and to bring yourself that much closer to true acceleration!

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Oh, and by the way, I describe a special offer in this video that you don’t want to miss!