Professional Executive Coach and Life Coaching in Zurich
  • Home
  • Coaching
    • Coaching Benefits
    • Executive Coaching
    • Life Coaching / Personal Development
  • Core Values
  • About Suzie
  • Testimonials
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Rates/FAQ's/Contact

Blog

This 6-Word Phrase Will Make Your Feedback Instantly More Effective

2/2/2021

 
Picture
Feedback will always be ineffective if the recipient doesn’t understand it. Here’s how to make sure your conversations always achieve the intended result.

How effective are you at giving feedback?

When managers answer this question, they often describe how and how often they deliver feedback to their employees: timely, direct, actionable, contextual, continuous. As long as the feedback is delivered often enough and directly enough, we reason that it’s effective.
Unfortunately, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

A recent Harvard Business Review article by Michael Schaerer and Roderick Swaab titled “ Are You Sugarcoating Your Feedback Without Realizing It?” provides a grave reality check. Their research shows that many managers deliver inflated feedback unintentionally, and often think they’ve been much more clear then they have been.

Indeed, in one study mentioned in the article conducted at a multinational nonprofit organization, Schaerer and Swaab observed that “the employees perceived feedback as being more positive than their managers thought they would.” When the feedback became more negative, the understanding gap widened.


Read More

Reimagining Organizational Culture in a Remote Workplace

28/10/2020

 
Picture
When employees are celebrated, appreciated, and guided by a positive workplace culture, everyone wins.

By Karen Bridbord, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist and Organizational Consultant

​
When I wrote about the inflection of workplace culture back in May, I was expecting the pandemic to be a distant memory by now. Remember when we all thought it was going to last three weeks? Yet today, six months into the most significant global health crisis of our lifetime, we find ourselves still grappling with uncertainty.

Instead of creating new rituals to uplift and ground us as we find ourselves, as I recommended in the beginning of the pandemic, we now must find a way to sustain ourselves. We’re collectively exhausted. This pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint, and we need to act accordingly. This includes adjusting our company values and how they’re operationalized in our organizational cultures.


Read More

Managers, Here Are 4 Simple Ways to Help Your Team Feel Seen and Acknowledged

8/6/2020

 
Picture
Strategies to help you maintain effective leadership even while your team is working from home.
By  Jessica Hicks, Associate Multimedia Editor at Thrive Global

Managing people is tough — but managing people as they work from home during a global pandemic, well, that’s another story. Whether you’re a first-time manager or have been leading people for years, the coronavirus crisis has likely pushed you into uncharted territory. On top of overseeing day-to-day workflow, problem-solving, and paying attention to the bottom line and deliverables, there’s another big task on your plate: helping to take care of the human capital on your team when you don’t see them every day. 

“It is difficult to know what demands each individual is facing — whether it be navigating health issues, a partner that is a frontline responder, children in need of care, extended family members that are isolated,” Ashley Hardin, Ph.D., a professor of organizational behavior at Washington University in St. Louis, tells Thrive. “Many employees are balancing many roles and enacting those roles simultaneously for the first time.”

Read More

How CEOs Should Spend Their Time

9/4/2020

 
Picture

By Patrick Lencioni

I’m a big believer in reminders.  Samuel Johnson, the 18th-century author, once said that “people need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed.”  I’ve learned this in the context of managing my own life, in the parenting of my children, and even in consulting to CEOs and other leaders.  Which is why I wasn’t all that surprised when a long time client recently asked us the question, “as a CEO, I’m not sure how I should be spending my time every day.”
Here was a guy who has been using the organizational health concepts from The Advantage in his company for years, but who had lost sight of how those concepts should relate to the prioritization of his daily activities.  Basically, he needed a reminder, which prompted me to write this essay. 
The simplest answer to his question is this: “A CEO should spend most of his or her time doing the things that only he or she can do.  Anything else can be delegated, and should be whenever possible.”  There are a few responsibilities that leaders of an organization, whether they are CEOs, division presidents, school principals or pastors, cannot delegate.  A large part of those responsibilities relates to what we call organizational health.  They include:


Read More

4 Examples That Will Confirm You Were Born to Be A Leader - Inc.com

1/2/2020

 
Leadership-Skills-Coaching-ExecutiveCoach-Zurich.jpg
 By Marcel Schwantes 

Ever wonder if you're true leadership material? Perhaps you've been told you are, but the question is, by what standard? Thousands of leadership books are written each year, many of them with marketing agendas to rehash and repackage what has been talked about for decades.

What is true about leadership that will remain unchanged through the centuries is this: It's about people and relationships. And that requires that leaders have a natural bent for both. If you're not into either, you're not a leader.

And you can start with the proven fact that great leaders aspire to lead by serving the needs of their people. You don't need flavor-of-the-month books and expensive formal training to learn this concept.

But you do need to develop and measure yourself against the standards of great leadership (which I strongly propose to be servant leadership). Here are four top leadership characteristics I have witnessed that float to the top. Do any describe you?  

Read More

Leadership Analysis for Managers and Executives / Career Design Overview

18/2/2019

 
Picture
​Being successful in life requires you to make the right decisions for yourself and this takes knowing who you are and what you uniquely offer. When you say yes to the right projects and job for yourself, you are able to beautifully handle the work and the obstacles that inevitably arise as you make something happen in the world. 

Susan brings you a cutting edge, revolutionary body of knowledge called BG5 that applies the principles of individuality from Human Design. Using the knowledge gained from BG5 analyses catapults you into a new way of dealing with yourself and others which leads to unprecedented results. 

For more information about how my colleague Susan Begeman Steiner works with teams and individuals check out her website: sbsteinercoaching.com

Picture
Susan Begeman Steiner - Coaching for Individuals and Teams

How To Handle the Stress of a Bad Boss

18/1/2019

 
Picture
Stressful, absent or micromanaging bosses can be very difficult to deal with.
by Nora Battelle, Multimedia Staff Writer at Thrive Global

76 percent of Americans — a clear majority — said they have or recently had a toxic boss, according to new research conducted by Monster and released today.
A positive work environment is crucial to performing good work — and to managing your own stress — and leadership often plays a vital part in setting that positive tone. 
Toxicity, in the survey, took several different forms, and the numbers on all of them were high: 26 percent of bosses, according to Monster’s survey, are “power-hungry,” 18 percent are “micromanagers,” 17 percent are “incompetent” and 15 percent are simply absent (“What boss? He/she is never around,” as the survey phrased it). 
These numbers are a stark contrast to the 19 percent of employees who see their boss as a mentor and the 5 percent who indicated that their boss is someone with whom they have “the best relationship.” 

Alan Benson, Ph.D., a professor of Work and Organizations at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, explains the significance of these numbers to Thrive Global: “Facing a bad boss can be one of the greatest challenges we can have when managing our careers.” He suggests that there are three courses to take when faced with a bad manager who stresses you out: “Exit the team, voice your concerns to the boss or to HR or just suffer through it.” The choice you make, according to Benson, should “depend on your exact circumstances,” but his advice gives some helpful questions to consider as you decide on your approach.

When to go to HR
“Toxic,” in the survey and otherwise, is used as an umbrella term for a lot of different types of behavior.

Read More

Control Freaks - also Known as Micro-Managers

26/12/2018

 
Picture
by Suzie Doscher, Executive and Life Coach, Zurich, Switzerland

In the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of a “control freak” is “a person who feels an obsessive need to exercise control over themselves and others and to take command of any situation.” The Merriam Webster dictionary says that a control freak is “a person whose behavior indicates a powerful need to control people or circumstances in everyday matters.” One way or another, control freaks are not always easy to be around.
I understand this personality trait could stem from a chaotic childhood. Such experiences can make it hard for people to trust others or relinquish control to others. The fear of falling apart pushes them to control what they can. As their emotions are all over the place, they feel loss of control. For this reason, control freaks will micromanage whatever they can with the belief that this makes them strong. People who feel out of control tend to become controllers.
I imagine each and every one of us is a control freak, or takes on the behavior of such, at some point or another. The fear of failure is what makes it so important to control everything when you do not trust anybody else to do a good job.
 
One difficult aspect of being around a control freak is accepting that he or she does not understand how their behavior and choice of words affect the people around them. Another difficult aspect is not to take it personally. This behavior comes from deep inside and the person is actually quite unaware of the need to be controlling.
 
The attempts to control a situation or environment are intended to offer the controller a feeling of safety. This is a sign of low self-esteem.
 

One of the areas they often manipulate is conversation. A control freak is most comfortable if he or she decides what is talked about, for how long, and how deep or detailed a topic can be. This manipulation is achieved by constant interruption, finishing the sentence for the person, not listening with attention, doing distracting things like getting up and walking around, or even walking out of the room saying, “I am still listening.” A control freak does not consider that he or she is being controlling, but is convinced his or her way is the right way. He or she will have an opinion about almost everything and will disagree with most suggestions that he or she does not instigate.
 
Controllers also control themselves; you might observe obsessive habits in them – whether in a private relationship or at work. 
 
Here are helpful tips to consider when dealing with a micro-manager:
  • If someone dominates conversations, allow him or her to finish. Then, in a calm manner say, “I understand what you are saying and now I would like to express my thoughts.”
  • If someone continually gives you his or her advice by telling you exactly what you should be doing, again, in a calm manner say, “I value your advice, but I wish to consider my own thoughts on this matter as well.”
  • Your goal for establishing a healthier communication pattern with a control freak is to eventually “agree to disagree.” 
  • Be as consistent as possible with the style in which you communicate. It will require patience and time, butitcan result in turning the negative communication pattern into one that is more acceptable to you.
  • Express yourself assertively without giving the person the feeling that you are telling him or her what to do. Never try to control a controller.
  • Remain calm and be consistent with controllers. Getting angry does not achieve anything. Control freaks have no problem with arguments. In fact, they seek power struggles. Remember, in their minds the world should feel, think, and do what they deem is right.
  • You can walk out of the room into a better space; they, however, are left with their issues, unless they seek support.
 
A control freak has the ability to bring you down a couple of notches and take the wind out of your sails. They can make people feel insecure. You may want to distance yourself if it is possible. If not,because the person is a member of your family or work colleague or boss, then consider what choices you do have based on the points raised above. 
Raising your awareness to the fact that the person is micro-managing frequently already helps to make the situation easier to handle.
 
The benefits of establishing a manner of communication where you do not allow the control freak to rob you of your energy or drown you with negativity is that you become stronger, more assertive, and empowered. 

In summary, here are helpful steps for handling the moment:
  1. Acknowledge that you are in conversation with a control freak.
  2. Whenever possible,buy yourself some time by taking a couple of deep breaths after excusing yourself for a minute. If you can leave the situation for longer, take a walk around the block to clear your head. Remind yourself that you are dealing with a control freak.
  3. Accept that you are not going to be able to change how the person behaves or who he or she is. Maintain the focus on your reactions and communication style.
  4. Remind yourself that you do not know what makes the control freak behave this way, so try not to judge them.
  5. In conversations, listen without interrupting. Be calm and patient.
  6. Express your own opinion/thoughts. Be assertive, but not aggressive.
  7. Once the conversation is over, do something that will nourish you. This might be as simple as taking in a couple of deep breaths and exhaling the negative energy the control freak brings along.
  8. Accept that you handled the situation as best as can be expected and that it will take time and practice not to feel affected by a control freak/micro-manager’s behavior style.
 
Being in the company of control freaks can feel like being with Energy Vampires.

Their ability to endlessly bring the attention backonto themselves is draining and exhausting. Knowing what to expect can help you choose how to interact and take care of yourself at the same time. 


'Control Freaks - Also Knowns as Micro-Managers' is an
Excerpt from 
BALANCE -
​It is Yours If You Want it

by Suzie Doscher
 Revised and updated 2nd Edition available at Amazon

Picture
<<Previous

    RSS Feed

    Raise your self-awareness with this:
    Self-Help Book
    Self-Coaching Exercises

    Picture

    Available now
    ​AT Amazon stores worldwide
    in Paperback or on Kindle
    As an audiobook on
     
    Audible.com or iTunes

     "A truly inspiring book" I have read this book at a point in my life where I wanted something to change and I didn't know if it ever could. Through these pages I have understood how our experience in life depends 90% on us and not on external events, and that is a life changing lesson indeed." Absolutely recommended.
    Suzie Doscher is a Professional Executive Coach and Life Coach focusing on Personal Development. Located in Zurich, Switzerland. Her approach to personal development is practical and successful.  
    Suzie is happiest when helping people. 
    Her vision is everyone should have access to techniques for personal growth and development. This was the motivation behind her book. 


    Author

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Burnout
    Coaching Switzerland
    Core Values
    Emotional Intelligence (EI Or EQ)
    Executive Coaching
    Executive Coach Zurich
    Leadership
    Life Coaching Zurich
    Life Skills
    Limiting Beliefs
    Management
    Mindset
    Other
    Personal Growth Personal Development Switzerland
    Self Awareness
    Self Awarness/Mindfulness
    Self Help Book
    Self-help Book
    Stress Management
    Success
    Support
    Suzie Doscher
    Values
    Workfromhome WFH
    Work Life Balance

YOU ARE THE CEO OF YOUR LIFE -
​
Let's start making some changes


​Executive Coach & Life Coach for Personal Development
Accredited Professional Master Coach (IAPC&M)

​ Zurich - Thalwil, Switzerland
Phone: + 41 43 443 59 54​
​

Email​ link
 suzie@suziedoscher.com

  • Home
  • Coaching
    • Coaching Benefits
    • Executive Coaching
    • Life Coaching / Personal Development
  • Core Values
  • About Suzie
  • Testimonials
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Rates/FAQ's/Contact