Though it may be going slowly, I am very focused these days on updating my website and business. It is now over five years old. My new website will reflect my new company name, Star Leadership LLC, and will focus on coaching and training areas that have emerged for me as particularly successful and satisfying ones.

Here's a snapshot of some of the new directions:

Programs for Communication, Leaders, and Teams

This combination of workshops and coaching is spread over 3-12 months, with a focus on real life skills that can catalyze behavior changes in the existing culture of a group. With a group whose leadership has identified a need for further development or change, the first of a flexible series of workshops may be focused on defining the leadership and communication needs of the group and identifying a baseline. A second workshop, about a month later, introduces different skill-sets, to build on or complement the material of the first workshop. During the time in between the workshop sessions, participants practice their skills, are given assignments based on their current work, and are asked to give us a detailed sense of their progress at each workshop. Individual coaching to support the lessons can also be a part of the between-workshop activities. This method of teaching, doing, reflecting, and reporting on the results has a much higher success rate of really learning a new skill, and being able to shape a culture through the changing behaviors of the people within it.

Coaching Programs

Many people are now more familiar with the profession of coaching, and coaching is considered a perk in some organizations. Many corporations now include coaching as part of their regular benefits packages. Finding the right coach for the individuals involved, one who understands both the general and unique corporate culture of a business, can be difficult. Some large companies have retained dedicated coaches and created coaching departments within their organizations. For a number of mid-to-small companies, Star Leadership, LLC has become the focal point for bringing coaches into companies who are aware of their value and want to make coaching opportunities available to their employees.

When I am engaged by a company to address their coaching needs, I will interview the client and suggest three coaches for them to interview and choose among for the kind of coaching style they prefer. I handle all of the operational and any other issues that arise throughout the course of the coaching engagements.

The companies who have been part of this kind of coaching program benefit in a lot of ways, which is why I find this approach so satisfying:

Companies appreciate the streamlined approach of dealing with one person for all program details.
They benefit from consistency in how the coaching is structured, and how it progresses.
They value the consistency they can count on in program costs.

The individuals being coached benefit by having a coach who can more easily and deeply understand the business and the culture they are operating in, and so be able to offer insights that are directly applicable to their experiences and needs.

The coaches involved in this program benefit, too! They have told me that they are happy to meet new clients this way, and also enjoy being able to work with other coaches.

I've run this program with several companies and am getting rave reviews from the businesses, the individuals, and the coaches! So you can see why this new direction is something that has captured my interest as a way to bring quality coaching to organizations and individuals!

Workshops - (Don't be fooled!)

"A sheep in wolf's clothing," said the last participant of this non traditional time-management workshop. If someone attends this workshop more than once, does that make them a groupie or is it just a really good workshop that is different each time and responds to the needs of the class? I hope the latter. It's true that I tend to call myself a "time management junkie." At one point a while ago, I discovered that my high school yearbook quote had been about "Time," and I knew right then -- I've been addicted to time management since at least high school. The participant manual for this workshop actually overflows what we can get to in the alloted time because we focus on the current challenges of the class members. The workshop material, useful both in class and out, is created to be able to address time management basics such as:

prioritizing
focus
structures for managing time
planning
asking for help
tools for managing time
time management skills.

Participants leave with new insights, ready to try new techniques like:

identifying how others' expectations can be ruling your time and what to do about it
creating time to focus on what's really important
understanding how much of your day is dedicated to unplanned interruptions and how to deal with them (even down to how to better manage the tools you use, like your email better or TV remote!)

If you are looking for a traditional time management class - this is not it!

Other popular workshops I offer include Managing in a Matrix, Coaching for Managers, and Project Management. All are flexible, and available as part of the "new directions" format.

I would love to hear from you about what may have been of interest or value to you about my workshops, and I definitely welcome input and suggestions about things you would like to see on my new website. Feel free to send quotes or success stories you would like to see there, and these can be attributed to you or be anonymous, whatever works for your situation.

Thank you for letting me share the new coaching directions that have excited me so much, and for helping to keep me Focused on offering my best!

All Good Wishes,

Star