Unwork - the Next Wave?

My friend and colleague Andrea Lee (http://www.andreajlee.com/) has invented a new concept: "unwork"! The premise is that for everything we do, there is a "hard way" and an "easy way". Which do you naturally choose?You might wonder why anyone would deliberately choose to make things hard...I notice my own deep programming still wants to buy into perfectionism, to more money coming only from working hard (even tho I know that's not true any more!), and to being sure to be "thorough" vs. taking the first right answer that comes. It can be a trap to unconsciously choose "hard" and make life more stressful than it needs to be! To read more about "unwork" visit Andrea's blog here: http://www.msoci.com/andrea/archives/2007/05/the_unwork_just.php

Attaining a healthy and enjoyable balance between work and life is one of the 9 steps in my new Career Infopreneur's Success Roadmap (book coming out next month)...and I believe unwork is one way to enhance our balance. (And we all need a little help in that department, right?)Find out more when Andrea grills me about my new book and model as well as my live Career Coaching Boot Camp (http://www.careercoachingbootcamp.com ) tomorrow, Thursday May 24, 2007 at 4 pm ET. To join the call, just email ccidirector-248514@autocontactor.com. And if you're reading this after the call, send an email anyway and get the mp3 - it will be a great listen!

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How to Amp Up Your Coaching Questions

Asking coaching questions is distinctly different from asking for directions, asking permission, or asking how something works. Powerful coaching questions must have at least 4 key characteristics. Otherwise they won’t further the coaching conversation, nor will they really “hit the mark” with clients so that they have the breakthroughs they need.

So how do you know a powerful question? They must fit these 4 criteria.

• Nonjudgmental vs. judgmental: “Shouldn’t you stay at your job instead of becoming a starving author?” is judgmental, and requires a yes/no answer. Instead ask “Which option seems best to you? Why?”
• Short vs. long: “What do you really want?” is much more powerful for most people than “In the ideal world, with all the money you want, and no concerns for kids or commuting or being by family, do you have an idea what you would choose then?
• Open- vs. closed-ended: Questions that require a yes or no answer stop the coaching session flat. So instead of “Do you think you can do that?” ask “What needs to happen so you can move forward?”
• Match client’s language and/or communication style: Clients process information differently – some use visual language, some focus on the auditory (hearing), others prefer to feel, experience and interact with it. Changing just a few words from “see” to “hear” or “feel” can make a huge difference in the impact of the question.

Want to learn more? Attend the Career Coaching Boot Camp www.careercoachingbootcamp.com June 22 in Portland Oregon where Marcia Bench will demonstrate coaching and reveal the skills YOU need to know to compete in the Career Coaching 2.0 environment. Hope to see you there!

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Career Coaching 2.0 is Coming

A new generation of career coaching – Career Coaching 2.0 - is beginning. When the industry began about 10 years ago, it was thought to be a way of interacting one on one to help other people with their job search and satisfaction. It has become much more than that. Now that coaching is more widely recognized in the market place it's time to step up to a broader approach to what coaching is and how to build a successful business as a coach.

In the industry of psychotherapy the therapist that are the most successful are those that become the best known. The Dr. Phil's of the world, if you will. They have written books, given speeches, and achieved national media coverage. While many coaches may not enter the industry with the intention of becoming famous, they do need to build a level of visibility in order to be successful and become known to their target market.

To be successful in coaching today requires that you provide a solution to a recognized problem that a common group of people are facing. For example, entrepreneurship is on the rise like never before. If as a coach, you have a comprehensive solution or system that will help people currently employed to successfully make the transition to owning their own business - and coaching is just one part of that - then you will have a formula for outstanding success as a coach. People won't buy your coaching services parse but they will buy your solution and interact with you as a coach if it's presented as a solution rather than a service or commodity.

Want to find out more? Marcia is presenting the first of three Preview Teleseminars of her upcoming LIVE Career Coaching Boot Camp June 22, 2007. These calls will introduce some of the elements of her new Career Infopreneur’s Success Roadmap and concepts from her forthcoming book. The first preview is Wed., May 16, 2007 at 8 pm Eastern. To register for these three free calls, visit www.careercoachingbootcamp.com

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