YOUR CHALLENGE
“I am worried my child won’t excel on the job, or have a competitive advantage to land a good position. She is intelligent but awkward with people and communicating (beyond texting). Even with a job offer, how well will she perform the first year in her career? She is really nice but not prepared for the real world. I want to do something to help her achieve her full potential, but what?”
OUR SOLUTION
We get how frustrating this can be, especially after you spent a fortune on your child’s education. Unfortunately, most universities are focused on imparting knowledge and don’t have the resources to help students individually. And, most faculty and staff haven’t spent significant time in industry; so teaching skills needed for business isn’t their specialty or their objective. But it is ours!
For example, a client we will call “Sally” did not receive any formal on-boarding for her first job and she didn’t feel comfortable with her manager, nor collaborating with her project team. Ready to resign when we met, Sally instead chose to reframe her expectations of the job and business so they were realistic. We identified strategies on how to handle the politics, and detailed specific actions to build trust with her evasive manager. As a “newbie,” Sally was uncomfortable enforcing project deadlines. We planned how she could increase team engagement and ways to work with different personalities so her co-workers felt motivated to achieve more. Having clear, specific strategies reduced Sally’s anxiety, increased her contributions, and built her manager’s trust.
We can help your child or family member, either before they graduate or during the early years on the job, adjust more quickly and build the skills needed for success. One-on-one coaching will help them become more self-aware and able to manage their reactions and influence others. Using their strengths, we will develop a plan on how to leverage their talents to achieve short-term objectives and increase job performance. For example, for a scientist who is awkward in social situations, we’ll suggest how to be more comfortable given how they are wired (e.g., see it as an opportunity to learn about someone else, prepare with some easy questions, focus on asking vs. telling).
We identify personal constraints in their effectiveness based on 360 feedback and determine simple steps that they can take to remove these barriers to success. We provide a safe environment where they feel comfortable talking about their fears so we can minimize or eliminate them. We strategize on how to be effective with their manager and plan for meetings, and then debrief afterwards. They emerge with greater confidence, a sense of purpose and skills to achieve their objectives.
We have worked in industry over 25 years. And, we have worked closely with graduate students the last 10+ years and are adept at grooming them for the real world and encouraging them throughout their journey. We build rapport and trust quickly, which are essential for real conversations and transformation.
Faith-based Coaching Available on Request
A student once said to us, “I thought you had to balance faith and work until I saw you integrate them.” For those interested, we can add a faith-based element to our coaching. Clients who desire this find the approach powerful because it adds a new dimension that enables even greater progress. Even when these topics aren’t discussed, those who hire us know our advice and ethics have a Biblical foundation.
Britta burrus design.