Mentoring

Learning Styles – aha moments

Posted on by Sonia Khera in Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Executive Coaching Services, Group Training, Leadership Development, Management Development, Mentoring, Personal Development Comments Off on Learning Styles – aha moments

The value of communicating effectively comes from knowing how we learn.

Learning Style Quote

Knowing how we process information and learn directly translates to our personality and character.

Our verbal and non verbal communication reflects our learning styles.

4 Types of Learning Style: * Activist  *  Reflector  *  Theorist  *  Pragmatist

By becoming aware of your own dominant and secondary style it will help to appreciate how are brains are hard wired and why we respond the way we do. It may be a natural or learned response.

Next try to identify the learning styles of your colleagues, your partner, siblings, friends or children.   This insight will give you an opportunity to change your approach to get a positive response from them.

I recall becoming frustrated and feeling like a child when I was not being understood and listened to. In hindsight I realise my style of communication did not match theirs and so it felt like they did not care to listen or understand my point of view. This impacted how I felt about myself at the time and I carried this experience as reality for a very long time.  I did not know any better.

The learning process comes from our experiences and the opportunity to learn from how we all process information differently has helped me value our differences.  Luckily the opportunity to tweak my style and align myself with other person happens in every conversation. This awareness helps me to improve and it could help you to be more effective in your communication approach to. It certainly helps me to feel better about myself and in the process show my respect of their style too by listening and understanding them better.


Activists like to be involved in new experiences. They are open minded and enthusiastic about new ideas but get bored with implementation. They enjoy doing things and tend to act first and consider the implications afterwards. They like working with others but tend to hog the limelight.

Activists learn best when:

  • involved in new experiences, problems and opportunities
  • working with others in business games, team tasks, role-playing
  • being thrown in the deep end with a difficult task
  • chairing meetings, leading discussions 

Activists learn less when:

  • listening to lectures or long explanations
  • reading, writing or thinking on their own
  • absorbing and understanding data
  • following precise instruction to the letter

Reflectors like to stand back and look at a situation from different perspectives. They like to collect data and think about it carefully before coming to any conclusions. They enjoy observing others and will listen to their views before offering their own.

Reflectors learn best when:

  • observing individuals or groups at work
  • they have the opportunity to review what has happened and thing about what they have learned
  • producing analyses and reports doing tasks without tight deadlines 

Reflectors learn less when:

  • acting as leader or role-playing in front of others
  • doing things with no time to prepare
  • being thrown in at the deep end
  • being rushed or worried by deadlines


Theorists adapt and integrate observations into complex and logically sound theories. They think problems through in a step by step way. They tend to be perfectionists who like to fit things into a rational scheme. They tend to be detached and analytical rather than subjective or emotive in their thinking.

Theorists learn best when:

  • they are put in complex situations where they have to use their skills & knowledge
  • they are in structured situations with clear purpose
  • they are offered interesting ideas or concepts even though they are not immediately relevant
  • they have the chance to question and probe ideas behind things 

Theorists learn less when:

  • they have to participate in situations which emphasise emotion and feelings
  • the activity is unstructured or briefing is poor
  • they have to do things without knowing the principles or concepts involved
  • they feel they’re out of tune with the other participants e.g. with people of very different learning styles


Pragmatists are keen to try things out. They want concepts that can be applied to their job. They tend to be impatient with lengthy discussions and are practical and down to earth.

Pragmatists learn best when:

  • there is an obvious link between the topic and job
  • they have the chance to try out techniques with feedback e.g. role-playing
  • they are shown techniques with obvious advantages e.g. saving time
  • they are shown a model they can copy e.g. a film or a respected boss 

Pragmatists learn less when:

  • there is no obvious or immediate benefit that they can recognise
  • there is no practice or guidelines on how to do it
  • there is no apparent pay back to the learning e.g. shorter meetings
  • the event or learning is ‘all theory’

To work on learning your style and changing your approach to get the most out of people and relationships get in touchsonia@one2oneprofessionals.com


Eight Ways to Create Wealth like…

Posted on by Sonia Khera in Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Executive Coaching Services, Group Training, Leadership Development, Management Development, Mentoring, Personal Development Comments Off on Eight Ways to Create Wealth like…

Role Models and great examples are important to identify with, to benchmark what is possible and challenge us to stretch beyond and out of the box we create.

They exist to influence and motivate the actions to tap into your potential and grow towards your wealth ambitions. Remember wealth  is classified as monetary value yet it includes the value of people, experience, opportunities and memories created along the way.

Successful people are passionate, disciplined and focused on achieving their outcomes. They define their growth with a plan of action and an inspiring vision. It means embracing change and often being the change.

  1. What and who inspires you to change and grow into your very best?
  2. What are you doing about it?
  3. Have you started on your ambition or still making an excuse?

Role Model

  1. The Creator – Builds innovative products                                  Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, Richard Branson
  2. The Star – Builds an influential brand                                         Oprah, Paul Newman, Bill Clinton
  3. The Supporter – Builds high performance teams                     Steve Ballmer, Jack Welch
  4. The Deal Maker – Brings deals together                                   Donald Trump, Rupert Murdoch
  5. The Trader – Buying and selling commodities                         George Soros
  6. The Accumulator – Buying and holding assets                        Warren Buffet, Paul Allen
  7. The Lord – Controlling cashflow producing assets                    Lakshmi Mital, Ingavar Kamprad
  8. The Mechanic – Creating a system that can be duplicated     Michael Dell, Ray Krock

Career Advancement Relies on Effective Non-verbal Communication

Posted on by Sonia Khera in Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Executive Coaching Services, Group Training, Leadership Development, Management Development, Mentoring, Personal Development Comments Off on Career Advancement Relies on Effective Non-verbal Communication

The top traits employers look for when hiring or promoting a candidate for management are confidence, professionalism and enthusiasm.

“First impressions count”. Whoever said it was right. We can never underestimate the lasting power and impression our behaviour makes. That impression has the potential to create opportunities far beyond a future you can imagine. 

Learning to express ourselves started at a young age and the response we had helped us to change and adapt our communication styles so that we achieved what we wanted. The downside of this type of learning is that we may have picked up habits we are unaware which affects the quality of the connection we make with others.

The following pointers are there for you to understand and assess if you can adapt it in your approach as the benefits of communicating effectively through non verbal behaviour will pay back lasting career dividends.

Express yourself effectively to send the right non-verbal cues.

Good eye contact:  Eye contact is your primary tool for establishing non-verbal connections with others. It communicates your level of involvement, interest and warmth.

A confident handshake:  Communicating through touch is another important non-verbal behavior. Always put your hand out to shake hands. A firm handshake will make and leave a lasting and positive impression.

Effective gestures: A gesture is any physical movement that helps express an idea, opinion or emotion. Strive to punctuate your words with movement that is natural, lively, purposeful and spontaneous.

Dressing the part: Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. If career advancement is your goal, convey a polished professional presence in the workplace. Pay attention to small details as they will notice.

Authoritative posture and presence: When you stand up tall and straight, you send a message of self-assurance, authority and energy. Good posture creates a dynamic commanding presence and an attitude of leadership.

Appropriate facial expressions: As your facial expressions are closely tied to emotion, they are often involuntary and unconscious. To show you are paying attention while listening, hold a very slight smile, nod occasionally, and maintain good eye contact.

Break the ice and initiate interactions: Be the first to make eye contact, offer your hand to shake, have an idea or solution, go into a room, smile and make the call. Make the first impression count.

Appropriate voice tone: “It’s not what you but how you said it”. Non-verbal elements of your voice include voice tone, pacing, pausing, volume, inflection, pitch and how you articulate. It conveys emotional meaning, attitude and impact which will make an impression which lasts.

Giving pure attention: This conveys attentiveness and creates open body language. Lean into the conversation; focus your eyes, ears and energy on them as it conveys your respect, honour and appreciation to meet with them. Make sure your arms and legs are uncrossed.

Responding to others’ non-verbal cues: When leading a meeting, speaking to a group, or interacting one-on-one always pay close attention to the other person’s  body, language, voice and tone.  Note their eyes as they can tell you when they have a question, want to say something, agree or disagree, need a break, require more explanation, or have an emotional response.  By responding appropriately to others’ cues, you not only convey confidence in yourself, you show a high level of empathy, sensitivity and care for them which results in building trust.

 


The Entrepreneurial Mindset

Posted on by Sonia Khera in Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Executive Coaching Services, Group Training, Leadership Development, Management Development, Mentoring, Personal Development, Pinterest Comments Off on The Entrepreneurial Mindset

We are all potentially entrepreneurs. We all have our unique personality traits with the essential entrepreneurial qualities embedded within us. We also have the ability to develop the skills to be entrepreneurial. We have to choose to elevate our qualities and focus on mastering the skills to start and learn from experience itself.

Whilst some are naturally inclined to be entrepreneurial, for others it’s a choice to become it. Entrepreneurial mind-sets are not born they are developed.

Entrepreneurial thinking is directly influenced and inspired by people, places and situations. They see problems as opportunities. A want or a desire is a possibility waiting to be fulfilled.

Whilst the underlying motivation to meet that need or develop an idea maybe monetary the reality is more about proving to yourself and others that it’s possible.  The challenge to make a difference and improve life experience is the real motivator. The thought of potentially offering a product or service is to improve the experience of life is too tempting to resist.

Now for those who are risk aversive well they may falter in committing to the unknown and uncertain future. Yet it’s also possible that they may mitigate their risks with a fool proof plan and plough ahead too. The reality is that the “What if…possibility” is an inseparable part of a passion and dream that often won’t let you sleep at night.

It’s strange or perhaps not how the universe conspires through people, thinking, ideas and everyday scenarios to make things happen so that our entrepreneurial spirit can try and rise up deliver the possible. Entrepreneurism makes even the impossible possible. It’s always about a great good at the end.

Entrepreneurial Mindset includes…

1          Passionate, Energised and Inspired

“Choose a job that you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”
                                                                                                            – Confucius

2          Empowered, Confident and willing to take Opportunities

“There is no such thing as luck. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”
                                                                                                            – Amy Hempel

3          Take ownership of your destiny

“The best way to predict the future is to create the future”
                                                                                        – Peter Drucker

4          Timely decision making and risk taking

“Only those who will rick going too far can possibly find out how far one can go”
                                                                                                                          – T.S. Elliot

5          Leadership & Vision

“Leadership is taking responsibility whilst others are making excuses”
                                                                                                           – John C Maxwell

6          Discipline & Hard Work ethic

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration”
                                                        – Thomas Eddision

 

7          Being adaptive, Continuous Learning & Curiosity

 “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”
                                                                                                                – Nelson Mandela

8          People & Happiness

 “The greatest happiness for the greatest numbers”
                                                                               – Vedic principle


What other qualities and skills to entrepreneurs need to be successful?

This list is not definitive it’s infinite like the entrepreneurial mind.

Have a Dream


Improving Performance: Always Room to Improve

Posted on by Sonia Khera in Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Executive Coaching Services, Leadership Development, Management Development, Mentoring, Personal Development Comments Off on Improving Performance: Always Room to Improve

Stairway to successWe all know that successful goal attainment require Practice, Persistence and Focus. All goals are shaped by possibility.

The need and desire to improve as a goal can be found in almost any aspect of our personal and professional lives and at any age.

Examples of these can be found in the kitchen to improve cooking skills, playing computer games to competing in sports, getting the job despite competition, at work presenting confidently without getting too nervous, in your business making decisions to develop your peoples capability, increasing sales and the customers satisfaction levels, how about just being on time for the train or meeting every day, or studying and revising for the penultimate dreaded exams and in remembering important little things like birthdays and special anniversaries…as you can see this list on what we could improve goes on and on!

 3 Facts about Improving

1.     Improving is based on a need, want & desire to be HAPPY.

2.     Improving is based on the potential to be, to do or have more to feel HAPPY.

3.     Improving is motivated by thoughts of infinite possibilities of being HAPPY.

What keeps us striving for more and being better?

Well we don’t admire doing nothing. We also fear losing what we have or could have. We don’t like the thought of leading a life of regrets and if only’s….

Some points to consider…

  •  Doing nothing is wasting potential, in life and in the present moment.
  •  We have the free will to decide and have choices to empower us.
  •  Striving to fulfil possibility and potential is a natural law of success.

 

The good news is that our curious nature will not allow us to do nothing. This type of apathy is met with conflict in the internal chambers of your heart. We may try to ignore our calling to improve however it will cost us our happiness and that cost is too high!

So to reiterate improving performance needs goals which need: Practice, Persistence and Focus to achieve.

It important for these improvement goals to be truly compelling as 90% of its successful is based on WHY we want them in the first place?

In essence we need: To know our purpose to truly engage our heart. So our goals must be inspiring to rouse our passions and motivate us to take action towards achieving them.

Once you know why you want to achieve your goals then you need to focus on How you attain them. This part is the nitty gritty 10% of how you will make it happen.

So we then need to ask & answer 5 fundamental questions to help us improve:

1.     Where are we headed?                             => Define the goal(s), get clear

2.     What do we need to do?                           => Action plans / to do list

3.     How can I do it and make a difference?    => Your personal values

4.     What’s in it for me?                                   => Rewards and benefits

5.     Who can help me?                                    => Network of people, your supporters

Improving is based on the possibility to change performance through Practice, Persistence and Focus get do something, do it ok, to good and to great!

Be warned it’s easy to slip down from trying to keep up with this on-going improvement process as we lose our focus and other life stuff takes up our priority. So it’s helpful to have your network of supporters who believe in you like your friends, family, personal coach and mentors to call upon and help you stay, improve or get back to your personal peak performance level.

Striving to improve is a soft action which needs to be practiced persistently and with focus daily.

To achieve our greater potential we need to customise and personalise our goals. To deliver and sustain our improvement goals we need to collaborate.

The power of collaboration extends beyond what you can see as possible to include the imagination and ideas of those who can envision, think and support your bigger infinite goals of happiness.

 


Time to Pause, Rewind and Reflect

Posted on by Sonia Khera in Executive Coaching Services, Mentoring, Pinterest Comments Off on Time to Pause, Rewind and Reflect

As the year, month, week, day, hour draws to an end it’s an ideal time to take stock of what you have been doing, what you achieved, what you lost, who you found, what you learned, who you value, how you felt and still feel today. Now decide what aspects you will keep with you tomorrow, next week, for a few months, the year ahead and forever.

The value of taking time to review your experience shows how intricately our lives are entwined with people; family, friends, work colleagues and organisations.  It shows how just they affected you, your decisions and actions. Time shared creates a ripple effect and extends our sphere of influence beyond your conscious awareness.

The point of any review is not to navel gaze and over analyse you, others and situations. It’s the opportunity to learn and grow from it. By pausing to understand what can be changed, what was and is possible as an outcome creates a vision of making it better and instils. Hope stirred is the process of passionate creation in making dreams into reality.

So ask simple yet direct questions of yourself and give yourself factual answers. It’s important to acknowledge the emotion attached to the circumstances. This will reveal a depth of self awareness that will serve you positively so as not to judge so harshly. It will show how we are all most humbly still a work in progress and on the shared journey where the destination is still being mapped out. Nothing is set in stone and the fluidity in not knowing leaves us uncertain yet it positively gifts us the element of surprise, choice and child like wander.

As past decisions, actions and behaviour cannot be changed in the present the opportunity opens to accept things, yourself, people and situations the way it simply is….granted that you may not like it, choose it or wish it perhaps.  Just know that acceptance is liberating and brings peace. It serves to empower with and enlightened attitude and perspective. Your wise self understands that power is not embedded in the past, that simply the past offers useful experience.  It’s your inner knowing self that wisely guides you to let go and make space for creativity to blossom.

So take a few moments to reflect on your significant relationships, financial security, job satisfaction, work prospects, home, children friends, travel, and health and the inner you.

Even if you did not have clear goals or concrete plans the chances are you still had a pretty good idea of what you wanted to achieve and what would make you feel good. Your answers show what is possible, what can be changed and what inspires and challenges you to embrace the possible future.

The value of rewinding and reviewing plans, goals and ideas shows the progress; road blocks and detours experienced along the way. It gives an opportunity to learn again, celebrate gains again and respect the losses whilst trying to achieve them.

Goals like hope are aligned to our passionate belief in our causes, relationships, ideas and ambitions. This means we keep moving towards it. Emotion is motion. It drives us to dream again and makes the impossible possible.  Aspirations refuel our spirit and help us to prosper in the future.

A review also gives us a chance to appreciate what part we played in the orchestra of life, how we complimented, shared and supported others in their happiness and challenges. It’s the pause to acknowledge and honour the acts of kindness we gave and received in turn.

Think about those who enabled you to learn about yourself, others and the events. Who and what nourished our understanding which helps to guide us wisely today?

Our unique experience gives an invaluable insight in our growth and maturity in our thoughts, emotions and behaviour…we are not static beings. We are a sum of all we have known and experienced till this present moment.  Reflection reveals just how significant and magnificent we are to each other in life.


Your guide to the First 90 Days

Posted on by Sonia Khera in Business Coaching, Career Coaching, Executive Coaching Services, Group Training, Leadership Development, Management Development, Mentoring Comments Off on Your guide to the First 90 Days

coaching-startThe first 3 months in a job is the pivotal period that establishes where your career goes with this organisation.

Honeymoon Period

The initial euphoria won’t last forever, use this time wisely to establish your rules of engagement or mandate.

Again this is the period when you have the most influence and will probably be in similarity mode, and so will they. So this is when you can set the agenda: mark the territory, establish the ground rules (open door/closed door, when to interrupt and not, how you manage meetings etc). Once these are established they become embedded. People adapt to new situations, but to do it 6-9 months down the line is much harder, if at all achievable.

Fresh Eyes

Read more