Forget Virtual Assistants, Hire a Virtual Coach

This is a guest post by Jeff Popoff Reading time: 3.0 minutes (1800 words @ 600 wpm[1])

Overview

• As busy professionals we face continuous pressure to get more done in less time.

• Technology that makes us more productive also increases our pace of business.

• Could the next generation of virtual assistants or virtual coaches be right for you?

• If you are reading Personal Leadership Insight and this article you are on the right track.

Are you ready to take the virtual step?

I Was A Coaching Addict

I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I learned the hard way that the old saying is true:

"Good judgment comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgement."

I was frustrated by the costs of making mistakes. Especially by the amount of time my mistakes consumed. There had to be a better way. Eventually it dawned on me that I could leverage other people’s skills and expertise and save myself time and money. I discovered the world of coaching. Once I realized that coaches could help me achieve disproportionate gains, I became a bit of a coaching addict (or maybe a lot).

 
Yeah, I overdid it again

In the beginning, I started out modestly using coaches to help me improve my triathlon technique for the swim, bike, and run (thank you B.Gibbs, B.Chortek, T.Laughlin, Dr. Romanov, J.Friel, D.Scott). Later I branched out and used coaches in weightlifting, nutrition, and executive health (thanks Mehdi, D.McGuff, M.Sisson). Encouraged by my gains from athletic performance coaching, I experimented with a speaking coach and life coach (thanks Beth and Robyn). I have used dozens of business coaches (special thanks to Zig, Lucas, and Ramit) and even a coach for relocation (to the UK) and another for international business practices (China, India, Switzerland). I received coaching on raising venture capital, for hedge funding investing, and even how to do an IPO-roadshow (RKN.TO). I’ve used meditation coaching for stress (Adya) and completed a 12-step program to overcome my poor empathy skills (thank you Sean and CR). Today I coach a handful of start ups[2], receive ongoing peer coaching from a Mastermind[3] group, and use a supervision coach for my own coaching practice. So what’s the bottom line? In my personal development and performance, coaching has yielded a disproportionate return on investment (ROI). Other individuals report a median ROI of 3.44 times their coaching investment. At the corporate level, companies including IBM, Nike, Verizon and Coca-Cola Enterprises, report a median ROI of seven times their coaching investment.[4]

What is Virtual Coaching and What’s New?

Traditionally, individual coaching is done face-to-face and is usually confined to a fixed setting. Now that technologies like smart phones and wireless Internet can replicate the functions of an in-person session, face-to-face coaching is evolving to virtual coaching. Geographical locations and fixed schedules are no longer barriers because virtual coaching can be done via phone, video conference, email, SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, FaceBook and a myriad of other apps.

Current Market and Technology Trends

As a reformed angel investor[5] from Silicon Valley it is second nature for me to spot trends within trends. The mobile web trend was overtaken by smart phone apps, and now apps stand poised to be overtaken by on-demand virtual assistants that use any messaging channel. Why load your device up with dozens of specific apps, when it’s easier to just message what you want? New start ups like Operator, Magic, Swell, Alfred, Zirtual, Kit and others are innovating the interface for next-gen on-demand services for both consumers and business users. Behind the curtain there is a mix of humans and artificial intelligence (think Apple’s Siri) working on your request. Their goal provide you a concierge-like experience, like having your very own virtual assistant. In addition to the above mentioned virtual assistants, the next generation of virtual coaches are emerging as well. For instance, Talkspace – the all-you-can-text therapy start up – just raised a hefty new round of $9.5 million in financing.[6]. Vida – who connects consumers with coaches and doctors – announced Series A funding of $5 million.[7] Health coaching start up Sessions was acquired by MyFitnessPal.[8] Clarity.fm provides on-demand business advice to entrepreneurs. Mindbloom ‘crowdsources’ life coaching services from your group of friends. The list goes on. Of course, this ‘virtual’ trend will have both winners and losers. For instance Google closed its Helpouts service in April 2015.[9]

A coach can help you aim higher

What a (Virtual) Coach Can And Can’t Do

Before diving deeper into virtual coaching, let’s taking a moment to recap how coaching fits into the broader scheme.[10]

• Therapists (psychiatrists, psychologists or counsellors) focus on healing dysfunction from the past.
• Consultants assess organizations, provide information, and implement solutions in the present.
• Mentors are experienced role-models and act as advisers to someone with less experience.
• Coaches focus on future performance and use questions to improve self-awareness, behaviors, and skills.

Many aspects of coaching will remain the same whether it is done in-person or virtually, such as:

• Finding the right coach for your situation.
• Setting your performance or development goals.
• On-going dialogue and feedback.
• Committing to work on your self-improvement.
• Accepting that coaching may be uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, some factors become more important in virtual coaching versus in-person coaching. Non-verbal communication cues such as body language have to be read through tone of voice or choice of words. A virtual coach has to be able discern attitude through a video call, read between the lines in text message or email, and watch for subtle clues in Facebook or WhatsApp response patterns. Other differences to bear in mind are:

• Building a trusted bond with a virtual coach may take a bit more concentration.
• Virtual coaching is a two-way dialogue. It’s a process, not a one-way Tweet to ‘fix it’.
• Multitasking during a virtual session will reduce its benefits to you.[11]
• Virtual communications usually occur in smaller bursts. Be careful not to lose the depth or context of the issue being discussed.
• Virtual coaching sessions are more flexible than “office hours”, but a regular frequency is important to keep momentum (every 2 weeks on average is optimal).[12]

Is Virtual Coaching Right For You?

Which produces a better ROI, a virtual assistant or a virtual coach?

• Virtual Assistants are a great way to outsource logistics and tactical items.
• Virtual Coaches are an effective way to increase your performance using mindset and behaviors.

Calculate your virtual return on investment[/caption]Which brings us back to the question of ROI.

• In my experience, virtual assistants yield a linear ROI
  • X dollars buys back Y amount of my time.
• On the other hand, I find that coaches (virtual or otherwise) give me a disproportionate ROI.
  • X dollars spent produces X^Y results.
  • The reason why is simple: performance gains made with a coach compound continuously over time.

Coaching Checklist

Admittedly, coaching is not for everyone and information technology is not a panacea. Before deciding if virtual coaching is right for you, first make sure you are on board with the coaching fundamentals:

1. What is your objective?
   • Are you improving your performance or your mindset? Do you want to overcome limiting behaviors or habits?
2. Is your coach good match for you?
   • Do you trust them and their references? Can they also act as your mentor? (bring relevant expertise to the table).
3. What is your commitment?
   • Are you prepared to put in the time, energy and work between coaching sessions to achieve new levels of success?
4. Are you coachable?
   • Are you willing to do things differently and break away from your patterns that produce average results? Will you hold yourself accountable to your coach and your agreed actions?

Virtual Coaching Checklist

1. The number one factor to consider in virtual coaching is your level of technology savvy. Are you comfortable doing video conferencing or instant messaging by yourself or do you require IT support?[13]
2. Does it fit your personality type? Studies show that introverts tend to perform well in electronic conversations, and even prefer a healthy distance over face-to-face conversations.[14] (Note: If your goal is to develop your interpersonal skills, this medium is not congruent with that goal).
3. Can you build bonds and express yourself easily in writing? Aside from audio and video, much of your communication with your coach will be in asynchronous text.[15]
4. Can your coach keep up with you? Can they follow your train of thought as you shift between phone, text, Skype, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter DM, and a myriad of other apps? Response times and availability are key factors when coaching across multiple time zones and geographies. Is your coach available 7 days a week? Do they offer a guaranteed response time for communications between scheduled sessions?

As I confessed from the start, I am a believer in the benefits of coaching and its exciting to see technology extending these benefits to busy people on the go. I hope you found this article useful, and would appreciate it if you commented below with your thoughts and suggestions.

About the Author

• Jeff is a successful executive who has served as Vice President in a Fortune 500 company as well as several Silicon Valley startups. He has been a guest speaker at UCLA Anderson and Berkeley Haas and is a graduate of Harvard PON and Stanford GSB.[16]
• He has figured out how to increase individual business performance using better health in less time. Warning: Unintended side effects include looking better and living longer.
• You can learn how at The Healthy Executive.

Before and after I became an executive health coach

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1. Do You Read Fast Enough To Be Successful?, Forbes ↩
2. SpartUp Accelerator ↩
3. 7 Reasons To Join A Mastermind Group, Forbes ↩
4. ICF Global Coaching Client Study ↩
5. Jeff’s profile on AngelList ↩
6. Text therapy startup raises $9.5 million, CNN Money ↩
7. Mobile health startup Vida, Silicon Valley Business Journal ↩
8. Digital Health Coaching Startup Acquired, Fast Company ↩
9. Google Helpouts is Shutting Down, Forbes ↩
10. Harvard Business Review Research Report ↩
11. The Myth of Multitasking, C.Rosen ↩
12. Coaching Frequency Study, Coaching Research Institute ↩
13. p.295 Advancing Executive Coaching, Gina Hernez-Broome, Lisa A. Boyce, 2010 ↩
14. Hubschman 1996, Hamilton & Scandura 2003 ↩
15. Giadagno & Caildini, 2002 ↩
16. Jeff’s credentials on LinkedIn here and Facebook here. ↩

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photo credits: Defining targets differently via photopin (license), [ROI photo: Got Credit]

The Secrets to Masterfully Answering Interview Questions

The following strategies are the bedrock of great interview answers:

1.  TALK IN A CONVERSATIONAL TONE.  Q&A is essentially a formal conversation.  Without being too casual (using slang, filler words, etc.), be conversational with your answers.  Change the pace of your voice.  Look the interviewer or panel members directly in the eye.  Don't worry about saying the exact right thing.  If you say something that needs adjusted, do so.  Back up and say it again the right way.  If you need to, talk about the process. IE - "that is a great question", "I have studied that subject for two years now, but the answer to that question is escaping me at the moment."

2.  ANSWER IN LIST FORM.  This strategy is especially important because the individual(s) interviewing you probably have interviewed many other people just before you.  They are in information overload mode.  This is also a valuable tactic if you tend to ramble during your answers, which can happen to even a seasoned pro.  List form is exactly what the name implies.  As the question is being asked, you quickly think of two or three answers.  When you begin your answer, you say something similar to, "There are three great ways to answer your question."  And then you take them through the three answers. This is effective because if gives your answer structure (to keep you from rambling) and it helps the interviewer(s) have a clear and concise method for following your answer.

3. USE AN ANCHOR WORD OR PHRASE.  If the answer doesn't demand length, try the anchor word or phrase strategy. This is where you begin with one word or phrase that most accurately sums up your answer.  Then you give one or two supporting points.  Most times simple and brief will be received better than detailed and extravagant.

4. TELL STORIES.  This is essential if you want to be remembered and want to most effectively communicate your ideas and experiences.  Great story-telling demonstrates a depth of knowledge, an attention to detail and it gives your answers faces and places the judges can relate to quickly. Remember to give your story meaning by tightly connecting the story to their question quickly.

Interview coaching for many different situations is a core service we provide.  Drop us a call (405.517.7385) or a note (rhett (at) yournextspeaker.com) to learn more about how we can help you sharpen this valuable skill.

Get Your Marketing Wheels in Gear

Marketing Questions Your Team Should Be Discussing Regularly:

1. Are we dedicating enough time to creating new marketing ideas?
2. What is a marketing strategy that works better than it seems like it should?
3. How are we deciding who is in our target market?
4. What is our best marketing tool and why?
5. What is our most cost-effective marketing tool?
6. How are we deciding which media outlets to use?
7. How are we capturing and using comments from satisfied customers?
8. How are we measuring the success of marketing strategies?
9. How has our marketing changed over the past few years?
10. What is the source of our largest frustration related to marketing?
11. What company or organization has the best (coolest, most creative, most cost-effective, etc.) marketing ideas?  Why?
12. What marketing tool or strategy do we need to stop using?

Marketing Ideas to Consider:

• All great marketing starts with a great product or service to market.  Be great.
• Value people first, excellent work second, everything else third.
• Understand the most influential drivers that bring business in, bring business back and drive business away.
• Stay connected with and bring surprise value to your "Torchbearer 23 List" - 23 contacts that carry the torch for you and/or your business. (Read more about Torchbearers below.)  Never ask them for anything, though.  Just stay connected and serve his/her needs when you can.
• Learn where, when and how to start customer relationships.
• Learn where, when and how your competition is starting customer relationships.
• Make the most of your raving fans.
• Foster relationships that will lead to piggy-back, plan B, or other ways to provide value-added options for new customers.
• Create brainstorming moments with your team: Assign an unbiased discussion leader, capture everything, no filters, no initial judgments, pick one or two ideas to try on at low-cost. 

Brainstorming Rules:

• Schedule periodic brainstorming sessions to keep a steady flow of ideas flowing.
• Have an unbiased discussion leader who is in charge of keeping the discussion going.
• Capture everything.  Flip-chart ideas in the moment.  Take a picture of each one when the session is over and save those images for later.
• No filtering of ideas - no matter the cost, the legality, the chance of success, etc.  
• Keep initial judgments quiet.  There will be a time to give pros and cons.  A brainstorming session is not that time.
• At the end of the session, pick a few low to no-cost ideas and try them on.  Also, pick a few that will require resources to implement and make sure those ideas live to be discussed another day.

A Torchbearer:

1. Thirsty for helping company/organization grow.
2. Owns a strong allegiance.
3. Values and fosters relationships.
4. Gains part of identity from organization.
5. Clearly understands his/her role.
6. Knows and believes in company/organization's core values.
7. Speaks positively about the organization, it's leadership and it's members.

These ideas were shared as part one of a three-part series of business development seminars I presented for the BBB Serving Central Oklahoma on May 20, 2015.  Learn more about the series and value the BBB can bring to your business here.

2015 Oklahoma FFA State Convention Speech - This Family Matters