Last week’s Thought for the Week was about “Roadblock or Gateway?” and how, if we need to slow down our journey to get more clarity, we can see that an apparent “road block” could actually be the gateway we need to move forward.

See previous blogs below.

This week’s Though will be short and sweet and I would love to know what you think about this!

• How do you look back on your past? With pride or with regret?
• How do you see your present moment? With pride or disappointment?

Some of my clients have found that when they reflect on their past, they do so with pride and yet they feel more disappointed with their life in the present moment!

But then they realise how much closer they are right now to all they ever wanted than they were back then!

Is any of this this at all true for you *|FNAME|*?

When it comes to how we communicate, believe me, until we see what’s holding us back, we will struggle to communicate effectively and authentically.

“Take pride in how far you’ve come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey.” 

-Michael Josephson-

[Credited by many as the person most responsible for reviving and professionalising the character education in school and youth-serving organisations.]

As always, I will leave you with that thought.

I also invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me where you can explore this further.

With best wishes for your success.

Korinne 
P.S. I am now opening up places for The Communication Code Group Coaching Programme starting on October 20^th. Click HERE to find out more.

My last Thought for the Week was about “The Beast and The Mountain” and how we only have to move forward one day at a time to get where we want to go. It’s all about our mindset around “success” and what that means to us.

[See my previous blogs below]

What has moving forward one day at a time got to do with ‘Communication’ you may wonder?

Well as you know, in my work as a Coach, I specialise in helping business owners and leaders to be seen, heard and have the impact, empowerment and authority they deserve.

How do they achieve this? By communicating in an authentic and positive way so people take them seriously.

Many business owners and leaders are doing well enough but actually struggle with this at times, even if they keep it to themselves …

And, until they know how to overcome this, self-doubt holds them back from communicating effectively …

And at what cost to them?

In my Group Coaching Programme “The Communication Code”, we start with what’s holding you back and the key to success is knowing how to navigate and remove these road blocks. We are all different and there are numerous blocks.

We have all been on communication courses where you dive straight into what words we should use and how to say them, and that is necessary, BUT …

… until we truly understand what holds us back, we will continue to struggle.

The good news is that we can overcome these a step at a time.

Let’s take a case study of a client of mine (and of course I won’t use her real name, let’s call her “Gemma”) …

Gemma has been an established business owner for 8 years and employs 2 people. So, she is a business owner and a leader and she was on my group coaching programme called “The Communication Code”.

She is great at what she does and comes highly recommended. What she struggled with though is scaling up her business further.

Why?

Because she believed that other people were more successful or “better” than her. And this was coming across in everything she was communicating …

• In her conversations.
• In her marketing.
• On social media.
• In emails.
• At networking events.

It was subtle and yet disempowering her to the extent she just could not move forward – she was actually holding herself back.

It emerged that she was afraid of success because of how she experienced powerful and successful people, both male and female.

She thought she would have to become more aggressive if she wanted to grow her business. But she feared that she’d lose respect (and clients) if she became successful.

Gemma had mistaken “power and success” for aggression. Completely different! 

She had a light bulb moment …

Once she recognised her own self-limiting beliefs, she realised that most of these people were not being aggressive! They were simply communicating their own truth and that appeals to like-minded people who want what they offer.

Gemma didn’t particularly want what they offer and that didn’t make them negative or aggressive, they just didn’t appeal to her.

In fact, just one of those people could actually be aggressive at times if they pushed something on others that they didn’t want.

Gemma realised that is not her style and she didn’t have to be aggressive at all! What excited her was seeing how her products helped people and even changed their lives. And that’s what really mattered.

After that, she overcame her road blocks and her communication changed in very subtle and powerful ways. Now she is seeing her business success soar, she now employs 6 people and has won two industry awards in the past month!

Now she sees her “road block” as her “Gateway to Success”.

“I think of them as speed bumps instead of roadblocks. Just a minor delay to get me over the hump on the highway to my dreams. You never know the things you might see if you slow down on your journey so you can learn and enjoy the moments.” 

-Michelle Colon-Johnson-

[Founder of 2 Dream Productions, Inc. and a contributing writer for places such as The Huffington Post, The Good Men Project, Addicted 2 Success and She Owns It.]

As always, I will leave you with that thought.

I am now opening up places for The Communication Code Group Coaching Programme starting on October 20^th. Click HERE to find out more.

I also invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me where you can explore the impact you are having and how you can communicate more powerfully.

With best wishes for your success.

Korinne 
P.S. Ask me about the next Communication Code Group Coaching Programme

 

I hope you are keeping well.

My last Thought for the Week was about “The Cradle of Power” and how we can be afraid of our own power, and yet when we are quietly powerful, we have more impact than ever!

[See my Previous Blogs]

Talking of power; to achieve what we want to achieve, we don’t have to go out there and slay the beast or scale the entire mountain. That’s not how it’s done.

“I have no desire to prove anything by dancing …

I just dance”

-Fred Astaire-

We only need to move through today.

• Think of the distance you’ve already covered.
• Focus on your strengths and achievements.
• Let each new step remind you of your freedom to get where you want.
• Let every breath remind you of your innate power.

Dance life’s dance, just a few steps at a time, and in the wink of an eye you will wonder to yourself, “What beast, what mountain? Was I having a dream?”

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain”

-Vivian Greene-

[British writer]

As always, I will leave you with that thought.

I also invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me where you can explore the impact you are having and how you can communicate more powerfully.

With best wishes for your success.

Korinne 

P.S. Ask me about the next Communication Code Group Coaching Programme
www.Thrive-Coaching.biz

 

My last Thought for the Week was about “Where is Your Treehouse?” and having a place where you can regroup, revitalise, get a new view of a situation, answer a difficult question, solve a challenging problem, or see something you’ve been missing.

[See my Previous Blogs]

To start with a quote:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure”

– Marianne Williamson –

What does this bring up for you as you read it?

Often those little ‘gremlins’ of ours can pop up and say things like:

“Who am I to be powerful?”

Well, why shouldn’t you be powerful!

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.

-Alice Walker –

[Novelist and Poet]

What comes up for you when you hear the word ‘powerful’?

Often, people think of ‘power’ as a negative thing where people wield it to get one up on others.

Of course, there are people who use power in that way.

And there are plenty of people I know who are powerful in brilliant ways that inspire and empower those around them all the time.

And that’s what I’m talking about!

For instance, we don’t have to have a booming voice to be powerful – it is often when fewer words are spoken in a quietly powerful way that leave us with the biggest positive impression, right ?

What do you think?

Can you think of someone you admire who is quietly powerful?

What qualities to they have?

And when you are around people you admire in this way, they are empowering you to do the same, probably without even realising it!

Calmness is the cradle of power.

– Josiah Gilbert Holland –

[American Novelist]

As always, I will leave you with that thought.

I also invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me where you can explore further how you communicate powerfully and the impact you are having.

With best wishes for your success.

Korinne 

P.S. Ask me about the next Communication Code Group Programme
www.Thrive-Coaching.biz

I hope you are well. Since my last Thought for the Week, I have now moved house, hence nothing from me last week!

 

My last Thought for the Week was about “Communication at Work” which was about how we can influence better communication with others and how we have to work at it.

[See my previous blogs below]

A big part of this is Emotional Intelligence, so we can take a fresh perspective on a situation to deal with a difficult situation or to see something that we have been missing.

Did you ever play in a Treehouse when you were young?

What better way to escape the troubles of daily life than to go up and experience the welcoming embrace of a treehouse! Like a bird in its nest, we feel safe in the branches surrounded by a curtain of green leaves where we can breathe more freely and think more clearly.

Also, the oxygen that is released by the leaves feeds our hearts and brains and we get a birds-eye view of everything below.

Trees are vital. As the biggest plants on the planet, they give us oxygen, store carbon, stabilise the soil and give life to the world’s wildlife.

We may choose to be alone or we may invite someone to join us. Either way, we get to decide who comes and goes there and it is the ideal vantage point on the life that continues below the branches. Often, a new view of a situation is just what we need to answer a difficult question, solve a challenging problem, or see something we’ve been missing.

Then, when we come back down, we are ready to enter the world again, cleaner, clearer, and often more inspired.

So, where is your “Treehouse” these days?

If you don’t have an actual treehouse, what other locations could provide you with a similar experience? Or, you can just close your eyes and visualise yourself in your treehouse and you can go there whenever you can create a quiet space for yourself.

By the way, my new house is not a treehouse but I can make it just like one whenever I want!

“This tree house became our galleon, our spaceship, our Fort Apache … Ours was a learning tree. Through it we learned to trust ourselves and our abilities.” – Richard Louv –

[Journalist and author of ten books, including ‘Our Wild Calling’]

As always, I will leave you with that thought.

I also invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me where you can explore further how you communicate and the impact you are having.

With best wishes for your success.

Korinne 
P.S. Ask me about the next Communication Code Group Programme
www.Thrive-Coaching.biz

Last week’s Thought for the Week was about ” How do you Know Your Impact?“. This was about how much impact each of us has on the people around us and we probably don’t realise just how much.

[See my previous blogs below]

I’m in the process of moving house and you will know only too well I’m sure how stressful that can be! And in this situation, communication is critical, right!

When communication is good, things run smoothly.

When communication is lacking, well, do I need to say more? ?

How do I deal with this?

If I get frustrated with the other person, that just snarls things up even more! (As tempting as that is because we all tend to revert to ‘survival mode behaviours” when under stress!)

I have to accept that I can’t do anything about how other people communicate, all I can do is influence their communication through my own communication.

Whilst our brains are highly-evolved pieces of kit, did you know that they are basically in two halves?

The left-hand side of our brain is the logical part.

The left-hand side is our emotional and creative part.

When under stress, the emotional side takes over the logical side … unless we make a choice to respond differently and that is what we have to learn how to do!

So, while I was on the phone to someone trying to move forward with my move, I just wanted to be heard because I needed to explain something and the other person just wasn’t listening. They were making assumptions of what they thought I wanted to say. So, I had to consciously choose my response!

I took a deep breath (this rebalances the two halves of the brain), I chose not to get stroppy and instead chose how I could move that conversation forward more effectively through my own communication. And it went much better after that. Thankfully, we are now on track!

“Communication works for those who work at it.”

-John Powell-

[English composer most famous for his work on animated movies]

It takes time and energy to become a great communicator. Though some people start out better than others, we can improve as long as we put in the effort.

As always, I will leave you with that thought.

I also invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me where you can explore further how you communicate and the impact you are having.

With best wishes for your success.

Korinne 

Korinne Le Page
Thrive Coaching & Training
P.S. Ask me about the next Communication Code Group Programme
www.Thrive-Coaching.biz

Last week’s Thought for the Week was about “Hearing What Isn’t Said“. This was about how our interactions can be deeply enriched by hearing what is NOT being said and I invited you notice this over the week.

[See my previous blogs below]

Do you ever wish you could have more impact and influence in meetings with clients, colleagues, prospects etc?

How do we know how much impact / influence we have had?

We will know if a new client signs up, or we get a new contract, project or whatever. But what about other times when we have no way of knowing because it’s quite intangible isn’t it!

How would you define, discover, understand or leverage it?

I can assure you that you have more impact than you realise. We all do.

“Sociologists tell us the most introverted of people will influence 10,000 others in an average lifetime.” 

-Tim Elmore-

[Founder and CEO of Growing Leaders]

Imagine how many people you have knowingly and unknowingly influenced in your life so far. Every person you come in contact with is impacted in some way.

For example, if you hold the door open for someone, that has an impact.

Whether or not they say “thank you” impacts you.

You may feel satisfaction if they acknowledge you and disgruntlement if they don’t!

If you compliment a co-worker on their performance, you have had an impact on that person.

If you criticise another person, you have also impacted them.

As you can see, impact can go in two different directions: negative or positive.

What is Impact?

To have a strong effect on someone or something. Synonyms: affect, influence, have an effect on, make an impression on, hit, touch, change, alter, modify, transform, shape.

We typically go about our daily routines without considering our impact. We don’t consider whether we are making a positive difference or a negative impression.

How aware do you think most of us are on how we affect others in our daily lives? And the ripple effect of that, positive or negative?

When we realise that we have more impact than we think, we also have a choice: Will we have a positive impact or a negative impact?

Each of us has a great deal of power over our environment and our influence in this World and we don’t need to be famous or wealthy or write a book to be influential. We have family, friends, co-workers, peers, clients and random people we come into contact with all the time.

We also have freedom of choice.

We can choose what our impact is on others. We can choose our legacy on this Earth.

I learned in life that we get what we give and our impact equals our legacy and I told you about a Manager I had years ago who had an incredible impact on my life, and she doesn’t even realise it.

If we are intentional about our influence and impact, our influence will matter a great deal.

“Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap.”

– Zig Ziglar

As always, I will leave you with that thought.

I also invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me where we can explore this further.

With best wishes for your success.

Korinne 
P.S. Ask me about the next Communication Code Group Programme
www.Thrive-Coaching.biz

Last week’s Thought for the Week was “How the Context has Changed!” This was about how innovation and the way we communicate is racing ahead in our ever-changing World.

[See my previous blogs below]

As you know, I have been specialising in Communication since the 90’s and empower business owners and leaders to communicate with authority, impact and authenticity.

All too often, we humans look at what IS being said to give context to a conversation or situation.

Whilst we accept that many things may be hidden for whatever reason, whether by individuals, leaders, governments or whoever, our interactions can be deeply enriched by hearing what is NOT being said.

We can only do this when we are Attentively and Actively Listening and observing.

For instance; if you ask how a friend is and they tell you they are fine and yet something tells you that that are not.

That something can be so subtle but our intuition / subconscious mind picks up on it. That gives us more context to that situation. Depending how well we know that person and the level of trust between us, we may inquire further, or not.

So, over the next week, I invite you to listen to what is not being said.

I also invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me where you can explore this further.

“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said”

-Peter Druker–

[Kushandwizdom]

As always, I will leave you with that thought.

With best wishes for your success.

Korinne 
P.S. Ask me about the next Communication Code Group Programme

 

Last week’s Thought for the Week was “How to Influence with a Single Question?” and how by asking just one question can be more influential than making a load of statements and reasons why you need something done.

[You can find all previous posts here in my blog]

And how does this apply when it comes to Innovation?

Over the past 2 years our World has changed dramatically in so many ways, not least in the way we communicate with each other! And so many more people are using technology than before and at the same time, they now have higher expectations about what they want.

So, how do we manage these expectations, adjust our communication and innovation to stay ahead?

I’m always researching trends around communication and there is much around automating communications, as we would expect now. At the same time, how do we create / enhance personal relationships and scale our business?

During lock-downs, people missed human connection and now AI is shaping Customer Service. So, how do we keep that personal touch?

For instance; Retail is changing globally with much intel in the US and coming soon to the UK. I took part in a webinar yesterday and Andrew Smith, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Think Uncommon gave some fascinating insights into trends: –

• How do we make sure we are choosing the right ideas and delivering them brilliantly? We often end up having opinions on how to move forward and then struggle to implement.

• Social Value has become much more a part in buying decisions and all of a sudden we had to adapt – and very quickly.

• Innovation became a survival skill and we all have a role to play and have to get a solid definition of what innovation means to us.

• Sales performance adjusted and of course margins have shifted dramatically.

So, we have had to reframe our thinking and the way we communicate with our customers, teams, service providers, investors etc. And we have had to reset the foundations of our business …

• We have had to revisit our Clarity of Purpose so we have clear definitions of what innovation means to us and its organisational purpose. Why does our business exist? For instance; Nike lives its purpose through and through.

• If leading people, we have had to adapt our Leadership Alignment with individual leadership, influence and an aligned leadership team.

• Culture – we have had to be creative, experiment, measure and reframe ‘failure’.

• Customer Value – does innovation provide incremental value to your customers that is backed by behavioural evidence?

• Business Value – does innovation provide incremental value to the business that is backed up by data evidence?

Processes now have to be embedded, sponsors have to be part of the team and we need the right resources and the right team with the right skills to achieve the best possible outcomes.

“The Consumer is the same, it’s the context that has changed”

-Gareth Jude-

[Author of “Retail Innovation Reframed”]

As always, I will leave you with that thought!

I would also like to invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me, where you can explore where you are with communication and innovation.

With best wishes.

Korinne 
P.S. Ask me about the next Communication Code Group Programme

Last week’s Thought for the Week was “Who is Your Biggest Influencer?” and I told you about mine and what a massive difference she made to my life.

[You can find all previous posts here in my blog]

When it comes to influencing others, how do you do that?

• Do you persuade?
• Do you Cajole?
• Do you believe you have to push people into doing things?
• Do you influence?

Because there’s a HUGE difference – not only between these ways of communicating, but more importantly in the outcomes you get.

The thing is: a lot of people get the difference and a lot of people don’t, even if they believe they do.

And, of course if you manage people, you have to ask them to do things that are part of their job description. And sometimes things that fall outside their job description.

If someone says “no” to something you have asked them to do that is outside their JD, what then happens in your experience?

If you are a business owner, you may need to ask a supplier to do something for you sooner than their usual delivery time. What is your experience of this?

There may be a number of reasons why they have said no, including current workload.

So, I’m going to ask some questions….

• How do you feel when you have said “no” to something, then someone is trying to persuade you to do that?
• If that happens, how do you feel about that person afterwards?

Depending how they went about it, your level of trust in that person may have gone down!

So, if they managed to persuade you, they may have got a quick win in that moment but have most likely lost your trust going forward, right?

Then, what IS the difference when someone influences rather than persuades?

The difference is subtle but the outcome is HUGE.

This is a topic I cover in depth in my programmes, so I’d like to give you just one powerful tip …

If they say “no”, ask them this question:

“I was really hoping you could help me with that. May I ask the reason you can’t this time?

Now, what’s the difference between asking that and asking; “Why can’t you do it?”

Asked this way, they are more likely to decide whether they can help you and that is influence!

You may even think there is no difference and I have just worded it in a different way!

The difference is that firstly, it is genuine. You have owned the request by saying you had hoped they could help you.

Secondly, you showed them respect in the way you asked them about the reason they can’t help.

Which question do you believe they are most likely to reconsider?

Asking “Why” sounds judgemental and puts people on the defensive.

Yes, it is an open question, but, for instance; if someone asked you; “Why did you do it like that?” How would you feel?

“A single question can be more influential than a thousand statements.”

-Bo Bennett-

[Author, Social Scientist, Business Owner, Screenwriter]

As always, I will leave you  with that thought!

I would also like to invite you to book a Complimentary Consultation with me, where you can explore how you influence through your communication.

With best wishes.

Korinne 

Korinne Le Page
Thrive Coaching & Training
P.S. Ask me about the next Communication Code Group Programme
www.Thrive-Coaching.biz