About Byron
- 25+ years coaching experience (Master Coach).
- Started over 22+ businesses and non-profits for self and others.
- Expertise in strategic leadership development, team effectiveness, talent development, leadership pipeline development, leadership skills, resiliency and influence building, increasing focus.
- I enjoy helping others sort through clutter to see patterns where others see complexity.
- I enjoy explaining the "why" and why the “why” is so critical.
- I relish painting the "what if" that inspires others to act.
- I like leading others without having any direct power.
- A long time ago I learned to listen first, then ask lots of questions.
- I love getting results.
- I am 100% committed to on-going change.
I am a technical guy with the ability to connect with others. As someone who is process oriented, I thrive on solving problems. My entire career has been dedicated to improving the lives of others. My best work is with folks who are earnest in their desire to improve despite difficult setbacks or lost traction in their lives and careers; they are determined to get to the next level and are ready for their next challenge; they are disciplined to stay the course because they want what is best for them and they know that personal and professional growth is going to be uncomfortable. They have the required focus, courage, energy and are willing to commit to the time it takes to move forward in their lives and careers. My coaching system is thorough and it provides the structure for this to happen.
As a Coach
Guide
Like a mountaineering guide who takes you up a difficult climb; that’s what I do too, but instead of a mountain, it’s your Life & Career.
Toolmaker
I love precision and I love tools. Making a customized tool for a client is one of the joys of what I get to do everyday.
Developer
My objective is to teach other teachers or develop other developers or build into other builders; which means: to work myself out of a job.
As a Guide
Coaching is like climbing a mountain…
As a guide, I am there with you, to walk with you; to encourage you, not to judge you, but to listen to you; to inspire you to remember who you are and for you to hear your voice so you can discern what you deeply want from your life and career.
- you have to assess IF this is what you want to do
- you commit to it
- you set aside all of the money you’ll need
- you put together a plan
- you get the needed resources and training
- you do the needed preparation and training
- you go
- you are the one to climb
- you have a guide (that’s what I am)
- But, you still have to climb – you move your legs -- the guide will not climb for you
Climbing checklist
- Aerobic Conditioning
- Strength Conditioning
- Flexibility Training
- Practice Climbs
- Trial of Gear
- Learn from trips
- Acclimatizing
- Practice Climbs
- The Climb
- Guide
- Gear
- Permits
- Time
- Money (some climbs <$100K)
As a Toolmaker
Coaching is like launching a rocket into space…
As a toolmaker, it is my job to know when to introduce the right tool at the right time. Through directed listening during coaching sessions and reading your weekly reflection writings, I can assess what you need and when you need it. It is what I do.
Focus, courage, energy and time
- It takes a tremendous amount of energy to launch a rocket into space
- Human beings can grow and change but it takes a tremendous amount of focus, courage, energy and time
- The tools that I make…help you:
Focus more - Have more courage to face your fears - Have the necessary energy to do what needs to be done - Have the discipline to carve out the needed time to make it all work.
As a Developer
Coaches inspire without causing resentment…
As a developer, it is my unique ability (via coaching) to help others improve, grow, and progress in their life and career. As a systematic thinker, I see a path forward even in the midst of potentially discouraging conditions or situations. It is my job to figure out a way forward so that you can “see” the path and begin to take the next best steps for you in your life and career. It is all about YOU.
Below is a 'vision' for what leadership (and coaching) means to me: (it’s a poem, so don’t get caught up in the grammatical structure.)
When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists.
Next best is a leader who is loved.
Next, one who is feared.
The worst is one who is despised.
If you don't trust the people, you make them untrustworthy.
The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
When his work is done, the people say, "Amazing: we did it all by ourselves!"
– Lao-tsu, Tao Te Ching, trans. Stephen Mitchell.
My coaching philosophy –
the importance of FOCUS
I believe that people can grow and change, however I believe it takes a significant amount of focus, courage, energy and time.
- Focus: if you are detail-oriented, dedicated to your own steady progression, determined to reach your goals, disciplined to follow a plan of action and you have the desire for growth in your life and career, then you will do well in my coaching program.
My coaching philosophy – the
importance of COURAGE
I believe that people can grow and change, however I believe it takes a significant amount of focus, courage, energy and time.
- Courage: if you are ready to do the needed work to work ON your life and career and you do not want to continue on with the status quo, like the axiom about the definition of insanity, “doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results”; then it is time to show some courage. When we show courage in life, this is not the absence of fear; no, this is the epitome of courage when we face our fears because our goals (the things we want to do and accomplish) demand that we do so.
My coaching philosophy –
the importance of ENERGY
I believe that people can grow and change, however I believe it takes a significant amount of focus, courage, energy and time.
- Energy: if you are ready to address how you think; meaning, if your current thinking is impacting your life and career, then it may be time to address this both directly (through coaching) and indirectly (though reflection). Our preset approach to life or “how we think about our life and career” can make a big difference in our trajectory. This can significantly impact how we experience happiness and contentment.
My coaching philosophy –
the importance of TIME
I believe that people can grow and change, however I believe it takes a significant amount of focus, courage, energy and time.
- Time: if you are ready to commit to “me time”, then this could be the right thing for you. Calendar control is critical. The coaching is weekly for an hour (over the phone) with weekly homework exercises that take about 5 hours per week with a required weekly reflection paper. Time is an important commitment in my coaching program.
How will I benefit from coaching?
Control – Clarity – Confidence – Balance – Openness – Peace
- Control: There’s no doubt, control can be illusory and it is not something we focus on directly (it’s an outcome of indirect focus) unless for some reason we are in a situation where we absolutely need more control, then it is direct and immediate. By going through my coaching program you will experience more control in your life and career as a result of the work you do processing and working through the weekly homework exercises. The work you will do is similar to climbing a steep mountain or hill; you need to maintain at least three points of contact at all times. The reason for this is to have more stability and control as you climb. The same is true for you in your life and career; you want to be in contact with the crucial parts of your life and career in order to feel fulfilled (content) and not be paralyzed with fear. This is what the coaching will provide for you – the knowledge and the time to process, so you can feel like you are in control.
- Clarity: Everyone knows what it is like to be stuck or even lost and not know where to go. This could be because of darkness, confusion, fog, etc. There are times in life when we can feel like we are in the dark and we feel confused and there is no clarity. We can also feel stuck, lost or confused when our life is overrun with fog. Fog appears to be harmless, but too much fog in our life and career can be debilitating. As a coach, I am a guide and I am not in your world directly; which means that even though I have experienced darkness, confusion and lots of fog – I am not overwhelmed by any of these forces in your life. I can be a source of direction and help you discover or re-discover your own path. As we work together and as you work on externalizing your thoughts, insights, ideas and feelings – you will start to see things more clearly. Clarity is a by product of working on your soul and this will give you much more confidence.
- Confidence: Confidence is the by product of commitment. Confidence is what we get after we have committed to something. By committing to yourself to go through 12 months of coaching and doing the necessary work of externalizing your thoughts, insights, ideas and feelings you will begin to experience more confidence as a result of completing each coaching exercise. Why? Because confidence is a by product of the results of your work. What are the results of your work? Your thoughts, insights, ideas and feelings about YOU! You will experience more confidence and when you feel more confident, the decisions you need to make in your life and career will become more clear. When you experience more clarity you will experience more confidence. The results are accumulative and the impact is significant.
- Balance: Everyone knows what it is like to feel off balance; out of whack or out of sorts. Life is hard. Experiencing balance is a by product of knowing and living out your identity. Your identity is a reflection of how you see yourself. To experience more balance we need to be able to adjust and adapt to what life throws at us; the good and the bad and the truly horrible. Having the ability to be more agile or nimble in the face of adversity is a function of balance, which is a function of knowing who you are. Your identity = Knowing your story + Knowing your strongest strengths + Knowing your purpose + Knowing your values. This is a priority of mine as a coach, to get you to work through the above so you can experience more balance.
- Openness: Open-minded people have an enhanced ability to change their perspectives on things, and demonstrate more growth over time. They are also more ready to embrace novelty-new people, new places, new experiences. They see the world as a place to be explored, a place they are willing to let change them, a place of curiosity and potential growth, a place to show flexibility. Being more open to life and your career will yield more opportunities. Not everyone is open-minded, but as you complete the coaching; you will begin to become more open-minded because as you listen to your own thoughts, insights, ideas and feelings you share weekly, you will see how these resonate with you and you will see patterns that will help you understand yourself more clearly. A by product of this work is that you will experience more openness in your life and career. Being more open-minded will greatly enhance your ability to listen to others.
- Peace: In Hebrew, peace, shalom, means fullness, having everything you need to be wholly alive, whole, complete, happily whole, and happily yourself. That is what I mean when I say that Peace is a benefit of my coaching because when you commit to the needed time to dig deep into your heart to truly hear and to listen to what you really think about your life and career, something incredible happens. Your own thoughts, insights, ideas and feelings become your compass to what you truly and deeply want. And, as a coach, I am here to guide you to hear your own voice so that you can embody this notion of peace; to fully know yourself, to have everything you need to live your life and your career fully, with no regrets, but with wholeness, completeness, happiness and contentment.
The degree & depth of your persistent processing determines the grip and impact of the coaching
Coaching Packages
Coaching is 1-on-1; weekly for an hour (all coaching is via the Phone and sometimes the Internet)
The shortest length of time the coaching will last is SIX months – this is the initial understanding of working together – a SIX month minimum; from here the coaching can continue up to TWELVE months – in increments of three months at a time. The longest the coaching will last is TWELVE months. Please budget for TWELVE months of coaching.
Coaching Process
Coaching has three parts…
Why Hire a Coach?
I'm Stuck
Life can be hard and at times, everyone gets stuck. Everyone would love to have help in these difficult times and that is what I do. I help you regain your bearings; so you can go in the direction you want.
Need some Inspiration
Having another perspective (or vantage point) is critical and when it is provided at just the right time, it can make all the difference in the world. One of the key ingredients to true growth is taking the time to discern (listening and seeing) your own voice; what do you really want, deep, deep down. That’s what I do, I help you connect to your own voice.
Life has Changed
Change is inevitable. How we adjust and adapt to these changes can make a big difference in the quality of our life. Expectations can play a big role in our overall level of happiness and contentment. That’s what I do, I help you move forward by sorting through your best options and by helping you develop a mindset that is oriented towards growing.
I'm Overwhelmed
Sometimes, life can be overwhelming, and when this happens, it is incredibly beneficial to have someone with you; to walk with you amidst the discouragement. That is what I do; I won’t be able to change your situation, but I will sit with you in it and help guide you out of it. I’ve been there myself, and having someone with you can make a big difference.
I Need Help Making a Decision
If you are at a crossroads in your life or career; this can be daunting, especially if you have multiple roads to consider. That is what I do; I help you navigate the best route, so you can make the best decision for your life and career.
I'm Not Sure What I Want
This is one of the most important questions to ask yourself and this is what I do; I ask you (in many different ways) – what it is that you want, deep, deep down from your life and career.
Working with Byron
This Is A Great Fit For You…If You:
- Are ready to take action in your life and career because you are seriously tired of being stuck in the same place, thinking the same thoughts, doing the same things
- See yourself as someone who is driven and passionate, but simply need a guide for a short period of time to get back on track
- Lost some traction and have experienced a few setbacks and as a result you feel stuck and overwhelmed and you do not know which direction to go; you need direction and clarity
- Are a hard charger and driven; you need (and want) to be challenged to go to the next level
- Are ready, willing and able to take action for your life and career
- Are ready to work through deeper issues to get unencumbered to launch to the next level
- Want more confidence and clarity with your next steps
- Are focused and determined to gain more meaning, intention and control for your life and career
This Is NOT A Fit For You…If You:
- Are not interested in taking a long look at yourself; to assess your strengths; define the life and career you want; create a plan of action to follow
- See yourself as someone who really doesn’t need a coach and you don’t really want to put in any effort for self-improvement
- Despite experiencing a series of setbacks, you aren’t going to make any adjustments; you are simply going to keep on keeping on and you do not see the need for any self-reflection
- Don’t have any time (not a second) to spend on thinking about yourself, your life or career; you are just way too busy for that
- Are not ready to take a deeper dive into what could be holding you back; stuff like this terrifies you and you are not interested
- Are not interested in learning new strategies that could help you in your life and career; you are stuck in your ways
- Are willing to think it over but if you are honest, that’s all that you are going to do; there won’t be any action
Coaching needs to fit
I believe people can grow and change but I believe it takes a significant amount of focus, courage, energy and time.
Ready, willing and able…?
Are you ready? If it’s not the right time, wait until it is the right time.
Are you willing to make a commitment to yourself? Your commitment will force you to be honest about who you are; this will be daunting and it will make you feel uncomfortable.
Are you able to carve out the time (up to year) to dedicate to focusing on your own life and career?
This should never happen!
What clients are saying about Byron
Client Comments
Things we say to ourselves…
“I am not ___________ enough: "ready", "expert", "smart", "talented", "experienced", "original", "good."
Any of these sound familiar?
The truth is that -- You are enough.
“I can’t afford the investment (in time or money).”
The concept of affordability all comes down to priorities. What is important to you – what is your priority?
“I am who I am…I cannot change…it’s too hard.”
The only limits on what you can learn and become, are self-imposed.
Someday.”
Often this sentiment turns into never. Take just one "someday" and convert it to "today.“
“I’d like to but…”
Are you creating very specific blockades for yourself, buoyed by your misleading sense of practicality?
“I don’t have the resources I need.”
Time, money, people. Whatever the resource, you likely already have all that you need.
“It’s too risky.”
The real risk is stagnancy or doing nothing.
Which mindset do you have?
What is Coaching?
According to the International Coach Federation,
“Coaching is an ongoing professional relationship that helps people produce extraordinary results in their lives, careers, businesses or organizations.
Through the process of coaching, clients deepen their learning, improve their performance, and enhance their quality of life. In each meeting, the client chooses the focus of conversation, while the coach listens and contributes observations and questions. This interaction creates clarity and moves the client into action. Coaching accelerates the client’s progress by providing greater focus and awareness of choice. Coaching concentrates on where clients are now and what they are willing to do to get where they want to be in the future.”
Truly effective coaching is a process of mutual discovery, which creates an environment that enables the meeting of business challenges, fosters innovation, and enhances overall development.
How to Draw an Owl
“The two circles aren't the point. Getting the two circles right is a good idea, but lots of people manage that part. No, the difficult part is learning to see what an owl looks like. Drawing an owl involves thousands of small decisions, each based on the answer to just one question, "what does the owl look like?" If you can't see it (in your mind, not with your eyes), you can't draw it.
There are hundreds of thousands of bullet points and rules of thumb about how to lead people, how to start and run a company, how to market, how to sell and how to do work that matters. Most of them involve drawing two circles.
Before any of these step by step approaches work, it helps a lot to learn to see. When someone does this job well, what does it look like? When you've created a relationship that works, what does it feel like?
Incubator programs and coaching work their best not when they teach people which circles to draw, but when they engage in interactive learning after you've gone ahead and drawn your circle. The iterative process of drawing and erasing and drawing some more is how we learn to see the world.”*
Coaching is an iterative and interactive process whereby everyone learns by trying new things and then shares results and then tries again and repeats the process.
FROM How to draw an owl (from Seth Godin… http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/01/how-to-draw-an-owl.html)*
Next steps
You want to learn more…
You are ready to learn more and maybe even set a time to talk on the phone with Byron to determine fit. You understand that by setting an appointment to speak with Byron, the purpose of the meeting is to determine if Byron is a good fit for you and vice versa. It is therefore not a free coaching session or some kind of sales pitch. You understand Byron’s process and philosophy of coaching.
You confirm that you are 100% ready to begin coaching aside from determining if Byron is a good fit for you. Meaning, you are ready to start your coaching. If you are not ready, it is best for you to wait and set a time to talk with Byron when you are ready to begin your coaching.
You understand that the investment part of the coaching has 3 components:
- Time: weekly 1-hour phone calls – you understand that these coaching sessions will be on both of our calendars and you will do everything in your power to be on time and ready to go
- Effort: weekly homework that requires about 5 hours of work each week and a commitment to send to Byron a weekly reflection paper summarizing your thoughts and the work you completed in the week of coaching – you will send the weekly reflection the day before your scheduled coaching call
- Heart: you understand that it is impossible to go through such a coaching program and not invest financially for the coaching and you understand that this is ultimately an investment in yourself
