Category Archives: XYZ Coaching

XYZ Coaching is the name of this category. Coaching is so vital for personal and professional growth, exposing the recipient to new awareness, leanring, knowledge, and competence. This category provides articles to help you successfully navigate through the transitions of life.

Accountability: Raising the Bar of Personal #Integrity


Business woman with a group

Accountability is first and foremost one’s responsibility to measure personal standards of living by evaluating behaviors through a Biblical filter, then realigning oneself to expected standards of righteousness. This is accomplished in many ways. Too many people would rather forego accountability and live independent lives; this was not God’s intention from the beginning (Genesis 3:7-11 & 4:5-13). We are to live in community with God and others, affecting and challenging each other’s lives. The purpose of Christian accountability is to walk before God in holiness. There are many methods available to secure credibility and restore integrity, the following five cornerstones of Christian accountability do just that.

1. Conscience (Self-Awareness)

A speaker once asked the audience in a seminar I attended, “Where did you get your conscience?” Silence filled the room. When no brave soul responded, the speaker answered his own question, “You acquire your conscience from your parents?” He then explained himself, “Parents are the primary source of moral teaching.” Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition, or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong.[i] Do you remember being corrected for certain things you said or did as a child? You bet you can. We carry these moral bearings introduced first by our parents throughout life; they are very much part of what shapes our conscience. When we attempt something outside these moral teachings an internal code embedded within brings awareness to our poor decision-making.

2. Conviction (Spirit Awareness)

Another method of Christian accountability is the “conviction” of the Holy Spirit. Conviction is the quickening of your mind and spirit that something you are about to undertake is inappropriate. An interesting aspect of conviction is that you feel a strong impression within to do the right thing. The Spirit presents or reveals an exit sign directing you to do the right thing. Sometime ago I purchased one of my favorite High School albums (this is 30 years after High School). I just wanted to hear some music from the good ‘ol days. At the time of purchase I didn’t think much of it. When I heard a certain song lyric I felt a strong conviction override me. I was stricken and grieved within my spirit. As soon as I arrived to my house I threw the c.d. away, and asked God to forgive me. I came to understand this album represented my old life; the one I walked away from to follow Christ. The Holy Spirit was not pleased with a certain lyric, and made me aware of His sentiments.

3. Community (Saintly Love)

We cannot avoid a conversation about accountability without discussing community. You and I belong to many communities; family, ethnic group, the workplace, neighborhood, and other associations. The most important community, in my opinion, is the faith community; the house of worship you and I attend on a weekly basis. The loving and caring relationships within this community bring accountability to our lives.

One day as I shared this insight with a friend at church. At mid-stream he stopped me and shared a story with me. On the previous Sunday, for some reason, he decided to attend an earlier service, missing his usual service time at 11 a.m. The people he would usually connect with on a Sunday morning noticed his absence. So later on that afternoon he received a few phone calls from those church members asking about his whereabouts. The people he had come to know and love where simply concerned about him. Community is crucial for your wellbeing. In a community you have people who love and care about you and are willing to ask about your life, most importantly to align your life.

4. Communion (Sacramental Grace)

The Sacrament of communion is a personal confrontation of one’s life in the presence of Christ Himself; a sacred act of introspection, evaluation and confession. No one else is involved in this spiritual practice but you and God. According to Scripture, prior to receiving communion:

A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

This is a powerful and dreadful statement. The writer goes on to say,

That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep [a metaphor for passing away]. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment.”[ii]

Communion, therefore, starts by confronting self, by going into the private recesses of our mind and inner spirit, inviting Christ to probe deep inside for the purpose of revealing shortcomings in my personal walk with Him. Also in this process, we take a look back to remind ourselves of His crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection; the price he paid for our sins to remind ourselves that we now belong to Him. We are also reminded of His return, which means that between His death and His second coming you and I must live holy lives, pleasing to Him.

5. Correction (Sages and Seers)

Correction is the final component of Christian accountability. This is where your pastors, the sages and seers, in your faith community come into play. The writer of Hebrews notes,

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account,” [iii]

Pastors, mentors and ministry leaders are “sages and seers” who are part of your spiritual development. You must allow them access to your pesonal life from time to time, because they impart wisdom and insights into your life bringing you to another level of spiritual order and operation. After all, faithful are the wounds of a friend, right?

With these five tools to bring accountability and realignment to our lives, we have no excuse when we stand before our Maker. He has provided you and I at least five accountability mechanisms so we can walk uprightly before Him each and every day.

Is there another form of Christian accountability? Are any of these five new to you?

Endnotes:

[i] Wikipedia: Conscience, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscience, accessed 1.11.11.
[ii] 1 Corinthians 11:28-31 (NIV).
[iii] Hebrews 13:17 (NIV)
[iv] Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)

#Leading a Thriving #Organization


tree

Organizational executives, managers and leaders have good intentions to create thriving organizations that reflect their vision and mission for successful outcomes in the marketplace. Over the years, I have had the privilege to work for many organizations in various capacities; as an employee, a middle manager, a pastor, an executive, as a coach and marketing consultant. In other words, I have seen the internal dynamics of how organizations are managed and led; some thrive whiles others struggle to survive. To accomplish this monumental task of building a thriving organization it will take an organization to understand and embrace the four pillars of a thriving organization, which are simply strategy, synergy, structure and systems. Let’s start with the first critical layer of strategy.

1. Strategy

The original meaning of the world strategy reveals the “art of the General”, which implies the General’s broad grasp of the craft of warfare based upon years of acquired acumen and intuition from experiences on the battlefield. We can break down this art form into to three layers: hindsight, insight and foresight. Likewise, those in positions of mid to higher management in an organization have years of accumulated knowledge and wisdom derived through their education, exposure to people and events within an organization, and past experiences on the job. The accumulated wisdom of these employees is critical for tapping into new strategic methods for success.

Strategy is the sum of two parts: it’s your acumen and your approach. Strategy is melding what you already know and how you will go about executing what you know. Strategy, however, fails on many accounts. The most critical one is the lack of collaborative imagination that keeps many organizations operating in the dark at mediocre levels. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, understood the power of collaborative imagination. His wisdom was and is today second to none; the biblical narrative notes a person like Solomon will never be matched again, so listen carefully! King Solomon provides our culture today with a great Tweet tucked away in Proverbs 24:6:

“Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.”

Can you imagine tapping into the combined acumen, intuition and experience of many advisors? So why don’t you take an assessment of the creative members on your team and begin to tap into their combined wisdom for strategic advantages and advances in the marketplace. The wisdom is all around you… are you listening?

2. Synergy

One lazy afternoon, on my day off, I went to the afternoon matinee to see the movie Pitch Perfect. It simply amazed me on many levels! It wasn’t the humor, although I had a load of laughs. It wasn’t the brilliant singing that caught my attention although it was American Idol on Steroids. The main message for me was how a singing team formed and fermented into greatness. Let me see if I can sum up the important snippets of the movie that helped me see how teams form to create dynamic energy and synergy:

1. Pride was present at first since the old guard did not want to give up their place or stature on the team. So they resist anyone trying to introduce new ideas, which will improve the team’s performance.

2. Then there is friction between the old guard and the newcomers since the new ideas being offered are better than the old ones. It’s takes some time for the old guard to realize their methods have become obsolete.

3. Thirdly, the old guard finally accepts reality and realizes it needs to adapt and change. They are now willing to make some accommodations to make the team better.

4. And finally, the team comes together to implement the new ideas. There’s a dynamic shift in team culture and performance.

Synergy is hard to create but when it is present it is dynamic and energizing. When a team creates synergy it begins to release that corporate magic many organizations long for. How do we know when synergy is present? It is evident when optimum energy is released and dynamic synergy is increased.

3. Structure

Every organization is structured in a unique way. Some structures are more rigid than others, such as the military and Law Enforcement agencies, while other organizations tend to adopt a more fluid and flexible approach. “By structure, we mean the framework around which the group is organized, the underpinnings which keep the coalition functioning. It’s the operating manual that tells members how the organization is put together and how it works. More specifically, structure describes how members are accepted, how leadership is chosen, and how decisions are made.”[i]

The structure solely depends on what your organization wants to accomplish. For instance, let’s take two examples from nature to make my point. An eagle and a duck are structured quite differently from one another since they have different purposes to perform. One is meant to fly in high altitudes, and to dive at fast speeds to catch unsuspecting prey by surprise. Eagles like to be alone most of the time; they are the kings of the air. While a duck is given webbed feet to navigate through the water, and tightly knit feathers to keep them warm in cold climates. Ducks like to fly in teams, and work together to fly long distances.

Each bird has a particular function to play and purpose to fulfill. These distinguishing features provide you and I insight into the roles they perform in their respected environments.

Let’s take another example from nature. What about a tree? An Oak tree has a firm base extending to the general body. It is immovable and strong. Then as the branches move out they thin out and become more flexible, bending by the wind, even with the subtle breeze. Structures in organizations should have a stabilizing structure but should also allow flexibility is some areas of the organization to accommodate quick changes.

4. Systems

Systems are like highways that connect motorists to interchanges, intersections and bridges, which provide a proper flow of traffic so that people can get to places in an efficient manner within a specified time frame. Let me provide you a personal example:

I remember a time when our church fed thousands of inner city people on a Saturday afternoon. At the time, our church had an extraordinary cook on staff that was once Donald Trump’s private Chef (and you know Mr. Trump is a pretty picky guy). Anyway, when it came time to feed the multitudes, I just happened to walk into the kitchen area where I overheard the Chef say, “This is how we are going to take the food out to feed the folks.” To shorten my story, he had adopted a system with six steps before the people could even receive their food on the table. I thought to myself, “This process or system is going to take forever. We can do better?” So immediately, I took the Chef aside and advised him of a more efficient way. After I made it sound like it was his idea, he adopted the new system. The result of this simple change in the flow of food delivery was that everyone was happy, from the volunteers who had to serve the food, to the Chef himself, and the multitudes receiving our compassionate services for the day. All it took was a simple change to the “system”, which provided more efficient outcomes.

Systems should be made simple, but most people make them more complicated than they should be. The Chef in this situation had extraordinary skills but he lacked the basic skills of how to deliver his product efficiently.

What area above is the weakest in your organization? Which one is the strength of your organization?

[i] An Organizational Structure: An Overview. http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1092.aspx, accessed on 4/7/2013.

Default Leadership: The Presumptuous Leader


 presumption

The “presumptuous leader” sounds like an oxymoron. Well, it actually is one! Leaders who are presumptions think of themselves a little higher than they actually are and think they know more than others. Allow me a short illustration:

I was recently promoted to a new position and took hold of my new branch which had a lot of potential for growth and profit. However, after a quick appraisal of the store’s metrics I soon discovered the store also had some areas that required immediate attention and improvement – most noticeably its leadership presence. This particular branch had been on the decline for some months with the present management who was feeling the pressure from top brass concerning some alarming numbers. During my first few days in the office, my objective was to get to know my team members by simply interacting with them and observing how they worked with each other, but most importantly how they perceived me as their new leader. On the onset I detected some resistance from the store manager, the second in command. At first he was a little distant, cold and “short” with me. One time, during a brief interview, he must have presumed we were done with the conversation, so he got up and walked away. I sat on my seat stunned thinking, “Does this guy have any social skills?” Over a period of two weeks, I knew I had a lot more to work on than getting the store to operate at peak performance. I needed to groom my store manager with the right leadership skills for personal, team and corporate success. Throughout my interactions with the store manager I soon found three default characteristics of a presumptuous leader:

1. Previous work experience does not add up to competent leadership

After spending some time with my store manager, I noticed how he would keep bringing up his previous employment experience, “In my previous job I supervised fifty employees.” And the time I asked him to do the schedule he made a point to say, “It’s easy, doing a schedule for four people is nothing compared to what I used to do.” My first thought, “Wow, I have a great leader working with me. We are going to turn this store around quicker than I first anticipated.” Soon enough, within a matter of days, I noticed the incompetence surface. He lacked the basic skills of supervision, delegating responsibility and holding his direct reports accountable for their work performance. My initial thought was, “Now, how did this guy get to a position where he supervised fifty people?” It just didn’t add up.

2. Layered expectations is a form of controlling others not leading them

There’s nothing more I dislike than someone saying, “They are not allowed to do that!”, or something similar, “The previous boss would only let me do that.” After a few comments like these I had to put a stop to that kind of managerial thinking. In a learning environment managers must relinquish some control and trust others to learn and do the job. After all, we must advance not only the agenda of the organization but also employees to their next level of operation. So I asked myself, “Where did he get this learning?” After some brief dialogue, it was the previous General Manager who would not allow certain people to do some basic things, such as count the cash drawer upon opening or closing the store. My style of training is a “cross-trainer” approach where everyone gets to participate and learn a new aspect of the operation. This happens gradually when someone is willing and ready to learn the next new thing. A working environment must be empowering not controlling others based upon one’s position or title.

3. Leading from behind is not authentic leadership

After a week or so I noticed the store manager was not leading his direct reports properly. So I asked him, “How do you lead your team?” He responded, “Oh, they already know what to do. I just let them do it.” I then asked, “How do you know they are accomplishing tasks on time and being effective in their jobs?” He just stared at me. His style of leadership was laissez-faire, from a French term meaning laid-back leadership. When I questioned his style of leadership he simply replied, “I’ve always done it that way.” Presumption – yes or no? As a leader, you have to engage your direct reports with vision and responsibility, and responsibility with accountability, and timed tasks that are measured by effective performance and results.

What did I learn in the first two weeks of this encounter? First, I learned that the more someone is “experienced” the harder they are to train, because “they just seem to know so much” more than you. Employees who brag about their previous work experience must embrace new learning experiences. Second, bringing correction to a leader who seems to “know it all” is difficult to do but it’s a must. A leader must have the courage to have transparent and regular discussions. What kind of discussions? The one’s where you tell your direct report to “push the refresh button” and to start all over by learning how to lead effectively.

The Engaged Leader: A Surprise Visit by a Regional Vice President


Joined in business

Our morning at the office was akin to any normal day; staff members arrive, greet each other, clock in, make coffee, and do whatever it takes to get the operational apparatus moving for the day. After thirty minutes, we settled into our work stations and commenced small talk with each other before engaging in our daily routine. All the sudden, I see what seems to be the Regional Vice President entering the office at a fast pace. Somewhat startled, I exclaimed, “It’s the V.P.!” I was merely surprised the Regional Vice President was by himself, without the usual entourage of the Regional and District Managers with clipboards in hand ready to write down every detail of the meeting. Normally, these types of meetings from out of town brass tend to create a tense working environment, where our district leaders prepare store managers and staff days ahead of time. During these scheduled visits every office in the region walks on “pins and needles”, hoping team members will say the right things, present the goal board properly, and ensure the office is up to corporate standards; clean, neat and organized. Not this time. As the Regional V.P. walked in, we got up and greeted him one-by-one. We were so happy to see him without the usual hype. In other words, we did not have to conform to a false mold to make a good impression.

For reasons I will go into in a few moments, my colleagues and I were not intimidated at all by his presence. Our meeting with the Regional V.P. lasted about twelve minutes. After his departure, the office was energized by his presence. After things calmed down, I sat at my desk and wrote down a short list of what I saw and felt.

1.  An engaged leader is personable

The Regional V.P. was uniquely personable. As he entered the office he shook our hands, and called us each one of us by name. I couldn’t help but think, “This guy must do his homework before he visits a store. He knows each one of us well.” His demeanor was totally non-threatening and genuine, unlike the meetings of the past.

2. An engaged leader gives hope

As he continued his conversation with another employee and I, he said, “We are going to grow old together, right?” We said in unison, “Yes, we are!” Immediately, I understood the meaning of this phrase; it is one used by lovers that are committing to each other for long periods of time. I felt like he was putting us as ease by this comment. I felt secure and confident about the future. Leaders, like him, offer hope and build confidence for the future in a single and sincere sentence. Without hope you feel you don’t have a future.

3.  An engaged leader offers coaching

He soon asked, “How’s your store’s performance?” So we led him to the break room where our goal board was located with updated metrics showing our performance and profit for the month. After a brief overview by my colleague, he offered some tips of his own. His coaching was helpful and pleasantly acknowledged.

4.  An engaged leader knows your status

Just before his departure, he asked a few of us about our status for the next level of promotion. He went around the room asking and listening to everyone’s response. When he approached me, he asked, “Have you taken the test for General Manager yet? Surprised that he knew my status, I answered in the affirmative. What I couldn’t grasp was his knowledge of my promotion, which was already in the works. I thought, “He’s the Regional V.P. He’s got more things to worry about.”

5.  An engaged leader creates synergy

When he left the office, synergy was present. We were all thrilled about his visit. We couldn’t stop talking about what he said and was going to do for us. The atmosphere in our office was literally transformed by his presence and concern for our future. We then put our hands to work with more enthusiasm.

6.  An engaged leader follows-through

Some of us had some concerns about certain issues that were not being addressed in a timely manner; like our monthly bonus extensions, concerns, and promotions. Within a half-hour we were getting calls and emails from our District Managers noting, “We are taking care of that email you sent two weeks ago.” It was simply amazing. I have not seen such follow-through in such a short time frame.

What I was fortunate to witness was a leader who was engaged in what he did, and how he did it. The root meaning of the word engage is “to get the attention of” or “to employ” meaning “to bind oneself” with another as in a pledge. Our Regional V.P. certainly got my attention, and I am now interested in committing myself further under his employ. Leaders who do disengage, will, as leadership coach Joel Garcia once said, “Love gathers – inattention scatters.”

3 Essential Ingredients for Corporate Change


Lead Change

Let Change Begin

When I think of transitions, both personal and corporate, I can’t help but to think of Joshua’s great task of transitioning a large community from a desert experience into the Promised Land; a land flowing with “milk and honey”. Individuals as well as organizations can learn three simple principles of corporate transition from Joshua’s example. This experience demanded three indispensable ingredients from Joshua. They are:

1. Courage (Mental Fortitude)

Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their fathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. (Joshua 1:6, 7 NIV)

Courage is a prerequisite for corporate transitions. We commonly refer to this type of change as reorganization or organizational reinvention. Change is not always easy to implement for any leader since it challenges the status quo culture. “Status quo” thinking is embedded in our human nature; we like to keep things the same because change is too costly and demands too much from us. Courage is simply having the mental fortitude to do the right thing, which is to redirect the organization, regardless of the criticism and the obstacles encountered along the way. Corporate leaders leading change must be ready to encounter resistance from all levels. Therefore, mental fortitude to inspire, supervise, collaborate and lead any change effort is required from leaders.

2. Community (Engaging People through Vision and Responsibility)

So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: ‘Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’” (Joshua 1:10, 11 NIV)

Corporate change must involve the whole community under your care. When you prepare people for change, transitions become, well almost seamless. A leader starts preparing people for change by assessing current and critical resources for the change effort, and establishing timelines for task completion. In other words, what is needed for the journey of change, and how long will it take? From the passage above, the people gathered supplies (resources) for their journey, and set a timeline of three days to accomplish corporate consolidation of these vital resources. The ability to acquire and maintain resources is critical for any change effort. You must know what you have, so you can determine what else you need for the journey. Some things must be eliminated, while new resources and people will emerge to help you with the change process. Effective change occurs when leaders engage their team members through vision and responsibility.

2. Consecration (Personal and Corporate Cleansing)

Joshua told the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.’” (Joshua 2:5 NIV)

The most critical element of change is preparing and aligning people with the right attitude for change. This starts with a good communication strategy. Communicating change must permeate the entire organization, every individual must understand his or her particular role in the change effort. Emotions run high during times of transition since the culture is shifting such as positions, responsibilities, position, and new expectations, etc. Therefore, consecration is essential if a team is going to advance with minimal problems. In this process people have to let go of the past by putting petty differences aside.

Consecration is simply assessing your own personal faults, motives and relationships, even admitting that your current condition is insufficient for the next phase. Personal and leadership reinvention may be required from you as well. The right attitude for change must be adopted, encouraged and cultivated among all team members from top to bottom.

The community under Joshua’s care was required to prepare and cleanse themselves for transition. Those who cleanse themselves have a higher probability of moving forward while those who don’t may just fall on the way side, meaning the makeup of your team may change. Personal and corporate cleansing is required for transitioning into new beginnings.

What other principles are involved in corporate change?

Organizational Intelligence: Confronting a Fear-based Working Environment


Employed as a leadership coach for various organizations over the past two years I encountered many working environments; some great, some good, and unfortunately, some not so good. The most demoralizing one is the fear-based working environment. You know that place of employment, where there’s little to no motivation to passionately pursue and expand organizational goals. The problem isn’t the employee but leadership’s inability to foster respect and build trust. In a fear based one working environment, the leader (manager or owner) controls with fear, creating negative vides in the workplace. This type of environment is challenging to say the least. In an economy like ours (December 2009), it is much more difficult for any employee to leave their job for a better work setting, so they stick around hoping for any semblance of change. Like the movie, The Matrix, it’s like being caught in a never ending simulated reality; once you’re in it, you can’t leave. If you do leave, you have to get at the end of line, and wait for weeks, even months to be called for an interview. So what‘s an employee to do? The ideas presented in this blog post will help you navigate through this kind of working environment.

In a fear based working environment employees’ walk on eggshells wondering when the leader will show up to reprimand someone publically. I personally witnessed this scenario first hand many times. I remember a situation where employees were doing their jobs when suddenly the owner appears, standing quietly in a corner unannounced, watching to see if anyone says or does something slightly out of line. As soon as employees’ became aware of this person’s presence the atmosphere changed, giving each other “the look”, as if, “Be aware, she’s here!” As the owner walked around, the employees became quiet, perhaps hoping she would not choose any of them to pick on.

On other occasions, procedures or systems were changed simply by the owner’s whim or because a client-customer made passing comment or mild complaint. Instead of keeping or making a slight adjustment to a working system, a whole new system was devised and implemented. And most critical of all, reprimands were too often made in the open or in meetings, not in a private office.

Liz Ryan, author of Ten Signs of a Fear Based Workplace notes:

“Fear shuts down our ability to think creatively, collaborate, and bring passion to the job. When getting through the day requires a focus on keeping one’s head down, taking no risks, and sucking up to anyone in management, your organization’s soul has left the picture.”

A fear-based working environment is difficult to change, since the owner/leader is set in his or her ways. Insecure leaders who think critically of others, rather than optimistically breed fear. Weak employees, who fear confronting the obvious elephant in the room, would rather put up with it, keeping the status quo and their jobs. A leader creating this type of environment is usually caught in trap; to change would mean he or she would have to admit they have been managing wrongly, and would need to change their ways. So the struggle to achieve excellent working cultures stalls organizational effectiveness, even quenching the human spirit.

How does one confront such a leader? The best way to do this is through group confrontation, where several respected, tenured and highly qualified employees approach the leader in private with a short list of observations. What is a leader to do, fire this elite group? If a leader has any sense he or she should receive this honest feedback to gain respect required to lead effectively, then create the changes needed to transform themselves and their working environments.

What are other suggestions required to turn this type of working environment around? 

Everybody Needs a Coach at Some Point


Coaching, in its many forms, is simply creating a trust relationship with someone for the purpose of optimizing relational exchanges, thereby, facilitating learning, building more self-awareness, sharpening personal and leadership skills to produce excellent outcomes.

Coaching transforms lives by giving on the spot real time feedback, where the person being coached can make reasonable choices in the moment to adjust decision-making and behavior. Effective coaching facilitates a person’s transformation by producing new thinking coupled with new actions. If you desire to advance from your current state of “being and doing” you will most certainly need a coach to launch you to the next level. Latino Townhall offers the following coaching services:

Life Coaching: This type of coaching identifies personal restraints, then seeks to build strategies to bring the individual into greater realms of self-awareness and life purpose, so the individual can access and experience living at a higher level.

Leadership Coaching: In the end results matter to your supervisor, shareholders and consumers. To lead others you must gain their respect and trust so you can harness their collective power to garner greater results. A leader must learn to create an environment where team members can be empowered to enhance overall team performance, thus moving the agenda of the organization forward with superiror performance.

Strategic Coaching: Learning to gain perspective is everything! This type of coaching increases strategic thinking and implementation skills, which helps the individual move his or her business in the right direction by going through a three-point process to gain greater depths of perspective; these three perspectives are mastering hindsight, foresight and insight principles.

Transitional Coaching: Many individuals are challenged while transitioning from High School to college, from one job to another, mid-life crises, even transitioning from a career into retirement. Transitional Coaching helps individuals think through the ramifications of transition, then finding solutions for moving with success through these cyclical and common transitions. Transitional Coaching is about understanding and coping with loss, then engaging new strategies as you move into the next phase of your life. The goal of Transitional Coaching is helping individuals experience a “culture shift” rather than a “culture shock” as they move into a new season of their lives.

7 Reasons to Acquire a Coach:
1. Coaching engages your untapped potential.
2. Coaching increases self-awareness.
3. Coaching builds your confidence as a leader.
4. Coaching increases learning capabilities.
5. Coaching sharpens your personal skills.
6. Coaching fine-tunes your social competencies.
7. Coaching takes you to a whole new level in “doing” and “being.”

Email Joel at LatinoTownhall@gmail.com (cut and paste email) for more information.

The Integrity Wheel


We should all seek wholeness and emotional health through the proper channels of course. For some of us, the process to become “whole” and “healthy” is discovered through spirituality, counseling or other areas dealing with the inner self, which brings about personal healing, growth and maturity within. In other words, you and I should strive to become a better version of self where all of our parts (spirit, soul and body) function at greater levels of personal performance. I choose the “circle” to exhibit this model since a circle is symbolic of something that is perfect and whole.

The Integrity Wheel is an idea or concept I developed a few years ago to assess one’s personal integrity in four areas, where you and I live and function on a daily basis:

1. Our Private Life
2. Our Personal Life
3. Our Professional Life
4. Our Public Persona

Each level has at least three areas to probe and evaluate (Go to link: Integrity Wheel). For instance, your personal life consists of many things. In my opinion, the most important areas is your marriage and family life, the way you view and practice financial planning, and your transparency (truthfulness, honesty, and openness) within the relationships that are most important in life.

Assessment Questions:

1. Private Life
a). What is your source of truth? Bible, Pagan Philosophy, other texts. Is your truth dynamic or static?

b). Is character important to you? If so, how do you go about cultivating character? Do you have mentors, who you allow to speak into your life? Are you constantly seeking self-improvement or just live day by day?

c). When searching the web, have you ever put your browser on “private settings” to view sexually illicit material? Is keeping your thoughts pure and unsullied important to you? What do you with a lustful thought?

2. Personal Life
a). How healthy is your marriage? Communication, Intimacy, Resolving Conflict, Openness, etc.

b). Is spending time with your children a priority? Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Annual Vacations. The common cliche’ is “Love is spelled T.I.M.E.?” This infers that time spent with your kids is loving them. I differ, you can spend time with your kids and have a true connection with them. How do you spell LOVE?

c). How do you view debt, and financial planning? What’s your view of wealth? 

3. Professional Life
a). How close are you with other employees, direct reports, even your supervisor at work? Are you relationships improving? Do you avoid opportunities to grow in your relationships?

b). Is speaking out for just causes and doing things right important to you at work? Do you cut corners to get work accomplished? 

c). Is there a secret relationship developing in your life at work (emotional affair, flirtatious relationshp, etc.) Does your wife know about the “opposite sex” relationships in your workplace?

4. Public Persona
a). How involved are you with your community; neighbors, civic organizations, etc.? What do these people say about you behind your back?

b). Reputation: How do you build one? How important is having one out in public life?

c). What’s your involvement in your “house of worship”? Would people in this setting vouch for your reputation?

Take a few moments to reassess your integrity. The quality of your life just may depend on this assessment.

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The Integrity Wheel, all rights reserved (c)2008 by Joel Garcia, Founder and President of Latino Townhall, Inc.

The 5 Danger Signs of Compromise


“A mentor is a catalyst for change in a young person’s life.” -Joel Garcia

A person seeks out a mentor for many reasons. In my experience, the most common reason is a person desires change but can’t achieve it alone.  The role of a mentor is to be a catalyst for change in a person’s life. They must first understand the struggles and obstacles in a mentee’s life, which are usually associated with what I call the Danger Signs of Compromise. Therefore, most mentees’ under your care will be going through some “trouble spots” in his or her life.

Once you have acquired a mentee, how do you go about discerning these trouble spots? The following “five danger signs” are examples of my mentoring experiences where I learned these danger signs. A mentor must understand the five “signs” of compromise if the mentoring process is to have some measure of success. A mentor is like a seer who perceives the danger ahead through:

1. Conversation – The first danger sign is evident by listening to a person’s conversation.

People will disclose vital information about their life if you just let them talk. A mentor must listen carefully by picking up on subtleties critical to a mentee’s journey. For example, if a person is disgruntled about their marriage, and speaks openly about it often, then a potential door opens to flirtation, followed by an emotional affair, and eventually consummating an adulterous relationship is highly possible. Adultery doesn’t happen over night; it’s a subtle process. An experienced mentor can perceive the possibility of this taking place.

2. Drifting Eyes – The second method in reading the danger signs is by watching your mentee’s eyes.

The eyes are the window to a person’s soul. A mentor should be look into the eyes of their mentee during every conversation. You can read a lot by watching someone’s eyes. Wandering eyes are a clue to what is steering them inside. A person with loose or wandering eyes has a lust problem and lacks self-control. Eventually, this problem can lead to poor relational boundaries or moral failure; it happened to a friend of mine.

3. Body Language – The third method of detecting a problem is by watching body language.

I learned this method by watching how teenage couples touch each other in public. The more intimate the touch in public the greater the likelihood of having consummated sexual intimacy in private. If they are showing physical demonstrative signs in public, like petting in the lower parts of the body, then how are they acting in private? I have seen this on two separate occasions but I was too late to warn them. A few months after observing these young couples I discovered, in both cases, the young female was pregnant (A lesson I learned the hard way. I won’t make this mistake anymore). Observation requires a degree of discernment to read the non-verbal language of others, and take appropriate action.

4. The Absence of Passion – The fourth sign to watch for is the loss of passion.

Watch for people who can’t find their passion or have lost it. When I teach at our weekly men’s Bible study I am looking around to see who is present and who is missing. This is my duty as a pastor to watch and discern what men are going through. When men lose their passion for righteousness they are not too far off from being consumed by other things.

5. Withdrawing – The fifth danger sign is withdrawing from others.

When you withdraw from others you tend to be vulnerable because you are less accountable and open to attack. God created us to be part of a community and not to live in isolation from others. Proverbs 18:1 (NKJV) reveals:

A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.”

Those who withdraw from the safety of the group are really sending a message: they are withdrawing from key relationships, accountability, and wise counsel. Deep inside their soul they are devising their own agenda. Unfortunately, it leads them down the wrong path.

As a mentor you must have the courage to speak up when you perceive a potential problem. When you perceive a potential problem, communicate it in a fashion that others will pay attention. You may have to speak about it more than once. If your mentee does not heed your words, write them down and date your journal. If the problem surfaces down the road you will be able to show them that your input was overlooked. Maybe next time they will listen more closely.

Is there another “sign” that leads to compromise?

3 Governing Dynamics of #Leadership


I will prepare and someday my chance will come.” – Abraham Lincoln

Leadership is multidimensional in nature; much of it depends upon three crucial variables such as a person’s preparation, the context and time in which they live, and what happens within this context and time to compel a potential leader to step out of their comfort zone to lead change and transformation.

The example of one of our beloved presidents, Abraham Lincoln, should suffice to make my point. First and foremost, Lincoln studied law (preparation), and eventually opened a law practice, which just happens to be a foundational career for legislative office. To add to this, Abraham Lincoln lived during a specific period of time in history (context and time); a point in time when a leader would soon be summoned to the National forefront to lead the nation through a difficult crises. Abraham Lincoln would have had a good life as a small town lawyer, but the circumstances surrounding him (an emerging problem or dilemma) thrust him into a significant leadership role in history.

Today, Lincoln’s legacy is second to none. Lincoln’s contribution as a leader was winning the Civil war, thus, saving the Union, freeing the slaves and inspiring generations to come with his famous address at Gettysburg. One of Lincoln’s famous quotes sums up the leadership Law of Governing Dynamics, “I will prepare and someday my chance will come.”

1.  The Preparation Phase

The first critical component of any leader’s development is the preparation phase. For example, Jesus, the Christ, prepared himself for 30 years for just 3 years of impacting and fruitful ministry. His impact and legacy was evident from 10% of his life, so the other 90% of his life on earth was all preparation.

This is true for others who prepare for long periods of time for a short impacting life. Each and everyday a person makes choices about his or her life, which will prepare him or her for a leadership role or simply disqualify a person for when opportunity arises. I call this critical phase the preparation phase, which happens during the first 30 years of a person’s life. This is when a person makes the critical choices of the character he or she will chisel in their personal constitution; whom they associate with and why, many of these relationships will open doors for them at some point; whether they chose to drink and experiment with drugs or not; the vocation one chooses; and the school one attends, or the mentor that will prepare him or her for their chosen career.

Many other factors can be listed in this phase. This phase, however, is where conscientious choices are made to prepare oneself for life regardless if a leadership role ever emerges. However, it takes two other governing dynamics to thrust a person into a more pronounced leadership role.

2. Context

We all experience and live within a certain context in time, whether that context is small or large, significant or insignificant does not matter, at least not yet. For example, my context consists of my family, church, school and work, and other social gatherings my wife and I wish to attend. In a nutshell, my context is an accumulation of my life’s choices. For instance, I have a local context of which I have already alluded too but I am also engaged in a larger one, although minimally. I love America; my nation is important to me and the decisions those in authority choose to legislate will impact my life, limit my liberty and impact my family and future, good or bad. If I don’t like something I get involved in politics and recruit others to do the same, therefore, enlarging my context.

Today, technology through the Internet and social media have enlarged all of our contexts to a global consciousness. You and I now have access to more information at the whim of our fingertips by accessing an iPhone application, and the Internet from the palm of our hand. No matter the scope of our context; the things we choose to get involved with are important to us, therefore, we make choices to engage ourselves to bring about change or disengage and allow evil to prevail.

There is one thing that will draw you and I out of the shadows of our context and to lead in a more significant way – this is an emerging problem or dilemma that stirs you and I into action.

3. An Emerging Problem or Dilemma

There will come a time during your daily context when a leadership opportunity will emerge through a problem or dilemma, which only your personal offerings; your gifts and abilities will be sought after to remedy the problem. Let’s get back to Lincoln. He had prepared himself thoroughly as a lawyer, and lived in a certain context and time in history. When an emerging problem or dilemma emerged in his day, he was at the right place at the right time ready to meet the demand placed upon his life.

Lincoln vehemently advocated the end of slavery during his campaign speeches for Congress and as candidate for President of the United States. He eventually became the nominee for the Republican Party, and the rest of his life is read in history books. Lincoln became a history maker.

Lincoln was a perfect fit for his time. So are you for this time, if you take the time to prepare yourself! A person who is prepared can easily see opportunities as they emerge before them. You don’t have to have a national stage to be an impactful leader. You can make a difference in a smaller context like your family, in your job, community or city, even a larger context like influencing and impacting the global landscape.

Do you see the 3 Governing Dynamics of Leadership working in your life? If so, tell us your story.