The cavnessHR podcast – A talk with Janice Long Coe President, Certified Coach (ICF), Trainer

Janice is the President of Limelight, LLC. She has 20 years of experience as a
federal government executive manager, as well as experience as the Executive
Vice President of a full-service communications company focused on training and informational productions. She is a certified coach and has successfully coached at the executive level, mentored and developed leaders through her management of Leadership Development programs and development of training programs for industry and government. She was instrumental in OPM’s e-learning initiative and at the time, the only government service provider for e-learning courses.

Janice: She was the Director of the National Audio-visual Center the government’s repository for federally-produced training materials. In addition to being a Certified Coach, Janice holds Master Certificates in Organizational Development, Human Resources Management and Government Contracting from Villanova University. Janice provides experience and expertise in coaching, training, leadership development, communication, and mentoring. Her philosophy, in life and in her service to clients is: “Success for everyone”. She believes that given the right guidance and with training opportunities, everyone can gain control of their life, work, relationships and destiny – and be successful! She has always been of service to others, in the community, at the workplace, to her clients and her associates. Janice looks forward to the challenges of helping others and the rewards successful coaching can bring!

The cavnessHR Podcast can be found at the following places or you can just type in cavnessHR on the respective app.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-cavnesshr-podcast/id1289104534
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-cavnesshr-podcast/e/51584359?autoplay=true
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-119338849/the-cavnesshr-podcast-29
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSRsdzLkzPY&t=767s
Anchor: https://anchor.fm/cavnesshr?at=2600793
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Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5gvkI9P7ZYDTJMYRjYMPho
Pocket Casts: http://pca.st/5gj7

Social Media links for Janice below!!
coachcoe26@gmail.com.

Free Resources
Free one hour consultation for individuals.
50% off five sessions of coaching for a small business.
Contact Janice at coachcoe26@gmail.com

Jason: Hello, and welcome the cavnessHR Podcast. I’m your host, Jason Cavness. Our guest today is Janice Long-Coe. Janice, are you ready to be great today?

Janice: I am always ready to be great.

Jason: Janice is the President of Limelight, LLC. She has 20 years of experience as a federal government executive manager, as well as experience as the Executive Vice President of a full-service communications company, focused on training and informational productions. She is a certified coach and has successfully coached at the executive level, mentored and developed leaders through her management of Leadership Development programs and development of training programs for industry and government. She was instrumental in O.P.M.’s eLearning initiative and, at the time, the only government service provider for eLearning courses. She was the director of the National Audio Visual Center – the government's repository for federally produced training materials.

Jason: In addition to being a certified coach, Janice holds Master Certificates in Organizational Development, Human Resources Management, and Government Contracting from the Villanova University. Janice provides experience and expertise in coaching, training Leadership Development, communication and mentoring. Her philosophy in life in her service to clients is “Success for everyone.” She believes that, given the right guidelines, and with training opportunities, anyone can gain control of their life, work relationships and destiny and be successful. She has always been of service to others in the community, at the workplace to her clients and associates. Janice looks forward to the challenge of helping others and rewards a successful culture can bring. Janice, thank you for that. And let me turn it over to you; what's going on in the world of Janice Long-Coe, right now?

Janice: Well, first of all, thank you, Jason for inviting me onto your, I guess it would start out a podcast, but I guess it's more than that now. I must say that after that intro, I need to tell you that I'm not 105 years old. It sounds like I've done a lot of things. But, in addition to that, I have three wonderful children and five grandchildren, so I'm very proud of them, as well.

Jason: That’s a full time job right there, isn't it?

Janice: Well, my kids are very capable parents and when they visit, it's a handful. But it's always fun and always exciting to have them around. So, what's going on. There's a lot of things going on in the world of coaching. I'm an ICF certified coach, so I really pay attention to what's going on and attend webinars and I'm always learning something. I think that's really the key to success and feeling young and being young and being healthy is to continually learn things. I have a coaching practice and I think I’ve done a lot of coaching with teams, executive teams, individuals. I think one of the things that I've noticed is that, unlike a psychiatrist, I help people reach their goals.

Janice: One of the first things we talk about is what's going on with you and where do you want to go and what are your goals and how can we get there. There are several methods I use for that, several formulas. But coaching also sort of takes its own path, if you will, and it's all about listening – me listening – and hearing what people are really saying and that gives a great deal of satisfaction to me and I hope I've helped people. I know I’ve helped people (because I have some very good reports from people), to reach their goals. I'm very task-oriented, goal-oriented; I'm as disorganized as the next person and I can get off kilter with things that happen in the world, in my life, in the family. But I try to stay focused on goals and that brings me back to be centered so that I can get somewhere. That's what I try to do with my clients, is help them stay centered and focused on what they need to do to make their life great.

Jason: Janice what do you find most rewarding about helping others out?

Janice: Oh, wow, just hearing somebody say, at the end of the sessions – which is normally about five to ten sessions – hearing them say, “I can't tell you how much this helped me.” A lot of times, with folks in the government, and folks in the corporate world, I hear, “I wish somebody had offered me coaching early in my career.” I'm a big proponent of coaching in middle management – not just waiting till people are leaders (and I do a lot of leadership coaching, a lot of leadership training), but we need to get to people in their newer stage of their career so they can set a path then. I get called in a lot when there's a problem; it might be an EEO complaint and settlement, I might be part of the settlement – by that, I mean somebody is settling an EEO suit – and one of the conditions is that the person gets coaching. But it shouldn't be all about a problem. It should really be about setting a course.

Janice: Leadership development, I think, really needs a lot of focus, people need to really start looking at younger, newer folks in the government, and in the corporate sector, and saying, “where can these people go in our organization, and how do we get them there and let's start talking to them now; let's not wait.” I think we're losing a lot of talent because we don't do that. Younger people tend to get disenchanted and we really need to do things to not just recruit them, but to retain them. I hear a lot from young people about, “I don't know where I'm supposed to go in this organization, my manager never talks to me about that.” That's not good leadership and management. We need to constantly nurturing the new people that come in, as well as the experienced people, and be telling them, “this is where we see you going in the organization.” It's like anything; it's like your life. you sort of want to know where you're going and I don't think we should wait till somebody walks into our office and says, “I found a new job,” and then we say, “woah, wait, why not stay here; we'll offer few thousand dollars.” That's not what this is about; people are following their passion and people want to know where they're going.

Jason: 6:56 I know there’s a stat somewhere that says, when you say that, and you offer more money to stay, that person usually still leaves within the next year anyway. Because that original problems are still there.

Janice: Yes.

Jason: Because, if they're looking for a job, there's a reason and that extra money is probably not going solve that problem.

Janice: That's exactly my point – if you wait until they're in your office telling you that they're leaving, they've already made the decision and you, as a leader or as a manager, have dropped the ball because you weren’t preparing them for what's next.I think the “what's next” is really important.

Jason: Yes, I definitely agree with that. Janice, how do you handle this? Someone’s come to you for coaching, but you can tell they’re not really into it, they’re just going through the motions. How do you handle that?

Janice: Well, I think one of the first and foremost things to coaching being successful is someone has to be coachable. However, I will tell you that I've had some people that have been sent to me, if you will, and when I first talk to them. I just sort of come back to my office and go, “oh, my gosh, this person's not coachable at all.” But I usually tell whoever's hired me – sometimes it's an individual. But sometimes it's an organization – and I say to them, “I'm not sure that this is going to be workable, but let's give it another session or two.” I have learned that that next session or two is very important. The first session, I think, is sometimes intimidating. Your boss has asked for a coach to come in and people are like, “why are you here and what does this mean.” Again, not knowing what's next. Coaching is very valuable and it's not always, sometimes, it's part of a situation or problem. But many times it's part of moving the organization forward. I think once people get over the fear they have, also the fear of confidentiality, unless my agreement stipulates that I'm reporting back to somebody – and the person being coached would know that because I would tell them. What you say to me is normally between you and I, however, under this agreement, I am reporting back to your boss, the head of HR, whatever.

Janice: If they're not interested in doing that, that's it. But 99% of the time it's confidential and I think that's what people really like because what they say to me is confidential, it's not going anywhere else. I just finished an engagement with a government organization (that will remain nameless), and it was 22 people. They had 11 or 12 sessions each, and I can tell you, at the end of that, the only thing I reported in and I let the people know – the people who are being coached – know that right away was did I pick up on themes, was there anything that, organizationally, they needed to be doing. That's a great opportunity for people being coached. Tell me that everybody's feeling overworked. I can say things under a coaching agreement that maybe people don't want to say but they can use me to make change in their organization. That “report” was about three paragraphs and it said, “50% of the people said that they have too much work and not enough time to do it, or 10% of the people said this, 100% of the people said that there's no communication in the office (and that was absolutely what was said).” That's what I find a lot – the communication is really one of the really, really key problems in the government, as well as in the corporate world.

Janice: People just aren't communicating, they're not saying what's next, they're not saying this is where we plan to go. They're not even seeking input like, “our goal is to get to one hundred million dollars’ revenue next year, what do you all think, what do you think we should be doing?” I think communication and change – those are the two biggest problems that I say; people don't prepare for change they, don't have a transition plan for change, they spring change on people. Think about your own personal life; if somebody walks in the door and says, “okay, we're moving.” That's a change and that's not easy for people to just accept. If you say, “I'm thinking about moving, I was thinking we'd start looking in whatever state or whatever city, let's go and look at it, let's see what it would look like if we lived there.” Even in your personal life, you like to know what's going on and what change is about; people need that in their professional life, as well. So, to answer your question, I think (and I'm not sure you asked this question, but I'll answer it), communication and change are the two most important things that I think can help coaching. The two things that I think can help in an organization; individuals have maybe some different problems. I've had people who come to the office and talk too much about golf or football and all people want is, “will so and so shut up about his [name the team].” That's a different kind of coaching. But it's all interesting, it's all fun – when I say fun, I mean it's meaningful; it's meaningful to me and I hope I’m making meaningful change and the feedback I get is that I am.

Jason: That’s good, Janice. Janice, from your point of view, have you found a difference working with government organizations versus private organizations?

Janice: Well, of course, I spent 20 years in the federal government. So, I know a little bit about it and there's no question; it's a different culture. Certainly, from a provider point of view, you have to go through a lot of hoops to be able to work in the government. Bidding processes, being in the small business, or being a woman-owned business, whatever it may be. Limelight is connected to several small businesses and small disadvantaged, veteran groups and so they are the prime on some contracts and we're brought in as a provider on that. I think in the private sector,

Janice: I'm probably given a little more latitude in terms of talking to folks without a lot of regulations; having been in the government for twenty years. I certainly know that there's things that I'm not going to ask people. That they're going to be careful talking to me about, and I get that. That's why I think I'm sort of unique, and my partner is unique, in that we've done both. I've been a small business owner; I've had two small businesses. So, I know what that's like, I know what it's like to have a small staff. I know what it's like to be on a location with 150 people. I know what it's like to be in the government and not be able to pick up the phone and say, “hey, I need something done, come do it.” So, the regulations are important to know and I think that's why I'm very valuable in the government, because I understand that. I'm not going to go in and break the rules, I'm not going to have people I'm coaching break the rules.

Jason: Janice, next, talk about a time you were successful in the past, what you learned from this success, and what we can learn from this success you had in the past.

Janice: Well, In the training world, I feel like I've had some really good success with the contract that we've had with the Department of Defense. They've made some real changes, I think, based on that and that's been very gratifying. As far as coaching goes, I've been able to go into a company that was having some real executive team, at the highest level, problems and help them work through it and help them make some changes. Which a little painful; some people had to leave the organization and that isn't something that I liked recommending. But they've become stronger because there were some people who were causing some issues and problems and divulging things and they're a much better company because of it. So that was a good experience. I can say that, probably, my biggest failure was the fact that I went into in my career, as a Fed, I went into a situation to make change. It was before I was a coach, it was early on in my career, and I talked about the change, I didn't ask for input and I also didn't have a transition plan. I did all the things that I help people not do now, I did, and it was a huge failure. That's why I can talk about some of these things and share with people my own examples of things that I've done well and things that I haven't done so well. I never had a coach; I needed a coach 20 years ago.

Jason: Yes. And goIng back on the people who leave the company, I'm a big believer in sometimes, the best way to get addition is actually subtract some people and sometimes that's the best thing for the organization and for those people who have to leave.

Janice: Well, if you bring someone in and they identify people who are causing problems in the organization. Executives have to be able to make the hard decisions. But I really counsel them and help them to do it in a way that is healthy for the organization and as healthy as possible for the people who are leaving.

Jason: Yes. Janice, can you tell us about someone who's helped in the past and how they helped you?

Janice: Well, that's a good question because I have to, say along the way, I've had many people who have mentored me and been very good to me. I would say, though, that the director of my organization, the first organization I was in the government, and he was a wonderful man; his name was Ron Lawson. He's passed away and he saw my struggle coming from the corporate environment, the small business environment, the outside, if you will, in terms of some of the things that I was doing that just weren't going to work in the government. He had no problem bringing me into his office and saying, “okay, look, you're great, [I] love what’re you doing, but you're making people upset, you're doing things the wrong way, we can't do you things like that the government.” He really (I hate to say “held my hand”) but he did; he held my hand through, probably, the first year or two. As my responsibility kept expanding – and it did, it expanded a lot over the first four or five years – I got promoted right up the line. But he was there. He wasn't afraid to say, “job well done” but he also wasn't afraid to bring me in and say, “you missed the mark on this one.” I always appreciated that because coming in from the outside world into the government is a real culture change. I don't think I recognized it until he pointed out some of the things I was doing, some of them – I won't call them failures because he didn't really let them be failures – he brought me in and he praised in public and he criticized in private, which is one of the things I teach in leadership courses. Anybody who's going to harangue somebody publicly does not belong in a management position or a leadership role. So I learned a lot from him. He was a true leader.

Jason: Yes. Janice, how do you handle this situation: you’re with an organization and you can tell the manager has one view of things and the workers have another view, and the views don’t match at all. How do you “fix” that situation?

Janice: First of all, the management has to be ready to listen and they have to be coachable. The company that I mentioned where there's all these changes made, we did some diagnoses. We did some risk assessments and we brought them all together and, in the risk assessment, we talked to their direct reports and we talked to their peers and we talked to people that just had occasional interaction with them. That's what started the process. Originally, I thought I was going to bring them all together in a room (because that's normally the way we do it), and go through the assessments and let each one hear where their strengths and weaknesses were.

Janice: It became very apparent that they worked so poorly together that having them in the same room to hear their strengths and weaknesses was not going to work. So, then we did individual coaching of each one – never divulging. They knew about their assessments but we didn't share other assessments – the tension was just too much. That's where some of the results came from – from talking to each one, individually, about how they were being perceived and what their strengths and weaknesses were. So in that case, it was management and people in the organization having very different views and sharing the views with management. and these are very personal views – how you view your manager, how you view the CEO, the CFO, and everything.

Janice: So, the communication process and something like that is very important. They have to be able to listen. We also went in with some leadership training, communication training, for everyone – for the staff and the executive team. And taught them more about how to communicate with each other, how to listen to each other and it was a process. So how do I handle it? One of the things I do is like to delve into it and really find out what's going on because sometimes there could be a change. There could be a difference in opinion, but there can also be a real difference in just cultural things. I've had a C.E.O. who loved to walk through the office and use foul language and that was a real problem for a lot of people in the organization, as well it probably should be.

Janice: So having to talk to him about his language skills and offending people and having to deal with them to say it is his company and there are certain things he has a right to do and, at times, I have to say to people, “if you are disliking the situation so much, maybe we need to help you find a new job.” But it's important to analyse, find out what's going on, talk to everyone, get the input, and then come up with sort of a plan for them to make the changes that they meet to make. Sometimes it's just a coaching plan, sometimes it's everybody needs five hours of coaching and let's see where we are, but sometimes it's let's bring in some training and train people on how they should be listening, communicating, even behaving, in some cases.

Jason: Janice, do you have a book or books you can recommend for our listeners?

Janice: Well, I have a library full of them. I didn't know you're going to ask that question. I will say this to your viewers: anyone who can find any information on emotional intelligence should do it. If you do nothing between now and the end of 2017, or first thing in 2018. Find out more about emotional intelligence because there's all kinds of studies out there, and I quote them a lot in my training. That when, I think, it was 100 CEOs were asked, “what's more important when you're hiring somebody – is it technical ability, is it education and degree, (I don't remember the other words),” they all said it's emotional intelligence because I can pay for them to get degrees. I can pay for them to get technology, everything else I can pay for. But if people don't understand their own emotional intelligence and how it fits in to their life, and their work life.

Janice: That's just something that you can't teach people quickly. Once again, you can bring in a coach who can talk to you about emotional intelligence. But I think that's a leader, anyone at the top of the organization, anybody in high-level management or mid-management, and even employees should understand all about emotional intelligence so that they know. I've had people say to me after I've done the training on emotional intelligence, “not only did it help me at work, but my relationship at home or with my family, with my parents, with my girlfriend or boyfriend, or whatever, is so much better now that I understand how I impact other people and what I need to do to increase my emotional intelligence.” So I'd say that's the one thing that everybody should learn more about.

Jason:Yes, I definitely agree. That’s such a big deal these days; you have to do that. Janice, I understand you have something for our listeners today.

Free Resources Below!!!!

Janice: Yes. At your request, I would like to offer people, individuals, a one-hour consultation. They can e-mail me at coachcoe26@gmail.com and I can tell you that that's worth some money. So an hour of consultation for an individual and for small businesses because I get calls from big corporations all the time. Small businesses think it's way too expensive, it's not worth it. Real change can happen with coaching. So for small business, I’ll do a 50% off five sessions of coaching and I coach on the West Coast, the East Coast, the north, the south; a lot of coaching is done just like we're doing this, or even by phone. So, again, the e-mail address is coachcoe26@gmail.com.

Jason: Janice, thank you, that's very valuable. I know our listeners are really going to make use of that. So, Janice, do you have any social media links for our either yourself or you company so people can reach out to you? Like LinkedIn, Twitter, or any other platforms?

Janice: I don't use that medium and I don't for a reason, and we probably don't have time to go into it right now. But in my coaching practice, I have found that some of the social media out there is some of the things that people in the coaching session talk to me about. I just don't think it's the healthiest place to be communicating with people. So email, phone. I think there's some things that we just need to talk to each other directly, if you will. So I don't. I don't have it, but there's a good reason for it, I think.

Jason: Yes. Janice, we’ve come to the end of our talk. Do you have any last words or wisdom or advice for our listeners?

Janice: I don't think so, except to encourage people to know themselves – emotional intelligence – and to reach out for help. If you have mental health issues, reach out to the appropriate people and it's not a coach. A coach is not a psychiatrist or psychologist. If you have issues that could use a coach in your workplace, in your business, even in couples; couples coaching is a very popular thing. I would say reach out and get a coach. A coach will tell you; coaches are very ethical, very honest, and a coach will say to you, “I'm sorry, this is something that you really need to talk to your doctor about.” I had somebody call me who wanted to be coached and had an alcohol and drug problem and I said, “that's not something that you want me for and I encourage you to talk to your physician and if you need the name of the mental health provider, I'm happy to do the research and help you with that.” But coaches can be very valuable if used correctly and I'd love to hear from some of your listeners and viewers.

Jason: Thank you, Janice. Janice, thank you very much for being on our show today, I really appreciate. I know you're a busy person, you have a lot going on, so I really appreciate your time and talking to my listeners.

Janice: Thank you, Jason. It was a pleasure.

Jason: To our listeners, thank you for your time, as well. And remember to be great every day.