"Everyone feels they have the potential to be more proactive and productive," says Ann Wycoff, a La Jolla psychologist who specializes in executive development. "But some executives, it seems, no matter how hard they try, are just not able to make it happen — to achieve the level of productivity and effectiveness that’s demanded in today’s corporate America. And this is a source of enormous stress."
    To help others overcome this stress, Wycoff has developed Mind Management, a program to enable busy professionals to achieve new levels of productivity and effectiveness. Along those same lines, she also founded the Center for Focus and Productivity, a place where executives can hone new mental tools designed to sharpen effectiveness.
    When she first meets clients, Wycoff assesses their personal strengths and weaknesses, work environment and barriers to effectiveness. She then tailors programs to target specific thinking and behavior habits that impede productivity. Often individuals are not aware of how strongly old habits affect them. The main tenet of her program is that conventional time-management systems now in vogue fail to address the underlying thought patterns that contribute to such bad habits as procrastination, distraction and perfectionism. The Mind Management program includes weekly coaching sessions, augmented by daily phone contact and e-mail communications. The result is that executives quickly learn to use new tools and establish new habits that increase their personal and organizational productivity.
    "Time-management programs provide good ideas on how to become more organized," Wycoff says. "Many of my clients have been through these programs and know what to do, but are still plagued by distraction, procrastination and overwork. Your files and work space can be well-organized, but many executives still have trouble doing what they need to do when they need to do it.
    "That's a much different skill from being organized. My clients know that they must focus on 'the right tasks' in the midst of a hundred less important, and probably more attractive, competing tasks. But it’s not easy to do. People who possess this focusing skill are in huge demand and quickly stand out as star performers. They're the 'doers,' and they're highly compensated in today’s skill-based, performance-based business environment. It used to be, 'Who do you know?' Now it’s clearly, 'What can you do?'"
    Fortunately, Wycoff says anyone can be a doer — it just takes recognizing old mental habits and replacing them with new ones. That's where Mind Management comes in. The bottom line is that a person can have a lot of knowledge, but that’s different from understanding how the mind works and training it to work for you, rather than against you.
    Wycoff typically works with mid-level and senior-level corporate executives. She often finds these individuals have risen through the ranks but have become frustrated or even fired because their habits have hindered their professional development. As Wycoff says, it is very difficult to achieve or maintain a high-level executive position without possessing the skills of a doer. A licensed clinical psychologist in California and Arizona, she spent seven years as an investment banker and stockbroker with such firms as Boettcher & Co. and Merrill Lynch.
    One of her program's recent successes involved a mid-level executive with a high-growth firm in San Diego. The individual was hardworking, intelligent and held an advanced degree. However, he was having difficulty keeping up with the pace at his firm. Not only did he feel his position at the company was in serious jeopardy, but he also felt overwhelmed by several major projects that had to be completed over the next few months.
    He was clearly at a crossroads. He could continue with such bad habits as procrastination and missed deadlines, and he would be out of a job. By changing his habits and completing his projects, he could keep his job and have the opportunity to collect a significant bonus in the form of stock options.
    Wycoff began with a series of weekly one-hour, one-on-one sessions, augmented with daily phone contact and e-mail. She discovered that the executive was clinging to a host of bad habits, some of which included:

• Always focusing on the big picture, which was overwhelming, rather than the small milestones of progress.
• Wasting time and diffusing energy by trying to keep everyone happy.
• Difficulty focusing on one thing at a time.
• Difficulty approaching authority.
• Continually discounting progress and accomplishments.
• Periods of high and low productivity.
• Avoiding any work that was tedious or complex.
• Compensating for weaknesses by working long hours.
• Continually engaging in negative self-talk without realizing it.
• Avoiding tasks he was competent at because of perfectionist expectations.

    The client was unaware of many of these habits and began practicing tools to retrain his mind. Within six weeks, he had established strong new habits and management noticed. As his confidence grew, his stress level decreased dramatically. He set limits on his work hours, and scheduled relaxation and family time that previously he had felt too guilty to indulge in.
    A follow-up session one month later showed the new habits had taken root. He was less stressed, more focused and was meeting deadlines. He would catch himself when old habits surfaced and would apply the new tools he'd learned. Two more weeks of coaching were arranged to brush up on newly acquired techniques and to squelch old habits that occasionally surfaced.
    Because of the Mind Management program, the executive was able to turn a chaotic, stressful situation into a highly successful one. He completed a series of high-profile projects for the company. And over the course of six months, he went from the possibility of collecting unemployment checks to the reality of cashing in valuable stock options.

    Considering that the executive coaching profession is still relatively obscure, the process of finding a coach is somewhat informal. Asking friends or associates who are working with a coach is probably the most reliable first step. If you’re out there alone, the following resources should help:

• Coach for Life. This is a San Diego-based coaching firm that offers training and certification to professional coaches. Its Website (www.coachforlife.com) includes links to experienced local coaches and access to coaching and facilitation programs in support of business environments. The phone number is (619) 287-1186.
• San Diego Coaches Alliance. The alliance is an association of area coaching professionals now developing a directory of local coaches. The contacts are David Lichty at (760) 436-8774, e-mail at miracles@sd.znet.com; Kathy Faller at (619) 755-2647; or Jim d'Artenay at jdartenay@ucsd.edu.
• Professional Coaches and Mentors Association. Based in Southern California, with some members in San Diego, this group can be reached via e-mail at pcma@pacbell.net or on the Web at www.pcmaonline.com. Members are listed with specialty statements and e-mail addresses. Website listings, however, do not identify locales. The phone number is (800) 979-7262.
• International Coach Federation. This professional association maintains listings of coaches by specialty. Its Website — www.coachfederation.org— is searchable. A query can be geographically limited by state. A San Diego chapter headed by David Lichty is reachable at miracles@sd.znet.com. The Federation's phone number is (888) 423-3131.
• Coach University. This is a national training association with referrals to coaches trained through Coach U programs, by selected criteria and region, narrowed by zip code. The Website is at www.coachu.com. The site also contains information about how to select a coach and expectations for the coaching process. Call (800) 482-6224 for more information.

Once you've decided to secure an executive coach, interview at least three candidates. Ask for client references and check them out. A well-qualified and effective coach will welcome your diligence.
In "Coach for Life," Peter Reding offers these tips on what questions to ask an executive coach:

• What types of people do you coach? Many professional coaches focus their services on a specific type of client need or client industry, such as small business, personal performance, creativity or relationships. Ideally, your coach should be experienced in the area of your principal need for support.
• Are you being coached by a professional coach? Coaches who trust the process for themselves are generally preferable candidates.
• What type of training have you had, and how long have you been coaching professionally? There is not yet a standardized credentialing process, and the field is relatively new, but you can also look at professional credentials in counseling, business development or fields related to their specialty.
• What is you coaching structure, i.e., number of sessions per month; in-person or via telephone or Internet; length of coaching period? Look for a structure that seems compatible with your schedule.
• What are your fees and what types of payment arrangements can be made? Make sure you understand minimum commitments. Fees can vary greatly, but are generally between $250 and $500 per month for four 30-minute sessions.

    How do you handle confidentiality? You should have a clear sense that your communications will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
    Finally, trust your intuition. There is a chemistry to the coaching process, so don’t ignore your gut reactions.

Tyler Orion, director of Orion Enterprise Development, is an executive coach. She has owned and operated several companies and consulted with manufacturing, health/bioscience, software and electronics firms. She specializes in business incubators and emerging technologies.

    Opportunities to advance in a career are not always readily apparent. Consider the resident of a community who volunteers to improve the neighborhood, independently or through an agency. Or the lower-level employee of a social service agency. Education could result in employment or a promotion, bringing with it increased job — and paycheck — satisfaction.
    Hal Brown knows several San Diegans who have done just that. He developed the program that helped them do it — a San Diego State University certification course that he believes is one of only two in the United States and the only one on the West Coast.

"I had wanted to start a community program for many years," Brown says, "and I learned about one already established in a New Hampshire college." He visited that school and subsequently designed a course "to provide an understanding of business and economic concepts and how to apply them to the development of neighborhoods and communities."     One of the beauties of SDSU's Community Economic Development Certificate Program is that it is offered weekends two Saturdays a month from September through May, making it possible for those already employed to participate. In addition to seven classes, the curriculum requires a hands-on project that benefits a community. Registration is now under way for the fourth year, says Brown, director and associate dean.     Those most likely to improve job status from such a program are involved with community-based organizations, including executive directors, board and staff members, companies with a community relations staff, city and county government employees and those citizens interested in developing a neighborhood or community. Of the 75 graduates to date, Brown cites several former students who enhanced their careers significantly.

Hal Brown

    The most dramatic example is a woman who had been homeless for almost a year earlier in her life. She since had gotten a job and was working. She qualified for a partial scholarship and after completing the certification requirements, was able to use what she had learned to form an organization that helps the homeless get jobs. Another participant, who was on the staff of a community development corporation, found a job as executive director of a similar organization for a small city, and yet another became a director of housing development for low-income residents in a coastal city.
    Classes range from an overview of community development to an understanding of legal structures, accounting, financing, marketing strategies, small business development and organizational management. At this time, the classes are offered as part of the program only, but if the demand is apparent, Brown is considering making them available individually. Enrollment is $850 with a 10 percent discount for organizations or companies sending more than three students. For information on enrollment, call (619) 594-5152.
    "I see a passionate force of commitment on the part of the instructors," Brown says of the staff, most of whom represent different SDSU departments. "The faculty really enjoys teaching these classes because of what the students bring to them." Plans are to establish a degree program in addition to the certification, but "to be self-sustaining," Brown says, "we need more students."