BY JENNIFER WANG | January 8, 2009|

Link to rest of Article

Here is Cam’s response below….

Farming is easy for farmers. Hunting is easy for hunters (from Thomm Hartmann).  For entrepreneurs with ADD the ‘easy part’ is often the hunting or start-up.  Like Skorman suggests, the creative part at the beginning is the draw.  For those who process info more by association than sequence, their brains are wired for seeing a problem, creating vision, generating interest and capital. This is true hunting.  Managing the established company is akin to farming, highly sequential and challenging for the ADD/Associative.  The best thing a board can do is take their creator and give him new products to create.  The best thing an SE can do is sell or locate the farmers to do the back end stuff. Anyone remember David Neeleman (inspirational manager) and the Valentine’s Day melt down at Jet Blue?
Great resource on associative processing - http://www.openbooklearning.com

With a plethora of time/task management systems, tools, and apps available it can be tough to pick the best ones.  Equally challenging, it can be hard to stay clear on the objectives for each system-the tool’s intended purpose.   As you add and modify tools that work for you, take a moment to get clear on what you want the tool to do for you and see if the tool is up to the task.

On the golf course you would not use a driver 50 feet from the green and yet often is the case, global creatives will pull a tool out of their bag without considering the main purpose of the tool.

An example -Rhonda is a professional with ADD who viewed her daily action list as a vehicle with the prime objective to do more in a given day.  Unfortunately, Rhonda was becoming frustrated that she was not boosting her output, getting to the end of the day with only half her items crossed off and faced with the dreaded task of ‘task rollover’.

Rhonda did a couple key things.

She first recognized that what she was attempting was not working (this is a major challenge for people with ADD-recognizing when an action that is not working is not working).

Second she reevaluated the action list’s prime purpose.  When she viewed it more as a choice tool, what to focus on on any given day, she got more out of its use. Now she saw it more as a ‘daily intention tool’ with a focus on quality over quantity.

So as you pull tools out ask the questions.  Does the tool match up with the job?  Is this the best tool for the job?

A couple other ideas:

Tools often try to do too much creating complexity.  Opt for accesibility-ability to access main attributes of a tool easily.

Watch out for too much redundancy.  Tools do so much that they can overlap.  I had this problem with Evernote and Awesome Note.

Cameron Gott PCC

ADD Coaching for Small Business Owners and Entrepreuners

Virginia

What reward are you overlooking?

You give to your work.

Is your work giving back?

Are you getting the ROI you always hoped for?

For much of our adult lives we give time, attention and energy to our craft.

How is your craft giving back to you?  How in addition to financial security?

For adults with ADHD, jobs can be rewarding but often we have to be on the lookout for the more subtle rewards.   When our attention is on results and ‘doing’ we can lose sight of the larger objectives. These objectives, however, are an important fuel to sustaining our efforts over the long haul.  As you give to your job be sure to make space for receiving. ‘Balanced Attack’ from REBEL speaks to this-developing a rhythm or ebb and flow to our work day and tapping different modes of work.

As I set up my own business in a home office 12 years ago I noted 2 key values I wanted to honor– flexibility and family.  Having my own business I can set my own hours. Flexibility is something that my job gives me but sometimes I don’t recognize it in the moment. If I don’t recognize it then I don’t capitalize on it.  In the midst of the urgent and the long task list I can forget how my job can reward me. It doesn’t take long for me to remember this when I come up after spending too much time doing the more mundane office tasks and feeling a tension in the middle of my back. That’s when I remember to take some time to get out of the house go for a ride or visit with my three-year-old daughter who’s right upstairs.

Sometimes our payoffs are not just financial. Sometimes we need to be intentional about our payoffs.  So an invitation to be curious about how else your job can give back and reward you.

Cameron Gott PCC

ADHD Coach for Professionals and Entrepreneurs

Virginia

It’s hard to fully understand coaching if you haven’t heard coaching.  Here is the third installment of a coaching call where I coach “Sandy” around a time management issue.  ”Sandy” is actually my co-leader, Andrea Sharb COC, for the Coaching Skills I class we will be teaching this fall through Coach Approach for Organizers.  This demo is from a class we taught last fall together.  In the first section of the call the coach gets clear on the topic the client brings to the call – naming, clarifying and deepening awareness around the topic.  In the second section we deepen awareness (building relevance and motivation) and then shift client to an action phase.

The third and final section is a continuation of the second, deepening awareness and moving the client into action.  Listen for perspective shifts in the client and notice the coach’s ‘coaching presence’.  Notice how coach partners with his client.

Learn more about this coaching course at CoachApproachforOrganizers.com

Learn more about mentor coaching with me by contacting me directly.

434 296 9279

Enjoy,

Cameron Gott PCC

Mentor Coach

The ADHD Coach for Professionals

DC, Virginia, and the World

Coaching a Client around Time Management 3 [ 9:55 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s hard to fully understand coaching if you haven’t heard coaching.  Here is the second installment of a coaching call where I coach “Sandy” around a time management issue.  ”Sandy” is actually my co-leader, Andrea Sharb COC, for the Coaching Skills I class we will be teaching this fall through Coach Approach for Organizers.  This demo is from a class we taught last fall together.  In the first call the coach gets clear on the topic the client brings to the call – naming, clarifying and deepening awareness around the topic.  In this call listen for more deepening awareness (building relevance and motivation) and then shifting client to an action phase.  Listen for powerful questions.

Enjoy

Cameron Gott PCC

Coaching a Client around Time Management 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It’s not uncommon for someone to need support professionally whether they are starting a business, growing their business or hoping to strike a sustainable work/life balance.  So in choosing a coach to help with work and especially running a business a professional with ADHD needs to consider the question:

Do I hire a business coach or hire an ADHD coach who specializes in business?

An ADHD Coach for Business is different from a traditional business coach

This is a frequent topic of discussion with potential clients.  I feel it’s as simple as getting clear on the what, how and when.

Get a business coach if you need clarity on what you are creating and if you need support in Business 101 topics such as developing effective business and marketing plans.  Often you pay a business coach for his business expertise and ‘proven system to deliver the results you want’.  The focus (and the challenge) is centered around business issues and developing a winning approach based on popular positive psychology – “winning attitude”, etc.

Get an ADHD coach if you have the what of business dialed in but struggle with the how and when.  My ideal business clients are successful business owners  who know what they want but struggle with when and how they go about doing it.  Their success is real but often comes at a great cost in time, energy and resources.   They often come to coaching with their fuel tank on empty, exhausted from the multiple demands in running a business.  Sustained professional   success demands a skill set in timing and execution – choosing and engaging the best (or near best) actions to some completion point (a place to hand off or set down the task) at the best (or near best) time.  ADHD disrupts this process having the individual engage too long – “Why wont he stop talking!” or engage too short or not at all – “He said he’d have the proposal delivered today!  Where is it?  Where is he?!”

An ADHD coach helps business owners tackle the Quad II items

An ADHD coach’s focus is centered more around the client helping them understand the gap areas related to ADHD challenges – time and resource estimation, prioritization and execution.  The winning approach here is based in proven techniques to overcome the executive function challenges unique to ADHD.  Prioritizing and executing the important Quad II items (finances, compliance actions, building customer relationships, supporting staff professional development) is a challenge often beset by overwhelm.  The business owner faced with a plethora of Quad I tasks, distracted by Quad III tasks will struggle to get traction in the Quad II quadrant items.  An ADHD coach will help a business owner access the key Quadrant II items to move their agenda forward.

Getting an ADHD coach who specializes in business will help you get clear on the impact of the ADHD, make a plan to ‘work around’ and get thing done.  If you know what you want but struggle with getting it done, get an ADHD coach.

Cameron Gott PCC

The ADHD Coach for Professionals

DC, Virginia

It’s hard to fully understand coaching if you haven’t heard coaching.  Here is a sample of the beginning of a coaching call where I coach “Sandy” around a time management issue.  ”Sandy” is actually my co-leader, Andrea Sharb COC, for the Coaching Skills I class we will be teaching this fall through Coach Approach for Organizers.  This demo is from a class we taught last fall together.  Listen for the coach getting clear on the topic the client brings to the call – naming, clarifying and deepening awareness around the topic.

Enjoy

Cameron Gott PCC

Coaching a Client around Time Management Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I am simply amazed at the number of business coaches (and life coaches) becoming more interested in ADHD coach training. There is a growing recognition that a portion of their clients struggle with ADHD challenges like distraction, follow through and overwhelm.

Part of this awareness is due to people like Jodi Sleeper-Triplett and David Giwerc sharing the value of ADHD coaching with general coaching venues like the ICF national conference. It’s also due to professionals with ADHD traits seeking help from the general coaching arena. This makes sense since coaching with its partnering and action oriented focus is a natural draw for those who can struggle with follow-through and completion.   Also we can’t ignore that about 15% of those with ADHD actually recognize their ADHD.

Kudos to these business coaches who see the value of ADHD coaching and are actively training in this area.  They will bring immense added value to their clients who struggle with ADHD.

Cameron Gott PCC

The ADHD Coach for Professionals, Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

Washington DC and Virginia

A common early challenge for the ADD professional new to their diagnosis is sorting out what is ADHD and what is not.

Want to get to  clear on how your ADD impacts your work day?

First go to where your attention is focused.

Often the challeged global creative’s focus is firmly set in “the Don’t and the Not”

‘I don’t follow-up with my boss’

‘I am not a morning person’

‘I don’t like doing invoices’

Not much we can do with these statements in a limiting mindset.

Look for the good past the ADD challenge

A good practice to develop ADD awareness is to uncover the ‘Do’ behind the ‘Don’t’.

‘I don’t follow-up with my boss… because I do avoid him because every time I walk away from him I have 5 new items on my endless task list!’

‘I am not a morning person…. because I am an evening person and have a hard time winding down at night’

I don’t like doing invoices…. because I do the easy stuff first and then get distracted.  Yet I do like getting paid”

In ADD coaching we call this reframing a perspective.  Innovative professionals with ADD can struggle with a negative perception of their work performance often comparing it to others.

Focusing on the real behavior (The Do) provides an opening for change.  The key is to not beat yourself up with this new set of awarenesses.  This just perpetuates more negative perspectives.

Be the Buddha

I’m not a practicing Buddhist but I am a firm believer in practicing Mindfulness.  Mindfulness is a proven strategy for those with ADD.  Jon Kabat-Zinn is a great resource for this.  It’s just noticing without attaching judgment.  GC’s associative brain can move so quickly that judgments slip through.  An objective approach to uncovering the truth will have a rich payoff down the road.

Cameron Gott PCC

The ADD Coach for Professionals

Washington and Virginia

Many folks ask about the term ‘Global Creative’ and how it relates to professionals with ADD.

I just updated the page from the old blog site to my website and thought I’d share it here.

Global in Vision, Creative in Action…

The expression “Global Creative” refers to how smart innovators with ADHD process information (globally or associatively, not sequentially) and how they take action (creatively, not systematically). G-C is a descriptor many individuals with ADHD or ADHD tendencies can identify with*.

Global Creatives find success across a spectrum of professions. Because of their processing style, G-C’s often see and make important connections that others do not.

Global Creatives can struggle with getting their goods to market, especially those that really matter (Covey’s Quad II) — the proposal for new business, the journal article, the strategic plan for growing the business.  They can also struggle with work/life balance spending more hours on work than they wish.

ADHD coaching is an excellent resource to help facilitate timely completion of your important projects and to foster the shifts you want to make to greater work sustainability.  Completion (moving the ball forward to a discernable point) is the building material for the lives we want to create.  Focus on key completions and tending to essential structures to support effective ADD management combine to create a ‘life that fits’.  Coaching is a partnership that expedites the learning process focusing on turning a client’s blueprints into their 3 dimensional dream.

The key is that Global Creatives are able to focus their attention and efforts on strength areas (leadership, creative and innovative production), and minimize the typical challenge areas (detail work, physical organization).

Global Creatives are often ‘front end loaders’. They can produce many more ideas than they can possibly complete. The result is numerous incomplete projects, a propensity to default into a ‘latest and loudest’ task completion mode and a sense of overwhelm.

The most successful G-C’s operate within their most effective roles and identify and develop resources to fulfill ineffective but necessary roles.

Global Creative Blog

Many ADHD resources focus on providing basic solutions for basic challenges one faces with ADHD. The purpose of the Global Creative Blog is to provide Global Creatives with higher level solutions for the dynamic challenges they face in their work day so they can get done what needs to get done and experience a sense of accomplishment at the end of their work day.

*This is in no way suggesting that ADHD is not real. ADHD or ADD is a very real disorder. In the midst of the disease individuals with ADHD can lose sight of their many positive attributes. Part of the mission of the blog is to bring a balanced and innovative perspective to the ADHD resource mix.

Cheers,

Cameron Gott PCC

Executive ADHD Coach