by Bill Seiberlich
For nearly 15 years, Ken Jacobs has helped communications agencies grow and manage business, improve client service and relationships, and enhance staff performance. He does so via consulting and training. Through his executive coaching, Ken has also helped communications leaders--from C-suite executives to managers—achieve and surpass their goals.
In his mid-50s, although successful as a coach, trainer, and consultant, ken realized that coaching was his true calling. He was coaching and earned his Associate Certified Coach and then his Professional Certified Coach certification, which required, among other things, 500 hours of coaching. Not bad for someone who started late!
Ken has four lessons about achieving success.
- To be truly successful, you have to be an effective leader, which means leaving “followers,” some of whom may be leaders in their own right, or leaders-in-training;
- Balance is key. Success requires emphasis on business/career life, and personal life, family life, life with friends, as well as health and fitness;
- Know how their followers, peers and boss (if you have one) perceive you as a leader;
- Don’t try to go it alone.
It’s part of Ken’s credo that improving the individual’s leadership skills can have a huge impact on their organizations, as big or bigger than anything else that they can do. It’s do-able and the time to do so is now.
How has Ken’s business been affected by COVID-19? He has done more self-coaching than ever before. From experience, he’s observed the relevance of empathy, the importance of opportunity thinking, and about how leaders who pivot will succeed. Ken believes employee communications, crisis communications, and healthcare communications are critical and powerful in combatting disinformation. Effective communication can be a true, powerful force for good and for combatting mistrust.
To see interviews with communications leaders at companies on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19, check Ken’s website, www.jacobscomm.com at the “Taking The Lead” page.