Business Coach | Author | Consultant
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Publications

Your
Professional
Headspace
Achieving career success and personal fulfillment as a professional in practice.

Scott Charlton

Business coach, author, consultant

The chances are strong that by arriving at this website you are interested in professional service firms. You might even own such a practice. Almost certainly, you will have worked in several such practices before your current role. You will absolutely have significant responsibilities in your current position.

Throughout your career, the technical aspects of “getting it right” and meeting client expectations have most likely received priority over business growth, career development and life outside the firm. At various stages you will have wondered, "Is this it? Is this the best I can hope for?"

To break free of self-perpetuating routines, to change the course of your career and to enjoy a life away from the office requires you to think differently and to change habits.

At such times, it’s valuable to have a professional coach to guide you – someone who has "sat in your chair" dealing with the issues you are likely dealing with now.

In a wide ranging career, Scott Charlton has been a sole practitioner and a partner in a CBD firm. Scott has also enjoyed ten years coaching professionals in practice - eight of these with financial planning firms and quite recently, two with accounting firms. Along the way, he has completed an MBA and written a book, Your Professional Headspace, to assist practitioners.

Scott’s work as a coach often involves chairing board meetings and facilitating workshops. Scott counsels practitioners every day. He knows what works and what doesn't. More than this, Scott assists professionals in practice to achieve their potential. With Scott’s help, practitioners frequently find themselves experiencing more great days at the office….and having more fun away from it.

If what’s just been described resonates with you, please read further. Invest time in learning about different ways Scott has assisted professionals in similar situations. Enjoy the journey!
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1. The most value that gets added to a professional services firm is when the owner is “In the Zone”. What a shame so little time is invested there.

2. The more days you as a major revenue earner of the firm invest with clients the more revenue the firm will earn.

3. You can't be in the sweet spot by trying to be all things to all comers. Focus on work you enjoy and are good at.

4. Don't try to be something you're not. For example, if keeping up to date with the latest tax changes is crushingly onerous or incredibly tedious then don’t masquerade as a taxation specialist.

5. Get real – do you have genuine management talent or would you be happier and more productive working with clients?

6. Let go. Jot down six tasks/professional responsibilities that you don’t enjoy. Come up with a plan to minimise your involvement with these areas and yet still get the job done. Better yet, find ways to engineer these out of your life. Do this today and repeat at regular intervals.

7. Specialise. Find a service niche which enables you to work more and more in areas that fascinate you. Aim to be the best in the world in this niche. Seek out other experts in this field. Subscribe and contribute to relevant publications focusing on this area.

8. Be passionate. It’s great to be really enthused about a subject. For some, this has proved to be a lifelong cause. Your passion will attract others and sustain you.

9. Articulate. Tell others about your talent. There are lots of great ways to do this - presentations, websites, blogs, articles, newsletters, e-mail, personal referral, business networks etc.

10. Look for opportunities to utilise your skills. Interestingly, the more you focus on developing your professional interests, the more opportunities open up to you in these areas.

11. Delegate, delegate, delegate. Work with others who have complementary talents to your own. This will enable you to focus on what you are good at.

12. Become more effective. Find ways to get more done in less time. The more you can achieve whilst you are "in the zone", the more discretionary time you will have.

13. People who are physically fit create a much better first impression. Prospects become clients, candidates become team members and audiences pay more attention when you exude the Zing! which comes from feeling terrific.

14. Periodically review your career, present role and current level of satisfaction. Are you on track or is action required?

15. Rarely are there winners in deteriorating partnership dissolutions. Cut the best deal possible under the circumstances quickly, gather up every bit of positive energy you can muster and move on.

16. It’s hard to be in the right professional headspace if your personal financial affairs are in a mess.

17. No one else has your unique combination of core purpose, skills and experiences. No one else is responsible for what you to choose to do with these. No one else is putting limitations on what you can achieve.

18. It's easier to maintain your current level of fitness than to regain it after a period of inactivity. Aim to do something active every day.

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