I had the opportunity to coach an executive leader who had worked for many years at her company. My client, Sue, (not her real name) received some startling results from her most recent 360 assessment. The results indicated she was perceived as controlling, difficult, impatient and unavailable.

Coaching Challenge

The feedback from Sue’s direct reports and peers revealed several areas for improvement - leadership, communication and interpersonal skills.

Specifically,

• Improving relationships with her directs

• Enhancing her communication skills

• Learning to delegate

• Empowering her directs to problem solve on their own

• Managing her emotions vs. reacting

• Being more accessible

Coaching Solution

Sue’s company hired me to work with her in a six-month coaching engagement to help her become more effective with her team and across the organization. We met in person or spoke by phone for one hour approximately three times a month.

In our initial session, Sue and I reviewed her background, current role, responsibilities and goals for the coaching engagement. Next, I administered a series of assessments to identify her strengths and better define her areas for improvement. Together we worked on uncovering limiting attitudes, behaviors and areas of weakness that blocked Sue’s ability to be an effective leader.

In the following sessions, we discussed current challenges, marked her progress and created her weekly action plans. Throughout the engagement I provided Sue with leadership tools, professional insights, guidance, authentic feedback and accountability.

Coaching Results

At the conclusion of the coaching engagement, I met with Sue and her boss to assess her progress. The feedback Sue received showed a positive transformation in her leadership style and she was thrilled! She was successfully:

• Delegating tasks to directs

• Empowering her staff to be problem solvers and decision makers

• Building trusting relationships with her team and peers

• Managing her emotions by responding rather than reacting

• Improving her communication and listening skills

• Making herself accessible to others

Through executive coaching, you can unlock the full potential of your organization’s leaders to thrive in their positions, be more effective and positively impact their teams and the organization. Contact Megan@wallscareercoaching.com to learn how we can work together to improve and develop your leaders.