Executive Coaching

“Executive coaching is now becoming a business strategy to enable leaders to drive value and to add to the bottom line of their firms.”  Washington Post, August 2012

Where I stand as a coach

• I operate from a place of integrity.
  • I walk the walk, and do my own work of growth and development. My clients are my best teachers.
  • If I can’t support the client’s goals, I will not coach.
  • If I see that the client needs a different set of skills, I will make a referral.
  • I tell the truth the way I see it, regardless of my client’s position in the organization.
• Value created through coaching needs to be greater than the money spent on coaching. It is important to have measurable goals and to track outcomes of the coaching engagement. For ROI, case studies and examples of the outcomes created by my clients click here.
• I see my clients as naturally creative resourceful, and whole. They have the answers; I have the tools to help them see the answers.
• I don’t provide subject matter expertise or solve problems. I facilitate growth, so that the clients could approach their situations from a new perspective.
• Coaching relationship is a partnership between two equals. The success of the coaching engagement depends on how much trust and openness there is in the relationship.
• My subject matter expertise is in cross-cultural communications. (www.jmkcontact.com) If the client needs it, we set up a separate time for me to share what I know.

My approach to executive coaching.

My clients bring a variety of issues to coaching, including career direction, work-life balance, job satisfaction, leadership development, balancing competing demands, finding the right mix between being an individual contributor and providing strategic vision, time management, productivity, individual and team performance, and many others.

Most often organizations hire coaches to improve performance and business outcomes. Here is my approach to helping clients perform to the best of their abilities.

Performance=Capability– Interference +Awareness + Environment + Integrity.

Capability

I partner with clients to optimize the fit between their talents, skills, interests, experience and the requirements of the job.

Interference

“We conclude that two-thirds of existing managers are insufferable and at least half will eventually be fired. Different studies estimate the cost of a failed executive to be from $1MM to $2.7MM” [source: R. Hogan, J. Hogan, R. Kaiser, Management Derailment chapter in American Psychological Association Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Washington, DC]

More often than we would like, leaders do not perform to the best of their abilities, or even worse – they fail. Stress, unhelpful attitudes, egos, lack of honest feedback, and emotional intelligence are among the top reasons. [same source as above] The skills and qualities that were an asset earlier in a career often turn into a liability once clients step into C-Suite roles.

There are eleven specific behaviors (derailers) executives exhibit under stress that can derail their careers.[ Source: David Dotlich and Peter C. Cairo, Why CEOs Fail: The 11 Behaviors That Can Derail Your Climb To The Top And How To Manage Them.] I use Hogan personality assessments (www.hoganassessments.com) to determine which of these behaviors present a risk for my clients. They learn to recognize these behaviors in themselves and others. Jointly we design strategies to manage stress and avoid derailment.

Through coaching we transform limiting beliefs and unhelpful attitudes.

Awareness

“When 75 members of the Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Advisory Council were asked to recommend most important capability for leaders to develop, their answer was nearly unanimous – self awareness.” Harvard Business Journal, 2007

The higher the person is in the organization, the less honest feedback they get, the more stressful their jobs become, and the more likely they are to fail.

Through assessments and coaching clients begin to see the effect their behavior has on others, and they learn to recognize and transform the thoughts and feelings that lead to unproductive behaviors.

Environment

The physical setup of the office and the culture of the organization play a huge role in someone’s performance – both negative and positive. When possible, I start my coaching engagements with a walk-through the client’s place of work. We are usually able to quickly identify small changes that make a significant impact on the client’s performance.

With the help of Hogan assessments we measure the clients’ key values and drivers, and assess how they align with values of the organization. Even well paid employees leave after a short period of time if their values clash with the culture of the organization.

Integrity

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, and become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams.

Operating from a place of integrity is a cornerstone of my coaching. For more of my thinking on that please click here. 

It is hard to be inspiring if you are not inspired. It’s hard to be inspired when you are rushed, stressed, and disconnected from what’s truly important to you. Through coaching I help clients improve their work-life balance, and connect the work they do with their own meaning, purpose and values. This creates the fuel, the energy, and passion people need in order to fully express their potential.

Often, as the result of our work together, people have a completely new outlook on their jobs, and show improved results.

Occasionally, my clients realize that they cannot stay true to who they are and continue working for their company. In other instances, they become clear about their strengths and weaknesses, their priorities, and decide to turn down a promotion. In the long run, this is better for the client, and the organization.

Benefits of Executive Coaching

There are many benefits of working with an executive coach both for the company and for the individual.

• By having a trusted, sophisticated and competent external confidant, executives are able to freely discuss what’s on their mind. Sometimes, the coach is the only person with whom an executive can be fully open and honest.
• Clients have an impartial, objective sounding board, where they can bounce things off without a worry that it could affect their careers or their relationships with colleagues.
• Working with an executive coach helps clients examine their frustrations and turn them into a positive approach towards their careers and relationships.
• Coaching helps bring meaning to their work and balance to their lives.
• Coaching enhances self-awareness, which makes executives more effective, authentic, and innovative leaders.
• Clients who engage in executive coaching report improved ability to “feel safe in their skins,” increased job satisfaction, energy, creativity and productivity at work, improved family and work relationships.
• By working with a coach executives are able to elevate their work and their personal lives to an entirely new level.
• Working with a coach helps enhance leadership skills by better understanding the needs and values of the teams.
• Executives working with a coach report improved communication, time management, prioritization, and delegation skills.