What you need to know about engaging with me has little to do with logistics (other than I recommend a venue other than your desk). How I work with you can be summed up in two statements.
If you can accept these statements, then you are committed to authentic feedback. This raw feedback is necessary to move your organization forward. And, it’s how you get the most from working with me.
I don’t come prepared to “fix” you or your organization. I don’t have a checklist to pencil-whip you into shape. I won’t judge what I hear.
I am an impartial third-party who will ask insightful questions to better understand how I can help you. Simply put, executive coaching is specific to you.
In individual coaching, I work with you in a quiet, non-distracting 1-1 setting. Some folks prefer to meet at their office, while others relish the opportunity to go off-site for a change of scenery. Your ability to feel comfortable, relaxed and removed from distractions (phone, email, etc.) is key to a successful outcome. The same holds true when I conduct videoconference sessions, with the exception that we’re unable to remove the technology that connects us.
Leaders are constantly faced with difficult decisions. Climbing through your personal decision tree without a companion isn’t only lonely, it sometimes means that you don’t recognize when the harder choice is the correct one.
I work closely with executives at all levels to enable them to make better decisions. Understanding that binary decisions are a trap and that difficult decisions become easier with outside perspective are key components of coaching with me.
The peer group meetings build upon your 1-1 work with me, taking it to a different level – the accountability of a group.
I’m a Chair for Vistage Worldwide. A large part of the Vistage experience involves better knowing yourself and seeing yourself through the eyes of other group members. I work diligently to ensure that group members experience this regularly and learn to demand authenticity from themselves and those around them.
Vistage will require you to dig deep, and because of that, it’s not for everyone. Vistage groups are ideal for those who desire to up their game, think and act at a higher strategic level, and further develop themselves and their leadership team.
Strategic planning involves obtaining unbiased, unfiltered, “real” feedback from your leadership team. It requires an outsider’s perspective to prompt new ways of thinking that help uncover biases and blind spots prevalent in every leadership team. A facilitator allows your team to bring a high level of energy to the planning process resulting in a superior final product.
A strategic planning engagement with me dives deep into the past, present and future of your organization. Where have you made the right moves and why? What opportunities did you miss? And how do both experiences inform not only where you currently find yourself, but where you want to go in the future?
Working with me enables your organization to not only ask the hard questions, but ensures that you’re also asking the right questions. Will Rogers said that “The future ain’t what it used to be and probably never was.” Strategic planning allows you to firmly visualize the near future and tailor concrete actions to bring that vision to life.
I’ve selected four of my own experiences to underscore our engagement, which set the stage for practical tips that you can use daily in your leadership journey.