Mark initiated coaching with AJO at his HR business partner’s suggestion following a less than expected performance review and subsequent missed promotional opportunity. That was just about 2 years ago. He recently contacted his Executive Coach to advise that he was recently promoted to a role that was exactly what he hoped it would be.
While it is not possible to directly attribute coaching to outcomes like this, we share Mark’s story to show how turning a negative into a developmental opportunity can yield a positive outcome if you are willing to open yourself up and engage in new dialog.
Background to Executive Coaching:
Mark is incredibly smart, focused, responsive, hard-working and a knowledgeable leader in the corporate strategy function in which he works. Like many executives with whom we work, being smart and technically capable is what Daniel Goleman describes as “threshold requirements” for all aspiring leaders.
“IQ and technical skills are important, but emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership.”
“What Makes a Leader” Daniel Goleman, HBR 2004
Mark’s Journey – Executive Coaching Goals and Process
One of AJO’s Executive Coaches partnered with Mark for a six month period. Over the course of their time together, three developmental goals were the focus of the coaching engagement:
- Emotional & Social Intelligence– Strengthening skills in recognizing and understanding behavior and its impact on others; controlling impulses and suspending judgment, thinking before acting; increasing self-awareness, self-confidence and empathy; and strengthening self-assessment skills.
- Influencing and persuading– Building influence across the company in order to be seen as a business leader rather than just a strategy expert that advises internal partners on operational as well as strategy issues.
- Relationship Building– Developing successful relationships and networks; building rapport and trust at all organizational levels.
In common with many coaching plans, Mark’s program consisted of regular meetings with his Executive Coach, 360˚ feedback interviews with his partners, peers and boss as well as assigned readings and exercises.
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Coaching Outcomes
Coaching OutcomesMark worked hard on his development and the following were some of the agreed outcomes that resulted from the coaching engagement:
- Increased self-awareness from soliciting feedback and greater self-reflection.
- Leveraged impact and skills more broadly to lead and influence outcomes.
- Developed concrete approaches to relationship building using new knowledge, techniques and tools acquired through coaching and practice.
- Developed and articulated a career aspiration which was shared with key leaders in the business.
Proposed plan to implement post-coaching:
At the conclusion of his coaching engagement, Mark identified the following actions in conjunction with his Coach:
- Continued work on eliciting feedback in team meetings and other engagements to gain direct and open feedback (using feedback buddies).
- In conjunction with the organization, proactively identify key projects that support the business while allowing continued visibility/trajectory in the company.
- Identification of an informal mentor in the business to help coach and guide Mark outside of the strategy team to assist in being a trusted partner.
Mark’s Executive Coach very eloquently captured Goleman’s sentiment upon reflection of Mark’s journey:
“ I believe what you will see is the clear expression of a career aspiration-making it visible and partnering with others to find out what the learning leader is doing well and what they need to do better to get to their desired outcome. It's understanding the factors at play in your organization and understanding while “what you do” is important, however “how you do it” is even more important as you rise up the corporate ladder.”
“ I believe what you will see is the clear expression of a career aspiration-making it visible and partnering with others to find out what the learning leader is doing well and what they need to do better to get to their desired outcome. It's understanding the factors at play in your organization and understanding while “what you do” is important, however “how you do it” is even more important as you rise up the corporate ladder.”
Additional Reading & Study
Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: Learning How to Be More Aware. Mindtools shares its a definition, based on Goleman's work and offers some great ideas, tools and techniques for developing emotional intelligence
Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence. This is a free online, asynchronous course by Professor Richard Boyatis of Case Western is designed for professionals and executives. It consists of 9 classes, with 3 modules per class, to be taken over 8 weeks. Each module includes video, assigned & recommended readings, reflective exercises, writing in your Personal Journal, and on-line, asynchronous discussions. Follow this link to learn more and sign up. Part of the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) movement of premier courses taught by elite professors.
What Makes a Leader by Daniel Goleman, HBR, Jan 2004
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