Individual Coaching

Executives learn over time, through formal training and experience, what they should do in any given situation to be effective as a leader and manager.  They have read the books, taken the courses and observed what works as well as what doesn’t work.  The problem is …. too often they don’t apply what they know or don't do what they have been trained to do! Typical rationalizations include:

• Too busy – urgent things take precedence over the important.
• It’s not my style and I’m just not comfortable doing it that way.
• You have to pick your battles – this issue is not a big deal and I don’t need to make a big deal about it.  People will think I am over reacting.
• I don’t know how the other person will react if I raise this issue and I am unwilling to risk confrontation (or hurt their feelings) over it.
• I prefer to leave people alone to do their job, after all they are qualified professionals and don’t need me micromanaging them.

People do things, or fail to do things, for a reason.  It’s not random or mysterious, if you have the time and courage to examine it.  Both our effective and ineffective behaviours can be traced back to life experiences and the learning that occurred from those experiences.  Behaviour that is repeated and becomes integrated into our personal “way of doing things” involves some sort of “payoff” for the individual …. usually at an emotional level.  The payoff can be something positive, such as the feeling of satisfaction for a job well done, or it can be something negative, such as avoiding discomfort. 

The goal of our individual coaching program is to improve an executive's leadership effectiveness by facilitating personal self-awareness and guidingthem through a process of using that information to make different choices about how they interact with others.  The program involves:

• Identifying and clarifying the personal issues and challenges faced by the individual in their leadership role.  This involves inviting feedback from a person’s boss, peers, subordinates and external stakeholders on how they are perceived by others and how their behaviour impacts on their relationships.  Selected psychometric assessment instruments, administered by a qualified professional, may be offered where appropriate.
• Examining the underlying experiential and emotional foundations for the ineffective behaviours and identifying the payoff for engaging in those behaviours.
• Developing action plans for personal change and growth, based on the information and insights gained.
• Creating an accountability framework and process to reinforce the desired changes.
• Providing on-going coaching and support, within the accountability framework, through both situational dialogue and regularly scheduled feedback meetings over a period of several months.