Our Coaching Services
Most of us have behaviors we need to stop doing and others we need to start doing to make our lives more fulfilling and bring us the success we envision. Our coaching clients typically come to us with goals to strengthen performance in their current role, sometimes with the possibility of serving their organization in a larger role. These stories will give you an idea of the high achievers we coach and allow you to learn how a few coaching scenarios have played out. You will discover that while the presenting problem often focuses on interpersonal relationships, we often work with a larger vision to bring more value to the organization.
Situation #1
I coached a former aviator in the military who was an exceptional revenue producer. He brought a new technical area into the company and quickly grew his staff to 48 people. His staff loved working for him, and the multi million dollar contracts he brought in were more than enough to build a strong business case for his promotion. >>Learn More
The Challenge: There were issues around how he related to executives who were senior to him. When I interviewed leaders who played key roles in determining whether his promotion would be granted, I learned that they saw him as "mysterious", "intense", and "unwilling to share his ideas". His executive presence also suffered. He was perceived as giving complex technical explanations that kept others on the "outside" instead of making information "simple to digest". Collaboration among business units was a core value in the organization's culture, so his reputation as "territorial" was a huge negative that worked against him.
The Work: We contracted to work on his executive presence and communication skills while strengthening his relationships with senior executives. His anger at "being able to work circles around others as a revenue producer" and his belief that they were being "nit-picky" was replaced with self-awareness about how other's perceptions were a valid reason for their refusal to "let him join their ranks". I moved him into action by designing exercises to foster interpersonal awareness and build familiarity that he committed to practice between sessions. I also asked him to use his "next important" meeting, discussion, or situation where he wanted to "show up differently" so he had a real life situation to explore and tackle. Specifically, he would focus on:
- strengthening relationships and improving his executive presence so others could see him as a trusted business partner,
- managing conversations with others to ensure he communicated in ways they could relate to,
- where to concentrate his attention in order to stay centered, read people, and adjust his behavior accordingly, and
- initiating productive conversations with senior executives during networking opportunities and "on the fly".
Outcomes to Date: Once the new behaviors were implemented, my client was invited to attend weekly meetings designed only for executives the next level up, a huge signal that his promotion is imminent. His work has been cited in industry journals, and he is being sought out by senior leaders who want to partner with him on client engagements he brought to the company. I expect to hear any day that his promotion has been announced.
What the client has to say: "A senior executive recently told me, "It isn't a matter of if you'll be promoted, but a matter of when." It is with confidence that I recommend Judy to anyone who is looking for a coach."
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Situation #2
I worked with a client I'll call Mary to increase her leadership presence with her boss and other senior executives. Historically, her boss displayed a "larger than life" presence in interactions with people at all levels. Mary was extremely capable, brilliant, and clients loved her! >>Learn More
The Challenge: Because Mary had not formed personal relationships with her direct reports, interaction between them tended to be strained at best. Mary also had a history of becoming so intimidated by her boss that she had been unnecessarily reduced to tears on several occasions. Her boss saw her as "high maintenance" and asked her to get a coach to help build her ability to interact comfortably with her staff and powerful leaders in the organization.
I noticed Mary was holding her body so stiff that she looked like she was bracing for an attack that might destroy her. Her jaw was extremely tight, her mouth frozen in a stiff smile, and she held on to the arms of her chair as if the chair was the only thing that could save her. The body holds an intelligence that affects one's mind and emotions. So once a client's body becomes comfortable with new behaviors, the mind and emotions easily follow.
The Work: At first our sessions centered on how Mary could build on the strengths she brought forth in her client relationships. As we worked on how she could comfortably interact with others in her company, however, I noticed Mary was holding her body so stiff that she looked like she was bracing for an attack that might destroy her. Her jaw was extremely tight, her mouth frozen in a stiff smile, and she held on tightly to the arms of her chair in a braced position.
The body holds an intelligence that affects one's mind and emotions. So once a client's body becomes comfortable with new behaviors, the mind and emotions easily follow. What seemed to help Mary most was a physical exercise adapted from the martial art, Akido, the art of blending with others. It was important for Mary to experience losing and regaining control in conversations with others. The general concept behind the exercise was that each of us would try to maintain "symbolic control" of a conversation, similar to how two people take turns talking to each other in a business setting. Both of us would move with determination, confidence, and stamina as we pushed for control. I moved Mary forcefully around the room to mimic what her boss did. She was to take control and do the same to me to demonstrate her role in shifting conversational control.
Outcomes to Date: Mary's participation in conversations with senior executives and direct reports began to change quickly after we worked on sharing control. Eventually, Mary became comfortable giving presentations to groups of senior executives in the company. Our coaching engagement was extended to prepare her for getting off to a quick start after a promotion to a senior position.
What the client has to say: "Judy is an objective, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, caring, thoughtful professional who genuinely takes an interest in those she coaches. She provides her clients with the appropriate tools necessary to achieve success. Her positive attitude and enthusiasm are inspiring, and her desire to see her clients learn and grow are equally motivating."
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Situation #3
I coached a former high-ranking officer in the Air Force, who was highly respected for his technical expertise and consistent ability to do exceptional work for his clients. Senior leaders considered him "one of them", and he was often asked to carry out high visibility responsibilities for his boss. >>Learn More
The Challenge: My client had a very high turnover rate with the people on his team. He was ready for a senior-level promotion, but until he developed a strong team who was committed to him as a leader the promotion would remain in limbo. Staff saw him as a wonderful person who cared about their welfare, but complained that he "ordered them around" and "didn't let them think for themselves". They reported that he "held the floor" in meetings and rarely allowed them to talk.
The Work: I found my client to be an extremely likable guy who cared a lot about the people in his life, including his staff. Our initial work focused on raising his awareness about how his "command and control" leadership style created resentment and resistance among colleagues.
He learned to build on his strengths by using "powerful questions" to shift his attention from "telling others what to do", to drawing out ideas that would engage others in solutions. In the process of coming up with ideas and suggestions, he engaged his staff's intelligence to figure things out for themselves and create ownership and commitment to the outcome. Because his team "owned" the outcome, resistance dissolved and motivation increased.
Outcomes to Date: Staff began to like working for my client as mutual trust and appreciation grew. At the same time, my client was free to do higher-level work that prepared him for moving to the next level. The best evidence of his improvement is that his turnover problem became nonexistent, and the company is now working on his promotion package.
What the client had to say: "Judy has this great combination of skills demonstrated by listening, connecting with you, identifying quickly the real issues and change needed, and then holding your feet to the fire to help you succeed."
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People are often curious about whether I've worked with people who aren't getting along or who have conflict in their relationships. Here's an example of a situation where that was the case.
Situation #4
The Challenge: A vice president of a large company had an extremely challenging situation between two department heads. The relationship between the Director of Information Technology and the Director of Business Liaison was critical to delivering services to clients. Almost a year before I was called in, a "high-stakes" argument involving the two department heads caused them to bang their fists on the conference room table, both demanding the problem to be solved "their way", and stomped out of the room. The two had barely spoken to each other since that day. Word about the explosive event spread quickly and gossip prevailed as employees observed the two avoiding eye contact in meetings. Customer service also suffered. >>Learn More
Both were star performers in every way, and the company didn't want to lose either one of them. One director had been with the company for 26 years, and the other had done an outstanding job turning the IT department around after attempts by others had failed. My challenge was to re-establish a trusting, supportive relationship that had been broken for almost a year.
The Work: I met with them individually at first. With a few months of intense work, both directors understood that each was "pointing fingers" trying to hold the other to a different standard than they required of themselves. Before I could begin facilitating conversations between them they had to learn how to have conversations about their wants and needs in their roles as department heads.
The Outcome: The directors realized they had to work collaboratively with each other, not only for the good of the company but also to re-establish the mutual respect and friendship they both wanted. They learned to have different conversations about what they needed from each other and how to negotiate and compromise. This allowed them to maintain their connection and support each other.
What the client had to say: "We had an extremely difficult situation that was only getting worse—not better. Judy was able to turn it around in a relatively short period of time so the company could resume its success and avoid the tarnished reputation that was threatening us. Her approach was sensitive, yet professional, and we are extremely grateful to her for turning this around." –N.O., Vice President
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