Senior Executive Team Coaching

Senior executives and their teams have the highest impact on an organization, and often do not take the time to assess and address leadership issues. Effective soft skills distinguish a strong senior management team from one that has internal strife which spills out into the organization. In order to develop a corporate culture that is enthusiastic and motivated with a high level of trust, senior management must spend time aligning individual strengths and weaknesses with the overall team strategy.

Consider the following questions to evaluate soft skills development needs:

• Do differences in skills sets, communication styles and execution strategies reduce the executive team's effectiveness?
• Have you considered the impact of these limitations on the bottom line?

Executive team alignment restores a supportive team and organizational culture, top down.

This program includes:

• Individual 360 evaluations that assist the executive to identify belief systems, blind spots, and other obstacles. (To view a demo of our 360 checklist, go to the Corporate Wisdom home page, bottom right corner. When prompted for a password, it is the word demo, all lower case).
• A confidential feedback report adds valuable peer feedback and real time examples of strengths and development needs.
• Goals are set for each individual and are shared with the team. This creates interlocking accountability.
• Team coaching provides an opportunity to align soft skills performance to improve rapport, communication and teamwork.

The following steps allow our senior executive team coaching program to be effective, customized, time saving, and cutting edge:

1. Pre-Interviews
Through one-on-one confidential interviews with each person on the management team, we collect data from each individual regarding his or her perceptions of the team's needs, communication challenges, conflicts, and performance issues. We also ask for feedback regarding the strengths that each team member uniquely contributes. All information given to us is pulled together to create themes for individual and team development.

2. 360 Data Collecting and Leadership Development Profile Reports
All members of the management team fill out a Leadership Development Checklist (360), on themselves, and on the other members of the team. Self-evaluation allows us to compare self-perception to the perception of the other team members. Once we have received all of the evaluations, the scores are pooled together to create an overall average in each of the leadership categories. Low scores on the 360 profile become potential targets for goal setting. The scores that each individual receives are confidential.

3. Goal Setting and Action Plans
Feedback from the initial interviews, and from the 360 checklists, is evaluated together with each management team member to identify leadership development areas that require the greatest emphasis. Goals are co-authored by the individuals to create a customized course of action toward goal attainment. Initial steps (action items) are detailed for discussion with the entire management team. This creates a safe and flattened "playing field" as the management team works to become an integrated team of peak performers.

4. Professional Relationship Repair
Professional relationships that have conflict or communication breakdowns are additionally managed as goals that specifically target improved interactions.

5. Individual Coaching
Depending on the outcomes of the leadership development process, some individuals may need on-going support that is best done one-on-one and not in front of the entire team. Respect for each individual, confidentiality, and improved performance are key values that drive the overall program results.

6. Resistance
In any leadership program that focuses on soft skills leadership mastery, resistance is to be expected in the early stages of change. Belief systems and blind spots would not be affecting performance if they were not firmly embedded in the protective response that is a fundamental human reaction when there is a perceived threat. Resistance quickly reduces when positive results counter negative beliefs.

7. Team Integration Meeting – 4 Hours
The results of the data collecting, in the form of goals, are discussed openly at the team integration meeting, and become the foundation of the team leadership development process that is ongoing. Support, impact, and interlocking accountability are discussed in order to open communication and feedback channels across the team. Linking the individual goals to overall team goals, which take into account the vision and strategy of the organization, creates an integrated executive team program.  

This 4 Hour team development session includes:

• Goal sharing
• An articulated support strategy for each executive to attain his or her goals
• Individual goals are linked to team goals
• A communication code is established

8. Communication Code
Communication themes from the data collecting portion of the program are discussed so that the management team can define a "code of communication conduct." The team agrees on rules of interaction that keep the communication flowing in a positive direction. This also supports communication accountabilities.

9. Tracking and Follow-Up – Every 2 Months for 2 Hours
Regular follow up is necessary to keep all team members on track with their goals. We continue to push action items toward ever increasing difficulty, and goal attainment in the targeted areas. Team leadership development is an active process that continues to shift and change as the team evolves with improved leadership skills and relationships. The successful attainment of goals and a lasting cultural shift takes approximately 6 months to one year.

2 hour follow-up sessions include:

• Ever increasing intensity and focus on goals and actions
• A customized course of action based on the team goals
• Skill development as identified in the original interviews

Individual Coaching for Executives and Senior Managers

This program recognizes the high value and impact that individual executives have on their teams and the organization.   Optimizing interpersonal and leadership skill sets in a safe and confidential learning environment is a huge benefit.   Successful alignment (to purpose and values) and integration (of positive and negative interactive styles) are coached to support the executive to improve performance in targeted areas.

Individual 360 evaluations provide feedback that assists us to identify development needs.   (To view a demo of our 360 checklist , go to the Corporate Wisdom home page, bottom right corner.   When prompted for a password, it is the word demo, all lower case).

The individual's manager is asked to provide his or her goals for the leadership development program.   Verbal feedback from interviews with colleagues adds the real life examples necessary to understand the dynamics that are impeding or sabotaging optimal performance.

Coaching is utilized to build awareness of blind spots and belief systems, which are the root cause of development issues. Transforming these issues enables behavioral change to take place. The individual is encouraged to build rapport with others, where relationships have been broken or damaged by conflict. Advertising changes in behavior and openly discussing goals quickly allows perceptions to shift in the goal targeted areas.

The individual executive coaching program consists of the following:

• Rising stars who have had little management training
• Technical performers who have had little management training
• Senior executives that have high IQ, and brilliant technical skills, but lack the interpersonal rapport and emotional intelligence required to communicate effectively with colleagues and direct reports
• Executives that create conflict laden scenarios in the organization
• The individual executive coaching program consists of the following:
• A 360 evaluation (optional)
• A meeting with the participant's boss to determine 3-5 high priority coaching goals
• Interviews with 6-8 of the participant's colleagues and direct reports to obtain feedback about perceived strengths and development areas
• A leadership profile report from the interviews
• Participant alignment to goals and coaching priorities
• 10 coaching sessions
• A mid-point coaching review of progress with the participant's boss
• A final review of the coaching program with the participant's boss
• We utilize a simple six step process when coaching executives:
• Identify development areas and their impact on others
• Translate development areas into performance goals
• Initiate the coaching action plan
• Track progress towards goals
• Teach the participant to advertise improved performance to shift perceptions quickly
• Recognize and reward goal achievement

The coaching assessment portion of the program includes pre-interviews to identify the most important areas for development, a 360 evaluation, and then goal setting with the participant's boss to round out the feedback which is then provided confidentially to the executive or senior manager in the form of a leadership development profile .

Individual coaching sessions commence after the profile and feedback have been delivered to the coaching candidate, and an understanding of development needs has been established. These sessions are one to two hours each. The coach and candidate meet for ten sessions, weekly at first, and then twice a month for the duration of the four to six month leadership development program.

Cost effective coaching labs are available for small groups (6-10 participants) that desire customized skill building in a coaching context. (See description under "new courses.")

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