A "Real" Salesperson Danny sat in the back of the room and glowered. He was one of a team of 40 employees – 20 engineers and 20 salespeople – working for a tech company in "Emerging Markets". It was the late 2000’s and the BRICM cluster of … [Read more...]
Executive Coaching: A True Story Series
9 Ways to Tell If You Need Executive Coaching
If you ever said --- “I am surrounded by incompetence.” Worse yet – you catch yourself saying “I am surrounded by Incompetents.” You begin your work week Sunday afternoon at 5 with a barrage of e-mails to your team. You find yourself … [Read more...]
10 Things About Executive Coaches That May Be A Surprise
They Know Execs A good executive coach knows the executive’s “context”. They know their industry, their competitive landscape, their P&L challenges, their company’s strategic vision, marketplace barriers and opportunities. They Get You The … [Read more...]
Executive Coaching: A True Story Series
Part 2: Carolyn: The Believer
AKA “I Thought I Knew What to Expect”
High Achiever Being a VP of Data Analysis for an international insurance company thrilled Carolyn! At 32, she had 9 direct reports and 60 junior analysts under her. She she was the pride of her whole family. Carolyn was an actuary, one of the … [Read more...]
Executive Coaching: A True Story Series
Part 1: Allyn: The Non-Believer
AKA “Coaching Was Forced On Me”
Waste of Time Allyn was mad. His manager, the COO of a large bank, had asked HR to find an Executive Coach for him. Allyn did not think he needed one and thought the process was a complete waste of time that could be better spent focused on his … [Read more...]
If it’s Complicated, Manage…If it’s Complex, LEAD
One of the central principles of 20th Century Organizational Leadership was the ability of humans to manage highly complicated organizations. This was done by looking at the goal of the organization as an endpoint or an output and predicting all of … [Read more...]
Leadership, Courage & The Small “t” truth
In a prior posting my business partner, Debra Bowles, expressed the courage it took to speak her small “t” truth in front of her executive peers in response to a CEO’s inquiry. I am often struck by the use of the word courage in business today and … [Read more...]
The Power of the small “t” truth
I was raised to respect authority, almost to a fault, and my Dad spoke most of the Truth in our family. I was a senior executive in a large organization for 14 years and there was much Truth spoken with great belief and force. I am intentionally … [Read more...]