Background

Jane, a white female, was a Division Controller for a $100 million public traded manufacturing business who was referred to me for Executive Coaching by their Human Resources Department. The presenting issue was her communication and presentation skills with the C level suite along with the need to develop her direct reports.

Identified Need

Jane worked with me over nine months to address the following objectives:

• Internal Focus:

  • Identify when to communicate details and when to provide big picture

  • Increase her confidence in thinking on her feet

  • Develop the managers that report to her

• External Focus:

  • Effectively present at Executive Board meetings

  • Successfully respond to questions presented to her

  • Coach her Managers to develop future benchstrength

Solution

• Completed the MBTI to identify her preferences on how she communicates

• Completed the Thinking Pattern Profile to clarify how she makes decisions and what were her identified strengths

• Focused on developing the skills used in coaching her managers

• Developed a Leadership Development Plan to commit to actions on her identified goals and be held accountable

Impact

• Jane recognized how her communication preferences were opposite to her manager, she focused on the details and he focused on big picture strategy, so began adjusting her style when communicating with him

• She began spending more time in preparing for the meetings with the Executives to assure she could answer their questions and focus on the Strategic direction of the organization

• She began coaching her managers so they in turn would coach their direct reports to assure succession

• She began developing her staff to take over the detail work so she could focus more on the overall strategy for the division