Leaders at all levels of organizations are being challenged to use themselves skillfully to direct, inspire, motivate and empower through emotional as well as cognitive intelligence. We believe that everyone in a leadership role can benefit by personalized coaching.

Personal development always begins with assessment. We use a combination of structured interview, observation and paper and pencil questionnaires to assist our clients in identifying their areas of strength and opportunities for improvement. 360 degree feedback tools enable managers to get useful data about how they are perceived by peers, superiors and subordinates.

Goals, priorities and action plans are created jointly; learning opportunities may be in the form of on-site training with other managers, one-on-one or group discussions based on recommended reading, process facilitation with real work groups or with other individuals, always followed by one-on-one debriefs.

The goals of coaching and development always involve the individual's vision of his or her own success and the contribution he or she is able to make to the organization as a whole.

Actual Coaching Example

Coaching may occur in the context of a larger effort, as it did in the example of a medium sized manufacturing company in which the President and CEO was the son of the company's founder. His father, who was an engineer by training, was a very warm, hands-on type of leader. Not only was the Executive having a difficult time comfortably filling his father's shoes; he was also frustrated in the inability to retain a strong person in the position of Marketing Director. The company was experiencing rapid growth and a changing marketplace, making the Marketing job critical.

As we worked with the executive group, it became clear to us that the CEO needed some help to become comfortable with his own style, rather than trying to imitate his father. We created the opportunity for him to get some helpful insights from others, helped him discover his own strengths (of which there were many) and assisted him in negotiating a more effective relationship with his current Marketing Director.

The organization, as well as the executive, clearly benefited from the changes that he was able to make as a result of having had a skillful "coaching" experience.