Executive Development

Introduction

The Problem Scenarios

Our Approach

The Outputs

Introduction

In order for a company to be successful, its leaders and managers must perform at their highest ability for most of the time. Sometimes, though, they need help to do this.

 

All prominently successful people happily talk about their mentors, gurus or coaches - unfortunately in these pressured times the rest of us all seem to think we should make our way unassisted - the curse of independence.

 

This is both untrue and unwise: it's a rare person who does not benefit from the new perspectives, reinforcement and self-awareness that effective coaching can provide.

 

You may recognise some of your company executives' challenges in this list, though it is by no means exhaustive. If you would like to discuss your own unique situation with us, do contact us.

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The Problem Scenarios:

  1. A Line manager has an unusually high staff turnover because (staff complain) he is hyper-critical, does not listen and takes no interest in their well-being or career progression

  2. Some of the board members are discovering the meaning of 'it's lonely at the top', and need someone they can talk to confidentially and insightfully about their thoughts, ambitions and decisions.

  3. A sales executive is full of charm and persuasion, and you believe she has talent, but she is unreliable and hopelessly disorganised.

  4. There is some real talent in the organisation, and the board is looking for ways to keep them interested and loyal.

  5. A team-leader is unwilling to discipline unproductive or difficult staff, and is generally unassertive. Meetings descend into battles between factions that he seems powerless to control.

  6. The recently promoted 'star' is taking many days sick because he is stressed and unable yet to cope with the new role's responsibilities.

  7. Some of your managerment seem to view information as power, and operate on a need-to-know basis which directly blocks the creative flow you wanted for innovation

  8. The finance director explodes with anger whenever she is criticised - so no-one dares to try to persuade her to alter her methods which are causing problems for other departments.

  9. Your HR manager appears to have a hidden agenda which bears no relation to the company agenda. He seems to have lost all interest in the business.

  10. There are some radical changes in the pipeline, and senior staff need to know how to encourage their staff to be excited and positive about them.

  11. The sales director is a maverick, and it is becoming increasingly hard to cope with his independent decisions and behaviour.

  12. Staff cuts have led to fear, demotivation and increased absenteeism amongst the management team.

  13. An otherwise excellent manager is going through a family crisis, and is struggling to focus on her work.

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Our Approach

Freer Mind will provide a choice of coaches (everyone responds differently to a person, and no single coach will be right for everyone) who will make themselves available for sessions of 1-3 hours (depending on requirements), or for phone-coaching sessions of 30 minutes.

 

The coaching client's objectives for the sessions will be set at the initial meeting, and the number of sessions agreed upon. The coaching, although probably requested to satisfy company objectives, becomes a private matter between the coach and coaching client.

 

The coach will then take the client through a series of exercises and conversations, to clarify the current situation, the desired situation and the gap between them. NLP or other techniques may be used to resolve emotional blocks if appropriate; else a number of coaching and planning tools are available for working through the issues.

 

At the end of the series of sessions, the progress made will be assessed and discussed with the coaching client. If appropriate (and agreed), externally-observable changes may be discussed with both the coaching client and their manager.

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The Outputs

Freer Mind provides a coaching approach which:

  1. Gives the executive the opportunity (and reminder) to take time out to work on the business rather than in it. This is 'me-time', something that the executive invariably forgets to take - and which can be done in-house, with minimum downtime.

  2. Is a wholly confidential, non-judgmental, positive, relaxing (yet challenging) session with someone who is interested, accepting, highly intelligent and insightful. This extra-perspective for the executive and their situation allows them to make productive, confident decisions about their business, career and/or personal life.

  3. Provides an environment in which the executive may freely vent their feelings about situations or colleagues, knowing that it will cause no damage and can be either put behind them or converted into a plan of action.

  4. Allows key staff to feel valued and increases motivation, loyalty, communication and productivity.

  5. Provides a reinforcement zone for a newly promoted executive, a place to discuss their fears and experiences, to try out new ways of handling the new situations they are encountering and accelerate their personal development and progress.

  6. Gives senior staff the soft skills that are increasingly demanded in business but rarely provided in business training.

  7. Can be the start of a coaching culture in your organisation which will pay huge dividends in the longer term, in terms of staff retention, innovation and productivity.

  8. For senior women who may have few role models or informal mentors, and whose natural style may be at odds with the masculine culture, this can provide both a necessary support role and a training-ground for a more commanding style of management (if desired).

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For more information about how we could help your business succeed, contact us, or visit our Services page.

 

Executive coaching services are offered in Gloucestershire, Bristol (Avon) and London.