What does the client get out of a coaching engagement?
A
client once said, “I’ve worked with other executive coaches, and most of them
try to help you focus on changing your behavior. Mario helps you focus on the
way you think, so you can change your own behavior. “
My
goal as a coach is to equip my clients with skills that will serve them long
after their engagement with me is over. I work to help them reshape the way
they see the world and their approach to it, enabling them to be more flexible
and responsive to their circumstances rather than stuck in the habitual
patterns that were very often the source of their early success but can become
roadblocks to future growth.
I
achieve this by blending challenging, thought-provoking questions with direct
tactical advice. It is an approached based on experience gleaned from 15 years
of coaching hundreds of leaders across the globe in organizations ranging from
small businesses with under a 100 employees to government agencies to Fortune
500 multinational corporations.
Who are good candidates for coaching?
First,
a good candidate must be willing to engage in the process and committed to
doing the work necessary to grow. They must also have the requisite technical skills
or intellectual capacity for the role they are in or for which they are being
prepared.
Once
these criteria are met, I find the coaching candidates fall into three broad
categories:
·
Remedial
clients. These are leaders who are struggling in their roles and
need help to “fix” behaviors that are threatening their current role. My role
here is to quickly identify the challenges and work with the client to create
and execute on specific action plans that will get the client back on track.
·
High-Potential Leaders. These are leaders who
have a track record of success and are being groomed for larger roles. I help
these clients identify and address issues of “scale”: the ability to take on larger, more complex challenges.
While every situation is unique, the focus of the engagement is often areas
such as leadership, developing employees, networking and organizational
politics, executive presence, and career management.
·
Senior
Leaders. Very often, senior leaders simply need an unbiased
sounding board and guide in honing their already formidable talents. Here, my
role is to serve as a trusted advisor in a safe and confidential environment.
What is the process?
Again,
every engagement is unique, but I do follow a basic process. The coaching
engagement starts with an in-depth interview that includes a personality-style
assessment, career history, and initial goal-setting exercise. This meeting
takes place in person and is generally about two and a half hours.
Next
comes a 360° assessment, which I
conduct as a series of verbal interviews with key co-workers and other critical
stakeholders. I find that verbal interviews—rather than a standardized online
questionnaire—give an excellent view into the client’s strengths and
developmental needs in the context of the organization’s needs. It also helps
to identify the two or three high-leverage changes that need to be focused on.
Step
three is another two and a half hour meeting with the client to conduct a
thorough review of the feedback, and I work with the client to establish
specific action plans in response to the feedback.
Rather
than leave the client to his or her own devices, I typically conduct four to
eight one-hour coaching sessions after the feedback review, usually about three
to four weeks apart. This ongoing coaching helps to reinforce the learning,
course-correct as necessary, and provide continued guidance as the client
begins to engage in new behaviors.
What are my areas of expertise?
While
I work with all types of clients, my area of expertise is in helping high-potential
and high-performing leaders looking for an edge in performance as they prepare
for larger roles. Over the years, I’ve seen clients rise from middle management
to senior leadership roles, and I know what it takes to make that transition.
Many of these same clients have also moved from regional to global roles and my
client base has expanded to leaders from many countries facing the challenges
of leading cross-cultural teams.
For more information or to get
started with a coaching engagement,
contact me today at
Mario@awarenesstoaction.com
215-825-2501
