Success Stories

Together we reach your goals. We love helping successful leaders learn and grow. Here are some representative success stories about their results.

C-Suite Coaching for CEO of strategic business unit at “Big Four” firm.

Coaching Agenda: Newly appointed by his firm’s Board of Directors, this CEO was surprised at how much time and skill was required of him to address relationship and people issues with a direct impact on the overall success of the business. With 360° feedback and coaching, he received actionable data on his leadership style and opportunities for development and began a behavioral change process which earned the admiration of fellow partners as “most improved.” With further help from his coach he went on to resolve conflict and difficult people issues, like key partners who were not talking with each other.

Results: Client led his business unit to unprecedented organic growth through over 5 years at which time he identified the potential to purchase another $1 billion practice that was consummated soon thereafter. Client then leveraged leadership transition coaching to successfully onboard key people after this major acquisition with no significant drop in productivity.

Leadership Transition Coaching for Senior Vice President (SVP), Technology and Operations at Fortune 500 company.

Coaching Agenda: Facilitate two key leadership transitions in short succession, starting with onboarding the leader to his new company, then promotion upwards in the organization. Leader wanted 1:1 coaching to plan and execute effective transitions into these new roles. He also struggled with behavioral issues at this pivotal point in his career so asked for assistance to become a better leader.

Results: This SVP came to coaching with strong technical skills and the promise of high performance but a “bull in the china shop” reputation, then experienced employee relations issues as he onboarded from another organization. Over the first 6 months, coaching helped him boost his performance (e.g. drive results without coming across as the aforementioned “bull”), and become better able to lead change. Coaching also addressed his leadership style, as an introverted, detail-oriented person, who found it hard to show compassion. At the end of Phase 1 coaching, this leader and his executive sponsor reported progress on all points, as confirmed later by better scores on his Gallup Employee Engagement Survey.

Within a year the leader was tapped to head an even bigger operation, numbering almost 1000 employees and a mandate to drive major change, so he continued his coaching to enable a successful transition into a new position. As a result of facilitated new leader transition meetings with client’s new top team, plus continued coaching, he accelerated his second leadership transition, improved communications through a forum all employees and mastered more powerful, productive conversations. As a result he continued his career progression and was named Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Leadership Transition Coaching for Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at federal agency.

Coaching Agenda: Facilitate key leadership transition, as leader returned to her agency headquarters after an extended absence and other assignments to address looming human capital issues. Specific needs were to accelerate her leadership transition by helping this key leader to confirm her Appointment Charter, build working relationships promptly with her new manager and key stakeholders, and engage others about her agenda so she could lead change more effectively. A particular emphasis was coaching for more powerful, productive conversations, by employing live data from especially difficult or challenging interactions.

Results: The CHRO learned fast, as she took charge in a new position, starting with her first 90 days. After 6 months she reported greater skill and confidence in her new role, along with further leadership effectiveness, as confirmed by 360° feedback at the conclusion of her coaching engagement.

High-Potential Coaching for President of “ABC Funds” at Fortune 500 company.

Coaching Agenda: Round out the leadership skills of a rising star, so she could play at the next levels. This leader sought coaching to leverage her recent promotion to President and her clear potential for even bigger and better things as confirmed by senior managed. As such, this coaching engagement offered a wonderful “win-win” opportunity, by serving both the organization's need to groom talent and bench strength (the primary business reason for this coaching) and the client's felt need for more challenge and growth (her personal reason).

Results: After 9 months, this leader and her senior management cited significant progress on her coaching agenda with improved leadership effectiveness, by reinforcing certain targeted behaviors. Senior management also cited her leading a more effective team, starting with her direct reports, and better communication skills, so she could approach key meetings with more confidence and skill.

Leadership Effectiveness Coaching for Managing Director at Fortune 500 company

Coaching Agenda: Address derailing behaviors that jeopardized his performance and risked derailing his career.

Results: The Managing Director learned from feedback, replaced his problem behaviors with more effective listening and communication, resumed his rise on a fast track career and become widely recognized as a "world class listener.” Eighteen months later he was named to head the combined asset management function after a mega-merger, the largest then on Wall Street.

Assessment & Feedback Coaching for President, Nationally recognized educational non-profit

Coaching Agenda: Clarify career direction for mid-career transition to a new city so she could be closer to family. Jointly develop insights from assessment data, along with a life and career history for insights about:

What this leader wanted? Her core motives and key drivers affected every aspect of her life, were crucial to setting a clear career direction and making informed decisions about alternate organizations of interest and her culture fit, or Person-Organization fit.
How to get what she wanted? Career success depends on personality as well as education, experience, and technical skill. Thanks to assessment and coaching, this leader became more aware about her bright-side (or normal) personality characteristics, so was better able to assess job fit in different leadership roles of interest.
What could get in the way? Everyday strengths can become weaknesses, like the overly ambitious leader who turns into a cutthroat competitor. With assessment and coaching this leader more readily recognized her deeply ingrained dark-side personality traits that could degrade her leadership, distort judgment, damage relationships and derail career success.

Results: As a result, this leader asked for continued career coaching about the above and advice on evaluating alternate work opportunities, staying positive to ace her virtual job interviews and effective preboarding, from the time of offer letter acceptance to day one.