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A
vice president of a phone operations center received indirect
feedback that she lacked executive presence and that her ability to
communicate to peers and superiors about her goals and
accomplishments was inadequate.
Her coaching objective focused on developing her ability
to connect with individuals and groups in a more interactive and
confident manner. Her command of the facts was extensive; she lacked
the ability to read and act on the reactions of her audience in real
time. She also needed to develop the capacity to “plan for the
unplanned” in her platform presentations. The VP developed skills in
multiple conversational approaches, and how best to move more
fluidly from one to another. Feedback from both formal and informal
channels has noted a positive change in her communication demeanor,
and even in her body language. She is now more at ease in, and in
command of her position.
A
marketing and sales director lacked confidence in leading meetings
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a flaw she believed would undermine her ability to perform well in
her new job. Underlying issues were: her avoidance of asking
questions; her making (frequently erroneous) assumptions about
employees and office situations; and her sub-standard meeting
facilitation skills. The coaching objectives addressed her gaining
insight into her habitual responses, and how they prevented more
take-charge interactions. She also practiced numerous voice
projection exercises that enhanced her vocal presence. At the
conclusion of the assignment, the director was able to lead a cross
functional team with greatly increased credibility. She has recently
completed managing a successful national sales event for her
company.
A
director of a customer service center received feedback from his
supervisor that his listening skills were poor, his sense of urgency
was lacking, and his decision making skills needed improvement.
This was the first specific feedback he’d received on
these topics. The previous year, the director had been promoted to
manage an extremely large division of service reps, plus other
managerial assignments. The coaching objective was to enable the
director to “hear” his direct reports, so that he could better
understand and deal with feedback. He learned to distinguish between
his intentions and his choice of actions, greatly improving his
time-to-completion on discrete assignments. He learned how to better
disseminate information that clarified his decisions and directions
on long-term projects. The coaching engagement helped his to
diagnose the issues and create more workable solutions. The
director, in turn, has asked for and received far greater clarity on
the goals and expectations of his management, which has allowed his
to align his performance, and that of his team, more closely with
the company’s strategic goals.
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