Coaching Diary: Female Executive in Transition

September 09, 2010 at 11:35 AM

The MD of one of our major client companies asked for our help. He wanted to promote Kathryn, a highly talented young executive, through the ranks to be IT Director of their European division. Kathryn had all the skills, all the knowledge and a good attitude and the CEO was convinced she could do the job. So what was the issue? Kathryn looked and acted 'young' and needed more credibility. The concern was that the high-performing European team would not respect her authority. Our first meeting with Kathryn established that the whirlwind promotion she had received over the previous two years and the expectations now being put on her left her feeling ambivalent. On the one hand she was honoured to be chosen for this job and knew she must have impressed the MD; on the other she felt she needed more confidence to lead a team of 'alpha males', as she described them. Our plan for Kathryn was two-fold:

1. One-to-One Coaching Programme

  • Over the six months before the hoped-for promotion we helped Kathryn:
  • increase her confidence by referencing all her great successes and abilities
  • establish her values and beliefs and her 'cultural fit' with the Company
  • get her voice heard at meetings by using a more credible voice tone, slower voice pattern and fewer 'girly' gestures
  • present herself more professionally (hairstyle and clothes)
  • use decisive language and posture with her reports

These simple changes had a highly positive result.

2. Assimilation Programme

Towards the end of her Coaching Programme, Kathryn received her promotion! We facilitated a team meeting between Kathryn, her new reports and the MD. Kathryn, in her newly credible persona, led the meeting. First, she created a slide show and presented herself and her achievements over the past two years to the European IT team. Then she asked questions of the team, such as:

how do you like to be managed and led?what are your strengths as a team?

what do you expect of me as your team leader- where do each of you require my support?

Based on the answers, Kathryn came up with her own requirements for the team, for example:

  • regular one-to-ones to report on progress and discuss issues
  • shared information among team members to enrich the IT process
  • her expectations around business targets, which were aggressive but fair

Two more such meetings were facilitated over the next 90 days. Kathryn grew in confidence with her new image and position and we have heard from the MD that she was expected to be promoted to the Board within two years.

Kathryn's testimonial

"I am sure I would not have made this transition without the support of my Coach. She had a light touch and made our sessions both fun and energising, but she also challenged me at every turn to believe in myself. It wasn't always easy, but I am so proud of myself for persevering. I now have much more confidence and I can tell I am respected by the European team."

Plus Partnership Coach: Edwina Biucchi

©2010 Plus Partnership Ltd



Tags: Coaching Female Executives
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Please add a comment

Posted by Christina on
There's a secert about your post. ICTYBTIHTKY
Posted by Shanna on
This is what we need - an insight to make eevroyne think
Posted by Andres on
Following the Christ, one called Jesus, I met in jail dunrig my own Damascus Road experience is easy to follow and to love.. the churches and traditions of man are not.My previous lifestyle was one of hating that thing people called God, or Christ. Total atheist and hater of all things religious. As a addicted person I couldn't even allow or make programs of recovery work for me because of my disdain and hate for the mere mention of the word God or Jesus. So AA and me had some issues that prevented me from getting sober. That is until the true Christ, the true living waters touched me and filled me while behind bars. Too much evil and negativity in this world to dare believe in such a thing, I thought.So I had to go out and learn about this thing called religion, the church, and the many denominations and sects out there that all proclaimed to have the Truth. It led me to burn-out and utter dismay. All wanted me to conform and twist my spiritual experience to suit their own agendas and denominational doctrines and teachings. So after years of this I just had to walk away from all of it and depend only on the love and instruction that the Christ I met one morning gave me. Which is simple yet difficult, a blessing and a sort of a curse to bear. But I had to learn the hard way.The bottom line is the lord set me free from my addictions I was a new man in Christ. Those living waters while flowing through me called me by name and told me I love you. He showed me my past like a total past life preview. I think I died because at one point I was not in a cell any longer but in a beautiful field being filled and shown many things. One major thing I was told I have to lean on today after all my struggles and searching in man's churches and their many demands and doctrines. The lord told me after I asked him.. Who do I follow, what church do I go to? He thundered Not to follow the traditions of man. None teach the true gospel. None can! None are righteous no not one. But to love one another and there should be no divisions. Tell them all that I am coming soon, that I love them and that there are many mansions in my fathers house. That is about it in a small nutshell. Now can you imagine the walls I hit facing off with the many doctrines and traditions of man? I had to unlearn quite a bit and still doing it. It still makes my bible readings and meditations difficult. It makes living in this world very hard especially when dealing with modern propaganda, evangelist (I have met many and new seemed to walk the talk or walk the walk off camera.) and social engineering that all have their own agendas. Telling us we are free when we are not. That we are fully and totally informed by the news and media and by the churches when we are not. That for some of us if we don't fit-in or our own messages or experience doesn't fit the typical mold or doctrinal expectations then there is something wrong with us and nothing wrong with the many demands so they can, in their eyes, ratify or justify our own revelations of God, or Christ. If we don't fit in to their molds, play sheep and follow, then we are the outcast, the fringe, or the heretics. Or any other choice of labeling and pigeon-holing that is used today.Thank you Pastor you make me think and to remember. I enjoy reading things that make me go back to the hour I first believed. It was so simple then, so pure, so divine and un-corrupted by the hands of mankind.Years back after training I just had to walk away from the mainstream ordination and just be me. Had to spend many years playing hermit too just to try to get my balance back and to un-learn many things. To learn many things that we are told NOT to learn or to read or to study about. I guess in ways I was in a previous life a non-conformist. Today must be going back to being the non-conformist and leaning totally on what I know to be nothing but pure fact and spiritual truth. At least for me.Thank you sir!
Posted by Andres on
Following the Christ, one called Jesus, I met in jail dunrig my own Damascus Road experience is easy to follow and to love.. the churches and traditions of man are not.My previous lifestyle was one of hating that thing people called God, or Christ. Total atheist and hater of all things religious. As a addicted person I couldn't even allow or make programs of recovery work for me because of my disdain and hate for the mere mention of the word God or Jesus. So AA and me had some issues that prevented me from getting sober. That is until the true Christ, the true living waters touched me and filled me while behind bars. Too much evil and negativity in this world to dare believe in such a thing, I thought.So I had to go out and learn about this thing called religion, the church, and the many denominations and sects out there that all proclaimed to have the Truth. It led me to burn-out and utter dismay. All wanted me to conform and twist my spiritual experience to suit their own agendas and denominational doctrines and teachings. So after years of this I just had to walk away from all of it and depend only on the love and instruction that the Christ I met one morning gave me. Which is simple yet difficult, a blessing and a sort of a curse to bear. But I had to learn the hard way.The bottom line is the lord set me free from my addictions I was a new man in Christ. Those living waters while flowing through me called me by name and told me I love you. He showed me my past like a total past life preview. I think I died because at one point I was not in a cell any longer but in a beautiful field being filled and shown many things. One major thing I was told I have to lean on today after all my struggles and searching in man's churches and their many demands and doctrines. The lord told me after I asked him.. Who do I follow, what church do I go to? He thundered Not to follow the traditions of man. None teach the true gospel. None can! None are righteous no not one. But to love one another and there should be no divisions. Tell them all that I am coming soon, that I love them and that there are many mansions in my fathers house. That is about it in a small nutshell. Now can you imagine the walls I hit facing off with the many doctrines and traditions of man? I had to unlearn quite a bit and still doing it. It still makes my bible readings and meditations difficult. It makes living in this world very hard especially when dealing with modern propaganda, evangelist (I have met many and new seemed to walk the talk or walk the walk off camera.) and social engineering that all have their own agendas. Telling us we are free when we are not. That we are fully and totally informed by the news and media and by the churches when we are not. That for some of us if we don't fit-in or our own messages or experience doesn't fit the typical mold or doctrinal expectations then there is something wrong with us and nothing wrong with the many demands so they can, in their eyes, ratify or justify our own revelations of God, or Christ. If we don't fit in to their molds, play sheep and follow, then we are the outcast, the fringe, or the heretics. Or any other choice of labeling and pigeon-holing that is used today.Thank you Pastor you make me think and to remember. I enjoy reading things that make me go back to the hour I first believed. It was so simple then, so pure, so divine and un-corrupted by the hands of mankind.Years back after training I just had to walk away from the mainstream ordination and just be me. Had to spend many years playing hermit too just to try to get my balance back and to un-learn many things. To learn many things that we are told NOT to learn or to read or to study about. I guess in ways I was in a previous life a non-conformist. Today must be going back to being the non-conformist and leaning totally on what I know to be nothing but pure fact and spiritual truth. At least for me.Thank you sir!
Posted by Andres on
Following the Christ, one called Jesus, I met in jail dunrig my own Damascus Road experience is easy to follow and to love.. the churches and traditions of man are not.My previous lifestyle was one of hating that thing people called God, or Christ. Total atheist and hater of all things religious. As a addicted person I couldn't even allow or make programs of recovery work for me because of my disdain and hate for the mere mention of the word God or Jesus. So AA and me had some issues that prevented me from getting sober. That is until the true Christ, the true living waters touched me and filled me while behind bars. Too much evil and negativity in this world to dare believe in such a thing, I thought.So I had to go out and learn about this thing called religion, the church, and the many denominations and sects out there that all proclaimed to have the Truth. It led me to burn-out and utter dismay. All wanted me to conform and twist my spiritual experience to suit their own agendas and denominational doctrines and teachings. So after years of this I just had to walk away from all of it and depend only on the love and instruction that the Christ I met one morning gave me. Which is simple yet difficult, a blessing and a sort of a curse to bear. But I had to learn the hard way.The bottom line is the lord set me free from my addictions I was a new man in Christ. Those living waters while flowing through me called me by name and told me I love you. He showed me my past like a total past life preview. I think I died because at one point I was not in a cell any longer but in a beautiful field being filled and shown many things. One major thing I was told I have to lean on today after all my struggles and searching in man's churches and their many demands and doctrines. The lord told me after I asked him.. Who do I follow, what church do I go to? He thundered Not to follow the traditions of man. None teach the true gospel. None can! None are righteous no not one. But to love one another and there should be no divisions. Tell them all that I am coming soon, that I love them and that there are many mansions in my fathers house. That is about it in a small nutshell. Now can you imagine the walls I hit facing off with the many doctrines and traditions of man? I had to unlearn quite a bit and still doing it. It still makes my bible readings and meditations difficult. It makes living in this world very hard especially when dealing with modern propaganda, evangelist (I have met many and new seemed to walk the talk or walk the walk off camera.) and social engineering that all have their own agendas. Telling us we are free when we are not. That we are fully and totally informed by the news and media and by the churches when we are not. That for some of us if we don't fit-in or our own messages or experience doesn't fit the typical mold or doctrinal expectations then there is something wrong with us and nothing wrong with the many demands so they can, in their eyes, ratify or justify our own revelations of God, or Christ. If we don't fit in to their molds, play sheep and follow, then we are the outcast, the fringe, or the heretics. Or any other choice of labeling and pigeon-holing that is used today.Thank you Pastor you make me think and to remember. I enjoy reading things that make me go back to the hour I first believed. It was so simple then, so pure, so divine and un-corrupted by the hands of mankind.Years back after training I just had to walk away from the mainstream ordination and just be me. Had to spend many years playing hermit too just to try to get my balance back and to un-learn many things. To learn many things that we are told NOT to learn or to read or to study about. I guess in ways I was in a previous life a non-conformist. Today must be going back to being the non-conformist and leaning totally on what I know to be nothing but pure fact and spiritual truth. At least for me.Thank you sir!
Posted by Dash on
You have the monopoly on useful infr'mation-aoenrt monopolies illegal? ;)
Posted by Dash on
You have the monopoly on useful infr'mation-aoenrt monopolies illegal? ;)
Posted by Dash on
You have the monopoly on useful infr'mation-aoenrt monopolies illegal? ;)
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