I had 3 phone calls with a client over 6 months after an initial face-to-face session. She was a senior manager in a multi-national organization with a new boss and lack of job clarity and position power due to continual organization redesigns.
She came to coaching to get support for a change project she was leading, with no defined project team, over and above her usual responsibilities.
Over the course of the 6 months, with email support in-between calls, we worked on:
- Clearly defining what success looked like for the change project and herself
- Saying yes to her priorities, and no to those of other people
- Communicating upwards to set expectations and ask for what she needs/wants
- Identifying her network and establishing means and frequency of communication to broaden her influence
- Seeking out a mentor for on-going support
- Increasing confidence in her abilities, skills and impact
The result has been transformational – based on her feedback and that of the management committee. She said “in my 20+ year career this has had the most profound effect on my thinking, attitude, behaviours and understanding in ways I could not believe.” Her two-up boss (the CEO) said her end-of-year bonus and performance appraisal will reflect this and the management committee’s assessment of her significantly improved performance (I’m still waiting to hear how good the news actually is!!). In his words “there has been a complete turnaround, a total transformation in the last year for the better.”
I’m so lucky to do the job that I do with such open, curious and engaged clients!
What would be transformative for you to work on professionally or personally?
