Who we specialize in working with:
We have a special affinity for working with engineers, technology and technical experts who are ready to upgrade their skills in managing and leading others.
Those in their first 5 years of managing a team
They are ready to learn how to be a people expert, because that is what their results are now measured by, not their personal technical expertise.
Those who are seasoned leaders and are ready to add to and refine their approach to leading
They understand that they need to continually evaluate their leading style so they don’t become the bottleneck to stellar performance in others.
Managers and executives in medium to larger companies who have headquarters or a large presence in Southern California
This does not preclude us from working with people in the company who may be situated in other parts of the country or the world. Technology – email, phone, and video conferencing – has made it easy for this to occur. We also work with entrepreneurial business owners who have staff, and are challenged by growing beyond their hands-on approach because they started the business.
Those in a wide range of industries
Even though the vernacular may be different by company and by industry, we have found that people are people, and leadership is leadership. We pick up your vernacular and learn your specific language nuances as we conduct interviews, assessments and ask questions out of our curiosity.
Those who are coachable, are respectful of the partnership approach we bring, and genuinely want to improve the way they go about achieving results
We recognize that we are each capable of much more if we are given the right tools and learning approach.
Typical focus areas we work on:
- How to develop team members to be self-generating and confidently take on more responsibility
- How to build trust in your team
- How to more persuasively influence superiors and peers
- How to reduce stress, friction and overwhelm
- How to implement better procedures, structure and accountability
- How to nurture and develop rising stars
- How to effectively deal with personality clashes that hurt team morale and productivity
- How to grow your leadership effectiveness
- Help in becoming better prepared for a different work assignment you’ll be taking on in the organization in the next 6-12 months
- You want to experience coaching so you can congruently integrate coaching skills in to your leadership style
Coaching is the core methodology that we use:
We work on assignment under agreed parameters to meet your development goals. We simultaneously work at three levels with our clients:
The Strategic/task, or “What“
What do you need to accomplish? What results are expected?
The Relationship, or “How”
How well do you interact with superiors, peers and direct reports? How competent are you at handling sensitive people issues, and challenging conversations?
The Self, or “Who”
Who are you in terms of your outlook, your values, your mindset and your attitude? Who are you in terms of your awareness and effectiveness working with strong emotions that are either expressed or just below the surface?
After many years of experience we know that having regular, confidential one-on-one coaching conversations over time is the most effective way for ideas to be experimented with, and become integrated as new habits.
We use a variety of methodologies to support coaching as the diagram below illustrates.
Leadership Coaching
“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”
~~Nelson Mandela~~
“Change and growth take place when a person has risked themselves and dares to become involved in experimenting with their own life.”
~~Herbert Otto~~
“There are two ways of meeting difficulties; you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them.”
~~Phyllis Bottome~~
“The gift you offer another person is just your being.”
~~Ram Dass~~
Leadership is about how you affect people.
As soon as you have responsibility for even one other person, you are automatically in a leadership position.
Leading requires a very different skillset and mindset than the technical skills you’ve acquired.
These pictures represent three different styles of leadership. Which one most closely represents how you see your leadership style?
Which picture do you think your direct reports would choose for you? Which would your peers, and superiors choose?
As we work together, you’ll explore which is the most useful leadership style, and under what circumstances.
“You may have been promoted because of your technical expertise, but your success now as a manager with leadership responsibilities is about how you positively influence others to get the job done.”