Working Resources for Leadership - Bay Area Executive Coaching

Self-Management for Leaders: Take Charge of Your Own Career

Are you fully aware of your own leadership capability? Self-insight and awareness can be informed by taking validated leadership assessments such as the CPI 260. Coaching Report for Leaders.

Most of my leadership coaching engagements incorporate instrumented assessments. They can help you create a leadership development action plan enabling you to self-manage your career.

Have you taken the Myers Briggs MBTI, FIRO-B or CPI 260? You may find these assessments extremely helpful in guiding your leadership development.

How Ego is Detrimental in the Workplace: 10 Signs of Ego

Leaders who are in think they are always right can do a great deal of harm in the workplace. Everything thing a leader says is consciously or unconsciously picked up by followers.

I had an executive coaching meeting yesterday with a senior vice president. We talked quite a bit about his lack of confidence. The VP was constantly scanning the CEO's language for signs of approval. Silence was not a good sign. Worse was the possibility of a failure.The CEO rarely admitted making mistakes. Executives were highly unlikely to bring up what went wrong with an initiative.

Look in the mirror. What do you see?

Taming Your Ego: The High Cost of Ego

We all have the experience of working with someone who has a strong ego. Maybe it describes yourself. Leaders who have a need to be right all of the time can have a negative effect on employee morale and productivity.

I am currently coaching an executive team. One of the executives is very competitive and influential.
The team avoids conflict and members rarely confronts this leader. The result is a very dysfunctional leadership team that effects the workforce at all levels.

Unchecked egos can have a powerful negative influence on the workplace climate and retention.

Succession Planning and Leadership Development: The Role of Bosses

Bosses need to know the bench strength of the organization's future leaders at all levels. A fully engaged boss will be continually assessing the leadership capability of his/her people. 

As the executive coach of the managing partner of a law firm, we frequently discuss the firm's best and brightest talent. The managing partner is acutely aware of  the leadership development needs of his  high potential attorneys.

Are you actively assessing your leadership talent, and providing proper training and learning experiences to grow your high-potential leaders?

High Potential Leaders: Spotting the Right Leadership DNA

Growing leaders is the life blood of an organization. Successful organizations fill a pipeline full of the right potential leaders.

I provide leadership consulting to a number of organizations. I find that many don't have a competency-based succession management program.  Top leadership frequently assesses an incomplete
list of leadership competencies when determining future leaders.

How effective are you at spotting high potential future leaders?

Filling the Leadersip Pipeline: Recognizing and Developing Leadership Talent

Companies have to ensure that potential leadership talent — wherever it’s found — is spotted early and developed thoroughly. Executive coaching is an extremely effective one-on-one leadership development process.

Future leaders with high potential to succeed at the highest levels should be:

1. Allowed to spread their wings early
2. Encouraged to move in big leaps
3. Given a variety of challenges tailored to their particular strengths and developmental needs
4. Closely watched to see which talents prove reliable
5. Observed for limitations that may be emerging
6. Given ongoing feedback on every aspect of leadership
7. Given feedback on business and people issues by leaders with business savvy who are close to the everyday work environment

Executive coaching can help you assess, motivate and develop emotionally intelligent leaders.

The Apprenticeship Model of Leadership Development: Developing Leaders at All Levels

A lot of leadership development programs are not delivering promised results. Some of the wrong people are selected as leaders. High potential leaders are not given the right experiences or stretch assignments to develop leadership competency.

I work with a number of companies to help them assess future leaders. In our executive coaching programs, we co-create leadership development action plans based on requisite competencies to grow future leaders. Required experiences are built into each leaders development plan.

Is your company using an executive coach and leadership consultant to help select, assess and develop future leaders and fill your leadership pipeline?

CEO Successor Failures: The High Cost of CEO Turnover

You read about CEO failure everyday. Another CEO at a well know company doesn't work out. The results can be very damaging for a company.

I consult with companies in executive selection either from within the company or if necessary from the outside. I provide psychometric testing and an extensive structured interview based on competencies. Unfortunately, companies and Board of Directors often don't create a competency model for executive positions in their leadership pipeline  as part of the succession plan. They don't do their due diligence in the development or selection process.

Is your company finding the right successors for top jobs in the organization?

Respecting People at Work: Why Values Are Important to Organizations and to People

People want to be respected at work.  They want to know that their organization cares about them as people not just workers.

In my executive coaching work with clients, the word respect comes up a lot. Leaders need to earn the respect of the people they lead by aligning people and business practices with deeply held values.

Are you able to make the importance of values and how they drive business results real to people?

Values Into Action: How Values Drive Business Practices

Great leaders inform their decisions based on clearly articulated values. They teach employees to align their actions with organizational values especially in difficult times.

The most important initial work I do when coaching clients is provide an exercise for clarifying values.  Leaders find that an understanding of their values and that of the organization provides an inner compass for decision-making.

Are you clear about your values and those of your organization? Are the sets of values aligned?