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Thursday, June 27, 2002
Dear
Reader,
Announcing...a summer Series of articles about Executive and Corporate Coaching. Only in Today's Coach.
Executive and Corporate Coaching have been around in some capacity for about as long as there have been leaders. Every King had his advisors, as has every President. Today, these advisors are called Coaches!
Starting with our spotlight on Coach Nan O'Connor below,
this series will be based on real Coaching success stories, and will include interview snippets from both the feature coach as well as their clients. If you’re considering moving into the corporate arena, or are already coaching inside corporations, this series (which will run periodically through summer until September 2002) is for you! As always, feel free to pass your copy of Today's Coach along, so everyone can benefit...
Also in this issue is a reminder that the Business and Corporate Coaching
Conference being held in Toronto in September is open for early bird
registration until July 15, 2002.
Full details here. This event will sell out, so don't
delay...
My best to
you,
Andrea Lee
GM, CoachVille
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Why did Client Tresa Kenny, VP of Marketing Services at BioLab, select Nan as her Corporate Coach? Nan O’Connor speaks in a clear, relaxed style. She conveys the depth and confidence of someone who's seen a great deal of the business world. Her client, Tresa Kenny, VP of Marketing Services at BioLab, was drawn immediately to Nan’s ability to engage in provocative conversation with her, honing in on what was most important.
Tresa didn’t simply pick Nan out of a hat. She chose Nan because of her experience in business, particularly her knowledge of how to run a creative operation. While Nan was never part of a large company, her background working with and running small businesses taught her a lot about organizational dynamics, and how to manage a group through lean times. Tresa initially sought coaching because she'd been promoted, and inherited an opportunity to manage two departments which were in shambles. Because she was entirely new to managing a creative department, one of her new responsibilities, she knew she needed help. Enter Coach Nan O'Connor. Although Nan’s specialty is working with entrepreneurs, 50% of her practice consists of corporate clients. Nan comments that, “Downsizing has caused such pressure in the workplace; it can be a tough row to hoe. Executives have more on their plate than they know how to handle; and aren’t getting support from above or below. A coach can really help the executive leverage their innate ability and resources.” For these reasons, it seems that now more than ever, Corporate and Executive Coaching is in demand. At their first meeting, Tresa and Nan connected immediately at an intuitive level. Tresa was looking for someone to help figure out how she would turn her new departments around. To some extent, Tresa felt positive that Nan, as a business woman, understood her, and if only for that reason, the coaching would be beneficial. Only after Tresa completed Nan’s intake assessment and documents, though, did she realize how very connected everything was in her life, and how creating balance through coaching was really going to impact her success in business. And impact her it did. What they did, and the results they got. One of the challenges Tresa faced was working with people who’d been with the organization longer than 20 years. The culture was very anti-change. Nan helped her find more suitable positions for those veteran employees, or, helped Tresa move them on. As a result, the remaining employees are now excited about doing something new! Nan’s understanding of the business helped Tresa stay focused throughout the transition and reorganization of the department. With the help of Coach Nan, Tresa and BioLab successfully amalgamated 4 departments. With Nan championing her, Tresa feels she can now remain focused on what’s important to her. She also understands what causes her stress, and sees the real issue at hand, especially when something is in conflict within herself. Tresa has developed more tolerance and understanding of her own work style, and accepts that she requires downtime so she can energize herself. She says she communicates better, assesses problems faster; and appreciates the differences in other people more.
In fact, her team performance was quite noticeable. So much so that another department manager asked what she'd done. Soon enough, Nan become Corporate Coach for key people in this second department at BioLab. Apparently, this is quite common in Corporate and Executive Coaching; word of mouth referrals within a company can be effortlessly natural and fast, especially compared to personal coaching. Why coaching workedTresa was quick to confirm that Nan’s expertise and experience were important in their success. However, she also commented “Nan cares about me as a person, not just as a client.” “She’s got an ability to clearly and with care tell me when something isn’t right.” “Nan’s strength,” Tresa continues, “is to get to where the client IS, without being an intruder.” “Coaches who are most useful do have a varied experience and backgrounds,” says Nan. "But," she points out, "there are things you simply know little or nothing about." For example, another client of Nan's required an HR specialist. Within an hour, Nan had him connected to one of the best HR professionals in the business. And, timing can also important when building an executive coaching practice. An executive of a $3 billion company, with whom Nan eventually worked for almost 4 years, at first only said “I’m not ready for you yet.” Six months later, he called, knowing he was ready, and with Nan's coaching, successfully transitioned into the position of CEO. Coaching is great, but what would make it better?What a great question! And, actually, Tresa had some difficulty with it. Mostly this was because of the fact that there were no limitations to what she could discuss with Nan. And if the subject was beyond the scope of Nan’s expertise, Nan found the appropriate resource. “The only thing I can think to improve coaching,” Tresa said, “would be a broader understanding of coaching by the public.” People do get mentoring and coaching confused, and to Tresa there is a clear difference: with coaching, whatever it is that comes up, you can ask for. "Nan's fees have been well worth it."
Coaching is a powerful medium for change. Executive and Corporate coaching can be exciting and rewarding, as well as very challenging. Executives insist that you meet them as equals. Once the relationship is established, though, it isn’t uncommon for the relationship to last 4, 5 or more years. Nan O’Connor's secrets to success? Who she is, the inner work she’s done, and the breadth of experience she’s sought.
written by Sid Smith copyright CoachVille 2002 duplication permitted when attribution intact |
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How they think and operate,
and how they are different than most people
