Max (not his real name) was my new client, a CEO of a mid-sized infrastructure service provider (industry changed for privacy). He had asked me to help him improve his leadership skills. I agreed because he had the ‘learner’s attitude’, despite his solid experience as a respected senior leader. He believed in continuous improvement and […]
Sharon (not her real name) had completed our three-day executive retreat and returned to her workplace determined to rejuvenate her people. Sharon is an engineer and the chief operating officer of an infrastructure service employing 120 people. Sharon’s motivation to attend the retreat was that her people were becoming disengaged, productivity was slipping and the […]
Ineffective leadership is the biggest reversible cost to a business. If the leadership is dysfunctional at the top, then it gravitates downwards, infecting leaders at other levels. However, dysfunction in leadership at any level will have a negative impact at all levels of the business. The costs come from loss of: - talent engagement productivity […]
George (name changed), the CEO of one of our clients, rang me and said “David, we’ve got a problem”. Turns out that two of five direct reports to George were proving to be the wrong fit. They were causing disengagement of talent in their teams and weren’t collaborating with the other three peers, an essential […]
John (name and identifying data changed) asked me to coach him. He’d recently been appointed as the CEO of his engineering firm, which provides turnkey process infrastructure. John is an engineer and for the last four years had been the senior engineer in charge of production output, reporting to the previous CEO. He asked me […]
A favourite tool of many consulting firms is the dreaded 360° feedback survey that gets routinely pushed out, often just ahead of the equally dreaded performance review. Leaders and managers are asked to get selected peers, direct reports and supervisors to answer them anonymously. The surveys usually contain between about fifty to well over a […]
I am privileged to have coached a number of female executives, all who have risen to more prominence and success as leaders. Females make great leaders, provided they can earn the trust and respect of their fellow male executives. If they can earn the trust and respect of their peers, then the rest will follow. […]
I am dismayed and frustrated at the prevalence of leadership cowardice and ignorance, and its resulting high cost. As an executive coach I find that most of the cases I undertake, whilst warranted, are exacerbated by a more senior leader failing to be clear, decisive and timely in bringing the critical issues to the attention […]
Senior and C-suite executives, directors and professionals of all callings are champions of their field. In other arenas there all champions have coaches. Yet in commerce only 32% of CEOs have coaches, although 100% said they would prefer to have some coaching, so says a Stanford University study. The main impediment is the misperception that […]
The closer you get to the top, the lonelier it gets. Tough decisions that no-one else wants to make are left to you. All mistakes, errors, and losses fall at your feet. And you give the glory of winning to your people. There are often no other people in the business with whom you can […]
