Effective leaders are those not controlled by their egos and the need to look good; they are the ones most eager to embrace the truth and consequences of their actions and make adjustments accordingly.

In the service of building an environment of Strategic Commitment®, some leaders exhibit a natural ease and comfort with how to connect, empathize, inspire and motivate those around them to rally behind the vision, objectives and desired culture. With those executives, we support their efforts and help them transfer those skills to direct reports and others with whom they interact.

Other executives may struggle; they may feel less comfortable with the “new moves” the vision and desired culture demand of those in positions of leadership. They may not have natural skills that lend themselves to building a collaborative, ambitious mood with peers, business partners and others within the organization.

Our role is to provide support, guidance and coaching aimed at supporting these leaders in both the being and doing of what is needed in order to meet the organizational needs. This may include helping to script messages in a voice that feels natural to the executive. This may include pointing out blind spots which unintentionally send signals inconsistent with the organizational intent. One simple example: a general manager at a large manufacturing plant was viewed as dismissive and rude. “Bob doesn’t care about what we have to say.” Turns out Bob didn’t put his hearing aids in until after walking to his office through the plant every morning; he did not realize employees were calling out “good morning” because he did not hear them. One small change in routine went a long way to signal his real sentiment; he was actually very interested in what the line folks had to say.

When working with senior leadership teams, we coach some (or all) team members individually based on their and the CEO’s request. We work behind the scenes to improve communication and collaboration and to help leaders empower others, hold each other accountable and respond effectively to the inevitable breakdowns in trust and partnership that often occur when teams pursue significant challenges.