Success Stories

Story 2 — Leading with Intention

Client Situation: “I’m a new manager…how do I best ‘manage’ my staff?”

Diane had recently been promoted to manager in the marketing department of a large pharmaceutical firm.  While she was very confident and successful in her former marketing position at the company, she recognized that becoming a manager required her to learn a new skill set.  Fortunately her company included executive coaching as part of Diane’s personal training budget, and she jumped at the opportunity to work with a coach. She had participated in a 360 assessment, and based on the feedback she received, Diane wanted to use coaching to develop and implement an action plan that would best support her growth as a manager.

The Process
Diane was like a sponge, ready to soak up as much information as possible about managing effectively. While her openness to learning was an asset, Diane believed that the answers to being a great manager rested outside of herself. Initially, Lisa and Diane looked at the 360 feedback, focusing exclusively on Diane’s strengths to boost her confidence as a manager. The process of working with Diane from a strengths perspective enabled her to calm down and realize that she had been promoted for good reason---she was already demonstrating many of the characteristics of a strong manager. The coaching then shifted to the gap --- identifying the growth areas that Diane needed to develop further to become more effective in her new position. The specific competencies that Lisa and Diane identified were conflict management, delegating and team-building. Together they developed an action plan that addressed these competencies.

The Outcome
Diane and Lisa worked together for almost a year. Diane’s experience as a coaching client taught her coaching skills that she used with her team. She developed solid relationships with her five direct reports, and she no longer viewed conflict as something to avoid. On her one year anniversary as a manager, Diane’s team acknowledged her with a plaque that read ‘Best Manager’.

Client Testimonial
Getting coached by Lisa has been great! Working with her has allowed me to see myself for who I really am. It's like having a true mirror that reflects all the great things and the areas that can help me be my best. By becoming more aware and seeing situations more clearly, I have been able to accomplish so many more goals, and I look forward to accelerating my growth into a higher gear!

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