Accelerating Leadership Advancement for High Potential Women through Executive Coaching
If you are committed to creating value and aren't afraid of hard time, obstacles become utterly unimportant.
Candice Carpenter Olson
How high-potential women can embrace change on the road to executive leadership.
The client, a high-performing Vice President at a global healthcare company, was motivated to advance. She had visibility at the executive level, however she had not built a relationship with her immediate supervisor. Despite best intentions, a double standard in the industry persisted. A simple, flexible engagement, customized for her specific needs, provided the clarity, direction, and accountability she need to excel.
Challenges
Several key challenges emerged during the coaching engagement.
Competitive Pressure: The pressure to achieve individual performance goals and devote time to leadership development was great. Competition for promotions was intense. To be seen as a leader meant a shift in perspective, priorities, and skills.
Gender and Unconscious Bias: Challenges related to societal expectations and cultural norms complicated advancement opportunities. Subtle bias and miscommunications sometimes undermined her commitment to persevere.
Work-Like Imbalance: The strain of balancing a demanding career, family, and personal life led to periods of self-doubt about her ability to lead at the highest levels.
Strategy
The executive coaching engagement was structured to connect the bigger picture to personal and professional goals:
Vision and Values: Establish a foundation by clarifying wants, needs, and priorities. Assess personal brand, and collect feedback from senior leader, peers, reports and the broader community. Debrief in detail to expand awareness, encourage insights, encourage behavior change, and focus redirection.
Mission and Goals: Design a strategy for change and outline a plan. Commit to a written plan guided by a vision for the future with actions grounded in personal values, informed by feedback, structured with goals, and measured with metrics.
Action and Results: Devote energy to making changes taht promote progress. Try on new behaviors to extend current limits and challenge patterns that no longer work. Create and strengthen partnerships that reinforce growth. Track results with key stakeholders. Flex and adapt along the way.
Results
The strategy provided a roadmap for transformational results to occur within the client that translated into practical changes on the surface. Highlights include:
Executive Presence: Revisiting values, developing strengths, and showing the willingness to take new actions led to improved communication, decision-making, and increased influence with senior leaders.
Career Advancement: Delegating and developing others led to increased exposure and expanded development opportunities that positioned the client as a top candidate for key roles.
Work-Life Integration: Integrating a simple wellness routine into the daily schedule improved focus, vitality, balance, and resilience enabling the client to show up at her best despite increasing stressors.
Conclusion
At higher levels, competing for top roles becomes difficult. This engagement shows how a simple, flexible, personalized coaching program that meets clients where they are, supports them ain taking risks, and engages their associates in the process can accelerate their learning, positively impact their teams, and enable growth across their organization.
*Client name and some details are kept private to assure client confidentiality.
