Client is Chief Information Security Officer at a global technology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Promoted to a new broader leadership role he was finding that he no longer held technical expertise in all the areas he was responsible for and to achieve results now needed to influence up and across the company rather than just direct his teams. He was looking to scale his leadership to multiply his impact.

Coaching Approach

Over a nine-month engagement period we had sixteen coaching sessions, meeting over video conference approximately every fortnight.  Although having an information systems and business background, Client was a keen student of psychology and its application to becoming a better businessman and leader. We used adult development theory to help him take a broader perspective and support his transition from authoritative to collaborative leader through self-awareness, experimentation and reflection. We used the situational leadership model to help him identify when to direct, coach, support and delegate to his direct reports. I modeled and we practiced coaching skills such as active listening and asking open-ended questions. We also used positive psychology frameworks such as the 3Ps of optimism and a strengths assessment which provided further insights and a measure of outcomes.

Outcomes

Client significantly grew his perspective on leadership and his awareness of how he needs to operate differently as he develops his career. He became more self-authored as a leader taking a broader perspective on relationships and interactions while sharing more of his authentic self to inspire and motivate others. He learned to deal better with setbacks through optimism and positive reframing. He let go of having to solve every problem and can now see himself as an enabler of change through leading, inspiring and coaching others.

“I have established a clearer vision of who I am and how I ‘fit’ within the greater organization. Moreover, my theories on how to engage/better work with my peers and leaders outside of my own direct team were developed and refined. I have a good sense of my brand and how to apply situational leadership more effectively – at my staff, peer leadership, and senior leadership levels…within and outside of my immediate team.”

At the end of the engagement his biggest strength that emerged was self-compassion. He registered a 30% growth in empathy, 17% increase emotional regulation and 19% in growth mindset.

Coach Feedback

“Discussing the psychology of transition and loss and talking through the range of emotions that I am currently experiencing was very helpful. Richard is keenly good at being objective and helping clear then move my mindset towards the positive.”

“Correlating lessons learned and talking through practical application/ experimentation of those leanings with Richard is great. This is because the 3rd person perspective and active reflection helps me understand what works, what could be done differently and what could potentially happen with slight adjustments.”

“It’s always good to chat with Richard, his reflections and analysis of my thoughts are always insightful.”