Director's Chair

Executive & Leadership Coaching

When you want to expand your leadership capacity, presence or impact, consider working with an executive coach.

Executive coaching provides a one-to-one confidential relationship between a highly qualified coach and the business executive. The purpose of the coaching engagement is to facilitate professional and personal development of the executive or valued employee.

The role of the coach is to help identify those areas that are strategic to the success of the executive, to offer feedback and encouragement.

The coaching relationship is a collaborative one. The individual and coach work together as thought partners, to create learning, integrate new behaviors and successfully achieve development goals. When appropriate, the coach will also offer advice and counsel.

Examples of Coaching Goals

Coaching will link emotional, relational and political intelligence with the business context. Coaching goals are quite varied and could include issues such as:

  • Adjusting rapidly to the performance demands of a new position
  • Developing a more resilient leadership style
  • Navigating political mine fields in a changing organizational structure
  • Working more effectively cross–culturally or cross–functionally
  • Developing strategic thinking, systems awareness
    and political intelligence
  • Work-life effectiveness
  • Expanding executive presence, personal power and influencing skills
  • Identifying and resolving inhibitors to success in the long run
  • Conflict resolution and difficult conversations
  • Conducting effective one-on-ones and managing accountability with direct reports

Here are some additional Examples of Executive Coaching with clients in very large organizations.

Stages of Coaching

The initial meetings are designed to establish an understanding of what is needed, to outline initial goals, create a plan for working together and to begin making changes.

As the client makes initial changes, more data is gathered, often in the form of interviews and assessments. This information often shows where further work is needed and sheds light on more complex issues.

As issues are reframed, action is taken and learning is consolidated, the coaching deepens. Plans are then made for anchoring and stabilizing the new changes.

The Leadership Challenge

“We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its coerciveness: it is always urgent, "here and now" without any possible postponement. Life is fired at us point-blank.”
--Jose Ortega Y Gasset

Leadership coaching equips us to respond creatively and constructively to the challenges that life sends our way. When we respond to the urgency of life with integrity and passion, something powerful is put into motion. We feel it. Others feel it and are inspired. This power is a gift and carries with it a responsibility to stay linked with the web of life. When we do this and are steadfast in serving the greater good, a great joy is liberated. This is the joy of leadership.

How Coaching Works

Barbara can come to your business, see you in her office, or work by phone or internet video. Coaching by phone is often very effective and convenient.

Coaching clients can reach Barbara between meetings for short phone calls and quick email support. 

Talk it Over

Call Barbara to discuss your situation and to see if coaching is a good choice for you at this time.


"Barbara helped me put all the pieces together so I could develop an effective strategy for my organization. It feels empowering and very positive to have tools I can apply to the remainder of my career, tools that are essential to my career. I wish I had these 10 years ago!

She gave me a strategy to analyze a specific goal, understand the situation and players, to prepare and approach the individuals and to close the deal. We walked through specific scenarios of what I was going through at the time. I prepared, then took action, then we debriefed after the fact.

She was very good at intertwining several objectives at once. Everything we worked on was immediately applicable. It all dovetailed into a skill set I needed to improve."

--Director, Supply Chain, Forbes International Top 100, Electronics Company

Click here to read the full case study of this person's work with Barbara.

Expand your Enlightened Edge with these resources!

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The Enlightened Edge Book


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