Tag | coaching
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Q&A With Executive Coach Nancy Wallis
The distinguished academic and hands-on mentor shares the secrets to great coaching
Dr. Wallis has designed leadership development and organizational theory courses for several business schools and has supervised doctoral dissertations contributing to the leadership literature. She is currently a professor at Pitzer College, Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management, and Danube University.
BRAINARD STRATEGY: First of all, how do you define coaching?
DR. NANCY C. WALLIS: Leadership coaching includes fostering a trusting relationship between two professionals that allows for deep dialogue around important facets of leadership. It is the co-creation of a learning space, which can support exploring shadow areas, as-yet unexplored perspectives, and growth opportunities to support leadership transformation. In a nutshell, leadership coaching is working with another executive to discover new methods to be one’s best in ways that allow others’ to be their best.
BRAINARD: What makes a coach successful?
DR. WALLIS: coach is successful when the leader she is coaching gains increased self-awareness, develops increased capacity to understand complex situations, and act effectively in them. Success inspires a continuing leadership learning process, such that future transformation is likely. We discuss that the most effective leaders develop the discipline of continuous learning, practicing and remaining dedicated to one’s own leadership development, no matter one’s role or circumstances.
BRAINARD: What is your personal coaching style?
DR. WALLIS: It is important to build a trusting relationship early in the coaching process which is, in effect, a holding environment that we co-create. This allows for an individually tailored combination of supports, challenges and stability necessary for the exploration of assessment data in combination with personal history and experiences such that deep learning and growth can occur.
BRAINARD: What sets Brainard coaches apart from others?
DR. WALLIS: It is important to build a trusting relationship early in the coaching process, which is, in effect, a holding environment that we co-create. I strive for an individually tailored combination of supports, challenges, and stability necessary for the exploration of assessment data. Deep learning and growth are tied to personal history, experiences, and new knowledge.
DR. WALLIS: I enjoy building engaging relationships in which clients can expand their leadership capacity and competence in ways that uniquely address their personal and professional contexts. I particularly enjoy coaching engagements with leaders who have a deep learning orientation and are seeking to expand their repertoire of meaning making and action taking to reflect more complex ways of understanding their organization and current global influences.
Modern Analytics
James Wheeler
COO, Modern Analytics
Jennifer’s coaching skills help me create my own solution to challenging business situations. She understands the complexities in networked business environments, and balances active listening with powerful questioning approaches to help me uncover my own solutions. After working with her on a challenge I find that I have thought through the problem from multiple perspectives and created concrete action steps that move me towards my objectives.
Chicken of the Sea
Shue Wing Chan
Chief Executive Officer
Chicken of the Sea
Michael’s coaching helped me see how to further my impact as a CEO throughout the organization. Michael is clearly knowledgeable about how to run complex business operations and how to strategically leverage value within them. This combined with Michael’s emphasis on leadership self-reflection and understanding from others’ perspectives, I have learned how to drive greater shareholder value.
Beckman Coulter
Bob Hurley
Chairman
Beckman Coulter
We engaged Brainard Strategy to work with us on both a strategic and tactical project around Performance Management at Beckman Coulter. We invited Brainard Strategy to help us to re-examine all aspects of our performance management strategy and approach and then to design a highly impactful training process for both managers and employees to ensure understanding of the Performance Management process and their role in the execution of that process. We then partnered with our HRBP’s in a transfer of knowledge, train the trainer sessions globally, to enable them to educate and train managers in the changes in the new process.
We choose Brainard Strategy based upon their team’s expertise and experience in building Performance Management initiatives in a variety of industries, to include healthcare, biotech, and medical devices. We found the team at Brainard Strategy to be experts in performance management, and were able to customize the materials in a way that aligned with our culture and expected outcomes. Michael’s facilitation skills were very valuable in delivering the learning sessions. Jennifer Konkin’s abilities in instructional design were also very critical to the successful outcomes we experienced. We will continue to leverage Brainard Strategy to help us grow well into the future specifically building on the experience in matters of leadership development, coaching and strategy execution.
Beckman Coulter
Bob Hurley
Chairman
Beckman Coulter
“At Beckman Coulter we have a great deal of experience with mergers and acquisitions. In 2009 we acquired a large Japanese Diagnostics business. This business had autonomous executive management in Europe, Japan, and North America. As the executive responsible for the integration, I had and have a great sense of urgency for Beckman Coulter to realize the value targets. This more than half of a billion dollar transaction is incredibly complex due to its size, international components, regulatory and competitive environment, and the senior management implications.
I thought that Michael Brainard may be of assistance based upon his unique background and prior successes working with senior teams. Michael has completed transactions as an internal executive, and his process orientation as a consultant offers a unique combination that is valuable in integration work. We originally invited Michael to assess the combined businesses product portfolio. As a part of this process Michael facilitated a series of meetings to develop an integrated product strategy and to develop a first pass rationalization of the combined R&D budgets. As you can imagine there were executives wed to their products and products in development. Our outcomes were fantastic in that the newly combined team made objective decisions that would not have been possible without Michael’s skills. Michael then began to work with the new management team on their overall Mission, Vision, and Strategy. This team is now partnering with Michael as an on-going strategic consulting partner to assist them with the many integration activities. I have also asked Michael to “do what he does” for our Japanese executive team and then to work with that team as they interface with other management teams around the world.
Michael’s background as a psychologist and as a business development executive who completed transactions is invaluable. His facilitation capabilities, as well as interpersonal skills and pragmatism helped our team and company to gain value that may not have been gained without him. Michael is a friend, and someone whom I trust implicitly as a strategic consultant. Please don’t write a book, Michael. We can’t have you go on the road and be unavailable to our business.”
Bob Hurley
Chairman
Beckman Coulter
We engaged Brainard Strategy to work with us on both a strategic and tactical project around Performance Management at Beckman Coulter. We invited Brainard Strategy to help us to re-examine all aspects of our performance management strategy and approach and then to design a highly impactful training process for both managers and employees to ensure understanding of the Performance Management process and their role in the execution of that process. We then partnered with our HRBP’s in a transfer of knowledge, train the trainer sessions globally, to enable them to educate and train managers in the changes in the new process.
We choose Brainard Strategy based upon their team’s expertise and experience in building Performance Management initiatives in a variety of industries, to include healthcare, biotech, and medical devices. We found the team at Brainard Strategy to be experts in performance management, and were able to customize the materials in a way that aligned with our culture and expected outcomes. Michael’s facilitation skills were very valuable in delivering the learning sessions. Jennifer Konkin’s abilities in instructional design were also very critical to the successful outcomes we experienced. We will continue to leverage Brainard Strategy to help us grow well into the future specifically building on the experience in matters of leadership development, coaching and strategy execution.
Mr. Wing S. Pang
Corporate Vice President
Beckman Coulter
“I would like to sincerely thank Mr. Michael Brainard, President of Brainard Strategy who has coached my team members and I in the area of Business Strategic Planning and Executive Level Communication Skills last six months. We were having great difficulties in developing and communicating our business strategy at the beginning of 2008. After months of intense one on one and team meetings, Michael had helped pulling my team together using a very discipline and proven approach. First we have discussed, debated and developed our business strategy. Then using Michael’s presentation process and approach, we have developed a common template for multiple product lines. The improvement in last six months is just unbelievable.”
Charlie Pittman
VP Global Facilities
Beckman Coulter
Michael,
“So, did your coaching really pay off for Beckman, and me? I would answer that question this way.
I had a 97% (108) participation in the 2011 Engagement Survey. Yes, my organization ranked highly when compared to other business units and BEC overall but that is not satisfactory to me because as a company and organization, we should and can do better in this area. But, let’s compare year over year on the areas that you helped me with.
• Behavior change, last year 55% favorable, this year 78% favorable.
• Communication, last year 68% favorable, this year 70% favorable.
• Employee engagement, last year 69% favorable, this year 79% favorable.
• Performance management, last year 67% favorable, this year 70% favorable.
• Supervisor effectiveness, last year 69% favorable, this year 74% favorable.
• Trust scored 72% favorable; it was not measured last year.
There are five shared priorities between my team and BEC overall and I am pleased my organization scored highly in this area because it is an indicator of focus and collaboration on strategic objectives.
Having said all this, your work with me has paid off dividends for the company and me personally. You should be proud as I am. You helped to smooth some rough edges off a good old southern boy. I applied the learning and it shows that you should probably be paid more than you charged BEC. I greatly value your help and want to thank you Michael for helping me to be a better leader. “
Goal Financial
Ryan Katz
CEO Goal Financial,
San Diego, California
“Michael Brainard has been able to provide the climate and framework for my growth and development and I directly count his coaching as one of the drivers of my organizations growth and success. Michael has a unique combination of business acumen and interpersonal savvy to listen effectively, confront, and advise at the right time, all the while keeping me focused on my development…”
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