Executive Coaching 1

The Client

A Fortune 100 company

Coaching mission

To enable the CEO to establish a constructive working relationship with the chairman that would enable them to lead the business to the next level.

Context

A new CEO was brought into a multinational Fortune 100 company, based on his strong track record and the excellent results he had achieved for his previous organisation. His mandate was to realise a similar outcome for his new employer. However, the difference in management styles between the new CEO and the chairman of the company was creating a stumbling block. Whereas the CEO was a visionary and strategic thinker, the chairman had a more operational and detail orientated perspective; communication between the two was becoming increasingly fraught and impacting commercial progress.

Objectives

  1. To provide general support and guidance to the CEO in his new role.
  2. To support the CEO in delivering an action plan to
    • unlock his emotional intelligence and self-awareness, enabling him to better evaluate the situation with the chairman and adapt his response accordingly – while maintaining his authentic leadership style
    • extend this approach to building productive relationships with all key stakeholders to help maximise his business impact.

Alexander Programme Structure

A series of one-to-one, two hour sessions with the CEO over a period of 12 months initially. Alexander also met separately with other senior colleagues and the chairman in order to gain depth of perspective.

Conclusion

  • Through highly focused coaching sessions, the CEO was able to better understand the chairman’s needs and business style and adapt his own approach and way of communicating. He focused on pragmatic solutions and small improvements as part of a wider strategy.
  • Through focusing on common values and goals, the CEO was able to strengthen his relationship with the chairman, providing a solid foundation on which to build.
  • Within a short time period, the working dynamic between the two leaders improved dramatically, enabling swifter and better leadership decisions and stronger direction.

Conclusion

Both the CEO and chairman were very happy with the results of the coaching. The CEO continued to work with Alexander over an 18 month period on a range of issues, valuing the thought partner relationship.