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Business Challenge:
Developing a Brilliant Technical Leader to Take on
Vice President of Sales and General Manager Responsibilities.
- Assigned a global leadership position in a troubled business unit.
- Challenged to lead global sales and inspire a business unit that had 5 years of economic fade.
- Technical communication style does not meet standards for his new audience - The Board of Directors, Senior Leadership Team, and his Executive Sales Team.
- Senior leadership requests coaching to support this newly promoted leader to develop into his new role.
How Break Through Consulting Helped:
Information:
- Administered quantitative online 360-assessment.
- Conducted customized qualitative interviews.
- Facilitated self-assessment.
- Observed leadership style and team dynamics by attending staff meetings and sitting-in on global conference calls.
Insight:
- Recognized that the sales leader's detail-oriented, technical communication style was not appropriate for the executive leadership team or the sales team and that adaptation of his style was required.
- Discovered that others believed his technical brilliance and ability to synthesize information could produce the answer to the economic fade, however his communication style could de-rail his success.
- Realized that he needed to fully understand the perspective of the person(s) being addressed to effectively communicate his vision and inspire execution.
- Acknowledged that the old leadership behaviors that had taken the sales leader this far had met their limits. Additional leadership behaviors were necessary to take him forward.
Innovation:
- Supported the sales leader in developing both verbal and non-verbal communication skills - listening, questioning and adapting one's style.
- Assisted in creating concise and actionable presentations, monthly newsletter and other communications that distilled his brilliant business models.
- Identified that the sales leader personally valued execution over collaboration and interpersonal relationships. Shifted this focus to the interpersonal allowing him to 'do' less, by gaining more support from others.
- Explored how he might reinvent himself as a stronger leader while still remaining authentic to what was important to him personally.
- Gained understanding of multiple stakeholders' points of view and the ability to integrate this with business facts to move the organization forward.
Impact:
- CEO recognized that during the tenure of coaching this sales leader moved his business unit from 5 years of fade, to profitability.
- CEO further recognized that "coaching contributed to the business unit exceeding goal by $30 million in revenue."
- "Coaching helped improve customer satisfaction, and improvements in customer relationships set the business up for even bigger long-term gains." - Business Unit President
- "Coaching supported a marked improvement in the efficiency of the team including increased productivity and improved morale." - Sr. Vice President of Human Resources
- Increased effectiveness in communicating change initiatives led to superior execution of business plan.
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