Challenge  

This recently promoted CEO knew he was responsible for driving business goals and results and he also knew he needed someone to help him map out exactly HOW he was going to meet those goals. He decided to hire Jan for executive coaching. 

Solution

He says, “Jan is a surgeon when it comes to diagnosing and fixing business issues.” During one coaching session they had discussed a specific process flow and he told Jan that he knew there was a bottleneck in the process, but he could not seem to identify where it was.  Jan walked him through the various places to look, and then finally said, “Ryan, if you are certain there is a bottleneck, but you can’t see it, then you are probably it.”   

 After a moment, he sat back and said, “Ack… Jan, you’re right! I am the problem here.” He said it was as much of an ‘ah-ha’ moment as anyone is going to get in a position like his. Jan then talked him through the best way to, really, get out of his own way. Since then that process has run seamlessly. 

Embarking on executive coaching has turned out to be an even better use of time and resources than this CEO originally anticipated. Given his immediate, positive results, he was excited to share his lessons and he invited his Controller to go through the same coaching program. When she saw results also, the  COO was invited to experience the program. One day, the COO was excitedly telling the CEO about his meeting with Jan which then perked the interest of their President as well. 

While they can provide many examples of how Jan’s coaching helped them work together more effectively as a leadership team, the CEO felt that it was a key moment when coaching the Controller that helped him realize the value of having an outside coach. The CEO and Controller had worked with each other for 10 years and have a close personal and professional relationship. The Controller had started as an invoice processor and had grown and matured over her tenure with the company. 

While coaching the Controller, Jan made some interesting observations that the CEO was thankful Jan shared with him.  Jan indicated that the Controller did not feel empowered to make certain decisions that Jan knew the CEO certainly expected the Controller to make as part of her job. See, while the Controller had been promoted, the leadership team had not discussed how to make the Controller feel like she was part of the team and that she had the authority to make significant decisions in her role. The CEO remembers thinking, “So you didn’t read my mind when we gave you this role?” – That was an oops Jan helped him see. 

Every member of the leadership team has had at least one big “ahh moment” in their coaching sessions with Jan. 

Results 

Clarifying the CEO’s expectations of the Controller has made a dramatic difference in their working relationship and the results she delivers. Having Jan coach everyone on the leadership team has been a pivotal move for this business. Not only did it improve their personal productivity, it has shed light on areas where they have blind spots about how to work together effectively. 

Additionally, working with the team collectively helped Jan and her team see opportunities for streamlining workflow across functional areas.  The executive team and CEO are now working more effectively together, and they are accomplishing more as a team than any of them would have thought possible. The CEO says, “Honestly, I believe our communication as a team has improved and the working environment is even better.” 

While I certainly anticipated positive results, the positive impact has surpassed what I originally expected. I certainly intend on utilizing Jan strategically as my business continues to grow.  Jan’s coaching services have been an excellent use of our strategic spend.”  

Ryan Lamb, Chief Executive Officer, GCATS Telecom & Critical Power Services