Coaching: Newly Appointed Female Executive

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The Challenge

After a merger, Linda Harris, senior vice president of a large oil company, was appointed to the new organization’s Global Team. She was the only African American on the team and the only woman. Linda had been an overachiever for 16 years, yet she was losing confidence and underperforming in her new role. Recognizing the importance of Linda’s contributions, management sought help in restoring Linda’s confidence and helping her become a fully contributing member of this high performance global team.

The Solution

After interviews with Linda’s bosses, peers, and direct reports, Linda’s coach rounded out her assessment with testing to identify strengths and weaknesses. Eliminating stress was identified as an essential first step, so the coach developed a plan that gave Linda a new perspective and encouraged her to recognize and celebrate small successes. Linda’s action plan focused on three strengths and three development goals, and also established networking goals to help her gain visibility and boost her confidence.

Linda’s coach provided dynamic skill-building opportunities working with her to script Linda’s meetings and role play challenging scenarios, including taking a stand on major issues and negotiations. The coach shadowed her at regional and staff meetings and also prepared Linda for her first overseas trip to Egypt.

The Results

Through coaching, Linda gained a better perspective, was able to handle stress more effectively, and increased her level of confidence. At meetings, she was able to deliver more powerful presentations and learned to answer difficult questions on her feet. She also became skilled in negotiating battles successfully and gained a tougher skin by depersonalizing political defeats. She built a strong network with her peers and partnered with them to focus on the company’s global strategy. Throughout this process, Linda became more visible at all levels, setting up town meetings and creating more situations in which she interacted with others.

Six months after coaching, Linda was confident and thriving in her position, and the company’s management team was impressed with Linda’s ability to handle her challenging executive role.