Coaching a Senior Leader Through Transition
A senior leader in the tech sector engaged Kinkajou for leadership 1:1 coaching. They wanted help to manage the transition through redundancy and finding the next executive leadership role. The client was able to take a strategic and highly personalised approach to their job search, rebuild confidence, and develop actionable 30, 60 and 90 day leadership plan and approach for their new role.
Client
I always came away from my sessions feeling inspired, energised and
eager to put into practice what we had been working through
Industry: Technology
Engagement: Leadership 1:1 Coaching
Location: UK-based, in person
Services: Leadership Development
85%
Practical Job Search Support
90%
Enhanced Leadership Styles
90%
Increased Confidence
The Challenge
The client wanted to find the right new leadership role after redundancy and also take stock of and address some genuine leadership development opportunities.
The Solution
A tailored Leadership 1:1 Coaching engagement led by the client’s needs.
Co-created
Coach and client collaboratively designed the coaching sessions.
Client led
The client decided on the focus for each coaching session.
Flexible
Coaching session frequency and duration was dictated by the client’s commitments.
Sessions
10 x 90-minute and 4 x 1 hour coaching sessions with a two month break.
Client and context
The client is a senior tech leader with a wealth of executive leadership experience. Following redundancy, she wanted to reflect and recalibrate to ensure she found not just the next role but the right role with the right company and that she was showing up in the ways she wanted to. After a challenging period, the client felt she needed to work on her confidence and bolster her leadership presence, approach and behaviours.
The Coach
The coach was Nancy Maher, founder of Kinkajou Limited and a female leader in tech for 30 years. Nancy leveraged her complementary professional background to the client to create a bespoke Leadership 1:1 Coaching programme that was client-led and made use of a suite of working tools that the client would be familiar with. The aim was to facilitate idea generation and new perspectives, and also to organise themes, spot patterns, and ultimately create actionable ways forward.
Coach
The only person a coachee can work on is themselves, but it’s essential to take a broader perspective and look
at what’s happening in their context. What are the systemic forces at work here?
Kinkajou's solution
Coach and client co-created their coaching approach, agreeing on seven initial 90-minute sessions and ultimately following up with seven more sessions after a two-month break. The timing of the sessions was flexible, allowing the client to take one, two and three weeks in between sessions to integrate what they’d discovered, take actions, and work with life commitments.
The Leadership Development Approach
The engagement kicked off with Kinkajou’s Leadership Wheel, a tool designed to give an overview of clients’ self-perceived performance in a number of key leadership development areas. Working through the wheel can be insightful in itself and makes it easy for clients to decide where they want to start. It also acts as an anchor point for the client to come back to during the coaching.
Sessions covered developing a clear vision and set of criteria for the client’s next leadership role, as well more action-orientated work. Nancy used a strengths based approach to work with the client on their confidence and inner critics. She also made use of self-assessments, design thinking methodologies and coaching tools to help the client reflect and develop practical tools like the 30-60-90 day plan for their new role.
The client was able to take a clear-eyed look at their own performance and identify some genuine development needs, and plan how they were going to address them. The sessions also covered personal wellbeing and took a systemic perspective to review the client’s previous company and her role within it.
The Results
Through coaching, the client gained a stronger understanding of their leadership style and improved self-awareness. Ultimately, the client secured a new role that better aligned with their skills and aspirations.
Client
I have had coaching previously but this definitely felt the most fun and inspiring way to address new opportunities and challenges.
The Client Coaching Experience
Trust and respect is incredibly important in a coaching relationship and this was something I feel that Nancy and I achieved within a short space of time of working together.
If we needed to change gears and react to something that was happening in my professional life... Nancy was always ready to explore further and pull the right tool out of the box to move forwards.
I was incredibly inspired by Nancy’s approach and innate curiosity. Always positive, but not afraid to challenge or to encourage you to consider alternative perspectives.
1. Ability to Navigate Leadership Transition
Research shows leaders receiving leadership coaching find it a helpful, safe space to process feelings and make practical plans during a transition. Read more: Leadership Development Statistics
2. Enhanced Types of Leadership Styles
Reflecting on her types of leadership styles helped the client lean into her values and strengths and become a more conscious leader.
3. Tailored 30-60-90 day Leadership Plan
Together, coach and client developed a highly actionable first 90-day plan for approaching a new role.
4. Confidence Building
Helped the client overcome professional setbacks from a previous work environment. Used tools to recognise inner critics and increase confidence.
5. Job Search Strategy
Exploring new industries and executive search firms, as well as interview role playing, helped diversify and enhance her job search strategy.
6. Adopting a Coaching Leadership Style
Through the coaching experience and practice of coaching skills, the client adopted a coaching leadership style, which she put into practice in her next role.