Coaching Spotlight: Finding the missing leadership link

During a coaching session with a leadership team, one of the executives stayed back to chat. He welcomed the confidential space to talk and wanted to explore what I had observed in his leadership and approach as a team player. Before going further, I asked why the question – he went on to tell me how he was feeling stuck.

A highly profiled executive with decades of experience and who was very well-respected in his company felt stuck. Stuck in which way I asked. He added that he didn’t feel heard like he once did. He wasn’t having the impact in the way he once did and, upon further reflection, wasn’t feeling the same enthusiasm for the work.

Interestingly, this leader had been in the organisation for a significant time. I asked him why he was in the job beyond the financial benefits. We talked about how he spends his time at work. We explored the priorities he was initiating and what they were designed to achieve. This leader had found himself on autopilot. He knew how to do his job.

His internal credibility was high, and his stakeholders trusted him. These strengths started turning against him as the missing link in his leadership effectiveness and overall impact. He needed to reassess how his knowledge of the business stacked up against his knowledge of the marketplace, external demands and the unknown factors facing strategic decisions – a SWOT of his leadership and that of the company to advance his leadership voice and the refreshed impact he craved.