From Lone Wolf...                           to Influential Leader

Client Challenge

This senior leader managed all elements of the marketing mix and a team of four. She was technically competent and had several successful product launches behind her. But she had a tendency to get things done by brute force. Colleagues and staff were often shut down and not always on her side, and her perceived need to work harder than everyone else was resulting in chronic stress.

Q Approach

A leadership coaching approach was taken, beginning with a one-on-one kick off session, followed by a coach-facilitated goals alignment meeting between the leader and her executive sponsor. 

Margaret then interviewed peers, direct reports, executives and the leader herself, arriving at a 360 degree ‘narrative’ that reinforced strengths and exposed blind spots. A personality preference assessment was also completed in order to further increase self-awareness and begin to develop personalized self-management, communication and relationship building strategies.

Over the next several months, the leader experimented with new choices and met with Margaret, her accountability partner, twice-monthly for conversations about her vision for herself as a leader, responding rather than reacting, showing up authentically, delegating and empowering others, adjusting one’s style for the right effect, being intentional about personal brand and one’s reputation, and more. 

A formal check-in with the sponsor was held at the mid point where he was encouraged to take advantage of more informal day-to-day opportunities to provide both acknowledgement and constructive feedback.

At completion, the leader and her sponsor came together to recognize what had been learned and changed, and Margaret and the coachee discussed strategies for sustaining and building upon her new skills and behaviours.

The Results

The leader learned to connect with her mindset, thinking and feelings, and tap into a more open and flexible leadership style that had allowed her to have broader influence and impact, and be more personally fulfilled.

Rather than going it alone and fighting against other people’s personalities and responses, she had become more confident in herself and recognized that there are more positive paths to engaging others and getting their support.