The Need
When it came to individual leadership behavior, however, the President and his HR director shared a concern. They felt that members of the management team didn’t have the necessary skill to lead a growing company. Individuals did not seem to know how to resolve conflict among themselves. There were also times when individuals needed to interact with their counterparts in the parent company, and these interactions were often emotionally charged events that had to be resolved by the President.

The challenge was to provide each of the eight members of the leadership team with a coaching experience that would help them learn new behaviors they could put to use immediately. An added constraint was to accomplish this objective using only four days of the coach’s time.

Approach
The process we developed had four components:

• Completion of an on-line 360° feedback questionnaire, coordinated by the HR director
• 2-hour coaching sessions with each member of the management team
• 1-hour development planning sessions with each member of the management team
• Follow up with the President and the leadership team coordinated by the HR director

One week before I was scheduled to meet with individuals, a package of reports arrived at my office. This gave me ample time to review the reports and identify questions to explore with each individual. Then for two days I occupied a conference room in the division’s office, holding 2-hour individual conversations with each member of the management team. During these confidential sessions we discussed a wide range of topics, depending on the objectives of the individual and the patterns that I observed in the results. Each session concluded with a discussion of development options.

Two weeks later I returned to the same conference room and met with each person to discuss development planning in more detail. During this meeting we also clarified the process that each person would take in discussing his or her plan with the President.

In short, during the coaching process each person was able to develop insight into his or her leadership style and to develop an action plan that built on both strengths and weaknesses.

Other Outcomes
After listening to the leadership challenges of each member of the leadership team, two organizational issues emerged.

First, the “healthy debates” that the President was encouraging were not seen as altogether healthy. In fact they had evolved into showcases for the more dominating individuals on the team. Over time a pattern emerged where the dominators dominated and the others passively watched. Something needed to be done to encourage broader input and more importantly to put closure on issues. There was general agreement that the debates went on too long.

Second, the lack of prior management experience on the part of several rising stars on the team meant that they needed more coaching, particularly in the areas of developing their staffs and in resolving conflicts among each other.

I discussed these observations with the President and the HR director. They concluded that the HR director would take a more active role in facilitating team meetings. The President committed to using the development plans as a tool that he could use in coaching each person on the team. These two decisions enabled the President and HR director to extend the impact of the coaching without the need for the coach to be present.

Arguably each of the people that I saw in this compressed time period would have benefited from more extensive 1:1 executive coaching. But often companies are looking for a cost effective way to reach a large number of managers quickly. The Bench Strength Coaching process is an effective way of defining leadership for a management team and for helping individuals set their own development plans. Beyond that, it can also provide critical insight into the workings of the leadership team and identify ways of improving its overall operation.