Success Stories
A highly-effective and powerful use of time
I was charged to lead a multi-cultural, regional business development team in a dynamic environment with a tight talent market. It would have been easy to get pulled into the problem of the week, since the challenges were rapid and complex. My conversations with Nicky were short and powerful. We remained focused on the future goals and tackled the challenges with structured thinking and pragmatic techniques.
The result was that I was able to build a strong team with leaders who were able to continue to lead when I moved onto other leadership positions. I’ve now moved onto two more leadership positions and I’m applying many of the same techniques to build more high-performing teams.
For leaders facing tremendous challenges in dynamic environments, 30 minutes every two weeks may seem impossible, but I think you’ll find like me, it can be a highly effective and powerful use of time.
Evolving from an individual contributor to a stand-out leader
I was performing well on a solid trajectory, but I was eager to grow from an individual business developer into a leadership role. A stretch assignment opened to build a regional sales team with aggressive sales targets.
The risks of taking the position were enormous: family relocation, aggressive targets, first time manager of peers, creating a culture of high-performance, and delivering on the vision. As I worked with Nicky to assess the risks, she asked, “What’s the risk of not taking the job?” The question triggered a paradigm shift in my thinking and mindset which I continue to apply.
In short, I took the job, the team has become wildly successful, and I’ve continued to expand my leadership impact. Nicky’s coaching helped me to enrich my vision, redefine my success to be more strategic, and take educated risks to deliver on the vision.
Gaining More Confidence as a Leader
Following a merger, I found myself working with a new leadership team with an entirely different business focus. The operational leadership skills that I had relied upon seemed under-valued in the new model and the situation felt precarious. My new leader had different expectations of me, beyond operational oversight which included understanding business drivers, innovation and strategy. Despite being a high performer, I felt out of my depth and my confidence was eroding rapidly. Nicky provided the space to talk through the challenges without danger and penalties. I was able to articulate the negativity to understand what was really worrying me. With increased understanding of the challenges, I was able to increase the effectiveness of my leadership interactions and become more focused and intentional. I’ve gained more confidence as a leader as I head into new challenges. As a bonus, one of my previous managers complimented me on how much I’ve grown as a leader. So much growth within a year was exhausting and even painful, but I appreciate how much I’ve grown.