Coaching
“I have recommended Dr. Manning for the coaching of executives and employees in a wide variety of business settings. I have seen her diffuse interpersonal problems and successfully move employees toward collaboration”
Sandra R. McCandless, Attorney at Law
Coaching for Executives, Managers and Individuals
We offer a wide range of coaching and leadership development services, including one-to-one career development and success coaching for executive team members and mid-managers. We are experienced in a number of formal skills self-assessment instruments and tools but prefer to use DiSC and EQ360 to aid in assessing the participant’s knowledge, skills, abilities and performance, and identify focus for coaching and development.
We offer individualized coaching in areas such as setting and achieving professional development objectives, clarifying goals, gaining self-awareness, inclusive and empowering leadership, operational planning, team effectiveness, collaborative emotional intelligence and communication skill building.
Physician Overcomes Her Team’s Low Morale:
A physician from a large health care provider found her team’s productivity and attitudes dropping. Her team consisted of other physicians, registered nurses, physician assistants, and other support staff. She hired us to interview each team member to assess the severity of the issues. She also asked us to give a communication assessment to each member. In the first team meeting, we set new team behavioral agreements, clearly defined roles and protocols, and addressed some of the unresolved conflicts. We provided executive coaching for the top physician and team coaching for the others. After a series of meetings and coaching sessions, everyone on the team reported improvements in morale, trust, and productivity.
Our Outcome Based Process
Our over 20 years of coaching leaders and individuals in both private industry and in the public sector gives us deep knowledge of management accountability, priorities, and challenges. The Consulting Team’s Mission is “Facilitating positive change by increasing effectiveness of leaders, teams, and organizations through coaching, conflict mediation, consulting, and training.”
We coach leaders and staff seeking to improve their skills as well as high potential candidates seeking advancement. We help develop individual action plans built on strengths and opportunities discovered through an in-depth analysis of all the input. After the plan is complete, we set up an agreement between the coach and the participant for an appropriate number of sessions. We share information and guidance with the participant on how to acquire new or improve existing skills while implementing their development plan.
We partner with the participant’s manager and Human Resources with regular check-ins to make sure we support your mission and values and that all expectations and goals are aligned. We leave you with tools to reinforce our work so that when the coaching engagement ends, you have resources to continue supporting their development.
Our services and processes are outcome and impact based. We pride ourselves on facilitating positive change for both individuals and teams. We draw on hundreds of coaching engagements to share our experiences that give leaders the courage to be vulnerable and change ingrained habits and behaviors. We use models and exercises that build skills in leadership, teambuilding, compassionate communication, accountability, and managing stress and change, to name a few.
We use Appreciative Inquiry (AI), a refreshing organizational development approach from Case Western University. It allows us to resolve problems and challenges from strengths rather than asking “What’s wrong?” We build an awareness of the power of appreciation by coaching how to ask the right questions and how to listen attentively to build trust and accountability.
Since we are seasoned soft-skill trainers, we use our training models, templates, case studies, and exercises in our coaching, conflict mediation, and team building processes. Our clients learn techniques and skills to overcome disruptive behaviors and to engender respect and trust while navigating more quickly through changes.
First Aid for a Bossy Supervisor:
The head of a utilities district called The Consulting Team for help with a new supervisor. Although he showed high potential in technical matters, his dictatorial management style created problems for his team and the organization. We coached him on the basics of supervision, developing trust and respect with his team, and practicing listening skills to resolve and defuse conflict. A three-month check-in found the supervisor excelling in his job and back on track with his boss’s expectations.
Assessments and Tools:
Communication Style Assessment (DiSC):
Learning your own style and and creating rapport with other styles. The DiSC profile, published by Wiley, is a non-judgmental well-researched tool used for discussion of people's behavioral differences. When you participate in a DiSC program, you are asked to complete a series of questions that produce a detailed report about your personality and behavior.
Emotional Intelligence:
Gaining self-knowledge and awareness is the cornerstone to leadership development and professionalism. We use both the EQ-i 2.0 self-assessment and the EQ360 in depth analysis tools from MHS. They help you see the impact of your behaviors and emotions on others and in group interactions, which can increase your effectiveness and help build mutual respect.
Weekly Log:
Setting goals, metrics, tracking progress, accountability. Logs can include collecting data, assessing progress, and making adjustments.
NVC and Empathic Listening:
Showing empathy and compassion, being candid, tracking non-verbal communication, and monitoring emotional triggers. We recommend “Non-Violent Communication” (NVC) by Dr. Marshall Rosenberg, and "Crucial Conversations" by Kerry Patterson, et al.
Conflict Resolution and Agreement Model:
Solving problems with specific tools, including developing mutual agreements.
Managing Stress, Anger, Impatience, and Frustrations:
Tools to raise self-awareness on your own emotions, how they impact you and others, and how to respond professionally in the toughest situations.
Newly Promoted Leader Needs Emotional Intelligence:
A team leader received a recent internal promotion to a new high-level position that was full of challenges. He had a steep learning curve, a heavy workload, and his current position couldn't be filled for six months so the client was doing two demanding jobs simultaneously. We provided coaching on Emotional Intelligence approaches, which helped him significantly in all areas. Many of his staff members now see the new leader as "a rock star;” where they used to find him intimidating. His challenges continue in some areas, but applying the tools of EI has made a real difference in his approach and success. The client can't believe how much progress has been made.
Three Distinctive Kinds of Coaching:
We offer three kinds of coaching: Performance Coaching, Developmental Coaching, and Transformative Coaching. As a performance coach, we help you define outcomes and goals and achieve results more efficiently and effectively through targeted coaching. As a developmental coach, we explore what learning you take from the coaching and the change that takes place. The fundamental intention is to create learning from more effective actions. As a transformational coach, we work “deeper”. We guide you to fresh perspectives by exploring underlying assumptions, beliefs, values, expectations, and personal attitudes that shape your experience.
Once we know the skills the exindividual wants to work on, we make suggestions as to the best match of our six coaches. Each has a different expertise and specialty.
Sample Coaching Agenda:
We begin with a 2-hour initial meeting. Meetings can be Zoom, Teams, phone, or in person to:
- Discuss background, culture, and experience with the organization
- Identify current challenges and desired outcomes
- Review past assessments, evaluations, and feedback
- Identify appropriate use of assessments including communication styles (DiSC) and emotional intelligence (EQ360)
Our coach usually meets for an hour every 1-2 weeks for the first 2 months. After the first 2-3 months, most leaders want to meet about every 3 weeks. The frequency of sessions varies according to preferences.
Most of our coaching engagements go for 6-12 months. As coaches and also seasoned trainers, we provide relevant templates and frameworks as well as practice “homework” to reinforce the sessions.
We are very flexible in our engagements, customizing the coaching plan for our clients. Some clients want us to interview their supervisor, direct reports, and some peers to obtain feedback. Some invite us to observe their team meetings.
Supervisor Lost His Cool:
Inappropriate remarks by a supervisor to a staff member prompted a department head to request The Consulting Team to assess issues and coach the offending supervisor. The Consulting Team, using the EQi Emotional Intelligence 360˚ Evaluation, provided vital and useful feedback on how others perceived him. We gave individualized coaching to the man based on primary improvement opportunities. The supervisor reported he received support and new skills from the coaching session. His boss and the department head saw great improvement in both his attitude and job performance.