Taking Your Leadership Ability

to the Next Level

Tom Alafat

February 2010
 Learning Objectives
 Discover what coaching is, why it is critical at the executive
level and how to select the best coach for you
 Identify personal blind spots and stumbling blocks coaching
can resolve
 Learn to assess when leaders in your organization need
coaching before it’s too late
 Discover how coaching smoothes the transition into executive
leadership roles
 Explore the role of coaching in maximizing performance and
decreasing turnover of your best employees

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 1

 Session Agenda

 Defining coaching
 Benefits of executive coaching
 Assessing when coaching is needed
 Choosing an executive coach
 The coaching experience

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 2

 Quick Quiz (1 of 2)

 Name the five wealthiest people in the world

 Name the last five people named as Time
magazine’s person of the year
 Name five people who have won the Nobel or
Pulitzer Prize
 Name the last decade’s worth of Olympic Gold
medalists in your favorite sport

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 3

 Quick Quiz (2 of 2)

 List five teachers who aided your journey through

school
 Name six friends who have helped you through a
difficult time
 Name five people who have taught you something
worthwhile
 Think of six people who have made you feel
appreciated and special

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 Coaching Is:

 It is a one-on-one partnership between a client and a

professional coach to meet a specialized need or goal
 A catalyzing partnership that accelerates the process of
great performance
 About individual’s identifying a purpose and living out
that purpose
 A journey of personal and professional discovery

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 Distinctions of Coaching
 Therapy
 Focus on past and trauma, seeking healing

 Mentoring
 Focus on succession, training to do what a mentor does

 Consulting
 Focus on problems, giving advice, information, strategy and

structure
 Coaching
 Focus on the present, guiding towards a desirable outcome

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 The Triangular Relationship

Coach Coachee

Organization

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 Lightning Round
Discussion
 In small groups, answer the following questions …
 Who is someone that has coached you?

 What characteristics made him or her an effective

coach?

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 “Successful people tend to have a high need for
self-determination. In other words, the more that leaders
commit to coaching and behavior change because they
believe in the process, the more the process
is likely to work.”
―Marshall Goldsmith

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 Coaching and Leader
Development

 Intentional: Coaches promote intentionality by providing

structure, process, accountability and feedback
 Purposeful: Coaches keep the process purposeful by
making sure that it is linked to objectives and specific
outcomes
 Personal: Coaches keep the process specifically
focused on the individual

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 Benefits to the Organization

 Multiple research studies indicate an outstanding ROI

derived from executive coaching programs
 Increased organizational capacity

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 Benefits to the Coachee

Improvement in:
 Productivity and effectiveness

 Reducing blind spots

 Communication and interpersonal skills

 Relationships with peers, subordinates and clients

 Teamwork

 Stress reduction

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 Cadre Coaching

Change Occurs
Leaders Organization
Provides Support

Guides Provides
Growth Context g Provides
Awareness
of Themes
Coaches

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 Impact on the Organization

 Develops the bench

 Increases the value and effectiveness of leaders at all
levels
 Leverages talent toward the strategic goals of the
organization
 Helps leaders become better problem solvers and
motivators

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 Coaching as Retention Strategy
Approximately 35 percent of construction companies now use coaching
as a strategy to retain key talent
Construction Industry Employee Turnover Rates
2002 to 2006
(Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
35%
During these four years, the turnover rate
30%
increased 5.5 percentage points (24%)
28.7%
25% 26.5%
25.4%
23.2%
20%

15%

10%

The construction industry turnover rate is the highest in all business segments
5% except for retail trade.

0%
September 2002 September 2003 September 2004 September 2005
through through through through
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 How to Assess When Coaching
Is Needed
 High-potential leadership development
 Leadership succession/transition
 Family-owned business challenges
 Are your leaders exhibiting …
 Lack of social or communication skills

 Difficulty making decisions

 Inability to control emotions

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 17

 Choosing Your Executive
Coach
 Essentials
 Competence
 Chemistry
 Trust

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 18

 Preparing for the Coaching
Experience
 Assessments
 360° Feedback

 Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

 Natural Abilities Battery

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© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 20
 John, CFO - FMI Coaching Metrics
Six Month Developmental Plan (1 of 4)

 Organizational Objective: Develop leadership pipeline

and become a talent magnet firm
 Developmental Needs – John can identify talent within
his team, but struggles developing their leadership skills.
As a result many of his people are leaving because they
do not see opportunity to grow

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 John, CFO - FMI Coaching Metrics
Six Month Developmental Plan (2 of 4)
 Improved Skill/Behavior Metrics
 To clarify what the organization requires/rewards in
leadership – higher skill development areas
 To distinguish between delegating to direct reports
and mentoring direct reports
 To determine strengths/challenges in people
development (360°) and formulate plan for addressing
challenges, using this as a model for developing
direct reports

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 22

 John, CFO - FMI Coaching Metrics
Six Month Developmental Plan (3 of 4)
 Developmental plan
 John will meet with each of his direct reports over the next
month, talk to them specifically about the 360° feedback,
schedule time to talk to each of them about their
personal/professional development plan. (Specifically, John will
work on listening without interruption and asking exploratory
questions and will self-assess after each meeting and share with
his coach how he rated himself)

 Using the Peak Leader model, John will identify the base line
expectations of his firm for the performance of their leaders in
each component of the PL model. (He will use this to evaluate
his skill levels and his direct report’s skill levels.) This will be the
base of his developmental conversations with his direct reports
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 John, CFO - FMI Coaching Metrics
Six Month Developmental Plan (4 of 4)
 John will talk to his coach about his own development plan
regarding people development after all the feedback
conversations are finished

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 FMI Coaching Relationships
• API Group – Jamar • Haselden
• API Electric • Hunter Roberts
• Davis-Ulmer • Mascaro
• ICI • Roebbelen
• Doody Mechanical • Skanska
• Casey Industrial • Swinerton
• D. H. Blattner • Turner Construction
• DPR • W. E. Blain & Sons
• Draeger Construction • Western States Fire
• Gerald H. Phipps • HMH

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 25

 Testimonials from FMI’s
Coaching Advantage Clients
 “It has steered both my personal as well as professional life
in the right direction. To put it simply, it has changed my life
as well as my family's.”
 “My coach has helped me to explore the roadblocks I had
set for myself over the years, allowing me to remove them.
Through that experience, I have gained a great deal of
insight into myself and others, allowing me to be more
understanding and empathetic with those that I lead.”
 “Helped with my priorities on development of others and
also improved my emotional intelligence.”

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 26

 “Coaching is destined to be the leadership
approach of the 21st Century.”
―James Belasco

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 27

 Thank You!

Tom Alafat
FMI Corporation
55 Madison Street, Suite 410
Denver, CO 80206
P: 303.398.7209
talafat@fminet.com
www.fminet.com

© 2008 FMI 20-1072-23 28