Executive Coaching: Q&A With Alyssa Freas

Alyssa Freas is a pioneer in the field of executive coaching. She is Founder and CEO of Executive Coaching Network® (EXCN), a global company whose mission is to help organizations achieve results by improving the effectiveness of their executives and their teams.

Awhile back, she answered for me the eight questions I hear the most about leadership, leaders and executive coaching.

Question: What is the most common leadership challenge you see that executives face?

Alyssa: Executives are challenged by prioritization; that is, getting their work done and having enough time for reflection and rejuvenation. The vast majority of executives today have too many plates spinning and they feel imbalanced. The successful leader of the future will be one who understands how to prioritize in a framework of their company’s vision, values, and strategic objectives and financial results.

Executives will always be challenged by the need to focus on building the business while growing the business as well as developing and retaining talent.

Question: What does it take from the executive being coached to be successful in an executive coaching experience?

Alyssa: It takes willingness, humility, interest in learning new skills, openness to change, the ability to look at the positive information, commitment to follow a process and sustain success.

Question: Which is easier? To coach a younger executive or an older executive? And why?

Alyssa: Neither…it isn’t easier to coach a younger or older person. It’s all about the individual: why they are there for the coaching, what they expect to get from it, and how much effort they’re willing to put into it.

Question: Why do you think many executives resist agreeing to be coached?

Alyssa: The simple fact is executives who need coaching the most are the most resistant, and the ones who need it the least are always raising their hand to receive coaching. Why? Because those individuals who resist are vulnerable to the truth and may not be prepared to hear it or deal with it—either their egos are too big, they’re uncomfortable with change, they have underlying psychological issues that need to be addressed, or they simply aren’t ready.

It’s complicated to have the discernment to know how hard to push a person to receive coaching.

Here are a few ways we do it at EXCN: If a candidate for coaching is unwilling to let others know that he or she is being coached, doesn’t want to talk about his or her improvement areas with stakeholders in the process, and is unwilling to prepare an action plan, then we would suggest that that person isn’t ready for our kind of coaching.

There’s no judgment there; it’s just that they need to start from a different place. Resistance is information and that information can be used properly to help the person with the right kind of support.

Question: In all your work with executives, what is the single most important leadership skill a leader must have to be successful?

Alyssa: The most important criteria for effective leadership is credibility; that is, the leader’s ability to ensure that he or she behaves in a manner so that others will follow him or her.

We’ve heard this from gurus like Petre Drucker, Stephen Covey and Kouzes and Posner in their books.

The criteria for credibility include things like:

maintaining your composure under stress
having integrity, not in your own mind, but as perceived by other people
being competent in your job as a leader as well as in your roll, whatever your role may be
the courage to say what needs to be said to those who need to hear it
to do the right thing even when it’s not popular
caring for, not coddling, people.

Some of these things are not necessarily skills that can be learned through coaching. For example, if I was asked to coach for integrity, I would have to be very thoughtful before I took the assignment. It may be an underlying character issue or psychological issue, not a coaching opportunity. Certainly we can coach for areas like composure or showing a greater care for people. We have to be very mindful as coaches as to what the objectives are and IF we can help.

In terms of skill, it’s the ability to understand and demonstrate an ongoing commitment to self-improvement as a leader which requires humility, consistently receiving feedback from all stakeholders, asking for help, and understanding your impact on other people.

Question: Tell me about your most rewarding executive coaching experience? How did you help that person?

Alyssa: It is a privilege to be in the role of an executive coach. The experiences are all rewarding when the person being coached is willing to step outside their comfort zone and grow as a result of that experience.

For example, challenging up to their bosses when they used to not do so in the past, saying what needs to be said to those who need to hear it, making personal time in their lives to be with their families, exercising more, building better relationships with other teammates or peers…the list goes on and on. It is incredibly rewarding to be in a position to be able to help people have more clarity on their blind spots and come up with solutions that used to baffle them.

For those individuals who start the coaching process and then aren’t prepared to do the work required to change, we accept that and we ask to come back when they’re ready. This is all about understanding your impact on other people and creating the environment for other people to be successful—and that starts with leadership.

Question: How do your executive coaching services differ from those offered by other coaches?

Alyssa: We have a very rigorous process at EXCN that requires involvement of the coachee’s boss, an open approach to data collection, a written action plan, follow up with all those involved in the interview process, and measurement on the back end. We also focus on aligning the coaching with the organization’s values and strategic intention. Strategic Executive Coaching^®

Question: What is the wrong reason to engage an executive coach?

Alyssa: Several reasons people would think to engage that are poor reasons:

When the boss doesn’t want to tell the direct reports the truth about their performance so they use the coach to deliver the message. In that case, the boss is the one who needs the coaching to deliver tough messages.
If they know the person isn’t likely to improve anyway. They really believe the person isn’t going to succeed, but they can’t deal with it now, so they hire a coach instead.
If the person has psychological issues beyond coaching, if there’s an assumption of addiction, or a life crisis that is better helped by counseling (e.g., losing a spouse or a child). In the case of a life crisis, coaching, at a minimum, should be supported by counseling as well.

Important is to ensure the objectives of the coaching are clear so the organization brings in the right kind of help aligned with the objectives.

Alyssa focuses on developing executives to ensure their growth is aligned with the Vision, Values, and Strategy of the organization in which they work. She helps executives leverage their strengths while developing new leadership behaviors that support the organization. While working with clients Alyssa strives to exhibit her organization’s values.

EXCN specializes in Strategic Executive Coaching®, an approach designed to support the growth of leaders in building and sustaining their organization’s value creation capacity.

Comments

10 Quotes From The 5 Levels Of Leadership -- John C. Maxwell

Soon I'll post my full review of John C. Maxwell's latest book, The 5 Levels of Leadership . In the meantime, here are some of my favorites quotes from the book that I believe should become a must-read book by any workplace/organizational leader: Good leadership isn't about advancing yourself. It's about advancing your team. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others. Leadership is action, not position. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor. People buy into the leader, then the vision. Bringing out the best in a person is often a catal...

How To Play Bigger And Be A Category King In Business

"The most exciting companies create. They give us new ways of living, thinking, or doing business, many times solving a problem we didn't know we had -- or a problem we didn't pay attention to because we never thought there was another way," explain the four authors of the dynamic new book, Play Bigger . They add that, "the most exciting companies sell us different. They introduce the world to a new category of product or service." And, they become category kings . Examples of category kings are Amazon, Salesforce, Uber and IKEA. Play Bigger is all about the strategy that builds category kings. And, to be a category king you need to be good at category design : Category design is the discipline of creating and developing a new market category, and conditioning the market so it will demand your solution and crown your company as its king. Category design is the opposite of "build it and they will come." Key traits of category design...

Five Essential Principles For Sustaining Growth Through Innovation

Even though many companies strive for innovation, most struggle to achieve meaningful change. The largest reason for this disconnect? Playing it safe. Leaders and organizations want to implement new ideas, but too often they are held back by the fear of failure, even though setbacks are intrinsic to the innovation process. In the new book, No Fear, No Failure , by Lorraine H. Marchand (with John Hanc), readers will learn how to overcome the status quo that stifles creative thinking and how to create a culture that encourages innovation. Marchand provides a framework for sustained growth built on the “ 5 Cs ”: Customer First Culture Collaboration Change Chance She draws on more than 120 interviews with leaders across industries, real-world case studies, and her firsthand experience and shares step-by-step, field-tested strategies, tactics, and tools that practitioners can use to embed creativity within organizational cultures. Marchand is a former Big Tech and Big Pharma ex...

Nelson Mandela Leadership Quotes

Here are my favorite Nelson Mandela leadership quotes: "Lead from the back--and let others believe they are in front." "The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall." "It always seems impossible until it's done." "I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles." "I've learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." "Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again."

How To Harness Employee Experience Design To Attract And Retain The Best Talent

Employee Experience Design (EXD) is designing with people and not for them. It’s a proven method for engaging and collaborating with your employees to help solve your most difficult workplace challenges. You’ll learn all about EXD in the new book, Employee Experience Desing: How To Co-Create Work Where People And Organizations Thrive , by Dean E. Carter , Samantha Gadd, and Mark Levy . “Many organizations are drowning in policies and initiatives. EXD is a way to reduce that burden while delivering better results both for employees and for the bottom line,” explain the authors. The book includes inspiring stories from brands like Airbnb and Patagonia, among many others, including those in retail, healthcare, hospitality, apparel, and biotech. It describes the power that’s unleashed when organizations design with and not for their employees. The first part of the book covers The Why of why EXD is so important and addresses legitimate – and tough –...

Advisory Leadership

Flashback to three years ago...because this book is so, so good! After reading nearly 30 new books about leadership this year, my pick for 2015's best new leadership book is, Advisory Leadership , by Greg Friedman , Although the book is authored by an award-winning financial advisor and primarily written for professionals in the financial services industry, this book is a must read for any leader who wants to create a nurturing heart culture that hinges on the human-centric values the next generation of employees hold in high regard. And, what exactly is heart culture ? Friedman says, "At its core, heart culture symbolizes how a company values more than just an employee's output. It's not about the work, but rather, the people who do the work." He further explains that leaders can no longer afford to ignore the shift toward a people-first culture and its direct influence on a healthy, effective work envir...

6 Ways To Seek Feedback To Improve Your Performance In The Workplace

Getting feedback is an important way to improve performance at work. But sometimes, it can be hard to seek out, and even harder to hear. “Feedback is all around you. Your job is to find it, both through asking directly and observing it,” says David L. Van Rooy, author of the new book, Trajectory: 7 Career Strategies to Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be . As today's guest post, Van Rooy offers these six tips for how to get the feedback you need to improve performance at work . Guest Post By David L. Van Rooy 1. Don’t forget to as k : One of the biggest mistakes people make is assuming things are going perfectly (until they make a catastrophic mistake). By not asking, you’re missing out on opportunities for deep feedback: the difficult, critical feedback that gives you constructive ways to improve. 2. Make sure you listen : Remember, getting fee...

29 People Who Taught Us Life Lessons In Courage, Integrity And Leadership

The 29 profiles you will read in Robert L. Dilenschneider’s new book, Character , are about people who are exceptional exemplars of character. They’re inspirational because they used their abilities at their highest levels to work for causes they believed in. Because of character, they influenced the world for good. The dictionary defines “character” as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, the distinctive nature of something, the quality of being individual in an interesting or unusual way, strength and originality in a person’s nature, and a person’s good reputation. “But beyond these definitions, we know that character is manifested in leadership, innovation, resilience, change, courage, loyalty, breaking barriers, and more,” explains Robert (Bob), “Character drives the best traits in our society, such as honesty, integrity, leadership, and transparency, and it drives others to exhibit those qualities.” Profiled in the book ar...

Teach An Employee Something New Today

Take the opportunity today to teach an employee something new. Nearly everyone likes to learn and is capable of tackling a new challenge. Teach your employee something that expands their current job description. Teach something that will help them to get promoted within your organization at a later date. Teach them a skill that uses new technology. Or teach them something that will allow them to be a more skilled leader and manager in the future. You can even teach something that you no longer need to be doing in your position, but that will be a rewarding challenge/task for your employee. The benefit to your employee is obvious. The benefit to you is you'll have a more skilled team member who is capable of handling more work that can help you to grow your business and/or make it run more efficiently. Be a leader who teaches.

Important Questions To Ask Your New Hires

In Paul Falcone ’s book, 75 Ways For Managers To Hire, Develop And Keep Great Employees , he recommends asking new employees the following questions 30, 60 and 90 days after they were hired: 30-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Why do you think we selected you as an employee? What do you like about the job and the organization so far? What’s been going well? What are the highlights of your experiences so far? Why? Tell me what you don’t understand about your job and about our organization now that you’ve had a month to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Have you faced any unforeseen surprises since joining us that you weren’t expecting? 60-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Do you have enough, too much or too little time to do your work? Do you have access to the appropriate tools and resources? Do you feel you have been sufficiently trained in all aspects of your job to perform at a high level? How do you see your job relating to the organi...

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog