Is your style of leadership working?
You may know what it means to be a good leader. But are you a good leader? That is, are you getting the results leaders get? (Even if you seem to be doing all the right things?)
You need to produce a certain result and communicate that to your team and employees. But it doesn’t happen.
- You are determined to delegate more, but you find yourself lost in the weeds.
- You want to be more decisive, but still find that you’re second-guessing yourself.
- You need to give effective feedback to develop and motivate others, but you find yourself rarely giving it and when you do it doesn’t have the intended effect.
- You need to contain your emotions to better influence colleagues and reports, but you find yourself “blowing-up” in meetings and conversations.
- You need to communicate with greater influence and impact to get your point across to your reports, peers and customers, but find yourself misunderstood or ignored.
So what’s going on here? Why do you have great intentions to lead but you seem to keep undermining yourself?
It’s not that you don’t know the how-to’s of leadership, it’s that something is getting in the way, that tends to sabotage you over and over again.
So what exactly is getting in the way?
Assumptions. We all have unconscious or hidden assumptions, habits of belief, or limiting thoughts, that make us take actions, or avoid taking actions.
For example, you want to be more decisive, but you are living with an underlying belief or assumption that it’s not right to take action without approval from someone in authority (i.e. your boss). So, you continually hold back. And no matter how determined you are to be decisive, that assumption drives your behavior.
We call that having an immunity to change.
Those unconscious assumptions literally make us immune to doing something different (even if that something would be the more effective and beneficial thing to do).
So, what can I do to get beyond those assumptions that are holding me back and start stepping up as the leader I know I can be?
The Immunity to Change Coaching Process
You need to discover and examine the fundamental assumptions you have about yourself as a leader and those you lead.
The most powerful way to do this is through the Immunity to Change Coaching process which was developed over a 20-year period by Harvard professors and researchers Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey. It uncovers the hidden and strongly held beliefs and commitments that stops people from making the changes they want.
How it works
You choose a behavior that you are highly motivated to change. Then you are led through a mapping process to identify the anxieties and assumptions you have about what would happen if you were to actually make those changes. This will uncover your hidden “immunity to change” i.e., what has held you back from making the change already.
With your coach, you then design and run a series of small experiments in the workplace to test out the validity of your assumptions. As you realize that the assumptions you have been operating under are false or partially false, your resistance to change naturally diminishes and adoption of the desired behavior happens.
“In working with Robert I was able to learn to become an effective delegator that was critical to my success in my new VP position. His coaching uncovered how I was unconsciously putting the “brakes” on my delegating effectively, despite my best efforts.”
Dan M. VP of Operations, Technology Company
Your Best Investment
The best investment you can make in your leadership development is in executive coaching where the learning is tailored to meet your specific needs and goals.
Since 2003 I’ve supported leaders and their teams taking the next step in reaching their highest potential and success. I bring over 24 years of experience coaching and consulting with a wide variety of executive clients and in a variety of industries.
I excel at taking clients to higher levels of leadership effectiveness by helping them uncover their “immunity to change” that have limited their leadership effectiveness. I help them open new unforeseen pathways to accomplishing their most important goals.
A plan designed for you
My approach is tailored to your specific situation. I start with a 360 degree assessment to understand your unique leadership strengths and areas for development. I work with you to set measurable goals and build a customized development plan.
We’ll focus on the “biggest win”
We’ll identify the “one big” issue that will generate the biggest win for you in becoming a more effective leader.
One-on-One and Confidential
Through a one-on-one, confidential relationship, you’ll develop new capabilities and skills to successfully tackle the leadership challenges before you.
Gain new insights on which you can build success
Coaching provides a rare and valuable opportunity to gain fresh insights. It lets you experiment with new ways of thinking and acting to achieve new levels of performance.
Take focused risks
You take safe focused risks which are intentional, specific actions that help you overcome your immunity to change.
Identify unproductive assumptions
By identifying your hidden limiting assumptions that hold you back, you can begin to move beyond them.
See the world differently
The world may look differently than you imagine. By seeing things differently, new possibilities emerge.
What to expect
- In our initial meeting, we’ll create a schedule of coaching sessions (10-12 minute meetings, every 2 or 3 weeks).
- A 6 month custom program that is designed for you.
- All communication will be maintained in the strictest confidence.
- Coaching sessions will be virtual during the Pandemic.
- You’ll spend approximately one hour a week either on homework or meeting with me for a coaching session.
About Next Step Leadership Coaching
I’m passionate about supporting leaders and their teams taking the next step in reaching their highest potential. Robert brings over 24 years of experience as an executive coach and organization development consultant working with a wide variety of clients.
I get results for my clients by:
- Observing them
- Directing them into new behavioral practices
- Pointing out bad habits and faulty assumptions
- Challenging them to do better, and asking them to excel in areas they didn’t think were possible
- Uncover blind spots that have kept them from accomplishing their most important goals
Coach Certifications and Training
- Immunity to Change Online Coaching Program, Minds at Work
- Immunity to Change Workshop Facilitation workshops, Minds At Work
- Master Somatic Coach certification, Strozzi Institute
- Professional and Personal Mastery Coach certification, Newfield Network
Education
- M.S. Organization Development, Loyola University Chicago
- M.Ed Counseling and Educational Psychology, Loyola University Chicago
- B.A. Philosophy, Denison University
“”What a great – and effective – experience! Robert’s coaching helped me identify the hidden beliefs that had kept me from communicating to others with greater candor and openness. I highly recommend Robert’s coaching for anyone wanting to increase their communication effectiveness.”
Christine D. Director of HR, Major University
Free 60-minute phone consultation
Take the next step in your career.
