Business and Leadership Coaching
Solid Management Experience + The Best Coaching Training = Enhanced Credibility & Impact With Coaching Clients
There are a lot of great coaches out there. But there aren't a lot of great coaches who in their gut understand the realities of managing and leading in a modern organization. I do. I've been there; as an entrepreneur seeking funding for a high-tech start-up, as a Vice President of a rapidly-growing Washington consulting firm, as Group Manager leveraging developing technologies to change the way an entire industry operated on a global basis, as Deputy Chief of Staff of a major federal agency.
Having that management experience and combining it with rigorous coaching training means that I can connect and be credible with a broad variety of people who might otherwise resist getting involved with a coach, including the "accidental managers".
The "Accidental Manager"
Gary Topchik coined the phrase "accidental manager" in his 2004 book of the same name. An "accidental manager" is someone who is promoted into management largely due to their technical competence. Such people find themselves "accidentally" having to lead and manage people and a program - something they may be completely unsuited to do by virtue of personality, preference, and experience.
Every organization is rife with poor managers who had been great techies, and unfortunately, very few are able to make a completely successful transition to management. Even if they perform well enough to retain their jobs, they may be chronically unhappy. They can make life a living hell for those who have to work with or under them.
Coaching is the most leveraged and effective way to help these people. It provides sustained and focused attention to the issues at hand, driven by the self-interest and personal motivations of the coachee. No amount of leadership training can accomplish what a successful coaching intervention can accomplish with these managers.
The problem is that technical managers are by far the most difficult people to motivate into coaching and the most difficult to keep in coaching. That is why a coach who "has been there", and who has spent their career working with technical and scientific personnel is more likely to be credible, connect with, and develop an effective coaching relationship with a technical manager.
Having that management experience and combining it with rigorous coaching training means that I can connect and be credible with a broad variety of people who might otherwise resist getting involved with a coach, including the "accidental managers".
The "Accidental Manager"
Gary Topchik coined the phrase "accidental manager" in his 2004 book of the same name. An "accidental manager" is someone who is promoted into management largely due to their technical competence. Such people find themselves "accidentally" having to lead and manage people and a program - something they may be completely unsuited to do by virtue of personality, preference, and experience.
Every organization is rife with poor managers who had been great techies, and unfortunately, very few are able to make a completely successful transition to management. Even if they perform well enough to retain their jobs, they may be chronically unhappy. They can make life a living hell for those who have to work with or under them.
Coaching is the most leveraged and effective way to help these people. It provides sustained and focused attention to the issues at hand, driven by the self-interest and personal motivations of the coachee. No amount of leadership training can accomplish what a successful coaching intervention can accomplish with these managers.
The problem is that technical managers are by far the most difficult people to motivate into coaching and the most difficult to keep in coaching. That is why a coach who "has been there", and who has spent their career working with technical and scientific personnel is more likely to be credible, connect with, and develop an effective coaching relationship with a technical manager.
