Sometimes Leadership Needs a Mirror

Sometimes, I just have to say what I see.

When you're too close to a situation and under pressure, it's hard to see things clearly...

• The politics and power plays driving decisions.

• The aggression from a Board member that's not ok.

• Being misled by people you trust.

• A way of working that isn't sustainable.

• Impossible expectations.

• A fantastic team member who's off track.

A pure coaching approach is about asking powerful questions. This is incredibly important and a huge part of my practice.

However, it's also about holding the mirror up and saying what you see. Reflecting the reality of the situation providing context about what is objectively reasonable, or and what may not be serving the people I fiercely support.

I also believe that questions aren't always the enough at Executive level. Sometimes it's reflecting back what someone has said. Sometimes it's noting a change in their voice or a facial expression. Or it may be the gentle challenge of a belief about themselves that isn't substantiated.

At other times, the context requires something more. It might be a framework to make sense of things, a methodology to plan your approach, an example of what I've seen before, research on what works.

I call this combination Executive Partnering. It spans across self, team and organisational leadership. We explore thoughts, feelings, beliefs and behaviour, as well as strategy, culture, performance, structure, roles, people, power and politics. It's the personal and the professional and nothing is off the table because it's all relevant.

Each conversation requires something different to add the most value. But sometimes the most useful thing is someone in your corner who will tell you the truth.