Success

We pride ourselves on our successes. Click on any situation to read about our approach and the results that followed.

Cronyism
Diversity
Executive Presence
Leadership Style
Learning to be a Team Player
Learning to Trust
Family-Owned Company
Multi-Company Teams

Cronyism

SITUATION
The CEO of a mid-sized corporation in the Northwest was well liked and respected within his organization. He had, however, one unfortunate habit. He liked to hire old friends, former college roommates, Air Force buddies and the like to staff his organization. He put these people in important jobs, and gradually there was an established inner ring of his friends running the company. We were brought in by the CEO himself because he recognized that communication within his organization was poor. Creative problem solving was nonexistent and his directions were being automatically agreed to and then ignored. He wanted to change this.

SOLUTION
We interviewed the directors and the EMG and never did a problem burst forth with such clarity. People were almost paranoid about speaking to each other because one of the CEO's personal friends was usually present. We were told over and over again that he would become irritated if anyone raised the subject of the effect of these relationships on the organization. We began here with a team building for the EMG. The coach-facilitator was able to put the issue in the room and take the heat it occasioned from the CEO. The team came up with the following solutions:

• The CEO's direct hires would work with their own VPs on any issue that concerned them and not involve the CEO.
• The CEO would lessen the appearance of cronyism by spending less visible time with his friends inside the organization.
• VPs would have total autonomy as to whom they hired. No one would be forced on them by subtle pressure from the CEO.
  

Our next step was a director's team building in which 35 directors first discussed the new rules developed by the EMG, agreed to them, and then worked with the team builder to solve the problems that had been created by the inbred cronyism. The meetings were at first heated, but when the group members grew confident that they were being taken seriously they soon established their own rules for good interactions.

RESULTS
A surprising number of the CEO's friends gradually left the organization when they found that their undue influence had diminished. The CEO still proposes friends for jobs - he is an outgoing man with a seemingly limitless supply - but they are somewhat rarely hired. The atmosphere at this company has become far more open and pleasant, and their bottom line has improved as the real talent in the organization began to run the show.
<< Back to the top.

Diversity

SITUATION
A very successful VP of marketing was employed for more than 25 years at a large corporation. Affable, articulate and well respected, he had always had positive relationships with his superiors. Then a former peer of his was made an Executive Vice President and he had to report to a woman for the first time in his career. Although they had known each other for years and had gotten along reasonably well, they almost immediately began to disagree both privately and publicly. He himself brought us in, frustrated as to the cause of the friction and also by his inability to improve the communication.

SOLUTION
The difficulty here was that his EVP gave us little direction when we interviewed her. She professed herself satisfied with his performance and seemed uninterested in their inability to deal well with each other. The word was out in the company, however, that she was looking for a replacement for him. Our first job was to get him to see the seriousness of the situation and decide what he wanted to do. We felt that he should begin intensive networking, in case he was dismissed, but also that he should take a look at the elements of his style that contributed to the miscommunication. This he was willing to do, and he came within a short time to acknowledge the following:

• He adopted a patronizing, pompous style with women that was very different from the pleasant, relaxed style he employed with men.
• When discussing an issue with his boss, he tended to offer solutions too quickly and tell her what she was thinking or feeling without being asked.
• He could also become quite paternal around women, and got a strong reaction from any woman who was not interested in being his little girl.
• His wife was very deferential to him and relied on him to make all practical decisions, and he carried this behavioral model into the workplace.

In the context of these acknowledgments, we encouraged him to do the following:

• Listen carefully and ask enough questions to discover what his boss's position was.
• Present his conclusion in a moderate manner and remain open to negotiation. ·Stop trying to read his boss's mind.
• Recognize that the world has changed and that women, like men, come in all different leadership styles.

We also recommended extensive reading and attendance at a series of diversity training seminars in his area. Less obviously, we encouraged him to start mentoring high-potential young women in his organization to show by example that he is fair minded and unprejudiced.

RESULTS
He is still employed in the same capacity at the same company. His excellent work continues to add to the bottom line and he is looking forward to retiring with full benefits.
<< Back to the top.

Executive Presence

SITUATION
A large chemical company had a young, high-potential executive in his late thirties who had every qualification to succeed, except the ability to be a player in his executive management group. He seemed to have learned nothing in the playgrounds of his youth and really didn't understand the corporate game. When he spoke up at all at meetings he droned on at too great length, was easy to interrupt, had no light touch with people and could promote neither his own nor his subordinates' superlative accomplishments. He was close to being demoted when we were called in.

SOLUTION
It is difficult to convince someone of the need to be at least moderately politically astute. This VP had convinced himself that all political moves were evil. We started by having him watch some popular films: An American President, Get Shorty, Absence of Malice, When Harry Met Sally. This opened up a discussion that allowed us to help him separate astuteness from guile. It also taught him how to make his presence felt in a room, the necessity of having real interest in other players in his company, how to listen, when and how to respond, and how to stay tuned in through observation, among other things.

RESULTS
He really didn't get the point until he lost enough self-consciousness to start watching his peers during staff meetings. He came to us soon after and said "I'm now a believer. While I was watching them, I noticed them watching me, and each other. Obviously, a lot more goes on at these meetings than I ever noticed." Once he got started, he outstripped his teacher, and he told us that the best result of all of this was that he felt in control and confident, that he understood most of the variables behind human political behavior. His career is now on solid ground.
<< Back to the top.

Leadership Style

SITUATION
The head attorney of the tax department of a Fortune 500 company was well known and respected throughout his company and within the legal community for his expertise. Within his department, however, he was seen as cold, devious in his communication and manipulative in his style. His staff felt uncomfortable and wary around him. He liked to tease his own people in public and was sometimes indiscreet about his peers when addressing his staff. He also tended to gossip about members of his staff to other people in the company.

SOLUTION
This was a good man with some unfortunate habits. We began with 360° feedback from the entire department - his peers, superiors and subordinates. The results were mixed. His superiors thought him an excellent manager. His staff, below director level, thought him brilliant and fair-minded. His peers, however, to a person, found him manipulative, and his direct reports believed him to be mean-spirited and indiscreet. At first, he attempted to minimize these results, but through coaching he began to see that his reputation with people was overshadowing his reputation for legal brilliance, and by extension his career. We had an all-day meeting with his direct reports in which we negotiated methods of dealing with each other. He told them he was willing to change, and at the same time made clear his expectations of them, for once directly rather than subtly. He later had one-on-ones with each peer and cleared the air, acknowledged the need for change, and thanked them for their input.

RESULTS
He has been promoted to policy level and now runs the tax department for the entire U.S. operation.
<< Back to the top.

Learning to be a Team Player

SITUATION
A young Stanford MBA had been hired by a large corporation after she had made a name for herself with a Big Four consulting firm. Her work with the treasury department on new acquisitions was excellent. She was tireless, focused, quick-witted and intelligent, but she was disliked by her peers for being overly aggressive, self-laudatory and impatient. She was also not above taking credit for all the good work done on any project in which she was involved. For a brilliant young woman, she had an impressive number of nay-sayers in her environment.

SOLUTION
After working with her for a short time we realized that this was a very fine person with excellent work habits and a sharp intellect. She had, however, absorbed too much of her school's and her consulting firm's creed of excellence above all. She was also totally lacking an understanding of the human element in lasting success. We arrived at this conclusion by evaluating her personally, getting 360° feedback and by gaining some understanding of her personal history. She was the middle child of a large, affluent family and had been raised by very remote parents. Because of these factors, she needed to feel that her coach took a personal interest in her. She also needed to be coached with kindness and tact.

RESULTS
The coaching process took longer than usual, but the results were startling. She was able to turn 180 degrees from being cold and arrogant to being a team player, warmly supportive of peers and generous in giving credit. Within six months she was promoted to a prestigious and strongly sought-after line job. We hear from her often and always with pleasure.
<< Back to the top.

Learning to Trust

SITUATION
We were called in to coach a young ethnic woman who had an MBA from Wharton and a total mistrust of her coworkers. She had always been a high achiever, but had started her life in poverty in rural Virginia. An accomplished musician, one of her proudest moments was in high school when playing the trumpet in the school band; she lowered her instrument at a pep rally when the band launched into Dixie. A kind and family-oriented person, she was not so much militant as discouraged by the prejudice she had experienced in life. We tried everything to convince her that part of success in corporate America lies in the ability to drop your guard and trust people. Those unworthy of trust can then be dealt with. We told her that people resent being mistrusted in an umbrella fashion, and would respond with coldness and non-cooperation. She knew we were trying to help, but deep down she felt that we must have been shills for her corporation.

SOLUTION
During coaching, she had spoken often of her mother, an undoubted woman with great natural wisdom, deep religious faith and an uncanny ability to size people up. "Get her on the phone," we said. We spoke to her mother at length, laying out our case. Instead of asking for a decision right then, we suggested that she think it over and call her daughter the next day. She did, and told her daughter to give us a chance - as far as she could tell, our advice was genuine.

RESULTS
This young woman immediately started to do better and was surprised at how helpful everyone became toward her. On a pro bono basis, she has joined with us in our efforts to counsel disadvantaged youngsters on the skills necessary to succeed in corporate America.
<< Back to the top.

Family-Owned Company

SITUATION
A mid-sized, family-owned business was having problems because of their management structure. The problem was nepotism. The president was the son of the chairman/CEO and the HR VP was the chairman's daughter. The sister and the brother were very close. They had very motivated managers and salespeople, and an excellent production staff. Everyone, however, was irritated and confused by the secrecy and closed-door manner in which decisions were made. Very often, the three principals would take a problem home to the chairman's house, solve it over dinner and announce the results the next morning. We needed to open up the process, make it visible and inclusive of the other VPs and directors.

SOLUTION
We interviewed the three principals separately and found the brother and the sister willing to change; the father was intractable. We then had a questionnaire circulated to all 1200 members of the company and analyzed the data. We were able to show the chairman that some of the family's decisions excluded important data and ended up costing him money. We were also able to convince him that some of the excellent decisions made by the family had been not only invisible, but also unheeded by his employees. So business was not being done the way he thought. We recommended that they make all decisions visible to, and inclusive of, VPs with feedback from the director level.

RESULTS
This became a much happier company with good information flow. The family still likes to parley together, but they are up front with the other VPs, letting them know when these meeting have occurred. In this regard, they still try to remain open to others' points of view. They may not always change their decisions, but they are now willing to be influenced.
<< Back to the top.

Multi-Company Teams

SITUATION
Two large corporations on the east coast contracted with one another to jointly produce a new product, a food additive. After they worked out the financial arrangement, they put the dual-company team together to work on bringing the product up to production level. They soon discovered that the team had divided into two armed camps with separate loyalties divided by diverse corporate cultures. Their meetings became exercises in stonewalling. Our goal was to get the team members talking to each other, to start problem solving and to move toward agreement on which company's resources would be used for what parts of the process.

SOLUTION
We started with a three-day team building. Beginning with private interviews of all twelve participants and continuing on to an analysis of group members' personality types and consequent team make-up, we summed up by delineating the team's roadblocks to problem-solving. We developed an action plan based on specific commitments of each team member and also of each company. We had senior people from each company speak to the group about corporate culture and how they do business and get things done. We agreed that the group would establish an office halfway between the two companies for the duration of the project and begin to operate logistically as a team to improve communication and establish their own joint culture.

RESULTS
Physically moving to one location solved many problems. Although the individual members of the team held onto their own company loyalty, they were able to create and work from a new, combined culture and bring the product up to a marketable form.

<< Back to the top.