Workshop 8: Coaching for Leadership: Partners on a Journey 2004

Presenters: Robert J. Lee, Management Consultant
Anna Marie Valerio, Executive Leadership Strategies

Coordinator: Eric Elder, Bank of America

The increasing demands placed on organizational leadership in the current business environment are driving the greater use of coaching. This workshop focuses on the use of coaching with people who may not have made conscious decisions about where leadership fits into their lives. The workshop is targeted to both relatively new and experienced coaches, as well as to other practitioners who are interested in issues of leadership. We invite participants who have been using specific coaching and/or leadership models, as well as those who are forming their own.

Coaching assignments arise because a spotlight has been put on someones performance or potential, or perhaps theyre in a particularly challenging business situation or transition. The leadership dimensions of their situation may not be clear, leading to the frustrating possibility that the coach is trying to help the client be better at something he or she hasnt decided to do.

Coaching can be a powerful way to help a client become clear about where leadership fits into his or her life. Coaches should be prepared to help clients examine their leadership options in light of realistic commitments and available benefits, and hopefully come to conscious decisions about the leadership roles they want to play. The subject matter of most leadership-related coaching is a combination of self-management issues, interpersonal style and skills, and the demands of leadership rolesthe soft skills areas. Coaching accelerates and intensifies the learning so that improved performance in these areas is more likely to be achieved, despite the well-known difficulties and the time limitations. The workshop explores ways to help the client become clear about what needs to be improved, and why.

We also will look at how coaching can be helpful with aspects of leadership that emerge as the individual moves up in the organization.

Robert J. Lee is a management consultant and executive coach in New York City. He was president of the Center for Creative Leadership from 1994 to 1997, and was a founder and president of Lee Hecht Harrison during the 20 prior years. His experiences in both leadership and career development were the basis for his book Discovering the Leader in You (Jossey-Bass, 2001, co-authored with Sara King of CCL). He teaches coaching at New School University and is a on the faculty of the International Center for the Study of Coaching at Middlesex University in the UK. He received his PhD in I-O psychology from Case Western Reserve University.

Anna Marie Valerio is president of Executive Leadership Strategies, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in executive coaching and the design and implementation of human resource and organization development solutions. Her areas of expertise include leadership development, organization and individual assessment, culture and climate change, business strategy formulation, executive education strategy, and performance management. Her background includes consulting experience with clients in high technology, entertainment, healthcare, and telecommunications. Prior to consulting, she held various professional roles in Verizon, Sony, and IBM. She holds a PhD in psychology from City University of New York.

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