CEO's: Pillars Of Strength, Islands Of Isolation

By Sue Plumtree, personal coach for leaders and executives

"The first thing I noticed about Barry (1), the CEO of a medium sized financial services company, was his air of feeling totally comfortable in his own skin. However, although outwardly successful and confident, he talked about a sense of isolation."

This is a common theme with CEO's and other senior executives... the fact that they cannot openly express to their peers any doubts they might experience or issues they might like to explore. They generally need to be perceived - within their own organisation, at least - as totally confident and in control.

So how do CEO's handle this dilemma without undermining their reputation?

Personal coaching is increasingly being perceived as the bridge that provides CEOs with a safe and confidential way to articulate and explore issues which, if left unarticulated, can heighten their sense of disconnection and isolation. This in turn can create a degree of stress that has damaging repercussions for the organisation as a whole.

Through personal coaching, CEOs can achieve new clarity and understanding in a number of key areas, which often include:

Core values
Integrity
Effective communication

"For Barry, the challenge was how to balance his need to be ethical with the inherently fierce competition that dominates the financial sector. He felt the need to articulate these issues to his fellow directors and senior team in a way that would engage them, but first he needed to clarify and articulate them to himself.

The starting point was to understand his own core values, a process from which emerged a new clarity and a new basis for decision-making.

Perhaps the most powerful moment in our sessions came when Barry suddenly saw that what had prevented him from exploring and articulating the issues that meant so much to him with his colleagues was a belief that holding such convictions was a sign of weakness. While this was by no means the only breakthrough, it was the one that made a profound difference to Barry's self-perception.

Five months after our last session, Barry and I met again to assess the benefits of our work together. There had been one specific outcome that meant the most to him; after a series of conversations with his senior management team, both individually and collectively, the team themselves proposed a new scheme to explore ways to implement and promote CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) initiatives throughout the organisation."

Whereas until recently there may have been a stigma attached to a CEO who, like Barry, chose to seek outside support - the far-reaching value of such sessions is thankfully becoming increasingly clear and more widely accepted.

For my part, to know that this work can have such a profound impact on both the individual and the organisation makes it deeply rewarding and hugely worthwhile.

Typically Sue works with executive clients for a minimum of six sessions. Her approach is a combination of challenge and support, encouraging reflection and offering insights.

(1) Name changed for reasons of confidentiality

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