Challenge: As a female in a male-dominated industry, she was experiencing the “impostor syndrome”: not feeling good enough while actually performing at an amazingly high level. 

Action: We worked on enabling her to perceive her true capabilities as a leader and partner in the firm, as well as her true contributions to the industry. We analyzed how undervaluing herself manifested in her leadership behavior, then built leadership skills and confidence.

Result: She is currently thriving as a leader in her industry. She’s feeling stronger and better about her role in the world. She feels she has arrived.

Challenge: This executive was working directly for the CEO/Owner who: was entrepreneurial and judgmental; made destructive comments; took too much credit for others’ success; and excused their own actions. The COO was being treated like an underperformer while actually performing better than market peers. 

Action: We worked at building a stronger relationship between the CEO and COO. We reframed the COO’s perspective to give broader understanding, and built a stronger supporting team for the COO. We developed greater alignment and engagement of GM teams. We worked to increase the COO’s understanding of their personal values and the organization’s values: where they clashed and the trade-offs required to work in this environment.

Result: Ultimately, the COO determined that leaving the organization would benefit both the organization and the COO. The COO made a peaceful transition out of this position and into the CEO position of another organization that is thriving. 

Challenge: The company was being professionally run and the family wanted a family member to become the president within four years, if ready.  

Action: We first established the responsibilities of running a family business and then analyzed the dynamics between family members, if he were to become president. We then worked on leadership capabilities in Sales, Operations, Profit and Loss and Strategic Planning. And finally we worked on communication strategies, alignment and meeting processes.

Result: Within four years the family member was voted in by the board as President and has been successfully running the business with his management team.

Challenge: He was feeling stuck in his position and sought a promotion GM or President of that business unit or another one within the company.

Action: We began by working on his executive presence, in particular, how he communicated with his team, peers, and bosses. After exploring strategic alternatives and studying the culture, we built a brand around him being “the guy you go to make things happen.”  We worked on his ability to be more extroverted in certain situations and to think out loud with his bosses and coworkers.

Result: His first promotion was into sales, then into a COO-like position, and eventually into GM of the business. Since his latest promotion, his business is the best performing in that division.

Challenge: He realized there was a conflict and disharmony between him and the organization. He felt alone, disconnected and misunderstood.

Action: He chose CO2 because of our focus on openness, bonding, trust, and understanding, as well as our entrepreneurial expertise (having been an entrepreneur himself).

Result: After some coaching, he understood the culture was not his to control and recognized that he needed to adapt or leave. He chose to leave, and he credits CO2 Partners with not only helping him transition out, but also transition into a dream job with a far better cultural fit. 

Challenge: After reading Gary’s book, Just Ask Leadership, the Director wanted coaching on adopting a question-based approach to leadership.

Action: He practiced techniques like “Who’s decision is it?” as part of asking more and telling less. This led to his reorganizing his department.

Result: He did less but led more. His team became remarkably engaged and accountable for their different business areas. He calculated a return of $1 million dollars in savings based on the work we did together.

Challenge: As the company prepared to transition from one generation to the next, the CEO-to-be sought to enhance his leadership skills, align the organization, and find a way to manage less and lead more.

Action: We began by separating the old ways of doing business from new possibilities by: practicing conversations, brainstorming strategies, and conducting stakeholder assessments. We got the entire top team and last generation together to reimagine a different future. The organization set up a dashboard of Key Performance Indicators to manage accountabilities. With these new accountabilities and related responsibilities, the level of employee engagement rose. Some who had been with the company a long time and could not adapt to the changes left.

Result: Today the organization runs with a 30% smaller workforce, doing less work and accomplishing more. The team is aligned with the goals of the organization and is continuing to thrive. The owner has taken more vacations in the last year than he did in the years prior to our work together.