Executive Leadership Coaching

DLC offers you coaching using the renowned Pharos programme.

How does the Pharos Programme help? It:

• helps us to understand our inner values and strengths - our personal tool kit
• demonstrates to us which of those tools we use and which we neglect
• reveals how that usage has contributed to our successes and our setbacks
• makes us aware of how we can build our leadership skills and success entirely from within.

The Pharos Leadership Development Programme comes complete with our full range of developmental tools.

Mind Filters explores the thought filters we use in both our own environment and in the workplace; there is invariably a difference between the two, and we examine the costs and benefits of these variations together with the ideal profile for the individual's role. We move on to consider the likely thought patterns of others in the business, and how we can use this information to improve effective communication and leverage influence.

Our 360 degree Dialogue tool invites input from peers, seniors and direct reports to produce comparative maps of the perceptions of others versus our own. The use of feedback and review encourages greater teamwork and trust.

Leadership Mapping explores the individual's performance level in relation to the levels demonstrated by successful global leaders, utilising some 20 leadership criteria, and identifies the costs and benefits of the variances.

Whilst PHAROS programmes are modular, each module is selected and focussed to meet the particular needs of the individual. The participant identifies his or her specific 'outcomes' for the programme. All outcomes will be specific, measurable and deliverable and the programme will only be complete once they have been achieved.

The Pharos Vision
A world, where leaders maximize their performance through a greater understanding and utilization of their own values, motivations and inner strengths.

"Coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn [about their personal assets] rather than teaching them."
Tim Gallwey: The Inner Game

A study supported by the IES Research Club reported:

What motivates employers to commission executive coaching? What is it they hope to gain? Our study found five main motives for organisations in introducing executive coaching. These were categorised as:

• to support the induction or appointment of a senior person into a more senior, or different role
• to accelerate the personal development of individuals defined as 'high potential', or individuals from a minority group identified for affirmative action
• to underpin the effective implementation of organisation change, through supporting teams and individuals
• as a critical friend or independent sounding board to a senior individual
• to support senior individuals engaged in wider personal effectiveness programmes, such as 360-degree appraisal or development centres.

"65% of respondents think that there is a current shortage of effective leaders in the U.K. This suggests that the current focus on leadership development activities is likely to continue in the next few years."
CIPD Survey 2005

The two key principles of coaching are AWARENESS and RESPONSIBILITY. The good coach will help you to raise your awareness to the appropriate level and in the areas where it is required so that you can really take responsibility for your actions, the only prerequisite for improved performance.

The Pharos Leadership Development Programme is delivered in 10 one to one sessions over a 6 to 8 month period. It is designed around established coaching practice and you and your coach will work together, in total confidence. Working in this manner has been shown to create lasting and long-term improvement in Leadership capability rather than the short-lived changes that intensive courses typically manage.

It is important to appreciate the difference between Coaching and Training: Your coach will often challenge you but in the end the solutions and the attitudes that you accept will be yours and yours alone.

There is no right way, only your way.

By entering into the programme with enthusiasm and openness you will amaze yourself and, quite possibly, some of the people around you both at work and at home. And you will also have fun.

"You do not lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership."
Dwight D. Eisenhower

In a long term survey the answer to the question "What percentage of peoples' potential manifests itself in the workplace on average?" is 40%. The most commonly held view of the most critical internal blocks which give rise to this lack of delivered potential is 'a fear of failure' and 'a lack of self-esteem'.

"Coaching is an intervention that has as its underlying and ever-present goal the building of other's self-belief regardless of the task, or issue."
John Whitworth Coaching for Performance

"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're probably right." Henry Ford

Ashridge Consulting sponsored an international three year research study that used an innovative "fly on the wall" research method. A research team lived alongside eight leaders - and the people around them - in a range of organisations across Europe, for periods of up to two years. Its findings explode many of the myths that surround modern management thinking about what makes leaders successful.

The findings demonstrate that new leaders are most successful when they stop thinking they can shape the future as they would like and face life as it is. Instead of trying to live up to some idealised picture of what leaders are, they make best use of what's in front of them. They become ordinary heroes!

Exploding many modern management myths, the report demonstrates that:

• everything does not depend on the first 100 days
• charismatic leaders can be dangerous
• team building happens more through straight conversations in the moment than through "away days"
• changing the people who work with you can be a way of avoiding the real problems

"The things that matter most must never be put at the mercy of the things that matter least."
Goethe

The Pharos Programme

• Used in many blue chip companies for more than 10 years
• Hundreds of business leaders have completed the programme
• Based on a formalised and structured methodology, customised to the unique needs of each client
• Delivered one-to-one in ten sessions of two to three hours over about six months

BT
Scottish Equitable
Unilever
NHS
Blockbuster
QinetiQ

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
The programme is delivered over 10 sessions. It is primarily one-to one and the sessions remain totally confidential between the coach and the coachee.

Each session will last for about three hours and whilst there are clearly defined outcomes for these sessions they will reflect the issues of your industry and will take into account the coachee's specific requirements The way that each session is handled will vary according to the input received from you and we may also change the order of the sessions if we identify a particularly pressing issue.

The sessions are held at the coachee's place of work. A private room (not the coachee's office) is required.

There is a gap of 2 to 3 weeks between each session. In between the coachee will be expected to prepare for the next session and will also start to put into practise the learning of the preceding session.

THE SESSIONS

Session1
A general overview of the ground rules, confidentiality etc. A discussion of the coachee's expectations and outcomes which are then compiled into the SECURE format so that progress can be monitored.

We then move to discuss the DRIVING VALUES that the coachee employs in daily working life. We explore how these impact upon decision-making in the organisation.

Session 2
This starts, as with all sessions, with a review for progress to date. Values are re-visited and we introduce the SINGLE/DOUBLE LEARNING LOOP, a vital tool to help people understand their tendency to repeat the past regardless of the outcome. This is followed by an introduction to COMFORT ZONES and further evidence of our tendency to use only those values that we are most familiar with. The session will close with an introduction to LIMITING BELIEFS

Session 3 Here we review the coachee's MIND FILTERS and work to establish the relationship between the values and the prime influences that affect decision-making. We highlight any variances between NATURAL and ADAPTED styles.

The coachee will also start considering who should be involved in 360 degree analysis.

Session 4
Begins with more work on SINGLE/DOUBLE LEARNING LOOPS. We then move on to TIME MANAGEMENT and GOAL SETTING and PRIORITISATION. Delegation and team building are discussed.

Session 5
We now concentrate on learning to analyse what we do to contribute to SUCCESS and SETBACK. We demonstrate how the values we choose to utilise can and do affect the decisions we make and we work through a number of the coachee's recent experiences to help them understand this. This session also concentrates on involving others with decision-making.

Session 6
At this session we concentrate on 360 DEGREE FEEDBACK. We compare the coachee's own feedback against those of superiors/peers/direct reports. We explore the values that the coachee may not be using and we plan the actions that will be taken as a result of the feedback.

Session 7
We are looking at RESPONSIBILITY. How the coachee accepts responsibility for actions taken and explore the tendency to allocate blame.

We lead from this to COMMITMENT.

Session 8
As the programme develops there is an increasing focus on discussion of topics covered in the earlier sessions and on feedback. In this session we study the results of the LEADERSHIP MAPPING diagnostic.

Session 9
We deal with the coachee's self-esteem and with relationships.

Session 10
This key session brings all the learning round in a full circle and clarifies how the lessons learned can continue to be applied In a self-sustaining manner to business and private life.

'Companies that use well-trained management coaches receive a return on investment of between 600% and 1,000%.'
Daily Telegraph survey 24th March 2003

FAQs

• Question I don't need coaching
• We all do! There is not an MD in the country that would not benefit.
• Question What makes you think you can tell me how to run my business?
• This isn't about me telling you how to do it. It's about raising your awareness to allow you to operate more effectively.
• Question It all sounds interesting but I don't want to do it right now
• There's never a "convenient" time to start, but the sooner you start, the sooner you'll see the benefits. And one of the "lessons" of the programme is that "Procrastination is the enemy of performance".
• Question I can't afford the time
• The time commitment is a session of 2 to 3 hours every 2 to 3 weeks and a couple of hours "home-work" in between. It is actually time that you cannot afford not to spend!
• Question You need to talk to my HR Manager/Director/department
• OK, but it has been shown in dozens of cases that the programme to be most effective, the people at the top have to understand it by doing it. Leadership has to come from the top - it can't be delegated.
• Question How do I know it works?
• This programme has been delivered for over 10 years to managers and directors in many companies large and small.
• Question Can I talk to people who've done it?
• Yes, we have reference clients that your can talk to, bearing in mind the potential sensitivity and confidentiality of the coaching relationship.
• Question What is the ROI likely to be?
• Many of our clients will say that the return on the programme far exceeds the financial expenditure.
• However, some will also say that the non-financial benefits have been of far more value to them.
• Question How does this differ from other management development offerings?
• Unlike less structured forma of coaching and off-site courses, it creates sustained and lasting change in people's behaviour. This is because it takes place in the workplace and is totally focussed on addressing the business and business-life issues of the candidate.

To find out more about our coaching and executive coaching opportunities, please contact us on 0870 759 8849 or enquiries@durhamlogisticscollege.com.