Executive Coaching
Professional athletes don’t stop practicing when they achieve the highest levels and neither should executives. EDC’s partners offer clients the best of both worlds: a pragmatic perspective built while leading teams at some of the world’s most well-known organizations and deep knowledge of the science of leadership psychology. Coaching at EDC provides executives with independent, objective, and trusted advisors to help them tackle problems, level-up skills, and reach goals.
CASE
STUDY
Our coaching program helped a new CEO embrace a beloved founder’s legacy and create his own.
THE CHALLENGE
A challenging entry into the CEO role
A CHRO from a Fortune 100 company reached out to us with a fraught, and very confidential situation: Their charismatic and well-liked CEO had to step down for health reasons, and his replacement wanted to minimize the disruption of this unexpected transition for the employees and the business.
A wrinkle: The existing CEO was staying to serve on the board of directors. Our client, the incoming CEO, needed an objective and independent coach to help him navigate the complex tightrope of respecting the legacy of the existing CEO, while making his own unique mark on the business.
THE SOLUTION
Two-phase coaching
We mapped out three months of weekly coaching sessions with two distinct phases. The first phase was pre-planning the transition:
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What listening and learning could the incoming CEO do before he was announced as CEO?
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How would he plan on rolling out needed changes and pivots?
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What were the pitfalls in terms of gaining the board, and the former CEO’s, approval and how would he navigate those dynamics?
The second phase took place after he stepped into the CEO role:
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Continuing to evolve and refine the timeline for changes.
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Expanding his interpersonal capabilities, in order to recruit both the board and his senior team to his vision.
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Talking through blocks and issues and planning a path to success.
THE IMPACT
Minimal disruption, profound transformation
Our client, still the CEO of this organization, transitioned into the role with a minimum of disruptive impact to the business. In a situation that was ripe for interpersonal and business complexity, he maintained the goodwill of the board and shaped the company in profound ways. In the years since taking over the role, he’s helped usher in changes that more closely aligned the company’s efforts with an always-changing world.
Meet the Team
James Brooks
James specializes in helping companies find, assess and develop world-class leaders and a robust talent pipeline. He has consulted with some of the world’s largest and most admired companies, including AbbVie, BlackRock, Cisco Systems, Morgan Stanley, Nike, the NBA, and Johnson & Johnson. James has a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational psychology from DePaul University where the focus of his graduate research was on 360-degree feedback and behavioral change.
Adam Ortiz
Dr. Adam Ortiz is particularly known for his work assessing executives and assisting them to develop core leadership, self-management, and communication skills. His perspective has evolved over the last 20 years through working with leaders across a wide range of Fortune 500 companies including American Express, Bank of America, BlackRock, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, Thomson Reuters, and Time Warner. Adam received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of St. Thomas. He is a licensed Psychologist in the state of Minnesota.
Organizational perspective.
Individual attention.
Stacey Philpot
For over 20 years, Dr. Stacey Philpot has advised some of the world’s most admired companies on how to use leadership development to accelerate growth and increase their competitive advantage. Her work has helped companies such as Apple, Bristol Myers Squibb, General Mills, Harley Davidson, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase, Nike, PayPal, and Time Warner. Stacey received her doctorate in Organizational Psychology from Rutgers University. Her doctoral research explored how early family experiences influence women’s career expectations and selection of work roles.
Lindsey Hayes
For nearly 20 years, Lindsey has helped companies better know, grow, and leverage talent to enable their business strategy and growth. Her experiences as a corporate Talent executive, business HR leader, and senior leadership consultant help her deliver solutions that combine business insight, talent theory, and pragmatic execution. She has worked with global leaders across various industries, including Nike, Google, Johnson & Johnson, Bumble, BASF, Harley-Davidson, McDonald’s, ITW and Endeavor.