Case Study: Toy / Software Company

Senior VP Marketing
Public Toy/Software Company

Goal:

Develop clear, respectful communication and control a wild temper.

Situation:

The client was a powerhouse – brilliant, imposing, creative, rude, demanding and disrespectful. She was also absolutely unaware of her impact and was mortified to finally hear the truth: staff and peers found her difficult, stubborn, overwhelming and uncompromising.

Objectives:

Develop client’s Emotional Intelligence (EQ) so that she connected the dots between her powerful personality and how she might manage her large staff more effectively and compassionately.

Work in particular with two key colleagues whose own business efforts were often thwarted by the client’s inability to compromise and her inattention to teaming with peers.

Strategy:

The first step was a robust qualitative 360 enabling the client to see in black and white the severity of the situation and the consistency of the comments.  We proceeded to identify three areas she would focus on: control of her temper;  elimination of 11th hour, unreasonable demands on her staff;  repair of the relationship with her two key colleagues.

Client kept a “temper” log noting when her temper flared and identifying why she believed she had lost control.  Each outburst was followed within a 24 period by a face to face apology with the target of her anger and a request to “redo” the conversation.

She informed her staff that she was committing to stopping her habit of late night requests and last minute re-dos and that they had her permission to push back when she fell off this wagon.

To help her repair and rebuild with key colleagues, group coaching with all three was launched.  Pegasus, the client and her two colleagues met bi-monthly for 3 months to establish trust, examine and improve honest communication and begin to build collaboration and respect.

Results: Three months into the coaching, we launched a second 360 to gauge progress.  The client had made remarkable strides and the 360 responses confirmed this.  Her temper was in check and outbursts were infrequent – though not eliminated!  Staff had begun to push back on unreasonable requests, and were learning to retrain their boss to offer her suggestions early to avoid the 11th hour panic.  Most gratifying was the improved relationship between the client and her colleagues who found their own projects moving forward and both of whom had begun to think of the client as a professional asset to their careers, and even enjoyed the occasional lunch together.

One year after the coaching had concluded, client was promoted to Executive VP.