Here's how you can navigate the key factors in making strategic decisions in executive coaching.

Strategy is story. A great way to get a clear picture of the gap between where you are and where you want to go is to write the story of your strategy executed. Assume your strategy is realized. In what ways will your organization be distinctly different? How are you perceived in the marketplace? What new skills have you acquired? How are the players different? How has the culture changed? Do you have more pricing power? Is your moat wider? Is there more or less friction in the operation? What are you NOT doing? Strategy is more than a set of bullet points. It’s a commitment to a direction. Pre-envisioning the future version of your organization is a great way to gain clarity on the obstacles and actions you will encounter on the way.

The most important at first is the relation, gaining the esteem and the trust of the client. Once he/she can feel that they can rely on you, the hardest part of the work is done. No coaching can work on a broken relation, it doesn't matter how great both parties are. The fit is essential. The second most important from my experience is understanding the real need - often what is expressed as an obstacle or problem to solve, hides something deeper, non explicit. Third, when you work with top management you need to have a holistic view on performance and a great knowledge about each dimension in business. So you are capable to address the blind spots and tell the truth no one dares to them.

Active listening is essential in this process. By attentively listening to stakeholders, you gather critical insights, foster trust, and ensure that all perspectives are considered, leading to more informed and effective decisions.

The most strategic decisions one often needs to make with regards to executive coaching include: - to ask if the vision and mission of an organization is clear to all in the organization and are we rowing in the same direction - to assess the willingness of individuals to be life long learners and change makers - to understand if the majority of executives are “team players” or “solo players” - which “battles” do we really need to fight and which difficult conversations are we willing to have, in order to leave a lasting legacy

The most important step is establishing a solid relationship and gaining the client / Partner trust. Once they trust you, the hardest part is behind you, as effective coaching hinges on this foundation. Next, it's crucial to uncover the true underlying needs, as apparent issues often mask deeper problems. Finally, when collaborating with top executives, a comprehensive understanding of business operations is essential. This enables you to identify overlooked areas and address challenging truths.

Out of my experience, it is extremely important to build the strategy based on data/ information understanding but equally important is to have the courage to know when to stop numbers crunching and start designing the actions to lead the organization to strategy implementation. Data and different information are very often about past, strategy is about future, where courage, common sense ambition and proactiveness play a major role.

Data isn't just numbers on a report that your team have pulled together. There's more to executive intuitiveness than that. Try to be in tune with the wider world, by reading, listening, learning, and conversing on the topics that bump into your commercial entities. So many leaders don't do this however, because they haven't afforded the time to do so - and it costs them in real terms. Up your game by attending events, participating in roundtable discussions, joining peer to peer mastermind groups, turning on speech radio every morning, listening to panel discussions and podcasts all keep you updated and on your toes.

Understanding the canvassing of a business requires each thread to be assessed and comprehended. This ensures both process and individual contributor perspectives are captured as they add to the larger narrative.

Utilize perguntas que te dar?o respostas qualitativas ( elabore perguntas reflexivas) e quantitativas elabore perguntas fechadas e que tragam fatos e dados). Só assim poderá entender a e apresentar o que representa o dado através da interpreta??o de quem conta a história na entrevista. Leve em conta pesquisas internas e do mercado, movimento econ?mico, métricas e processos internos. Isto tudo apoia a apresenta??o e a a credibilidade sobre o levantamento e coleta de dados. Credibilidade é muito importante aos levantar dados ent?o reúna percep??es e dados, um sem o outro pode comprometer o próximo passo a análise de riscos.

In today's data-rich environment, coaches can help executives leverage data and information to inform their choices. This could involve using market research, industry trends, and internal data analysis. There is no excuse whatsoever in jumping into something without enough data and not just data, it has to be reliable data!

Quite often leaders are so occupied by risks and impact of the decisions needed so that they rather stay away from executing something “radical” and tend to remain on a safe side rather than going for for real change and transformation. I would invite leaders to be brave and honest with themselves, and embrace with vulnerability while deciding on their executive coaching goals.

In analyzing the risks, consider the risk of taking too much or not enough time to make the decision. In consensus-driven organizations, the time required for decision-making can become the greatest risk. In nimble, entrepreneurial organizations, an action-oriented, decisive leader can create new risks by moving too quickly.

the risk must be analyzed and managed! How to do ? Use an Enterprise Risk Management ERM The different strategies proposed are as follows: Avoidance: all tasks and activities related to the identified risk are excluded from the project. Reduction: implementation of actions aimed at reducing the probability and impact of an incident. Alternative: consideration of alternatives to minimize risks. Share or insure: transfer or share part of the risk in order to reduce its financial impact. Acceptance: the risk is accepted, no action is taken. The benefit/cost ratio is integrated into the project. among the ERM frameworks we find the Casualty Actuarial Society CAS, the RIMS Risk Maturity Model RMM and the COSO

With risk, each area needs to determine its own thresholds and exposure. While an organization may tolerate risk at a much lower level in aggregate, each component of the business needs its own subset of risk assessment to empower its performance.

The coach can guide the executive to consider both internal (e.g., resource limitations, team expertise) and external risks (e.g., economic shifts, competitor actions). He can also facilitate discussions to assess the likelihood of each risk occurring and the potential impact it could have on the decision's outcome.

When making strategic decisions in executive coaching, always consider the impact. Think about how your choices will affect not just immediate goals, but long-term outcomes. Effective coaches guide executives to weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of their decisions. They emphasize looking at the big picture—how will this move impact the team, the company culture, and overall performance? Encouraging this broader perspective helps executives make informed, thoughtful decisions that drive sustainable success. Remember, every decision creates a ripple effect, so considering its impact is crucial for strategic leadership.

Rock and ripple. Each decision has varying levels of impact and effect on the organization. Clarity in the near, mid and long-term is taken into careful consideration and planning to cultivate the most favorable outcomes.

Chegando a hora de tomar as decis?es do momento: temos pensar em todo mundo! Desde a galera que faz a empresa funcionar até o pessoal do bairro, ninguém fica de fora! As suas escolhas precisam ser justas e pé no ch?o, pra todo mundo te ver com bons olhos e a empresa ficar de boa. Mas aten??o: o lance vai além do agora! As suas decis?es definem o futuro da empresa e o lugar dela no mund?o. é muita responsabilidade, hein? Mas n?o se preocupe, juntos sempre damos um jeito!

Una buena práctica es pensar en el impacto de ejecutar una decisión para todos los stakeholders, pero también el impacto de NO ejecutar esa decisión, lo que cada uno de ellos perderá como oportunidad o ganará.

When making strategic decisions in executive coaching, consider the impact on both the client and the organization. Align the client's needs and goals with the organization's objectives, using tailored coaching plans. Emphasize leadership development, cultural sensitivity, and ethical practices. Regularly provide feedback and measure the impact to ensure the coaching process drives sustainable and meaningful growth for both the client and the organization.

Yes. And keep asking the “why” that led to those stakeholders’ views. Maybe not always the “5 whys,” but at least 3. You don’t need to use the word “why,” you can ask them to help you understand their analysis, their reasoning, and especially how their approach supports the mission/vision of the organization.

Engage others in actively adopting smart skills to replace the outmoded hard and soft skills that come highly inadequate to offer solutions for this new era. Model and actively facilitate participant to move from a closed (or fixed) to an open (or growth) mindset. Then develop and use the most basic smart skills to tame a brain’s amygdala by combining hard and soft skills to meet both mental and emotional problems with smart skill possibilities where all learn, all teach and all benefit.

Through coaching conversations, executives can gain a deeper understanding of their own decision-making tendencies, biases, and blind spots, engaging each team member with a unique perspective and unifying to a common goal. This self-awareness allows them to have a broader dialogue and to make more objective choices.

Whether it's Andrew Silberman or Simon Sinek, I like the 'start with why' approach. If you can get your coaching client thinking that way, they can begin to diagnose issues much more clearly - whether interpersonal or organizational. As usual, Andrew knows because he's been there guiding clients for decades. Finding the keys to change is the ultimate coach/client joint venture.

Strategic decisions inherently rely on collaborative efforts to achieve success. Gathering diverse input and sharing a draft with key internal stakeholders is essential. This iterative process ensures relevance, aligns the team for success, and initiates effective change management efforts.

After going through all the steps painstakingly to arrive at a decision, leaders can sometimes procrastinate in executing on it. This could be due to other priorities, fear of taking a risk or sometimes the need to get more buy-in. This causes delays that make the decision and it's execution no longer relevant to the organization. Being decisive and willingness to take risks is important for successful leadership outcomes.

At this point in the decision making process, it is time for your leadership to take a stand. After you’ve followed all of the steps, gathered and analyzed the data, studied the risk and impact, now is the time to act. Your execution of the decision is what you will be known for. And if you’ve made a well informed decision, you should have no fear about the outcome. Now is the time for you to stand on what you know. Your knowing will include the realization that you can handle whatever the outcome will be. I believe that is true leadership.

For e.g., say David, an executive coach, works with a CMO who wants to improve her strategic thinking and decision-making skills. They set specific goals, such as developing a comprehensive marketing strategy for the upcoming fiscal year and presenting it to the board. They also establish monthly milestones to track progress and make adjustments as needed. Develop Actionable Plans: Once goals are set, creating actionable plans is the next step. These plans should outline specific actions, timelines, and resources required to achieve the goals. An actionable plan provides a clear roadmap and ensures that the executive knows exactly what steps to take to reach their objectives. The Coach enables Coachee to come up with the action plan.

One powerful way is to organise a retreat where the executive collaborates with experts from various disciplines (e.g., technology, psychology, economics) to gain fresh perspectives on strategic challenges. Over several days, engage in workshops and brainstorming sessions to explore innovative solutions and strategic scenarios. Synthesize these insights into a cohesive action plan, with follow-up sessions to ensure implementation and adaptability. This approach leverages diverse expertise to drive innovation, breakthrough thinking and robust decision-making.

I usually advise my clients not to simply categorize decisions as either good or bad, but to also consider a third option: making a smart decision, or as I would say in German, a "kluge Entscheidung"! These are the types of decisions that are made with a blend of reason and emotion, where both aspects are taken into consideration. I have witnessed clients who, despite making perfectly logical and rational choices, were ultimately dissatisfied with the outcomes in retrospect. Therefore, it is essential to view decisions from a holistic perspective, ensuring that we not only use our rationality (Ratio) but also listen to our intuition and emotions to make a truly "kluge" decision.

You CANNOT "Navigate key factors", unless you are adept at identifying, uncovering, and prioritizing key factors prior to the development of a coherent strategic plan. That means you MUST develop a solid foundation in negotiation skills specifically designed to provide the tools necessary to identify, uncover, and prioritize key factors in a timely manner. And the ONLY negotiation training that does that effectively is based on the "Comprehensive Negotiating Strategies Universal Framework" (CNSUF)! Virtually all of the other negotiating frameworks are primarily designed to address transactional issues, or filled with tactics that are not up to par with the "Emerging Integrated Global Economy (EIGE). CNS excellence is the key!

Use decision-making frameworks, like cost-benefit analysis and decision matrices, to compare and prioritize options. Ensure each strategic decision aligns with the organization’s vision, mission, values, and long-term goals.