You're coaching a senior executive struggling with collaboration. How can you effectively provide feedback?

Building trust is fundamental when coaching a senior executive on enhancing collaboration. By demonstrating #empathy, maintaining #confidentiality, and showing a genuine interest in their growth, I lay the groundwork for effective coaching. I recently read an insightful article by Brené Brown in Harvard Business Review, titled “The Power of Vulnerability: How to Build Trust in Leadership,” which highlights how trust fosters open communication and receptivity to feedback. By acknowledging their strengths and framing feedback as part of their professional development, I encourage a constructive dialogue and a commitment to collaborative improvement.

To coach a senior executive effectively, building trust is essential. Create a safe space where they feel heard and respected. Show empathy for their challenges and provide honest feedback without judgment. Trust paves the way for them to be more open to collaboration improvements, allowing you to guide them with deeper impact.

Each individual has unique traits which are conditioned in them for years. Generally speaking, when someone faces a challenge in collaboration, the key areas to explore are self confidence, organising and planning ability, clarity of goals and ability to handle conflicts. As a Leadership Coach, one needs to have probing techniques with questions like shared below to assess where the problem lies: 1] What is your view of working in/ through a team and working all by yourself? 2] How do you go about achieving your goals? 3] How do you mange conflicts within your team? 4] How do you prioritise your tasks? Add some follow up questions to the responses.

Assessing needs is crucial for effective coaching, I had a client at the senior management level, who struggled with collaboration. To assess his needs, I used NLP techniques such as active listening and reflective questioning. Through deep conversations, I explored his views on team dynamics and communication issues. This approach revealed key challenges, including difficulties with trust and delegation. By employing NLP reframing and probing techniques, I identified the core problems and provided targeted, actionable feedback. This thorough needs assessment allowed us to address his specific challenges effectively, leading to significant improvements in his collaboration skills.

Assessing the executive's collaboration needs is essential for effective coaching. #Engaging in detailed conversations to understand their views on team dynamics and relationships helps identify specific #challenges. Whether it's issues with trust, delegation, or communication, pinpointing these areas allows for targeted feedback. After #reading both "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team" by Patrick Lencioni and "The Fearless Organization" by Amy Edmondson, I chose the latter for its focus on psychological safety, which I found particularly relevant. This approach ensures that feedback addresses the core issues and fosters better collaboration.

Where there is definitely a need to build trust, access needs, set goals etc, the most important factor to be considered is contracting with the Senior Leader. Exploring ares they think they need to grow, reflecting on the feedback received and chalking out what & why delving into a certain aspect is important becomes key. When there is a realisation about the impact of not collaborating using the above method the senior leader becomes ready to make and sustain the change.

To help a senior executive improve collaboration, assess their specific needs. Have open conversations to understand their perspective on team dynamics and relationships. Identify areas where they struggle, such as trust, delegation, or communication. This will enable you to provide targeted feedback that addresses their root issues.

Yes, Setting goals is vital for driving improvement. While I was coaching a senior management executive, goal setting proved essential for driving meaningful change. Using SMART criteria—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—we crafted actionable objectives based on a thorough needs assessment. For instance, we aimed for him to conduct bi-weekly team feedback sessions and enhance task delegation within three months. This structured approach provided a clear roadmap, making it easier to track progress and achieve substantial improvements in collaboration skills, ultimately leading to more effective leadership and stronger team cohesion.

Define clear, actionable goals that align with their leadership vision. Focus on specific collaboration improvements, like better team communication or stronger cross-departmental synergy. Clear goals provide direction and measurable outcomes, helping the executive stay accountable and track their progress.

When coaching a senior executive struggling with collaboration, start by acknowledging their strengths and contributions. Then, tie the feedback to specific goals they've set, emphasizing how improved collaboration will help achieve those goals. Offer clear examples of where collaboration could be stronger and suggest actionable steps. Encourage self-reflection, asking them to identify any barriers they face in working with others. Finally, reinforce the benefits of collaboration in driving success for their team and organization.

Setting specific, measurable goals is crucial in tracking progress. Clear goals ensure accountability and provide the executive with a roadmap for improving collaboration. As their coach, your feedback should guide them towards incremental, yet impactful, changes that align with both their personal development and the organization’s broader vision.

Setting clear and achievable goals is essential for effective coaching. Your emphasis on the SMART framework is spot on. By providing a roadmap to success, you empower executives to take ownership of their development.

Equip them with practical, tailored strategies to enhance collaboration. Whether it’s fostering open dialogue, promoting team transparency, or encouraging shared problem-solving, these actionable steps should align with their style and needs. Ensure consistent feedback and adaptation to keep them on track for lasting change.

You always fall back on the company's core values or mission. Returning to the basics is the most underrated procedure when there is chaos.

Even the best climbers need the right gear to conquer new peaks. Equip the executive with actionable strategies that suit their leadership style. If they struggle with active listening, suggest simple tools like summarizing key points in conversations or asking open-ended questions. For fostering team cohesion, encourage them to lead collaborative workshops or team-building exercises. Use real-world examples that resonate with them; show how small changes can yield big results. Share resources like articles or books, and even recommend a peer coach. Offer to role-play scenarios, so they feel confident applying new tactics. The goal is to provide practical, relevant strategies that fit seamlessly into their daily routine.

To enhance collaboration, providing tailored strategies is key. After setting goals, introduce practical techniques such as active #listening, frameworks for resolving conflicts constructively, and methods for #engaging teams effectively. According to an article by Amy Edmondson at Harvard Business School, titled “The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace,” such #strategies are essential for fostering an #environment where collaboration thrives. Customizing these strategies to fit the executive’s unique leadership style ensures they can make significant, tangible improvements in their approach.

Guide the executive through deep questioning to devise their own strategies to improve collaboration, rather than providing the strategies outright. The executive will be able to identify and harness their strengths and leadership style to ensure that their strategies are aligned. This is a practical, coachee-centric approach to success.

Encouraging reflection is a valuable approach to coaching. By guiding executives to consider their impact on team dynamics, you help them gain deeper insights into their leadership style and identify areas for improvement.

Visualise a collaborative and a non-collaborative future of the executive and collect pros and cons of both sides. Support the exec to gather (honest) feedback from a couple of peers to get a better feeling of her / his perception. Ask questions to find out what hinders on the way to be more collaboration - behind every motivation is a positive intention.

Encouraging reflection is pivotal for enhancing an executive’s collaboration skills. Prompting them to #evaluate their experiences and behaviors in team settings can lead to valuable #insights into their leadership style. I recently explored two insightful books, "Radical Candor" by Kim Scott and "The Art of Reflection" by John Branden. I ultimately chose Scott's book for its practical approach to fostering open communication and self-awareness. Guiding the executive to reflect on how their actions affect team dynamics, and providing feedback that highlights both strengths and areas for growth, ensures a constructive path toward a more cooperative environment.

?? ?????????????????????? I encourage when coaching executives on collaboration effectiveness: 1. Reflect on how they view teamwork within the scope of their leadership role. Are their actions aligned with their responsibilities to encourage collaboration? 2. Explore what has worked well in their previous collaborations and consider how those strategies may need to adapt as they take on greater leadership responsibilities 3. Encourage them to pause and gain a deeper understanding of how their peers perceive their collaborative skills. What can they learn from others' perspectives to improve their approach?

All of the above are great inputs. The fundamental building of rapport creates the space for vulnerability. I use a scientific assessment tool for this purpose. When its data driven and the resonance is established - the conversation about perspective, behaviours, needs opens up. The self-awareness leads to discussions on what the challenges are and what the possible ways are to shift toward the desired outcomes.

Coaching without follow-up is like planting seeds and never watering them. Establish regular check-ins to discuss progress, challenges, and wins. These shouldn’t be formal reviews but rather open conversations that encourage honest dialogue. Ask questions like, "What’s been working well for you?" or "What obstacles are you facing?" Celebrate small wins to build momentum and confidence. Adjust the coaching strategies as needed—flexibility is key. If you see them slipping back into old habits, address it tactfully. Consistent follow-up not only reinforces accountability but also demonstrates your commitment to their growth. Remember, coaching is a journey, not a one-off event.

To help a senior executive improve collaboration, regularly check in to discuss progress. Celebrate successes and address challenges with empathy. Offer support and guidance as they work towards becoming a more collaborative leader.

Any team-based collaborative work would need to have SMART end goals that lead to a vision-based co-created journey goal aligned tom organisational needs, which can be tracked and measured for ROI. These can be done through automated project management software. What cannot be automated and needs to be done with empathy is feedback. In every team, there will be leaders and laggards. Engaged feedback must be customised. As a general rule, feedback should start with all team members sharing how they performed in a vulnerable open manner that others appreciate, and at the same time pointing out what more may be needed. This is possible when a safe trusted space is created. The coach can then work with those with problems individually.