As a leadership/behavioral coach, my goal is to help successful individuals have a positive change in behavior that is sustainable and that is recognized and acknowledged by others.
Throughout my coaching career, I have coached numerous leaders and their teams using the Stakeholder Centered Coaching® process (based upon Marshall Goldsmith’s world-recognized philosophy and methodologies) that “guarantees improvement” of key leadership goals as evaluated by pre-selected stakeholders. If improvement is not acknowledged by the stakeholders, I do not get paid.
The distinctive approach to my coaching process is built around the belief paradigms of successful people and how successful people get even better. The leadership development process is tailored to take advantage of the positive aspect of successful people’s beliefs in overcoming other aspects that can interfere with their improvement.
The Stakeholder Centered Coaching® process is based upon three key principles:
- Place attention and focus on the stakeholders of the person being coached
- Emphasize feedforward
- Change behavior and perception in parallel
The Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching® methodology is a simple methodology that is neither time consuming nor difficult to understand. The method is based upon years of working with successful leaders who were willing to do what it takes to becoming even better leaders in their future. Without question, anyone who follows the Stakeholder Centered Coaching® Process will improve in his or her leadership.
What does the coaching process look like?
STEP 1: Define a Leadership Goal important to Leader and the Organization
Our methodology recognizes that one of the beliefs of successful leaders is the need to be the one choosing what to work on to improve and includes a cost/benefit analysis that helps the leader determine “Is it worth it” to proceed. Once a leader chooses a goal, the other decision tied to the chosen goal, is “Who are the relevant stakeholders?” Every goal has a set of stakeholders who are relevant as the leader’s behavior both affects them and they are clear beneficiaries of the leader. Before starting the development goal and list of stakeholders are approved by the leader’s manager.
STEP 2: Buy-in from Stakeholders to be part of the Process
As stakeholders are on the receiving end of leadership, the stakeholders’ perception of leadership effectiveness is pivotal. Therefore the Stakeholders are an integral part of this process and are recruited as valued members of the leadership change process. Either by the coach or the leader, each Stakeholder is asked to actively participate in the leader’s improvement on an ongoing basis. They are asked to provide both feedback and feedforward to the leader and be willing to complete anonymous mini-surveys on the leader’s improvement. The process starts with the Stakeholders providing the initial input on the Action Plan by providing suggestions to the leader and coach.
STEP 3: Stakeholder-Based Planning
An action plan is not developed based upon the coach’s expertise. The action plan is built from the initial request for suggestions from the Stakeholders. The Leader and the Coach collaborate to put together an action plan based on the input provided by the Stakeholders. The plan in part, or in total, is also put into a daily checklist for the leader to consciously keep the plan in his/her consciousness. The plan is distributed to the Stakeholders so they are aware of what to look for in providing feedback and further suggestions to the leader.
STEP 4: Monthly Collecting Stakeholder Input
The Leader uses the 7-Step Involving Stakeholder “do’s and don’ts” to monthly check-in with each Stakeholder. During this brief 3 to 5 minute check-in, the Leader asks for feedback on the prior 30 days and any suggestions moving forward for the next 30 days. The Leader captures this input and shares the results with the Coach. Together they collaborate on what to add, change, or modify for the coming month based upon Stakeholder input. Any new action items created for the Action Plan, this is communicated to all the Stakeholders.
STEP 5: Measure Leadership Change as perceived by Stakeholders
Halfway through, and at the end of the assignment, a formal mini-survey is conducted with the Stakeholders to assess the progress made on the development goal chosen by the Leader. This is an anonymous survey conducted in order to validate the improvement made by the Leader and to measure the change in Stakeholder perception. With the results of the mini-survey, the Leader does an After Action Review to pinpoint what happened, why, and what learning to take forward into the future.
Testimonials
Sunil has a calming demeanor and a soothing voice. He provided a safe place for me to challenge my thoughts and feelings while allowing me to make sense of things going on around me. Sunil listened attentively and asked powerful questions while remaining nonjudgmental during our sessions. I was able to see things from a different perspective. I left our sessions feeling positive and inspired by a new sense of self. Sunhil provided real insight that helped me to move forward in new ways that I had never considered before.
M. Williams, Israel
Sunil has a positive, encouraging coaching style and he found the balance between letting me explore and describe the big picture and bringing me back to the central theme and more specific thoughts. He was able to maintain and hold the frame for the session. After each session I felt more energized which supported me in taking the next steps towards my goal. Through Sunil I have learned how impactful positive appreciation and encouragement can be.
J. Maxeiner, Germany
Leading from behind. Consciously shifts to positive energy. Sincere and genuine. Is self-driven himself. Every enthusiastic and motivating. Goes beyond his call of duty in helping. Very responsive. Genuinely cares for clients. As a result, I was inspired and could think beyond the scope of my problem. Was inspired to push myself further. Have looked forward to being coached by him.
N. Narayanaswamy, United States
With his very open and positive attitude and excellent listening skills, and a very good capability to tackle both business and private topics, Sunil acted as a catalyst who helped me to speed up processes in every session that we worked together.
W. Stumpf, Austria
I was occupied with quite many things and wanted clarity on the direction of my business. What I deeply appreciate about working together with Sunil is his deep listening skills. His thoughtful questions helped me understand the situation and my strengths. And the best part about the engagement was the awareness I gained about my perceptions on taking those “big” steps and handling setbacks. Since working with Sunil I have become clearer on the new projects I want to work on, yield a greater perspective on the limiting beliefs that were hidden and have the confidence to be my best. While Sunil can wear multiple hats — coach, mentor, consultant, he’s the best when he’s a coach. He’s a great listener and has immense empathy to know and understand his clients in-depth.
P. Godrehal, India