We are proud to improve the leader impact and health of organizations with our executive coaching, teaming and leadership skill development services. Let us share with you these client challenges, coaching interventions and results.
Client references: biotechnology Series C to IPO
Situation:
Series C to public biotech company (from 30 to 150 employees phases worked) was preparing for its initial public offering in the coming year and aimed to build a more cohesive team as well as upgrade its organizational health. Co-founders recognized they’re not strategically aligned, and conflict existed across the executive team whose contributions are siloed in their functional units and more generally, many lack expertise in building a public company culture that embraces challenge/change (vs. fixed mindset).
Services Provided:
• In-depth stakeholder interviews together with quantitative organizational health surveying (“Five Dysfunctions of a Team”) to align on current state and key areas of strategic/teaming challenge and opportunity
• Executive teaming to improve interpersonal dynamic and address gaps in organizational health, e.g. developed awareness of self/others, mindsets, clarified team strengths & blind spots. Facilitation also helped team align on strategy and working agreements in support of goals/team operations
• Executive coaching for all six members of the executive team, including CEO. Utilized interview-based 360s + Enneagram + Development Plan + Quarterly Progress Measurement
• Annual Leadership Development Program for high potential leaders to develop awareness, peer community and key skills including: building trust, strategic thinking, communications/influence, courageous conversations, manager skills, etc. This included larger group development sessions and also 1:1 coaching
Results:
• Successful IPO with unicorn status raising $290M and present time triple of share price
• Co-founders aligned on roles/partnership and effectively shifted perspective / expanded definition of how support each other
• CEO gains greater confidence in team and delegates more executive management responsibility; team trust is measurably improved, while CEO is freed up to spend more time externally to support company growth and hiring
• Removed silos and aligned executive team on strategic growth priorities both for business and leadership; made strides in executing plans and communicating with clarity throughout the company
• Executives gain new skill to communicate and manage conflict more effectively
• Individual executives demonstrate observable behavioral shifts and higher performance; continue to take advantage of thought partnership with executive coaches to navigate situational leadership challenges
• Successfully onboarded new COO with clear vision and working agreements for continued focus on organizational health
• Leaders develop strategy to attract, retain, develop key talent in highly competitive job market
Client references: FINTECH
Situation:
High growth profitable start-up needs significant support scaling. The company has grown from 30 people to >500 since the start of coaching in 2013. The CEO and executive team are primarily first time executives, many with past experiences as individual contributors in banking and hedge funds. Employee morale is low. Leaders have very limited skill to align on strategy, prioritize focus, have healthy conflict, manage performance, hold accountability, recruit, develop or retain talent.
Services Provided:
• Executive Coaching for CEO and his top team of 1st and some 2nd level reports. Programs ranged from 6-12 months for executives and 2+ years for CEO.
• Team Offsites & strategic planning sessions performed in conjunction with coaching for top teams.
• Enneagram assessment used across the organization as part of coaching and also team offsite work.
Results:
• Leaders learn to prioritize both results and behaviors and hold accountability/manage performance with teams for both
• Dramatic improvement in ability to communicate, align and engage in difficult conversations
• Employee engagement increases and recruiting/retaining talent becomes a strategic area of competence
• CEO significantly transforms and matures his leadership style: he prioritizes employee engagement, inspires his team, recruits/develops/retains key leaders, proactively addresses hotspots, communicates clearly and consistently
• Company raises over $60M and continues to grow profitably and launches multi-million dollar advertising campaign
Client references: biotechnology
Situation:
A public company with more than 2,500 employees has grown rapidly due to blockbuster success of an innovative drug portfolio with many “homegrown technical leaders” in senior executive positions. Key GVP & C-level leaders seek to up-level the leadership skills of their teams collectively and individually. Head of Regulatory also is promoted to be the team head of former peers (and a former boss) and requires developing new leadership skills as well as building team trust and alignment in time of significant change.
Services Provided:
• Regular schedule of executive teaming to share awareness of self/others, mindsets, clarify team strengths & blind spots. Facilitation leverages individual and collective insight to help team align on strategy and working agreements in support of goals/team operations.
• Executive coaching features interview-based 360s + Integrative Enneagram + Development Plan + Progress Measurement
• Additionally, the improved team health scales to other departments via Growth Axis’ support, including
– CFO & his top 20 direct and next-level leaders
– Technical Operations, Quality & Process Development
– Women leaders of company
• Leadership skill interactive instruction also delivered on key topics, including Executive Presence, Managing Change, Situational Leadership
Results:
• GVP of Regulatory develops trust with initially reluctant new direct reports and establishes confidence in new skill
• Team builds strong awareness of self and others, strengthens communication and becomes a connected high-trust team.
• Regulatory group uplifts its reputation; GVP is rated by the company president as highest-rated direct report
• Team identifies top strategic growth priorities both for business and leadership; executes on plan successfully
• Leaders develop strategy to attract, retain, develop key talent in highly competitive job market
Client references: professional services
Situation:
Managing Director with 15 years tenure is promoted to lead a growing Bay Area-based office; chosen over longer-tenured peers, including one who was expected to be promoted to this role now becoming a direct report. In parallel with this leader’s new general management responsibility, also tasked with global responsibility of the firm’s Corporate Officer’s Practice as well as attracting/retaining/developing her talent in a hot job market. Company has 46 offices in 26 countries and approximately 475 employees.
Services Provided:
• Executive Teaming to clarify strategy, build awareness of self and others, develop capabilities to have direct/honest conversations/give feedback, build working agreements for improved communications, build foundation for interdependent work/role clarity, deliver feedback effectively among the team -- and encourage team to make requests of the leader.
• Executive coaching features interview-based 360-degree assessment + Integrative Enneagram + Development Plan + Progress Measurement for leader and top direct reports
Outcomes:
• Managing Director develops skills to scale her leadership and impact with the team; develops credibility with direct reports that wanted her job and establishes right balance that empowers emerging as well as more tenured talent.
• Team develops bold vision, top strategies to achieve vision and aligns on culture/operating principles to empower its people
• Team aligns on best approach to staying connected in fast-paced environment with daily/weekly/monthly communications and alignment rituals
• Team shares how to balance individual and collective strengths and blind spots, develop collective vision to right scaling of team and hiring / resource needs
• Each team member aligns their top strategies to build their business and as well as enlist the support of higher-performing colleagues