Empowering Executives Through Shared Wisdom

Coaching

The objective of coaching is to improve an aspect of job performance in a positive, constructive way, consistent with the culture and values of your company.

Coaching is a positive, learning experience for the coaching candidate translating into positive behavior changes. These changes result in greater accomplishments and improved performance. The result is a visible impact to your bottom line, which can be measured and capitalized upon.

Methodology

The coaching methodology that we use empowers people to reinvent themselves by getting them to be consciously aware of their frames of reference, behaviors and thinking, and is most successful when performed in a positive, nurturing environment. Confidentiality is maintained throughout.

Assessment

  • Secure agreement on the area for coaching and the goal
  • Gather data in a safe, unobtrusive way via interviews or other instruments
  • Determine areas of strength and areas for development

Strategy Development

  • Clarify the goals of the engagement
  • Establish developmental objectives
  • Create an action plan with milestones and timelines
  • Review with appropriate parties to gain understanding and support

Implementation

  • Weekly (via Zoom) or bi-weekly (if in person) meetings between the coach and the coaching candidate
  • Observation by the coach at meetings, interviews, presentations, etc. as appropriate
  • Readings, classes, workshops or other educational activities
  • Developmental exercises appropriate to the assignment
  • Periodic meetings with the client (person who has engaged Steve Heckler Associates)

What You Can Expect

You can expect learning and positive reinforcement through doing. Throughout the process you will receive constructive feedback from your coach resulting in heightened awareness of the situation you are being coached on. We focus on downstream thinking, which will show up in the exercises that you perform. Our goal for you is to establish a framework for self-sufficiency, such that you will be able to recognize success at the end of the engagement. Of course, we will tailor this approach and methodology to your particular situation.

Different Coaching Programs

Steve Heckler Associates offers several different Coaching programs. These include:

This workshop is based upon the premise that Leadership is learned. Leadership is not something you are born with. Leadership has absolutely nothing to do with your position or your status. It has everything to do with your behavior.

Leadership Development is self-development. The leader’s primary instrument is the self. It’s what we do with ourselves that makes the difference. The mastery of the art of leadership is the mastery of the self.

The number one reason leaders succeed in their roles is the quality of the relationships with their constituents, particularly their direct reports. The number one reason they derail is poor relationships with their constituents. And the number one reason people voluntarily leave their organizations is that they have relationship issues with their immediate manager.

This workshop consists of two parts: A 360 Assessment resulting in a Development Plan for the participant and a Leadership Workshop which focuses on discovering your own Leadership Style and Vision.

The first part (4 hours) focuses on participants in the workshop taking the Zenger-Folkman (Z-F) Extraordinary Leader, a 360 assessment of the participant’s leadership practices based on the work of Zenger-Folkman and the 19 leadership characteristics they have identified. In the workshop, participants learn to analyze their feedback and develop a short-term action plan for improvement. In the workshop we explore the 19 leadership characteristics of Z-F. Out of this feedback, we identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. An outcome of the workshop is that each participant will write a plan for his or her next steps in their leadership development.

The second part (4 hours) focuses on the examining basic skills based on The Leadership Pipeline and then explores individual’s personal leadership style, vision and understanding more about themselves. Exercises lead to greater understanding. This part of the workshop is based on Discovering the Leader in You. An outcome of the workshop is that each participant will develop their own Leadership Vision.

This workshop is eight hours. Each participant will have to take a self-assessment and obtain assessments from previous and current managers, subordinates, peers and others who have observed the participant in a leadership role. These assessments are completed on-line and must be completed prior to the workshop itself.

Curriculum:

  • Introduction/Setting Objectives
  • Z-F 19 leadership characteristics
  • Leadership, organization and change
  • Creating your personal vision
  • Vision, values and behavior
  • Self awareness as a leader
  • Personal leadership profile
  • Leadership roles
  • Balance of work life and personal life
  • Creating your leadership vision
  • Being a leadership team

Whether you are a first time supervisor or an experienced manager, this workshop will introduce or sharpen the basic skills needed to be a successful leader.

If you are like most managers and supervisors, you are constantly stretched and challenged by the issues that face all managers. As a result, there never seems to be enough time to focus in on yourself and how you can perform your job better.

In this workshop, we review basic management principles, the role of the manger, several management models including Dr. Paul Hersey’s The Situational Leader. As managers, we spend over 70% of our time communicating, so we focus on Communication Skills. Today, most managers feel out of control and want to bring more balance into their lives. Through our time management module, you will understand how you are spending your time today and establish strategies for shifting toward the way you would like to spend your time. We spend more time in meetings. How to run effective meetings, have and conduct effective 1-1’s with your boss and your subordinates, and how to shorten meetings are explored. Tips on how to do these as well as to assess if you should even attend meetings are presented.

We look at the whole Performance, Planning and Evaluation (PP&E) model. Suggestions for how to do these more effectively with real samples are provided. Using the instructor’s years of experience as a mentor and coach, a model for coaching subordinates is presented, with several concrete examples as a take away. Best practices for successful managers are explored, with many useful models reviewed. Moving from manager to leader and your role in the organization are covered.

The workshop completes with an interactive Jeopardy quiz to test participants on their course learnings.

Curriculum

  • Introduction/Setting Objectives
  • Management
  • Hiring./Firing
  • Time Management
  • Meetings
  • Planning
  • Performance, Planning & Evaluation
  • Manager as a Coach
  • Best Management Practices
  • Leadership
  • Being Part of the Management Team
  • Goals
  • Jeopardy (Final Exam)

We offer a Team Building workshop based on the Patrick Lencioni book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. This workshop can be anywhere from 1/2 day to 2 full days. The five areas we work on include:

  • Absence of trust
  • Fear of conflict
  • Lack of commitment
  • Avoidance of accountability
  • Inattention to results


We also offer Team Building where we will work with you and your team to address team specific issues. The issues we will work on can be either known or can be uncovered through interviewing team members. In the interview process, we look for themes so as to preserve anonymity of team members being interviewed. Once issues are understood, a customized workshop is developed.

In either case, we try to link your team building needs with the use of the DISC behavioral profile assessment tool which examines people’s natural and adaptive behaviors in the work environment. Each participant will take two assessments: one which focuses on behavioral styles and one which focuses on individual values. The concept here is that values drive behaviors. We focus on having individual team members develop communications strategies for communicating with each other to enhance interactions in the work place. If you can understand people’s natural behavioral styles and/or recognize when they are adapting their style to the situation or work place, then based on your understanding of DISC behavioral styles, you can choose a communication strategy to interact with them more effectively.

We offer customized team building sessions built around the DISC Behavioral Styles tool from Target Training International (TTI). By understanding your own natural behavioral style and those of others with whom you interact, you can adapt your style to theirs for a significantly enhanced result.

We use two assessment tools – the Employer-Manager DISC Assessment and the PIAV – Personal Interest, Attitudes and Values Assessment. The PIAV measures the why of your actions leading to an understanding of what drives your behavior and the attitudes that move you to action, while the DISC measures the how of your actions.

Using these tools as a foundation and integrating other specific business objectives, we design a specialized program that results in higher performing teams with a greater understanding of each as individuals with specific strategies for dealing with each other more effectively in the workplace.

Curriculum:

  • Introduction/Setting Objectives
  • Communications
  • DISC behavioral style
  • Your personal DISC Assessment
  • PIAV (Personal interests, attitudes and values)
  • Communications strategies using DISC
  • Action Plans

Developmental coaching is where we identify a specific need or needs and Steve Heckler Associates develops a customized program for you. If you are not sure as to where your developmental needs lie, we can conduct a 360 assessment for you and we can look at your self evaluation and what others have to say about you across multiple dimensions.

We would focus on those areas that represent need for development or gaps between your self-assessment and the assessment of you by others. Performance coaching is a part of Developmental coaching – where you are having difficulty in an area of responsibility and Steve Heckler Associates can help you with that – it can be functionally based or relationship based.

Projectized coaching is where you are coached through a project – e.g. a Strategic Plan or an Organization Design. We coach while you do the work and learn through doing.

This type of project can be hourly or on a fixed price (if we can define the project well enough).

On-going Executive Coaching

On-going coaching is where we meet in person or by phone after completing an initial coaching engagement.  For face to face meetings we meet for 2 hours, usually bi-weekly.  For phone coaching we meet weekly for 1 hour. This program is a 6-month program in which we work on the items you wish to that are facing you at the time we meet. We can work on developmental issues or day-to-day issues. This is a very personalized program as each individual’s needs are different.