NextGen HiPo
How to make high potential employee development programs fair, valuable, and sustainable
In the world of learning and development (L&D), there’s a decades-old concept of developing an employer’s most promising workers distinctly from their peers, and it’s known as High Potential Employee Development–HiPo for short. Ironically, the promise of HiPo programs has yet to be realized.
In theory, HiPo programs should work. Social science research supports the following statements:
- Top performers shift expectations higher for all employees (source)
- Well-done employee development programs increase employee retention rates (source)
- Growing talent from within is associated with greater company success than hiring talent from the outside (source)
- Effective succession planning is correlated to positive company performance (source)
Yet even though most can agree on HiPo’s parallel benefits to individuals and companies, the programs haven’t provided a competitive advantage or return on investment (ROI) to organizations. The average employer-sponsored HiPo program spends $3mm (source), yet 73% of high-potential programs fail to deliver desired business outcomes or ROI (Gartner, 2016), only 25% of company leaders deem them successful, and 82% HR leaders are dissatisfied with the results (source).
And what about the HiPos themselves? It’s not much better on the individual side. Forty percent of internal job moves made by high potential employees fail, and 46% of high potentials fail to accomplish business results in their new roles (Gartner, 2014). A study by Willis Towers Watson showed that over 70% of “high-retention-risk” employees leave due to a lack of future advancement in their current job (source). Harvard Business Review published a study showing that 75% of HiPos look for another job during their first year of employment and then typically leave the employer after 28 months due to a lack of both career development and access to mentoring and coaching (source).
Why are we writing about HiPo programs?
This article’s authors are professionally focused on creating impactful human development solutions. We’ve both been considered HiPos at various points in our academic and professional careers, and we’ve both benefited and suffered from flawed HiPo processes. As a result, we believe that bringing the most insightful research to bear on HiPo program design will help the programs fulfill their promise as valuable change-makers for individuals and organizations.
Steve holds a PhD in Applied Performance Psychology, is the Founder of Long Training+Research, the developer of the Prosperity Trait(c), and is a consultant to the U.S. Air Force Academy’s pilot program. For the past forty years, Dr. Long has helped leaders reduce the variability between their performance and their potential by using behavioral psychology and scientifically valid psychometrics.
Francie is the Founder of Terawatt, an online marketplace for group coaching. Terawatt works within the Human Capital space, connecting vetted experts to employers looking to solve specific problems and achieve company-level results. The marketplace’s big insight: experts are more affordable when their cost is split by a group.
The History of HiPo
The first and most famous HiPo program began in 1956 when General Electric (GE), under Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Philip Reed, built the Crotonville Conference Center, a 60-acre employee development campus in Ossining, NY. In the 1980s, GE’s CEO Jack Welch used Crotonville as the centerpiece for his revamp of what had been a bureaucratic conglomerate into a stock market darling. Fast forward forty years later: in 2024 GE sold the Crotonville conference center, citing strategic changes in talent development, and the company split itself into three distinct businesses: GE Aerospace, GE Healthcare, and GE Vernova.
In many ways, the current state of HiPo programs mirrors the lifecycle of Crotonville. The underpinnings have true merit, and several leading 20th century companies, including 3M, Arthur Anderson, Boeing, and Deloitte, used them to achieve company goals. But the HiPo programs that were once the envy of the world are no longer cutting edge.
Why don’t our fathers’ HiPo programs work for us? A few reasons: Technology and its relationship to the economy are part of it, but mostly, we’ve learned so much in the past 40 years about people, teams, and workplaces. The new data, combined with some of the seminal psychological research, disproves much of the conventional wisdom regarding employees and the relationship of employee development to company results.
Steve and Francie, this article’s authors, believe we can realize the promise of HiPo programs by building on Crotonville’s key insights with the best social science insights on people and team dynamics. Let us walk you through our thinking and framework for fair, valuable, and sustainable HiPo programs.
Let’s dig in.
GE’s Crotonville
Around 1984 GE’s HiPo program at Crotonville solidified into an annual 3-week course offered only to GE’s highest potential managers, somewhere between 25 and 50 people. The curriculum used case studies based on actual GE problems, and the course covered the themes of excellence, ownership, quality, and facing reality. Crotonville’s rigid admissions process involved sign-off from multiple internal stakeholders, including CEO Jack Welch.
The world cared about Crotonville because of GE’s business success. With Welch as CEO, GE’s market capitalization rose from $13 bn to $600 bn, making GE the most valuable publicly traded company in the world in 2000 and turning Welch into a business superstar.
At the time, and even now, there’s no consensus on Welch’s tenure. Subsequent analysis of Welch’s time as CEO shows that GE’s increase in market capitalization was much higher than the increase in its revenue or profit and that the company’s margin decreased during his tenure (source). This data suggests that some of Welch’s legend can be attributed to the psyche of stock market investors rather than his insights into company management. In addition, many Welch critics charge that his only achievement was deep cost cutting. However you feel about Jack Welch and GE’s heyday, it’s important to understand how Welch connected Crotontonville to GE’s goals and success.
In his book, Jack, Welch enumerates the value Crotonville brought to GE, and the benefits of the HiPo program continue to ring true today. Crotonville’s activities helped GE to:
- Hire and retain the best people
- Treat the best people well
- Pay people well
- Balance short term results with long term results
- Clarify company initiatives
- Develop soft skills to balance efficiency & accountability
- Function as one company, but allow diversity of styles
- Support non-employee stakeholders such as the communities in which the company operated
- Act as a “Bureaucracy buster” where people who are closest to the problem figure it out
- Increase the efficiency of GE’s operations, also known as asking fewer people to do more
- Create a modern company with a single focus on high margin
- Support GE to become the world’s #1 lowest cost provider
21st Century Insights
As we reflect on Crotonville, let’s keep in mind how different our world is today from the 1980s. GE was a leading 20th Century manufacturing company in an era when manufacturing was America’s growth engine. Managers of business units and industrial manufacturing plants were the employees winning the coveted spots at Crotonville. GE’s HiPos faced challenges managing assembly line workers, minimizing waste, and developing high margin industrial products as the lowest cost provider.
As of March 31, 2024, the five largest companies by market capitalization are Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Amazon (source). All are United States-headquartered technology businesses and derive their market value from knowledge workers’ output, otherwise known as human capital, an insight made by the SEC in 2020 (source). This means that today’s stock market places the highest value on companies where innovation and human output thrive.
In order to create a 21st Century HiPo program, we need to draw on the best research regarding human experience. This article relies on data regarding what works best for knowledge workers from the following authors: Karen Arnold, Robert Rosenthal, Lenore Jacobson, Google, McKinsey, Captain, L. David Marquet, and our own proprietary research.
Research on High IQ & Education
In their book Noise, Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass Sunstein report that General Mental Ability (GMA), organizational and industrial psychology’s preferred intelligence measurement, is required for highly complex jobs. The correlations between standardized test scores and job performance are in the .50 range, indicating a strong predictive value by social science standards. There are high-GMA people in lower-level occupations, but almost no people with below-average GMA among lawyers, chemists, or engineers. It should come as no surprise that high mental acuity is necessary for highly complex professions.
Karen Arnold’s Illinois Valedictorian study in 1993 followed 81 high-achieving high school valedictorians for 10 years following their high school graduation, and found that only 25% of the valedictorians were ranked at the top professional levels for their age after ten years. The remaining 75% fell back into the middle of the bell curve and some slid even further behind.
Further, research shows that expectations are just as accurate a predictor of success as ability rating and classification. Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson’s Pygmalion in the Classroom studied six grades of students that were randomly and secretly assigned to “fast,” “medium,” and “slow” reading ability classifications.
The researchers show that teachers’ perceptions created a Halo Effect where expectations affected student performance on report cards and IQ development.
A few examples:
- After both one year and two years, high potential boys who were expected to prosper academically showed greater gains in verbal IQ, while high potential girls who were expected to prosper showed greater gains in reasoning IQ. According to their teachers, the high potential students showed greater advances in reading ability. As with IQ gains, the younger high potential students exhibited a greater expectation benefit in reading scores.
- The high potential students who were rated as more intellectually curious, happier, and, especially in the lower grades, were less in need of social approval.
- The more the high potential students gained in IQ, the more favorably their teachers rated them.
- The more the lower-track children in the control group gained in IQ, the more unfavorably their teachers viewed them. As these students became more intellectually competent, their teachers viewed them more negatively.
- Through the teacher’s words, timing, facial expressions, posture, and even touch, teachers communicated to the high potential students that they expected improved academic performance.
Arnold’s findings combined, with Rosenthal and Jacobson’s data, teach us that while IQ or GMA matters for performance complexity, high performance isn’t an inherent trait, and expectations also matter a great deal. What would happen if high expectations were applied to everyone? The conclusion is that something other than IQ or GMA must account for “real world” success.
Google’s “Project Aristotle”
In 2016, Google allowed the New York Times to write about one of its key trade secrets. For years, the $2 trillion market cap company and internet pioneer had been searching for a throughline that connected its “best teams.” The piece does not define the phrase “best teams,” but we see two possible definitions: groups that created Google’s most profitable businesses, AdWords, Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, and Google Play, and/or teams that demonstrated over time high productivity and low churn.
After four years of researching the connection, Google’s researchers identified a single attribute held by Google’s best teams: “psychological safety.” In other words, the company’s best performing teams didn’t share a physical location, an alma mater, or any of the other conventional wisdom attributes that typically function as short hard for “best.” The best performing teams allowed team members the freedom to explore, experiment, and ultimately fail without repercussions. Failure not only allows HiPos to develop their potential more fully but also activates their curiosity. This leads to further innovations and discoveries.
Google’s discovery is revolutionary because, up to this point, conventional wisdom had been that top performing companies resulted from the smartest people working together. This assumption is rampant within the literature on HiPo programs. It’s also connected to the now-debunked assumption that hiring individual star workers drive company level results (source, source and source).
McKinsey’s People + Performance
McKinsey published a March 2023 report called “Performance Through People: Transforming human capital into competitive advantage” showing that of the 1,800 largest global companies, the best performers from the ten year period of 2010-2019 both developed their employees and demanded accountability. This top tier of the best performers achieved the highest return on capital, economic profit, upward mobility for employees, and revenue growth during the Covid pandemic.
McKinsey’s insight is that developing people, in concert with accountability, is linked to company results and financial success. This is important for the earlier generation, as it used to be conventional wisdom that developing people didn’t yield quantifiable company level results.
L. David Marquet
A Navy nuclear submarine captain, David Marquet, wrote an extraordinary book called Turn the Ship Around, where he discusses his success in flipping the traditional military command structure. In leading the USS Santa Fe for a year, Marquet replaced the typical “leader-follower” leadership structure with his innovation, the “leader-leader” structure.
Marquet found that giving employees closest to the problem more decision-making authority led to long term superior ship performance. Instead of giving orders, he writes at length about giving control. For example, he changed the reporting style so that officers would state their intentions with, “I intend to…” and his affirmative response would be, “Very well.”
Marquet cites the following metrics to demonstrate the Santa Fe’s results after one year of “leader-leader”:
- The submarine’s tactical effectiveness evaluation re-rated from “below average to average” to “above average to excellent.”
- Enlisted personnel selected for officer programs tripled from 1 to 3.
- The ship’s rate of re-enlistment was twelve times higher than the previous year, with 100% retention.
- Two junior officers withdrew resignation requests.
- Santa Fe received the Arleigh Burke Fleet Trophy, an award given to the Naval ship or squadron that achieved the greatest improvement in battle efficiency in the calendar year.
Marquet’s results echo the findings of Google’s Rosenthal and Jacobson’s Pygmalion research: The individual and collective excel when individuals master a subject, become subject matter experts, and gain decision-making authority. The below quote strikes us as an apropos juxtaposition to GE and Crotonville:
“In our modern world, the most important work we do is cognitive; so, it’s not surprising that a structure developed for physical work isn’t optimal for intellectual work. People who are treated as followers have the expectations of followers and act like followers.”
Our key takeaway from Marquet’s book is that the leader-follower method of leadership, even though revered as the pinnacle of military efficiency, isn’t the only way to achieve success, and it wasn’t the winning strategy for the USS Santa Fe submarine in 1999. Combining the above research tells us that long term, quantifiable results do indeed come from trust, respect, expertise, and individual actualization.
Terawatt’s research on employee development
Terawatt published a series of surveys comparing and contrasting the opinions of employee development stakeholders regarding professional development. One of the most interesting insights came from the 2022 report. It found that people who identified as Latino viewed their employers’ professional development programs as unfair at a much higher rate than their white peers.
This is valuable because it reminds us that the allocation of professional development still suffers from selection bias. Who gets selected to receive employer-sponsored support, and who is in charge of selecting participants? Anyone running a program to develop employees must actively work to avoid bias. The data also speak to the fact that seniority at a workplace is not necessarily correlated to ambition or drive, reminding us of the aphorism: “Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not.”
Steve Long’s research on Prosperity
Dr. Stephen Long’s life’s work has been developing a response to Martin Seligman’s learned helplessness construct. Seligman demonstrated that clinical depression and related mental illnesses are a result of ineffective belief systems relating to the individual’s real or perceived control over situational outcomes. In other words, people with a high degree of learned helplessness don’t believe that change and growth are achievable for them, and that leads them to waste their inherent potential (Source). Curious about how athletes like basketball’s Michael Jordan and football’s Tom Brady, who had a notable lack of athletic success in high school, but improbably went on to be considered the greatest of all time in their respective sports, Steve sought to explain and re-create human performance.
Steve discovered how individuals can acquire a belief system to create consistent outcomes and prosperity. Building on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Walter Mischel’s Marshmallow Study, Steve created a psychological test called the Prosperity Trait Index© (PTi) that led to the discovery of a character trait found to be the human attribute responsible for value creation – The Prosperity Trait®. The PTi measures people’s belief systems that either lead to variability or consistency between their performance and their inherent potential, and it serves as an objective measurement for individuals to quantify their thinking. The lower the variability an individual can achieve, the greater the change in behavior and results.
Another way to understand the PTi is to think about Growth Mindsets and Fixed Mindsets (source). People who hold fixed mindsets are threatened by the Unknown Unknowns (also known as Inattentional Blindness), dismiss feedback, and are subsequently destined to continue to stagnate and exhibit variable performance. These people exhibit the same Learned Helplessness characteristics that Seligman described, wasting much of their potential.
Francie took Steve’s PTi assessment and received a score of 9 out of a possible 100 points. After working with Steve on her thinking patterns for six months, Francie scored a 99. Six months later, she scored a 97. Francie felt the PTi helped her seek out detailed feedback on her process, accept what she couldn’t control, focus on what she could control, and enjoy the reward of a job well done rather than look for outside validation.
PTi’s insight is that excellence can be taught, and the adoption of a growth-oriented mindset is available to everyone. All people, regardless of their starting point, can grow beyond what they and others believe is their limit.
What are the Ethics of HiPo Programs?
Is it ethical to rank employees or offer some employees what others don’t get? Yes, as long as the differentiation is quantifiable and auditable. In other words, pattern-matching for candidates that fit the culture and other gut-driven criteria isn’t appropriate for NextGen HiPo.
Who are HiPo Programs Intended For?
Employees who work with their hands to produce physical items are typically referred to as “blue collar,” and employees who work with their minds to produce ideas or new products are typically referred to as “white collar” or “knowledge workers.”
In this article, we’re focused on HiPo programs for knowledge workers. We define knowledge workers as employees whose job requires them to spend at least 25% of their time using a computer and whose work product is not something that can be weighed on a scale. HiPo programs may be employed for a subset or all of an organization’s workers.
The authors believe there is an interesting case for blue collar HiPo programs, but that’s not the focus of this article.
Our Proposal
Combining all of the above, we’ve developed a template to create an ROI-generating Nextgen HiPo program.
- Define what success looks like: Before beginning, define company and individual measurements, metrics, and goals. Tweak once a year based on participant feedback.
- Tracking cadence: Tracking metrics and goals monthly, making the results easy for participants to find to monitor their progress or points of friction.
- HiPo selection process: Our experience tells us that development programs are most successful when employees opt in. Plus, if a person is good enough to be hired by the company, then they should qualify to opt into the HiPo program. We recommend admitting applicants throughout the organization and ranking them equally on two key areas: 1) Quantification of time and value helping others within the organization, i.e. through ERGs or mentoring programs, and 2) Quantification of employee’s work impact onto the organization.
- Transparency: Communicate to all company employees how involvement in the HiPo program works and make the selection process auditable.
- When: HiPo professional development should happen virtually or in-person during the workday. Terawatt found that group professional development can happen seamlessly in the workday, first thing in the morning or midday at lunch time. We’ve also had good success when longer-length, in-person meetings begin at lunch and finish in the evening.
- Assessment tools: Use at least two assessment tools to measure starting points and track change. We recommend two key types of tools:
- Assessment of one’s nature: Enneagram, Disc, ILS, Opposite Strengths, or the Big Five. These tools are helpful for individuals to understand themselves, their patterns, and their drivers.
- Valid psychometric testing: Use valid tracking assessment tools that meet scientific standards and meet the following criteria:
- Valid, meaning the tests measure what they say they measure and predict what they intend to predict
- Reliable, meaning test scores are stable over time
- Face Validity, meaning the test appears effective in terms of its stated aims
- An acceptable level of error, meaning that the results occurred more by a valid process and less by chance. A score below 0.05 level is the usual standard that most valid tests adhere to.
- Fair, where it’s proven no demographic classification is advantaged or disadvantaged. In employment settings, large differences in average scale scores across demographic groups can result in lower rates of selection of ethnic minorities, women, or older applicants, which is termed Adverse Impact.
- Team psychological safety: Measure, practice, and measure again with 360 degree testing to understand how this person contributes to a team dynamic.
- Feedback: Make feedback honest, accurate, and timely, coming from a wide variety of stakeholders. Feedback should come from a variety of sources: assessments, mentors, KPIs/OKRs, and peers.
- HiPo Discussion groups: One of the key pedagogical principles in adult learning is review and discussion. We recommend a peer discussion group to hash out progress, successes, questions, etc., as HiPos experience the highs and lows of personal growth. It’s likely to work best when the group itself defines the cadence and method for reflection.
- Leadership involvement: We love how involved Jack Welch was with Crotonville, and his involvement surely heightened its influence within GE. We’d like to see more company leaders get actively involved in their HiPo programs.
Key Resources
- Well-done employee development programs increase retention rates (source)
- Top performers shift expectations higher for all employees (source)
- How to keep your top talent, link here.
- Growing talent from within is associated with more [company success] than hiring talent from the outside (source)
- Developing a deep bench of leaders is associated with resilient and innovative organizations (source)
- U.S. Annual HiPo spend, link here.
- High retention risk employees, link here.
- Dissatisfied C-Suite & HR leaders with HiPo programs, link here
- Jack Welch, Jack, link here.
- Google Project Aristotle, link here
- David Marquet Turn the Ship Around, link here.
- Terawatt Group Coaching, link here.
- Karen Arnold’s Illinois Valedictorian Study, link here
- Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson’s Pygmalion in the Classroom, link here
- Adaptive intelligence, link
- Pygmalion in the Classroom, link.
- Dr. Stephen Long: Long Training+Research, link here.
About the Authors
Steve holds a PhD in Applied Performance Psychology, is the Founder of Long Training+Research, the developer of the Prosperity Trait(c), and a consultant to the U.S. Air Force Academy’s pilot program. For the past forty years, Dr. Long has helped leaders reduce the variability between their performance and their potential by using behavioral psychology and scientifically valid psychometrics.
Francie is the Founder of Terawatt, an online marketplace for group coaching. Terawatt connects vetted experts to companies looking to solve specific problems and achieve company-level results. The marketplace’s big insight: experts are more affordable when their cost is split by a group.
Leading By Listening
Listening is essential to discovering opportunities, dangers, and a path forward. Winning teams depend on listening for effective strategy, collaboration, and context. When we listen to understand, to uncover what really matters to the speaker, we glean mission-critical information.
Listening intelligence (LI) can move a mission forward, and lack of it, can derail one. Colorado entrepreneur, Dana Dupius, CEO and founder of the ECHO Listening Profile developed methods to enhance collaboration and performance culture by boosting listening intelligence with an assessment and scientifically validated profile.
We listen for what matters to us, and we may screen out, ignore, or not even perceive what we don’t know is important. The very act of listening reveals our values. Yet, I find many people are not sure how to express this core of their leadership, what really matters to them, in listening form.
Have you ever received feedback about your listening?
The business case for listening skills keeps growing as managers struggle to connect with remote employees, retain their high-performers, and develop strong teams.
Honoring what matters to you while you work is a form of inner alignment – congruency between who you are and what you do. As your leadership strategy evolves, so do you. Listening well fuels authenticity and wellbeing, as well as effective leadership.
Consider what you are listening for in your next meeting or conversation.
If you are habitually listening for the data and analysis, you may want to shift channels to listen to how people are being affected. Find out what your team needs, then the design an approach collaboratively, rooted in the reality of their experience as well as your own.
Reliable strengths and listening habits can be easily built so that you can listen more deeply, intuitively and effectively.
Seize the opportunity to network and learn by connecting with professionals from different industries and organizations and upgrade your listening intelligence, starting this month.
Registration is now open for my upcoming 6-series live, virtual and interactive course, “Listening Intelligence Upgrade for People Professionals.” Learn more about this course here.
About the author: Jessica Hartung is a serial entrepreneur, executive mentor and leadership development author. Learn more about Jessica Hartung here.
Leadership Coaching for Executive Teams
Leadership is an essential component of any successful business. Good leaders not only manage teams but also inspire and motivate them to achieve their goals. However, leadership is a skill that requires ongoing development and improvement. This is where leadership coaching comes in.
The leadership coaching process involves working with a trained coach or mentor who provides guidance and support to your executive team. They help identify areas for improvement and work with the team to develop strategies for growth. This type of training and mentoring is important because it helps them stay ahead of the competition. The business world is constantly evolving, and companies need leaders who can adapt and make strategic decisions. By investing in leadership coaching, companies can ensure their executive teams have the skills and knowledge to drive the business forward.
Below we will identify the key areas where leadership coaching can benefit your company, what our leadership coaching process looks like, and how we can create the best coaching program for you.
Benefits of Leadership Coaching for Executive Teams
Improve Leadership & Management Skills
Leadership coaching for executive teams is like having a personal trainer for your leadership skills. It’s a way to help you become a better leader and manager. Executive teams can develop a wide range of skills through leadership and management coaching, such as:
Develop Self-Awareness:
Self-awareness is the ability to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors, and how they impact others. By working with a leadership coach, executives can gain a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, as well as their impact on their team and the organization as a whole.
Through a variety of assessments and coaching exercises, a leadership coach can help executives become more self-aware by identifying blind spots, biases, and areas for growth. This can lead to better decision-making, improved communication, and stronger relationships with team members.
Self-awareness is a critical component of effective leadership, as it allows executives to understand their own leadership style and how it impacts their team’s performance. By developing self-awareness through leadership coaching, executives can become more effective leaders and drive business success.
Improve Communication Skills:
Communication is a critical component of effective leadership, and group coaching can be a powerful tool for improving communication skills for executive teams. A coach can work with leaders to identify communication patterns and habits, as well as areas for improvement. They can also provide guidance on how to communicate more effectively with team members, stakeholders, and other key stakeholders.
By improving communication skills through coaching, executive teams can build stronger relationships with team members, foster a more positive and collaborative work environment, and enhance their ability to achieve business goals.
Foster Strategic Thinking:
Strategic thinking is a critical skill for leaders, and coaching can help foster this skill in executive teams. A coach can work with leaders to help them develop a broader perspective on the business landscape, identify opportunities and threats, and make informed decisions that align with the organization’s goals.
Coaches may use a variety of techniques to help leaders develop strategic thinking skills. For example, they may use scenario planning exercises, encourage leaders to ask probing questions, or provide frameworks and models for strategic decision-making.
This can help them identify new opportunities for growth and innovation, anticipate and mitigate potential risks, and make more informed decisions that support the organization’s long-term goals. Overall, coaching can be a valuable investment for any organization looking to develop strong and effective leaders with strong strategic thinking skills.
Improve Decision-Making Abilities
Leadership coaching for executive teams is like having a personal guide to help you navigate the challenges of running a business. Decision-making is a critical skill for leaders, and coaching can help executive teams improve their decision-making abilities. A coach can work with leaders to identify decision-making styles and patterns, as well as areas for improvement. They can also provide guidance on how to make decisions more effectively, taking into account factors such as risk, time, and available resources.
Coaches may use a variety of techniques to help leaders improve their decision-making abilities. Coaches will work with your team to:
Enhance Problem-Solving Skills:
Problem-solving is a critical skill for leaders, and coaching can help executive teams enhance their problem-solving skills. A coach works with leaders to identify common problem-solving approaches and techniques, as well as areas for improvement. They will also provide guidance on how to approach and solve problems more effectively through collaboration, creativity, and analysis.
By enhancing problem-solving skills through coaching, executive teams can approach problems with greater creativity, collaboration, and confidence. This can lead to improved innovation, better decision-making, and a more resilient and adaptable organization.
Strengthen Risk Management:
A coach can work with leaders to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities within the organization, as well as opportunities for improvement. They can also provide guidance on how to manage risks more effectively, taking into account factors such as risk tolerance, contingency planning, and mitigation strategies.
By strengthening risk management skills through coaching, executive teams can proactively identify and manage risks, reducing the likelihood of negative outcomes and improving the organization’s resilience. This can lead to increased stakeholder confidence, improved decision-making, and a more proactive and strategic approach to managing risk.
Set Better Goals:
By setting better goals through coaching, executive teams can focus on key objectives and align their efforts towards achieving them. This can lead to increased productivity, improved performance, and better outcomes for the organization. A coach can work with leaders to identify the organization’s key objectives, define measurable and realistic goals, and develop strategies to achieve them.
Coaches may use a variety of techniques to help leaders set better goals. For example, they may encourage leaders to use the SMART framework to define goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. They may also help leaders prioritize goals and develop action plans to achieve them.
Increase Employee Engagement
Engaged employees are more productive, motivated, and committed to achieving the organization’s goals. A coach can work with executive teams to develop leadership strategies that focus on building and maintaining a positive work culture, fostering open communication, and providing opportunities for growth and development.
By increasing employee engagement through leadership coaching, executive teams can create a more positive work environment that fosters productivity, innovation, and collaboration. This can lead to improved employee retention, reduced absenteeism, and a more committed and motivated workforce. Coaches will focus on how to:
Cultivate a Positive Work Culture:
A positive culture is one where employees feel valued, motivated, and supported in their work. This, in turn, can lead to increased productivity, greater employee satisfaction, and improved overall performance.
Coaches can work with executive teams to develop strategies for creating a positive culture, such as setting clear goals, promoting open communication, recognizing and rewarding employee achievements, and creating opportunities for professional development and growth.
They can also help leaders identify areas where changes may be needed to improve the organization’s culture, such as addressing issues with employee morale or addressing negative attitudes within the workplace. This can lead to improved performance, higher retention rates, and greater overall success.
Motivate Your Workforce:
A motivated workforce is one where employees feel invested in their work and are willing to go above and beyond to achieve the organization’s goals.
A motivated workforce is also more likely to be innovative and proactive, leading to greater success and growth for the organization. Leadership coaching can provide executives with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively motivate and engage their employees, making it a valuable investment for any organization looking to improve their workforce performance and success.
Reduce Employee Turnover:
High turnover can be costly and disruptive to your business. Coaching can help you develop leadership skills that reduce employee turnover, such as providing regular feedback and coaching, promoting work-life balance, and fostering a culture of respect and collaboration.
Leadership coaching for executive teams can help you increase employee engagement, cultivate a positive workplace culture, motivate your workforce, and reduce employee turnover. And, with the right coach, it can be a fun and exciting way to improve your leadership skills and drive your business forward!
Effective leaders can develop and execute strategies that align with the company’s goals and objectives. This leads to better financial outcomes, satisfied customers, and a good reputation in the marketplace. Leadership coaching is like having a secret weapon to boost your business growth by working with your team to:
Drive Revenue Growth: Coaching can help you develop leadership skills that drive revenue growth, such as identifying new markets, developing effective marketing strategies, and optimizing your sales processes.
Enhance Customer Satisfaction: Satisfied customers are more likely to return and recommend your business to others. Coaching can help you develop leadership skills that enhance customer satisfaction, such as improving your customer service, developing strong relationships with your clients, and addressing customer concerns in a timely and effective manner.
Build a Stronger Reputation: A strong reputation can help you attract new customers, retain existing ones, and differentiate yourself from your competitors. Coaching can help you develop leadership skills that build a stronger reputation, such as developing a clear brand identity, promoting transparency and authenticity, and delivering on your promises.
The Leadership Coaching Process
Leadership coaching programs tend to follow a structured process to help executive teams track their progress as they develop their leadership skills and achieve their business goals. Here are the three pillars of a typical coaching process:
Phase 1 – Assessment
The assessment phase involves identifying current leadership strengths and weaknesses and defining business goals. Coaches use a variety of assessment tools, including 360-degree feedback, personality assessments, and performance evaluations, to gain a deep understanding of the executives’ strengths and areas for improvement. Coaches also work with the company to define their goals and objectives, which help us tailor our coaching approach.
Phase 2 – Coaching
Based on the assessment, coaches develop a personalized coaching plan tailored to your specific needs and goals. They then work with you through regular coaching sessions to implement the plan, providing guidance, support, and feedback to help you improve your leadership skills.
Phase 3 – Evalutation
Throughout the coaching process, your leadership coach measures your progress and achievements through regular evaluations that track performance against defined goals and objectives. They also identify continuous improvement strategies that help executives continue to grow and develop as leaders. Our data-driven insights help us provide valuable feedback and recommendations that lead to better business outcomes.
With a structured coaching process, we help executive teams unlock their full potential and achieve their business goals.
Designing The Best Leadership Coaching Programs
Terawatt Coaches design the best leadership coaching programs that are customized to your team’s needs so you get the results you need to boost your business.
Highly Qualified and Terawatt Certified Leadership Coaches
Our coaching programs are led by top certified leadership coaches who have extensive experience and expertise in their field. We match you with the best coach to suit your needs, and you can browse through a few featured coaches to see which one resonates with you.
Our coaches are Terawatt certified, which means they have undergone a rigorous training program and have the necessary skills and knowledge to deliver impactful coaching.
Dr. Nayla Bahri
Executive, Leadership and Career Coach
Dr. Nayla Bahri is an executive coach, educator, facilitator, and co-host of The Inside Job Podcast. Her mission is to help everyone she collaborates with create their ideal relationship with work, one that lets them thrive, experience more satisfaction and flow, and deliver excellence.
Debra Wasserman
Executive Leadership Coach & Workplace Strategist
Debra Wasserman specializes in purpose-driven leadership for companies and executives who want to develop robust and resilient teams, create innovative solutions to complex problems, and leave a legacy through kindness.
Personalized Coaching for Maximum Impact
Our coaching plans are customizable to suit your unique needs and goals. We work with you to design a coaching plan that is tailored to your specific requirements.
Our coaching approach is personalized to ensure maximum impact. We take the time to understand your strengths and weaknesses and create a coaching plan that addresses your specific needs.
Receive Data-Driven Insights
Gain valuable insights into your leaders’ strengths and areas for improvement and leverage data-driven insights to drive success
We use data-driven insights to gain valuable insights into your leaders’ strengths and areas for improvement. By analyzing the data, we can identify the most effective coaching strategies for your team and provide you with a clear roadmap for success.
With our coaching programs, you can unlock your team’s full potential and achieve your business goals.
Leadership Coaching Success Stories
How, as Leaders, Do We Humanize Work Environments? Check out this insightful podcast episode from Nell Daly with Terawatt’s leadership coach Erica Keswin.
Frequently Asked Questions
👉 What is leadership coaching and how is it beneficial?
Leadership is a skill that requires ongoing development and improvement. This is where leadership coaching comes in.
Leadership coaching is a process of working with a coach to develop leadership skills and abilities. The coach provides guidance, feedback, and support to help the client achieve their goals. They help identify areas for improvement and work with the team to develop strategies for growth. This type of training and mentoring is important because it helps them stay ahead of the competition.
Leadership coaching can be beneficial in many ways, including increased self-awareness, improved communication skills, and better decision-making abilities.
👉 What does a leadership coach do?
A leadership coach works with clients to identify their goals, strengths, and weaknesses. They provide guidance, feedback, and support to help the client develop their leadership skills and achieve their objectives. The coach may use various coaching techniques such as questioning, active listening, and goal setting to facilitate the coaching process.
👉 How to become a leadership coach with Terawatt?
If you’re interested in becoming a leadership coach with Terawatt, here’s how to get started:
Meet our requirements: We require our coaches to have extensive experience in leadership and coaching.
Apply to become a coach: You can apply to become a coach through our website. We review applications on a rolling basis and will contact you if your qualifications align with our needs.
Complete our training program: Once accepted, you will need to complete our rigorous training program to become a Terawatt certified coach.
If you’re interested in learning more about our leadership coaching program, we invite you to schedule a demo. Our team will be happy to walk you through our process, answer any questions you may have, and discuss how we can help your organization achieve its full potential. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to take your leadership to the next level.
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Management Coaching: Invest in Strong Managerial Skills
As businesses thrive and grow, one critical aspect that often gets overlooked is the development of effective coaching skills for managers. After all, a new manager stepping into their role for the first time may feel like they’re navigating uncharted waters.
Management coaching is a powerful tool that equips managers with the skills and techniques to guide, develop, and inspire their team members to achieve their full potential. It involves a supportive and collaborative approach, where managers act as coaches rather than just bosses, fostering a positive and empowering work environment.
For managers, coaching can be a game-changer. It helps them build stronger relationships with their team, enhance their leadership abilities, and improve their communication skills. Through coaching for managers, they can learn how to effectively motivate and engage their employees, set clear expectations, provide constructive feedback, and resolve conflicts, leading to better team performance and productivity.
In today’s competitive business landscape, effective management coaching has become a crucial component of successful leadership. It not only empowers managers to excel in their roles but also creates a positive ripple effect throughout the organization, leading to a more motivated, engaged, and high-performing team. So, whether you’re a seasoned manager looking to enhance your coaching skills or a business owner seeking to train your managers to coach employees, investing in management coaching is a strategic move that can yield significant returns for your business.
What is Management Coaching?
At its core, management coaching is about empowering managers to become more effective leaders by enhancing their abilities in areas such as communication, motivation, delegation, conflict resolution, and performance management. It goes beyond traditional hierarchical approaches to management and focuses on building strong relationships, fostering a positive work culture, and empowering employees to achieve their best.
Management coaches use a variety of techniques and tools to help managers grow and develop. They may conduct assessments to identify strengths and areas for improvement, provide feedback and guidance, facilitate goal-setting and action planning, offer practical tips and strategies, and provide ongoing support and accountability. The coaching process is typically tailored to the specific needs and goals of the manager, and it can take place through one-on-one coaching sessions, group workshops, or a combination of both.
The importance of management coaching cannot be overstated. In today’s fast-paced and dynamic business environment, effective leadership is crucial for success. Managers who receive coaching can become more skilled and confident in their roles, leading to improved team performance, increased employee engagement, and higher overall productivity. Furthermore, management coaching fosters a culture of continuous learning and development within the organization, promoting a positive work environment where employees feel supported and empowered to reach their full potential.
Different Types of Management Coaching
New Manager Coaching is designed to support newly-promoted or hired managers in successfully transitioning into their new role and enhancing their employee management skills.
Stepping into a managerial position can be both exciting and challenging. New managers often face the pressure of adapting to their new responsibilities, building relationships with their team members, and navigating the expectations of their role. This is where New Manager Coaching comes in to provide invaluable support.
It typically focuses on a variety of areas to help new managers thrive in their role. This may include clarifying their role and responsibilities, setting expectations, and developing effective communication skills. It may also involve building skills in areas such as delegation, performance feedback, conflict resolution, and motivation.
One key aspect of this type of coaching is helping new managers understand and develop their own leadership style. It encourages them to leverage their strengths, communicate effectively, and lead with confidence and authenticity. It also helps them understand the dynamics of managing a team and fosters the development of positive relationships with team members, promoting a collaborative and supportive work environment.
Additionally, it enhances employee management skills. This may involve providing guidance on setting performance goals, conducting performance reviews, providing constructive feedback, and recognizing and rewarding employees for their contributions. It also includes understanding and managing employee expectations, addressing performance issues, and promoting employee engagement and motivation.
Through personalized coaching sessions, assessments, feedback, and action planning, New Manager Coaching helps new managers gain the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to excel in their role. It equips them with the tools and strategies to effectively manage their team, drive performance, and achieve their professional and organizational goals.
High-performance managers are essential to the success of any organization. However, even experienced managers may face challenges or areas for improvement that can hinder their performance. Performance Coaching aims to identify and address these areas, while also leveraging the manager’s existing strengths to enhance their overall performance.
Performance Coaching typically involves a thorough assessment of the manager’s current performance, including their strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development. This may be done through feedback from supervisors, peers, and team members, as well as self-assessment tools and assessments provided by the coach. Based on this assessment, the coach works closely with the manager to create a tailored coaching plan that focuses on addressing specific performance gaps and enhancing their managerial skills.
The coaching process may involve various strategies, techniques, and tools to help managers improve their performance. This may include setting clear performance goals, developing action plans, providing feedback on their progress, and creating strategies for overcoming challenges. The coach may also provide guidance and support in areas such as decision-making, time management, delegation, communication, problem-solving, and leadership.
In addition to addressing performance gaps, Performance Coaching also helps managers leverage their strengths to enhance their overall performance. This may involve identifying and utilizing their unique talents, skills, and leadership style to drive positive outcomes, build effective teams, and achieve organizational goals.
It’s an ongoing process that requires commitment and effort from both the manager and the coach. Regular coaching sessions, assessments, and progress reviews are conducted to monitor the manager’s performance and provide continuous feedback and support. The goal is to help managers continuously develop their managerial skills, overcome challenges, and achieve their performance objectives.
3. Sales Manager Coaching
Sales Manager Coaching focuses on developing the unique skills and strategies needed for sales managers to excel in their role. Sales managers play a critical role in driving revenue and achieving sales targets, and coaching can provide them with the tools and techniques to optimize their performance.
Sales managers face unique challenges in the fast-paced and competitive world of sales. They must not only manage their team, but also understand market dynamics, customer needs, and industry trends. Sales Manager Coaching is designed to equip sales managers with the skills and strategies needed to effectively lead their team, drive sales results, and achieve sales goals.
One of the key areas of focus in Sales Manager Coaching is sales leadership. This includes developing leadership skills such as motivating and inspiring the sales team, setting clear expectations, providing feedback, and holding team members accountable for their performance. Sales managers also learn how to create a positive sales culture, build a cohesive and high-performing sales team, and foster collaboration and teamwork.
Sales managers will learn how to develop and execute sales plans, set sales targets, and monitor progress. They will also learn effective sales techniques, negotiation skills, and relationship-building strategies to close deals and build lasting customer relationships. Sales managers also develop skills in sales forecasting, pipeline management, and sales analytics to make data-driven decisions and optimize sales performance.
This coaching may also cover other areas such as sales training and development, performance management, and sales team coaching. It may involve role-playing, simulations, and real-life scenarios to help sales managers practice and apply their skills in a supportive and learning-oriented environment.
By investing in Sales Manager Coaching, organizations can empower their sales managers to become effective leaders, optimize their sales performance, and contribute to the overall success of the sales team and the organization as a whole.
Leadership Coaching is designed for senior-level managers and executives who are responsible for leading and influencing others within their organizations. It focuses on helping leaders develop effective leadership skills, manage change, foster innovation, and drive business growth, all while improving their employee management skills.
Leadership Coaching is especially crucial for senior-level managers and executives as they play a critical role in shaping the culture, vision, and direction of their organizations. They are responsible for setting strategic goals, making tough decisions, and leading their teams to achieve results. Leadership Coaching provides them with the guidance, support, and tools they need to excel in their leadership role and drive organizational success.
One of the key areas of focus in Leadership Coaching is leadership development. Senior-level managers and executives learn how to develop and implement effective leadership styles that align with their organization’s values, vision, and goals. They learn how to inspire, motivate, and influence others to achieve their best performance. Leadership Coaching also helps leaders build strong relationships, communicate effectively, and resolve conflicts in a constructive manner.
Leadership Coaching also addresses the challenges of managing change. Change is a constant in today’s business world, and leaders need to be able to effectively navigate and manage change initiatives. Leadership Coaching helps leaders develop change management skills, such as creating a compelling vision for change, communicating change effectively, managing resistance, and supporting employees through the change process.
It focuses on fostering innovation and driving business growth. Senior-level managers and executives need to be able to think strategically, identify new opportunities, and drive innovation within their organizations. Your Leadership coach will help leaders develop strategic thinking skills, innovative problem-solving approaches, and the ability to inspire and empower others to contribute to the organization’s growth.
By investing in Leadership Coaching, organizations can empower their leaders to become more effective, strategic, and influential, leading to overall organizational success.
Develop Coaching Skills for Managers
Developing coaching skills for managers is a crucial aspect of management coaching that focuses on helping managers build effective and high-performing teams. Managers play a critical role in guiding and developing their teams to achieve organizational goals, and coaching skills are essential in fostering a positive and productive work environment.
Coaching skills for managers encompass a range of competencies, including effective communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. Managers need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively with their team members, provide feedback, and actively listen to their concerns and ideas. Coaching skills also involve fostering collaboration among team members, encouraging diversity of thought, and creating an inclusive team culture where everyone feels valued and heard.
Problem-solving is another crucial skill for managers. They need to be able to identify and analyze problems, come up with creative solutions, and make informed decisions. Coaching skills help managers facilitate problem-solving sessions, guide team members in generating ideas and evaluating options, and empower them to take ownership of the solutions.
One effective approach to developing coaching skills for managers is through group coaching. Group coaching provides a supportive and collaborative environment where managers can learn from each other, share experiences, and practice coaching skills in a safe space. Group coaching can also foster team cohesion, build trust, and improve team dynamics, leading to a more cohesive and high-performing team.
By investing in coaching skills for managers, organizations can empower their managers to become effective coaches for their teams. Managers with strong coaching skills are better equipped to inspire, motivate, and develop their team members, leading to improved team performance, increased employee engagement, and ultimately, better organizational results.
Benefits of Management Coaching
Improved managerial skills
Coaching helps managers develop essential managerial skills such as communication, delegation, and decision-making. These skills are crucial for effective employee management, as they enable managers to effectively communicate expectations, delegate tasks, and make informed decisions that align with organizational goals. Improved managerial skills lead to better employee management, as managers are better equipped to lead, guide, and support their team members.
Management coaching can help identify and overcome barriers to productivity, both at an individual and team level. By working with a coach, managers can develop strategies to optimize their own performance and that of their team, leading to increased productivity. This can include setting clear goals, prioritizing tasks, improving time management, and fostering a positive work culture. Higher productivity levels positively impact employee management, as it allows managers to efficiently manage workloads, meet deadlines, and achieve team objectives.
Higher employee engagement and retention
Managers build stronger relationships with their employees through effective communication, active listening, and understanding their unique needs and aspirations. When employees feel valued, heard, and supported, they are more engaged and committed to their work. This, in turn, leads to higher retention rates, as employees are more likely to stay with a manager who understands and supports their growth and development. Improved employee engagement and retention contribute to better employee management, as it fosters a positive work environment, enhances team morale, and boosts overall team performance.
Coaching helps managers develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for effective decision-making. Through coaching, managers can learn to analyze situations objectively, evaluate different options, and make informed decisions that align with organizational goals. Better decision-making enhances employee management, as managers are better equipped to handle challenges, resolve conflicts, and make timely and strategic decisions that positively impact their team and the organization.
How to Train Managers to Coach Employees
Provide coaching training
Offer formal coaching training programs or workshops for managers to equip them with the necessary skills and techniques to effectively coach their employees. This can include training on active listening, asking powerful questions, providing constructive feedback, and setting SMART goals. Ensure that the training is relevant to the specific needs and challenges of your organization and aligns with your overall employee management strategy.
Clearly communicate your expectations to managers regarding their role as coaches. Define their responsibilities, including regular coaching sessions with employees, providing feedback, setting performance goals, and tracking progress. Provide managers with the necessary resources, tools, and support to effectively coach their employees, such as coaching templates, performance metrics, and performance improvement plans.
Help managers develop effective communication skills to provide timely and constructive feedback to their employees. Encourage them to engage in regular feedback conversations that focus on both strengths and areas for improvement. Provide guidance on how to deliver feedback in a constructive and supportive manner, and emphasize the importance of active listening and empathy in the coaching process.
Foster a culture of coaching
Create a culture that values coaching as a key component of employee management. Encourage employees to seek help and support from their managers, and promote a collaborative and supportive environment where coaching is seen as a continuous learning and development process. Recognize and reward managers who excel in coaching their employees and highlight success stories to inspire others.
Offer ongoing support to managers as they continue to develop their coaching skills. This can include regular check-ins, coaching supervision, and providing opportunities for managers to reflect on their coaching experiences and learn from them. Encourage managers to seek feedback from their employees and continuously improve their coaching approach based on their employees’ needs and feedback.
By providing coaching training, setting clear expectations, encouraging feedback, fostering a culture of coaching, and offering ongoing support, you can effectively train managers to coach employees and enhance their employee management skills. This will lead to improved employee performance, engagement, and overall organizational success.
Finding a Management Coach
In today’s fast-paced business world, effective employee management is crucial for the success of any organization. However, not all managers possess the necessary skills to manage employees effectively. This is where management coaching comes in. A management coach can help managers develop the skills they need to effectively lead and manage their teams.
Finding a management coach can be a challenging task, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some tips for finding the right management coach to improve your employee management skills:
Define your management goals
Before you begin your search for a management coach, it is important to define your management goals. What do you want to achieve through coaching? What employee management skills do you want to develop? Defining your goals will help you find a coach who can help you achieve them.
Look for coaches who specialize in management coaching and have experience working with managers in your industry. A coach with experience in your industry will have a better understanding of the challenges you face and how to improve your employee management skills. Terawatt is an excellent platform that offers certified management coaches that you can choose from based on your requirements.
Once you have identified potential coaches, schedule a consultation to get a sense of their coaching style and how they work with clients to improve employee management skills. During the consultation, ask questions about their approach, the length of the coaching program, and how they measure success.
Terawatt Management Coaches
Barbara Wittmann
Management Coach & Trusted CIO Advisor
Barbara Wittmann is a passionate entrepreneur, award winning author, certified coach and trusted CIO adviser. Since 2006 she has been coaching and consulting with leaders and companies that are in the process of business and leadership transformation.
Suzanne Ghais
Conflict Management Coach
Suzanne Ghais, Ph.D., is an expert on conflict resolution, consensus building, and collaboration. She has extensive experience as a facilitator, mediator, and advisor in workplace issues, environmental controversies, and armed conflict, having worked with high-level leadership on down in government agencies, nonprofits, and professional service firms.
How Can Terawatt Help?
Terawatt is an online coaching platform that offers a variety of services to help individuals and organizations improve their management skills. Whether you are looking to enhance your own management abilities or seeking to foster a culture of strong leadership within your organization, Terawatt can provide the tools and resources you need to achieve your goals.
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