Kimberly, Sonia, and Tom answer a question from Sylvia in Santa Fe:

My brother, who works in an entrepreneurial environment, told me his company recently conducted a “Now what?” workshop to brainstorm the key areas that will change for them. If you were asked by our company to facilitate that conversation, what would you do?

Kimberly begins with thoughts about how to use ground rules and focus on people, process, and strategy.

Sonia imagines three buckets of content: Where? What? And why?

Tom extolls the glories of the Liberating Structures website. LiberatingStructures.com.

Please meet your Unlocking Leadership coaches:

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company, wrote Connections Change Everything and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.

See you next episode when we will more ways to unlock your leadership.

Submit your question to the coaches here.

Kimberly, Sonia and Tom answer a question from Karina in Orlando: “Why are companies investing in executive coaching? Is it because leaders today are less prepared for their role?”

 Talking about coaching gives all three of them a lot of juice.

Sonia sees the generations at play in her ideas about why coaching is welcome now.

Kimberly says leadership can be lonely and having a confidential sounding board can be a game changer.

Tom remembers a time when coaching was initiated a punishment for poor performance.

Meet your Unlocking Leadership coaches:

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company, wrote Connections Change Everything and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.

Join us next month for more ways to unlock your leadership.

We’d love to hear from you. Send your questions here.

From all of us here, thanks for listening!

Kimberly, Sonia and Tom answer a question from Lorena in Austin: “Prior to COVID, in one of our meetings after the meeting, we wondered what our boss would do if he knew what we said when he’s not around. I’m now being promoted to work with a new group and want the group to experience me in a positive way? Your advice?”

There were lots of ideas about Lorena’s situation: 

Sonia urged Lorena to have one-on-one expectation-setting conversations.

Kimberly suggested Lorena state her intentions clearly and invite feedback. 

 Tom challenged Lorena to balance accountability with acceptance. He also recommended she look at Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most from the Harvard Negotiation Project. 

And that’s barely the beginning!

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company, wrote Connections Change Everything and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.

We’re grateful for your reviews and support!

Next month there’ll more ideas for how you can unlock your leadership. See you then!

You can submit a question to the coaches here.

This Episode’s question:  “At my company, I keep hearing that no one knows what specific challenges we will face in the future. It feels like there is a high level of uncertainty with no answers.  Are there competencies/skills that matter for leading in new and different situations? Any tips to develop them?”

We are in a culture of high velocity change, termed VUCA- Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. It is not going away; leaders must accept it; and realize this will probably exist for the next decade.  

Listen in as Sonia, Kimberly, and Tom, provide tools and skills to be able to adapt, enhance resilience vs survive, and thrive in this environment. 

Tools:   Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World, by Bob Johansen 


Meet your Unlocking Leadership coaches:

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company, wrote Connections Change Everything and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.

Join us next week for more ways to unlock your leadership.

You can submit a question to the coaches here.

From all of us here, thanks for listening!

Kimberly, Sonia and Tom answer a question from Scott in Boise:  

What should we focus on to be effective communicators in this new “hybrid” workplace? 

Kimberly encouraged Scott to ask questions that display caring. 

Sonia challenged Scott to know his audience.  

Tom listed three ways to manage the remote environment. 

Meet your Unlocking Leadership coaches:

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company, wrote Connections Change Everything and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.

Join us next month for more ways to unlock your leadership.

You can submit a question to the coaches here.

From all of us here, thanks for listening!

Our three Executive Coaches answer the following question from Samantha: “I know of several leaders who accepted their “dream job” in another organization who end up parting with the company after a year – mostly due to termination. I’m concerned this could happen to me. What do I need to do differently?” 

Kimberly encouraged Samantha to embrace the “C.I.V.” model: be Connected, be Intentional, and be Visible in order to become an indispensable member of her organization. 

Sonia asks Samantha to consider what “dream job” really means and work on self-awareness. 

Tom suggests Samantha control what she can in her position and set yourself up for empowerment and success.

Meet your Unlocking Leadership coaches:

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company, wrote Connections Change Everything and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.

Join us next week for more ways to unlock your leadership.

You can submit a question to the coaches here.

From all of us here, thanks for listening!

Sonia, Kimberly and Tom answer a question from Dave in Atlanta: “I’m an EVP at a large organization. HR informed me that the results for my division in the employee engagement survey had gone down significantly in the past year. They suggest we engage an executive coach to help us rebuild engagement before we announce our restructure plans. What would you recommend in this situation?”

Sonia urges Dave to candidly express concern to his team and set goals to improve. 

Kimberly appreciated HR turning him on to coaching and also urges transparency with his team. 

Tom wonders what the numbers actually mean and encourages Dave to be a listener, not a fixer.

Those little blurbs are skimming the surface. The ideas here are deep!

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company, wrote Connections Change Everything and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.


Learn more at: https://unlockingleadership-askthecoaches.com

Thanks for your reviews and support!

Next month there’ll more ideas for how you can unlock your leadership. See you then!

You can submit a question to the coaches here.

Kimberly, Sonia and Tom answer a question from Ethan in San Diego: “As CEO of a mid-size company, I am having great difficulty managing, and leading in this time of uncertainty. What recommendations can you offer to create a culture for my employees that defines strategy and creates high engagement?”

There were lots of ideas about this two-part question:

Sonia urged Ethan to think about this entire period of upheaval as a process that involves his entire leadership team.

Kimberly created a connection between the two parts of Ethan’s question, suggesting that engagement creates a fertile field for a nimble strategy to bloom.

Tom cited a key engagement factor from Gallup studies: “Does my boss have my back?” 

Sonia also mentioned the powerful book: Leading Transformation – How to Take Charge of Your Company’s Future.

And that’s barely the beginning!

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company, wrote Connections Change Everything and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.

Learn more at: https://unlockingleadership-askthecoaches.com

We’re grateful for your reviews and support!

Next month there’ll more ideas for how you can unlock your leadership. See you then!

You can submit a question to the coaches here.

Kimberly, Sonia and Tom answer a question from Chloe in Chicago: “Top management is introducing three new initiatives that completely change the priorities for my business. How do I best share this with the group and get them on board?”

Oh my! Change!  

Tom urges Chloe to get ready for a torrent of change and the importance of involving people.

Kimberly encourages Chloe to ensure she has embraced and aligned with the new priorities herself, inorder to be able to get her team to embrace and buy in. 

Sonia reminds Chloe that change happens within a context. Think big, Chloe!

Those bullets don’t do justice to the ideas in this episode. 

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company, wrote Connections Change Everything and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.

Thanks for your reviews and support!

Learn more at: https://unlockingleadership-askthecoaches.com

Next month there’ll more ideas for how you can unlock your leadership. See you then!

You can submit a question to the coaches here.

Kimberly, Sonia and Tom answer a question from Ray in New York: “I keep hearing I need more executive presence. What does that even mean and how would I find it?”

Lots of ideas for you in this episode!

Tom talked about his Three Pillars of executive presence.

Sonia observed that left-brain and right-brain people might display exeucitve presence differently.

Kimberly shared a great brainstorm of physical attributes you can focus on to enhance your executive presence.

Those hardly do justice to the treasure trove of ideas for you.

Kimberly Layne leads The Kimberly Connection Company and hosts The Power of Connection on YouTube. Reach out to Kimberly here.

Sonia Jeantet runs CIMA Executive Development and is the author of The Integrative Leader. Be in touch with Sonia here.

Tom Henschel is the head of Essential Communications and hosts The Look & Sound of Leadership podcast. You can contact Tom here.

Learn more at: https://unlockingleadership-askthecoaches.com

Next month there’ll more ideas for how you can unlock your leadership. See you then!

From all of us here, thanks for your reviews and likes. And thanks for listening!