A senior manager once viewed as “arrogant” adopts a more collaborative and accessible leadership style as a result of executive coaching.

An executive at a global financial services company with an outstanding track record and remarkable intellectual capability was poised to move into a leadership role. Unfortunately, his impatience with colleagues who were slow to grasp complex ideas and a cool personal style had created a situation where he was perceived as “arrogant.” This arrogance was becoming a barrier to success in his current role as well as to longer-term career options at the bank.

The executive’s manager and the HR VP decided that one-on-one coaching was needed to accelerate this high-potential’s development. They hired KCG to work with the client to change his behaviors.

The coaching engagement had three steps:

1. Set the Stage and Gather Input. The KCG coach and the client met first to define goals and how they would work together. The coach then conducted confidential interviews with 8-10 colleagues—peers, direct reports, and superiors. All interviews were conducted in confidence.
2. Analysis and Feedback. The coach summarized the findings from the interviews, sharing both high level themes and specific examples. The executive heard some things that caused him to reflect; he knew that he was sometimes seen as arrogant, but was surprised by the depth of that perception and the intensity of the negative reaction. Seeing the data laid out in an unbiased fashion helped him take ownership for changing his behavior.
3. Development Planning. The coach helped the executive define specific behavior changes which would make him more approachable and enable him to build stronger relationships in the workplace. For example, he learned to ask for others’ views and observations before speaking and to allow others the time to offer ideas and suggestions, even when he was the first to arrive at the answer to a problem.

The client was able to measurably improve his relationships within five to six months. He learned more collaborative working styles and became far less likely to advocate for his solution if others on the team offered ideas that would work just as well. He is now a senior leader at the company and successfully leads a global organization.