Experience

Supported the CEO of a global oilfield services company in planning the transition to his successor by helping him define his approach to transferring his knowledge and accepting that the corporate culture would change. In order to minimize the negative impact of the transition, Cheryl coached him through the process of communicating with the board of directors and his employees, and dealing with their emotional reactions, which made him very uncomfortable. She helped him explore his options and timing for considering other opportunities while fulfilling his responsibilities to the company. As a result, the CEO enlisted his direct reports in preparing the information for his successor, and encouraged the employees to maintain their loyalty to the company.

Coached the Vice President, National Accounts on managing relationships: as a female in a male-dominated, traditional global construction materials company, this client needed support in her approach to colleagues and customers. Cheryl provided feedback on her communication style and encouraged her to rely on her skills in building relationships at all levels. The client was promoted from a sales role to operations management, and was elected to a leadership position in the industry’s professional association.

Equipped team members to communicate and collaborate: the new leader of the Human Resources team for the Americas Region of a global integrated natural gas company needed to address a number of problems on the team. In order to help each team member gain increased self-awareness, Cheryl presented feedback from individual Birkman assessments and conducted interviews to understand the issues. She then conducted a half-day team development workshop that identified and offered guidance for managing potential conflict areas. Cheryl coached the team members in using the new insight for their project planning process. Participants reported improved relationships and enhanced team performance.

Facilitated executive integration: supported the new head of supply chain in a specialized retail organization in learning the corporate culture in a different industry. His predecessor had failed to build relationships at corporate headquarters as well as in the field, so he had to overcome a negative perception of the supply chain function. Cheryl conducted 360 interviews at regular intervals during his first six months, focusing on culture fit, relationships, performance against goals, conflict resolution, and staff management. The Managing Director was successful in all aspects of his role and was given additional responsibility before he had been with the company for a year.

Coached the Director of Talent Management on culture fit: this individual joined one of the state’s largest healthcare systems from a high tech company and was frustrated by the politics and slow pace of change. She also struggled with colleagues who didn’t share her sense of urgency and a boss who gave her very little constructive feedback. Cheryl provided assessment results to enable the client to understand her needs and manage her stress reactions, and coached her to communicate more effectively. The client improved her relationship with her boss, staff and internal customers, and received a very favorable performance review.

Coached a Managing Director in a global professional services firm: in order to achieve aggressive revenue goals, this individual required feedback on communication and presentation skills, as well as follow-through. After assessing the source of distraction, Cheryl supported him in setting objectives and finding a new approach to time management. He doubled his revenue in two years and significantly improved in project execution.