CASE STUDY – Leadership Skills
Summary
The manager of a client-facing team within a large Investment Management company had been unsuccessful in motivating and supporting the individuals, resulting in the risk of high turnover and a severe impact on the levels of customer service.
Client Need
There was an urgent need to evaluate the current situation and coach the manager in leadership skills which would be engaging and motivating, and to build a team environment which could achieve the highest levels of customer service and productivity. The manager had expressed a concern that the team building and communication aspects of management appeared daunting and their confidence levels had dipped considerably.
Our Approach
The initial step was for the Coach to carry out interviews with the senior executives, the manager involved and the individual team members. This had to be conducted in a manner that instilled trust and cooperation, covering the culture, individuals’ aspirations and thoughts on the current status (what was working well, what needed urgent attention, potential solutions).
Individual coaching sessions were then held with the manager, using a mix of self-awareness techniques, coaching on team-building, motivation and communication skills, evaluating real-time situations, utilising the newly developed leadership skills, and assessing and learning from the results. In order to achieve these, it was important to ensure empathy, trust and encouragement to strive for one’s best.
At agreed times, update meetings were held with the senior executives and occasionally with the team members to assess progress.
Results
Having a dedicated support for the manager during this vital stage of the team’s development, enabled them to focus on those aspects that they felt were daunting and develop the necessary leadership skills quickly. The manager felt that they understood more about themselves and the role and was able to enjoy the learning process again. The manager’s confidence rose and the entire team benefited from the new understanding and supportive approach.
The team worked well together and achieved significant increases in customer satisfaction levels. Only one member of the team left within 12 months (and that was for a promotion and a new role within the company).