Coaching – what we do

Intense work pressure has forced middle and senior executives to deal with change - and change themselves - faster than ever. Recognising and tackling challenges demands personal preparation and motivation, new behaviours and skills, and fresh perceptions, attitudes and thinking. JSB's executive management development approach helps executives to identify and clarify personal aspirations, concerns and behaviours in the context of individual, team or organisational performance, and prevailing business challenges. Over a series of one-to-one sessions (or as a follow-up to group-based development), our coaches help individuals to

• Perform their roles confidently and professionally
• Understand and articulate personal goals, motivation and behaviours
• Develop personal flexibility to tackle personal and organisational change
• Take on new roles and responsibilities - and clarify personal career development paths
• Tackle behavioural issues affecting performance, and get to grips with personal and organisational blocks and barriers

At middle levels of management, executives and professionals often need discreet support in making the transition into 'bigger' or more strategic roles.

Our coaches provide discreet help to individuals - often 'fast track' executives or fee-earners - who are being groomed as their organisation's next generation of leaders. While the content of sessions is often confidential, the coaching solution may form the whole, or part, of coachee's personal development plan.

Coaching includes

• Identifying gaps in personal style and behaviour - with direct feedback
• Prioritising areas of focus, and the likely impact on performance
• Concentration on key skills sets - from interpersonal behaviour through to coaching in key business tools.

As organisations change and develop, their current and new leaders must develop their leadership styles to meet new challenges. Shareholders, investors and management boards and committees demand business results - but they rarely provide the leaders to whom they entrust the delivery of those results with guidance and advice on how to lead the people in their charge.

We help new and experienced leaders to develop a leadership approach that is consistent with their personal style, the environment in which they work, and the business challenges they face.

Issues that we tackle include

• Reviewing personal competencies and the demands of the job
• Assessing your team, organisation and business environment - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
• How your role varies - and what that means in terms of behaviour
• Techniques and processes for influencing staff and colleague performance, attitude and behaviour
• Managing change - how you communicate, coach and motivate
• Recognising and overcoming personal and organisations barriers and blocks
• Managing and leading successfully in a political environment
• Handling difficult people and situations.

Charged with planning and implementing new initiatives, executives, managers and directors must articulate for themselves how to proceed - before engaging colleagues, staff and advisors.

Our specialist strategy coaches work with individuals in developing clarity of purpose, and establishing practical principles for moving forward. Providing support both as sounding boards and in contributing ideas, JSB coaches enhance personal confidence in driving new strategies and initiatives.

Some of the issues we tackle in one-to-one sessions include

• Articulating strategic challenges and choices - implications for people, processes, products and services, and customers and clients
• Making sense of vision and mission, in terms of the people to whom you will need to sell it
• 'Writing' and recognising the rules of the game - and planning for how people might react
• How to get buy-in and build commitment
• Clarifying what success or failure will mean, and how you will measure it.

Strategic or operational change often relies on the flexibility and robustness of senior management teams (and the individuals that comprise them).

Often, by their nature and impact, such initiatives lead people into 'unchartered territory' - in terms of their roles, responses to issues, and how they work together.

Clients experiencing change in this way find one-to-one support invaluable in helping the team as a whole tackle the challenge.

Sessions may include

• Role transition and team playing - anticipating, understanding and dealing with business and personal challenges
• Assessing and responding productively to what is happening around you - exploring options, behaviours and new ways of working
• Charting the way forward - individually and as part of a team.

In taking on new roles and responsibilities, top and senior professionals often need to reshape and enhance their personal communication style. While their technical and strategic skills may be outstanding, their impact may be inhibited by lack of presence, gravitas or confidence - or by an apparent lack of clarity in what and how they communicate.

Our coaches help individuals to

• Assess their own communication style, weaknesses and strengths - and identify and prioritise areas for development
• Identify and develop new skills, techniques and tools that are consistent with their own personalities and environments
• Learn how to plan and deliver messages - using the personal and organisational resources at their disposal
• Develop their use of voice, body language and personal style to demonstrate confidence, professionalism, commitment, enthusiasm and sincerity.

Either as part of their organisation's public relations strategy - or because of the special circumstances in which they find themselves - executives, managers and professionals are required to make their case in the press, radio or television.

Our one-to-one media coaches (including radio, television and newspaper journalists) help individuals to prepare, often at short notice. Working directly with interviewees (or together with internal or external advisors), they cover

• Personal style, gravitas and confidence
• Determining and delivering your message
• Tools and techniques for ensuring that you make the impact you want
• Handling difficult subjects and questions professionally
• 'Live' practice sessions, with direct confidential feedback.

'Scripting', Drafting and Rehearsals for Conferences, Business Pitches, City Presentations and Roadshows

Professionals, managers and directors are often confronted with critical presentations, speeches and pitches - the success or failure of which will have significant business or personal implications. Often they are presenting on their own; they may also be working as part of a team. Either way, they must ensure that what they say and how they say it are absolutely right.

Our coaches work quickly and confidentially with individuals and teams - often alongside internal advisors or external PR and other consultants. In short, practical sessions, we help clients to

• Identify what their audience want or need to hear - and where most impact needs to be made
• Clarify what their key messages are, and how best to put them across
• Pinpoint what style of language and delivery will make the desired impact
• What visual aids, documents or props may be used to enhance the presentation
• Anticipate and plan responses to difficult questions
• Rehearse, train and advise individuals in delivering their messages confidently and professionally.