A leading Public Relations firm hired a talented, creative PR professional as Group Manager for some key client relationships.  After nearly 6 months with the organization, the new executive's assimilation into the company was not progressing as anticipated.  The leadership team was not seeing sufficient evidence of the star they believed they had hired.

•  Relationship Building - listened and posed questions to understand the Group Manager's perspective.  Discussed the business challenges, culture, and the high and low points since joining the organization and of the client's career.  Defined areas for development; client wanted to bring her full-self (a creative talent and a "firm but fair manager") to the forefront.

 

•Data Gathering - reviewed 360 feedback results administered as part of the organization's performance management process and administered leadership assessment tools.  Conducted interviews with key stakeholders 2 levels above the client and engaged client in soliciting feedback directly.  In partnership with the client, integrated this external data with the clients own perceptions and discussed how they aligned.

 

•Planning - the client decided on the goals and we collaboratively developed an action plan to achieve those goals.  The plan was vetted with the leader's manager to test for support and solicit additional advice.

 

•Implementation - the client began the work of change and growth. We continued our scheduled meetings to discuss how the actions were being fulfilled, assess whether the roadblocks were being overcome and to introduce other tools.  Within 3 months, the next level manager reported seeing positive, impactful changes.  A key at-risk client relationship was preserved, two performance management issues with direct reports were being aggressively managed, and the Group Manager was no longer a shrinking violet in senior meetings.