| THE CHALLENGE |
| |
• |
Barb had been senior vice president of products for three years when her employer, a Fortune 500 technology corporation, made a series of small technology acquisitions and asked her to take on an expanded role. |
| |
• |
She had to find a way to integrate these organizations into her existing business, standardize work processes and metrics, retain talent, and maintain the innovative edge that led to acquisitions. |
| |
• |
To succeed, Barb had to find a way to work closely with a diverse group of stakeholders in the centralized marketing and sales organizations who were charged with pricing and taking products to market - groups over which she had no direct control. Yet she had to bring them into alignment to ensure they could sell the products her team created. |
| |
|
|
| OUR SOLUTION |
| |
• |
We started by working with Barb and her manager to identify key success factors for her expanded role. |
| |
• |
We then interviewed peers, managers, direct reports and key stakeholders and developed a robust 360 assessment report that identified key strengths and development areas. As part of this process, it became apparent that one of Barb's key challenges was in the area of improving her influence skills. People noted that Barb wasn't connecting with their group, and that she often seemed to communicate from a perspective that didn't address their team's needs. |
| |
• |
Eddie worked with Barb one-on-one through a series of executive coaching exercises and also facilitated a teambuilding meeting with Barb's team in which she reviewed the results of her 360 assessment. She spoke candidly about the changes she intended to make and worked closely with Eddie over the next several months to follow up on needed changes. |
| |
• |
Barb scheduled regular meetings with each group and practiced key listening skills based on her work with Eddie. |
| |
|
|
| RESULTS |
| |
• |
As a result of customizing her interactions with each of the different key stakeholder groups, Barb developed a greater sense of collaboration and saw an impact on individual levels of engagement and accountability. |
| |
• |
Barb began providing leadership to the centralized sales and marketing organizations when appropriate and over the next three to four months developed a much stronger partnership with these groups as they saw her level of commitment to their joint success. |
| |
• |
After six months, Eddie and Barb conducted a 360 assessment check-in to gauge her progress. The integration of the technology acquisitions became a great success not only because the products the company produced were so much more innovative, but also because marketing and sales people fully committed to sell the products. |
