Area of interest: executive coaching (from a consulting perspective)
Client challenge: Improving the performance of the Regional Sales Manager
Background. Rosin Eyecare is a growing, multi-store company that provides complete vision care in the Chicagoland area. It is run by two Co-Presidents who are brothers. One acts as COO, the other is an eye surgeon. Senior management identified goals to position Rosin Eyecare as a strong regional vision care company with an increasing footprint in the midwest eye care market. In order to sustain current store locations and open new sites, underperforming stores had to be analyzed and appropriate action taken to bring lagging stores up to defined standards. The regional manager position had been noted as a "key position" critical for Rosin Eyecare to achieve its growth objectives. Remedies by senior management to resolve lagging performance at the two largest store locations, the responsibility of the regional manager, were not successful.
About the Regional Manager: Multi-tasking, pro-active managers and regional managers are required for organizational goals to be achieved and future expansion plans to become reality. The Regional Manager (RM) for one specific region was promoted into that position over a year ago, and identified as a valued contributor in a key position worthy of the investment in executive coaching. Senior management felt he was overly reliant on their direction and needed improvement in his management skills was necessary. In addition, improvement of his collaboration skills was necessary to work with the other regional manager and the director of professional services. Senior management felt these issues contributed to his lagging metric performance for his two store locations.
The focus of the work: Through several discussions with the Co-President and CFO, and a coordinating discussion with the Regional Manager, we identified three areas to focus our coaching for performance skill-building efforts: delegation, performance management, and personal organization. As a result, we anticipated both organizational and individual performer impacts.
Some of the organizational impacts included:
During the assessment phase, the RM took two self-assessments, and we conducted interviews with members of the leadership team, his peers and both store managers he supervises. These provided a basis for understanding him and the issues better and refining the focus of our coaching. We provided weekly executive coaching for the RM for six months, building skills and developing new perspectives and attitudes to support the development of new manager habits. In addition, the coach held bi-weekly conversations with the Co-President to apprise him of the direction of coaching and get his perspective on what he was seeing occurring in the organization.
Measurable results: An ROI of over 1100%
Throughout the six months of coaching, both the RM and the Co-President had multiple opportunities to provide process feedback. In this way, the coach could make adjustments to ensure that the focus and experience of the coaching and conversations were congruent with stated intentions. Outcome measures included evaluation of individual performer behavioral changes, organizational impacts, including agreed-on key performance indicators and sales, and the calculation of return on investment (ROI) for the project.
Evaluating the results of the coaching: Evaluations by the Co-President, CFO and RM about the intended behavioral changes affirmed the intended impact of the coaching. Similarly, their evaluations of the intended organizational impacts confirmed that these occurred. Of the key performance indicators we intended to positively impact, four of five, including sales, shifted in the positive direction. Based on the cost of the program, annual sales for 2004 and 2005, estimate of percentage impact of the coaching, and confidence level of that estimate, an ROI of 1164% was achieved from the coaching.
Quote from client: What the Co-President had to say
"Working with John has taken our regional management to the next level of performance and helped our team evolve. I am extremely pleased with the impact John has had on our organization and our potential for growth. He's done a great job."
Client challenge: Improving the performance of the Regional Sales Manager
Background. Rosin Eyecare is a growing, multi-store company that provides complete vision care in the Chicagoland area. It is run by two Co-Presidents who are brothers. One acts as COO, the other is an eye surgeon. Senior management identified goals to position Rosin Eyecare as a strong regional vision care company with an increasing footprint in the midwest eye care market. In order to sustain current store locations and open new sites, underperforming stores had to be analyzed and appropriate action taken to bring lagging stores up to defined standards. The regional manager position had been noted as a "key position" critical for Rosin Eyecare to achieve its growth objectives. Remedies by senior management to resolve lagging performance at the two largest store locations, the responsibility of the regional manager, were not successful.
About the Regional Manager: Multi-tasking, pro-active managers and regional managers are required for organizational goals to be achieved and future expansion plans to become reality. The Regional Manager (RM) for one specific region was promoted into that position over a year ago, and identified as a valued contributor in a key position worthy of the investment in executive coaching. Senior management felt he was overly reliant on their direction and needed improvement in his management skills was necessary. In addition, improvement of his collaboration skills was necessary to work with the other regional manager and the director of professional services. Senior management felt these issues contributed to his lagging metric performance for his two store locations.
The focus of the work: Through several discussions with the Co-President and CFO, and a coordinating discussion with the Regional Manager, we identified three areas to focus our coaching for performance skill-building efforts: delegation, performance management, and personal organization. As a result, we anticipated both organizational and individual performer impacts.
Some of the organizational impacts included:
- Stronger management of personnel and operations
at the RM's stores - Improved top and bottom line performance on selected metrics
- Improved performance management practices used with
store managers and store personnel
- For delegation, that would reflect a shift from an individual performer orientation to that of a manager, and manager of managers
- In performance management practices, including consequence management that would lead to greater team accountability
and improved performance - That would strongly influence and positively impact
improved targeted metric performance
During the assessment phase, the RM took two self-assessments, and we conducted interviews with members of the leadership team, his peers and both store managers he supervises. These provided a basis for understanding him and the issues better and refining the focus of our coaching. We provided weekly executive coaching for the RM for six months, building skills and developing new perspectives and attitudes to support the development of new manager habits. In addition, the coach held bi-weekly conversations with the Co-President to apprise him of the direction of coaching and get his perspective on what he was seeing occurring in the organization.
Measurable results: An ROI of over 1100%
Throughout the six months of coaching, both the RM and the Co-President had multiple opportunities to provide process feedback. In this way, the coach could make adjustments to ensure that the focus and experience of the coaching and conversations were congruent with stated intentions. Outcome measures included evaluation of individual performer behavioral changes, organizational impacts, including agreed-on key performance indicators and sales, and the calculation of return on investment (ROI) for the project.
Evaluating the results of the coaching: Evaluations by the Co-President, CFO and RM about the intended behavioral changes affirmed the intended impact of the coaching. Similarly, their evaluations of the intended organizational impacts confirmed that these occurred. Of the key performance indicators we intended to positively impact, four of five, including sales, shifted in the positive direction. Based on the cost of the program, annual sales for 2004 and 2005, estimate of percentage impact of the coaching, and confidence level of that estimate, an ROI of 1164% was achieved from the coaching.
Quote from client: What the Co-President had to say
"Working with John has taken our regional management to the next level of performance and helped our team evolve. I am extremely pleased with the impact John has had on our organization and our potential for growth. He's done a great job."
Jamie Rosin, Co-President, Rosin Eyecare
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New Speaking Engagements Booked!
See the venues on two continents.
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Executive Coaching
Discover how executive coaching can improve your bottom line and transform your everyday business life.
Learn more >>