Moving into an executive director level role for the first time is a very difficult transition to make. It is estimated 40% of first-time directors fail within 18 months of taking up their first directorial post! Making this transition often means relinquishing a hands-on role for one which is less immediately satisfying (at least in the short term). It may also mean having to lead unfamiliar functions, or having to work with a much wider variety of people with opposing views and agendas or requiring a perspective shift – from having a functional perspective to one which is more cross organisational. This mindset shift doesn’t happen overnight, however through a transformational coaching approach and an appreciation of what needs to be valued and where one now needs to spend one’s time, it is possible to make huge shifts in an individual’s capacity to fulfil their first-time directorial or CEO role. This is what one first-time financial director said about our coaching:
“I got a huge amount out of our sessions. Baz really helped me to understand what I was feeling as a first-time Director, and to recognise what I just had to accept as part of the role and what I could change. We worked on some very practical steps I can take to improve my effectiveness, as well as starting out on some fascinating, longer term transformational work”
