Coach Me! Your Personal Board of Directors

8The Highs and Lows of Communication

Hortense Le Gentil

Hortense le Gentil, author of the widely acclaimed Aligned: Connecting Your True Self with the Leader You’re Meant to Be, works with decision-makers around the world to help them lead with authenticity by finding and closing the gaps between the leader they are and the leader they want to be.

Take Alexander, my client, and the CEO of a large insurance company. He was brilliant, with a clear vision of where he wanted to take the company. He also had a plan for how to get there, which involved changing the company structure and incorporating new technologies. He was spending a lot of time and energy turning his plan into reality, acting like an all-capable Superman – flying from meeting to meeting, solving crises, and pushing his reforms through while tending to clients. Busy as he was, he had little time to spend with his team, which languished. He could not understand why they were not putting in more effort, and he felt he had to make it all happen himself. He was exhausted and felt isolated.

The trouble was that he had never taken the time to explain his intentions, his plan, and the bigger purpose and vision behind them. Having made no effort to bring everyone on board, he had very little leverage. He was left trying to do all the heavy lifting by himself, and his impact was limited.

How did we help Alexander get his teams on board and increase his impact?

We worked on two main points:

1. Be aligned yourself.

What ...