Coach Me! Your Personal Board of Directors

39 Executive Transition

Cathleen Wu

Cathleen Wu is an experienced executive coach and team coach. She brings to her coaching a vast wealth of experience collected over 30 working years and is motivated by her passion for individual, team, and organization development and her deep belief that people are creative, resourceful, and full of potential.

What got you here won’t get you there

– Source: Marshall Goldsmith (2010 )

Arthur’s Challenge

Arthur, the China COO of this world’s leading software and technology solutions provider, has been suffering for 9 months, almost immediately from the day he was put in this newly created position. This is his most difficult season since his joining 12 years ago. His first role here was a senior pre-sales engineer and the last was Head of China Pre-sales Technology Supporting Department. The Pre-sales department won the Global Pre-sales Reward the year before.

His bosses, the Asia Regional COO and China GM, were also dissatisfied and shocked by his recent performance. “I’m disappointed, as he didn’t function as the COO as we expected. In order to avoid conflict and please everybody, he never made tough decisions. There are increased complaints from sales VPs, and we are losing senior directors and managers under Arthur as they were not convinced by his leadership. I initiate this coaching program as the last try. We have to move him away if no improvement in 3 months,” the regional COO complained such to me in the initial sponsor interview. ...