Coaching Program Details

Our Steps to Coaching

As you hit the trail with your coach, you can expect the following waypoints along the journey:

Schedule A Call

Schedule a 15 minute call with our founder, Mark House, to determine if our coaching services are right for you!

1. Orienteering

Initially, a contracting meeting for the purpose of clarifying expectations takes place.

Your Coaching Goals will identify desired skills, measurable outcomes, with initial milestones, and timelines. We also identify the key business challenges? What business goals need to be achieved? What culture-specific leadership competencies define success? We also establish clear agreements regarding confidentiality and guardrails for the journey.

2. Wayfinding

You engage with our coach in an in-depth dialogue of relevant issues focused on identifying areas for improvement.

A Developmental 360 can inform the process. We believe in collecting input from interviews, but this can be supplemented by other 360 instruments that you or your organization have used in the past. The interviews include the leader’s peers and stakeholders, a human resources manager, and always the leader’s supervisor. We leverage an organization’s established values and competencies or our own empower set of guideposts.

3. Mapping out the Trail

We create an Action Plan that includes strengths, developmental targets, and effective strategies for personal change.

Alinging your vision and the key objectives of the business will be a Map/Action Plan that focuses on behaviors that drive results. We recommend that at least one of the specific goals be shared with your supervisor for their support and feedback on progress. This also helps keep the supervisor engaged in the process without disrupting the confidentiality of the coaching relationship.

4. Hiking the trail together

You and your coach/trail guide meet on a regular basis for feedback and reflection.

Regular weekly or bi-weekly meetings, we share new observations or questions that have developed since the last session. The focus is to provide a safe-haven for the leader to describe and discuss real performance opportunities and approaches that they are using. The coach supports that discussion by asking powerful questions, helping see a different perspective, and connecting insights from other feedback gathered. This environment is key to help the leader achieve the results they set out in their Coaching Map. 

5. Celebrating “Peak bagging” and Sustaining Success

Approximately six months after the initial feedback session, an abridged version of the 360 feedback performance appraisal is conducted.

These assessment results assist in evaluating the effectiveness of the coaching process. Continued development is determined and aligned with updated business goals. Sometimes the coaching is extended to work on related or different performance goals important to the leader. Our focus is to provide self-sustaining skills within a year.

A “Coaching approach” is the fundamental building block of all our programs.

Coaching helps you find the trail and pathway forward that you know, but it may not be clear. You may have dropped your compass, or have lost the blaze to the trail you were following, or at a junction of trailheads that go in very different directions. It often feels like “The Pit of Despair” from The Princess Bride. Rather than “telling” you the easy answer, we create an environment where the wilderness begins to feel more encouraging, and those paths point you where your next footstep should go. This stance keeps us grounded in what you, your team, or your organization need to continue to grow.

 

Thumb – Counseling/Therapy.

Coaching emerged from the Positive Psychology of Carl Rogers, and uses the same stance of questions and listening, assuming there is “nothing to fix” in you or your teams. We are not Therapists… but we can work alongside them.

 

Pinky- Consulting.

Deliverables and process-focused, consulting uses answers from proven methods… that probably will not work for your unique situation. We rarely do this, and if we do, it is a separate engagement.

 

Index – Life Coaching.

The deeper questions of “why am I doing this” and “where does this take me” can show up. Certified in the Designing Your Life and Positive Intelligence proven approaches, we can provide these frameworks, and… they are not the typical engagement we start from.

 

 

Ring Finger – Mentoring.

This is advice – the answers that friends and neighbors give you, books that provide “easy answers.” Sadly, they are not you, and are not in your situation. While our coaches are very experienced and often can suggest approaches, we stay true to what you really want…

 

 

Middle Finger… Leadership Coaching.

Surprisingly this is what we do. It is a blend of all of these, with a primary focus on how you are delivering value in your work context. What is getting in your way, what is within your control, and how can you use these to align you and your teams? Simple – not Easy.

 

 

Talk to a Coach
Mark is a seasoned executive with an unwavering passion for the "human” side of an organization . Time and time again during his tenure, Mark advocated and championed projects related to human capital development . He made sure that his direct staff and some of his peers received the appropriate leadership coaching on a one -on-one basis . This program had the most positive influence on my organization and my career .
CTO and VP Technology Vendor
☆☆☆☆☆
Mark is a seasoned executive with an unwavering passion for the "human” side of an organization. Time and time again during his tenure, Mark advocated and championed projects related to human capital development. He made sure that his direct staff and some of his peers received the appropriate leadership coaching on a one-on-one basis. This program had the most positive influence on my organization and my career.
Tech Leader - VP
CTO and VP Technology Vendor
Young software developers who are also managers are prone to being head-strong and in need of coaching. At first, I didn't like the things I was hearing from Mark, but he really was challenging me to be a better manager and better direct report. My relationship with my boss (who also attended the class) has never been better as a result of Mark's efforts, and I feel I acquired new skills that help me lead and coach my reports.
Senior Director Technology Vendor
☆☆☆☆☆
Young software developers who are also managers are prone to being head-strong and in need of coaching. At first, I didn't like the things I was hearing from Mark, but he really was challenging me to be a better manager and better direct report. My relationship with my boss (who also attended the class) has never been better as a result of Mark's efforts, and I feel I acquired new skills that help me lead and coach my reports.
Tech Workshop - Tech Leader
Senior Director Technology Vendor
Mark and his team provided management training to leaders of the Product development team at Rosetta Stone. Mark quickly gained rapport with the team with his technology background. They valued the presentations provided and felt they were a value add. Mark also provided 1:1 coaching for leaders, including myself. I can attest to the positive effect he had on helping me improve in the areas I selected to focus on.
Senior Director HR Technology Vendor
☆☆☆☆☆
Mark and his team provided management training to leaders of the Product development team at Rosetta Stone. Mark quickly gained rapport with the team with his technology background. They valued the presentations provided and felt they were a value add. Mark also provided 1:1 coaching for leaders, including myself. I can attest to the positive effect he had on helping me improve in the areas I selected to focus on.
Team Workshop - Rosetta Stone
Senior Director HR Technology Vendor
While receiving my Executive MBA from the Darden School of Business, Mark's insights and leadership coaching strategy helped me form a solid foundation to achieve my professional goals. He's always prepared and brings a tremendous amount of experience and energy to the table. I highly recommend Mark as a leadership coach and consultant.
MBA and Senior Communications Director
☆☆☆☆☆
While receiving my Executive MBA from the Darden School of Business, Mark's insights and leadership coaching strategy helped me form a solid foundation to achieve my professional goals. He's always prepared and brings a tremendous amount of experience and energy to the table. I highly recommend Mark as a leadership coach and consultant.
Darden MBA 5
MBA and Senior Communications Director
Mark's experience and personality were critical to helping me identify the tools and techniques I can use to become a better leader through active listening and well-timed contributions. I cannot recommend Mark's coaching enough!
MBA and Senior Global Program Manager
☆☆☆☆☆
Mark's experience and personality were critical to helping me identify the tools and techniques I can use to become a better leader through active listening and well-timed contributions. I cannot recommend Mark's coaching enough!
Darden MBA 4
MBA and Senior Global Program Manager
Mark blended his years of experience, thoughtful questions, and excellent listening gave me tools to manage up and down. He helped me grasp the subtleties of how one is perceived at work and what that means for my career arc.
MBA and VP Technology Vendor
☆☆☆☆☆
Mark blended his years of experience, thoughtful questions, and excellent listening gave me tools to manage up and down. He helped me grasp the subtleties of how one is perceived at work and what that means for my career arc.
Darden MBA Graduate 3
MBA and VP Technology Vendor
Mark quickly helped guide me to the topic that was the most important, and which was actually foundational to the other issues I wanted to discuss . He listened to me openly, which helped me focus . I benefited greatly from his expertise, engagement, and guidance !
MBA, Medical Doctor, Department Head
☆☆☆☆☆
Mark quickly helped guide me to the topic that was the most important, and which was actually foundational to the other issues I wanted to discuss.  He listened to me openly, which helped me focus. I benefited greatly from his expertise, engagement, and guidance!
Darden MBA Graduate 2
MBA, Medical Doctor, Department Head
"Now, I have a plan that feels both productive and is helping me continue down my path of both identifying something I'm more passionate about, and how to get there productively."
Senior Director - DYL Workshop Attendee
☆☆☆☆☆
"Now, I have a plan that feels both productive and is helping me continue down my path of both identifying something I'm more passionate about, and how to get there productively."
DYL 5
Senior Director - DYL Workshop Attendee
Designing Your Life: "will change your life in expected and unexpected ways. The people, the stories about music, and the tips for my personal development made this one of the most memorable coaching experiences I've ever had. Highly recommended!"
VP - DYL Workshop Attendee
☆☆☆☆☆
Designing Your Life: "will change your life in expected and unexpected ways. The people, the stories about music, and the tips for my personal development made this one of the most memorable coaching experiences I've ever had. Highly recommended!"
DYL 4
VP - DYL Workshop Attendee

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