Coaching for leading change
The change is on you.
And so is everything that comes with it: a bigger remit, people looking to you for answers you don’t have yet, and a business that still rewards the old way. Coaching gives you somewhere to think it through with someone who’s sat in that room.
Six years at Google. Two at Amazon, leading a 100-person organisation. CPO of a listed company. ICF-accredited coach.
Sound familiar?
A bigger job, in the middle of the change.
You’ve taken on more, and the ground is moving under it.
All eyes on you.
Confident in the room, less sure at 11pm.
Five leaders, five answers.
Your peers agreed the plan, then went back to their own.
The old way still pays.
Bonuses and promotions still reward the way it’s always been done, and the people who were best at it are digging in.
Your own people, tired of change.
Upstairs wants it faster. Your people want it to stop, and you’re in the middle.
The board, the group, the stakeholders.
Everyone above you wants a say, and they don’t all want the same thing.
Big changes cost money every month they’re stuck. Add up one quarter of it.
What it looks like when it works
The bigger job starts to feel like yours.
You go into the hard meeting knowing what you think, and you say it.
Your peers are behind one plan, and you didn’t have to win every argument to get there.
The people who were best at the old way are helping lead the new one.
Your people know what the change means for their jobs, and they have the energy for the next step.
The board backs the plan, and you held the line where it mattered.
Your team takes on more, so your time goes where the change needs you.
How it works
One-to-one coaching, individual and confidential, so you can be open.
1
A Clarity Call
20 minutes, free and confidential: is coaching the right help for you, and is now the right time?
2
A Strategy Session
Free. A real coaching session: we go through what you’re responsible for, what isn’t working and what you want to be different. You leave with a plan for what to do next, whether or not it involves me.
3
You decide
If you’d like to carry on, we agree how we’ll work together and your goals, and you get a short proposal your company can approve. Then we start: sessions every week or two, over a few months.
If your sponsor wants to stay closer, we add short three-way check-ins, where you tell them how it’s going.
Coaching often runs alongside a workshop for your leadership team, so the change and the people leading it move together.
Neurodiversity: every brain works differently, so I shape the work around how you think best. You don’t need a diagnosis, or to tell me anything.
Leaders usually start with questions like these:
How do I lead a business that’s changing under my feet?
How do I decide with half the information, and stand behind it?
How do I lead my peers when I’m not their boss?
How do I bring the people who were good at the old game with me?
How do I look after my own energy while I’m carrying everyone else’s?
How do I make the case upwards, and hold a line?
Coaching stories
From tiptoeing around resistance to leading as herself
A newly promoted head of people and operations, leading a restructure after deep budget cuts, stopped tiptoeing around resistant reports and chose to lead as herself.
Read more
+
From lone researcher to the leader his team rallies around
A deep-tech research lead, on employer-sponsored coaching, went from holding ideas back until they were finished to becoming the point of clarity his team works around.
Read more
+
Who I help
You’re responsible for making a big change happen in a larger organisation: working out what AI means for the business, a new operating model, a move to products, or a restructure. You might run a business unit, a function or the change programme itself, as a CEO, CPO, CTO, COO or transformation leader. The title matters less than the responsibility: making this change happen is on you.
Who you'll be working with
You’ll work with me, every session. I don’t hand clients to associates.
I spent six years at Google, then two at Amazon, where I led a 100-person organisation, and I was CPO of a listed company. Since then I’ve worked with over 200 leaders, and I’m ICF-accredited.
If I’m not the right coach for someone, I’ll say so, and point you to someone who is.
What it costs
The price depends on what we agree: the goals, how often we meet, and for how long. After the Strategy Session, you get a short proposal with the price, before anyone commits.
Paying for this yourself? Fees for individuals are structured differently. We’ll talk about it on the Clarity Call.
Know someone this would help?
Here’s a line you can send them:
Richard coaches leaders who are making a big change happen in a larger organisation. It’s confidential, and the first call is free.
Here's the page: https://richardrussell.co/coaching/leading-change
Next steps
Start with a free, 20-minute Clarity Call. Confidential, and no preparation needed.
Frequently asked questions
Is this consulting or coaching?
+
Can my sponsor or HR be involved?
+
What if I’m not leading an AI transformation?
+
Not quite what you're looking for?
The change needs the whole leadership team?
Not leading a big change, but the job’s got bigger?