Coaching for someone on your team
Help someone on your team grow into the job.
The job has got bigger around them. Coaching gives them somewhere to work out how, in confidence.
Six years at Google. Two at Amazon. CPO of a 40-person startup. ICF-accredited coach.
They got the promotion. They’re still doing the old job.
They’re doing two jobs and heading for burnout. They act like a guest in the leadership meeting, and the job you promoted them for isn’t getting done.
The senior hire who hasn’t settled.
They were great somewhere else. Here, it’s harder than either of you expected, and neither of you is saying so.
The feedback you haven’t given.
You’ve held it back to be kind. It’s building up, and one day it’ll come out all at once.
A performance plan on the table.
They’re on a performance improvement plan, or about to be. You want them to have a real chance to turn it round, with someone in their corner who isn’t there to judge them.
Every month this carries on costs your time, your team’s patience, and a little of their confidence.
What it looks like when it works
They’ve grown into the job. You’ve stopped checking their work, and they speak up as equals.
The senior hire is doing what you hired them for.
The feedback’s been given, and the relationship is better for it.
They come off the performance plan stronger than they went on.
How it works
Individual and confidential by default, so the person being coached can be honest.
1
A Clarity Call, with you.
20 minutes, free, and confidential. We’ll figure out if I’m the right person to help them, and if now is the right time.
2
A Strategy Session, with them.
Free: a real, confidential coaching session for the person you have in mind, so they can see what coaching is like and decide whether they want it. Coaching only works when the person wants it.
3
We decide together.
The three of us agree whether and how to work together. We write down goals for the coaching and decide on a schedule, usually every week or two over a few months. You’ll get a brief proposal you can approve, and then we start on the real work with the person.
If you’d like to stay closer to the work, we can add short three-way check-ins where they tell you how it’s going, and we agree on next steps.
If you want to share something with your report before they speak to me, you could send them this page: “Coaching for you, as a leader”. Here’s a line to send with it:
I thought this might help: Richard coaches leaders as their jobs get bigger. It’s confidential, and you decide whether it’s for you. richardrussell.co/coaching/me
Neurodiversity: every brain works differently, so I adapt to how each person thinks best. They don’t need a diagnosis, and they don’t need to tell me, or you, anything. It’s just how I work.
What they work on
People usually start with questions like these:
How do I speak up in the leadership meeting as if I belong there?
How do I manage up and earn the trust of my CEO?
What’s missing between me and the next promotion?
How do I stop work coming back to me?
How do I get my team to take on more?
How do I choose, when everything’s a priority?
Who they’ll be working with
They’ll work with me personally every session. I’ve led teams where jobs get bigger every quarter and felt the tension of helping my team grow while being responsible for their results. As a coach, I’ve helped hundreds of people step up into bigger roles and deliver more. If I’m not the right person to help, I’ll introduce you to someone who could be.
What it costs
We will discuss the price before you commit. I believe coaching should be costly enough to represent a real investment, yet affordable enough that the price doesn’t stop you.
Extras, if they help
We can start with 360 feedback or a strengths profile, and repeat the 360 at the end so everyone can see what’s changed.
What about you, as their manager?
If you’d like to lead your team better, or your job has grown around you too, you might like coaching for you, as a leader, or coaching for you, as a founder.
Know someone this would help?
Here’s a line you can send them:
Richard coaches leaders worth investing in, so they can grow into bigger jobs. It’s confidential, the person being coached decides, and the first call is free.
Here’s the page: https://richardrussell.co/coaching/my-team
If you invest in a founder, or sit on their board, send them the line above, or introduce us.
What clients say
“
Far beyond what I expected
[Most useful was] your emotional intelligence; the speed at which you were able to analyze what I was saying… Far exceeded what I had expected.
Coaching client
Senior Leader
Tech company
“
Stepping up to a new level.
The conversation I had with Richard got me to an insight I definitely wouldn’t have reached on my own. It’s going to shape how I show up and the impact I make as I step into this new role... I recommend him extremely highly.
Bella Bardswell
Senior Director
Sage
Next steps
Start with a free, 20-minute Clarity Call. Confidential, and no preparation needed.
Frequently asked questions
Will you tell me what's said in the sessions?
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Can HR, or someone else, be involved?
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Will you assess them, or tell me whether to keep them?
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Can you coach someone on a performance improvement plan?
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What if they don't want coaching?
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How is it set up, and who pays?
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Not quite what you're looking for?
The whole leadership team needs to agree something?
Running the company yourself?