Top Executive Coaching with Tony Mayo

I got a call from a salesman looking for my help with a business owner. The salesman was frustrated because the owner so needed the product but was not making a decision, though he was willing to keep talking.

The business owner was tired and frantically busy as his business grew past 100 employees. He was traveling more and more, continually meeting prospective clients, reviewing active projects, and checking on employees. He was proudly a stickler for quality and involved with every detail. His company’s reputation for excellent work was a foundation of their success and growth.

My immediate response was, “Wow! He must have a terrible time retaining key employees.”

“How did you know that?” the salesman exclaimed “He says that is his #1 problem.”

“Of course it is. The best people don’t want to be micro-managed. The most creative, responsible, and growth-oriented people are going to run from him like fleeing a fire. He’s going to be left with the people who need to be monitored.”

The catch is: his passion for control seems to be what made the company successful. Why would he stop doing what he is certain got him to the top?

Before I suggest an answer let me share another personal experience.

Soon after I began coaching CEOs I had a startling moment of satisfaction and terror followed by a crucial insight. I was thrilled to be coaching chief executives and business owners. At the same instant I was aware that my coaching clients were the most successful and effective people I knew. How could I possibly presume to help them?

The crucial insight was that each of them had taken their particular strength as far as it could go. They couldn’t do it any better, harder, or for longer hours. It was used completely; it could take them no further. That horse had been ridden into the ground but the trip wasn’t over. This proved to be true not only of my first coaching clients but of virtually every business person I have coached.

Almost no one is capable of seeing for themselves that their most effective strength has become their limiting behavior. A good coach will not only make this clear but help the client exercise new, more appropriate strengths.

One client developed his skill at delegation to supplement the charisma that had built his organization. Another saw that his skill at assimilating and analyzing massive amounts of information kept him overly involved in operations although his new role required his unique vision and global insight. Lots of “control freaks” came to see that their passion for quality was what really mattered and that mentoring, leading, and inspiring the team were more “scalable” means of ensuring high quality.

It is not easy to show highly successful people the wisdom of resting their most reliable tool but it may be the most powerful service an executive coach provides.

See also: Is ease of access destroying your management?

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