What a brief. His chairmans is no better. He rubs people up the wrong way. He doesnt listen, is arrogant and hes demotivating the senior management team. Basically, he needs fixing.
After 18 years as an image guru I have evolved into a performance coach who tells people how they are shooting themselves in the foot and failing to win friends and influence people. The best part of my job is helping Humpty Dumpties put themselves back together again as new and improved versions of their former selves.
For my sins, I took my Color Me Beautiful business global, advising others how to dress, and evolved the concept into a corporate consulting service. Since selling that business two years ago and starting ImageWorks, I get calls similar to the above most days.
Another familiar problem is with new-age technical architects who may be the brains behind many firms new market propositions but lack presence and basic communications skills to win over potential clients. He just lacks spark and fails to dazzle although he is brilliant. The sales teams need him but say he is a liability when dealing with clients. At business conferences he makes no impact whatsoever, confides the managing partner of a global consulting firm.
My challenges are gifted, talented and capable characters who need to be more so in order to take on bigger, more visible leadership roles within their organisations. The good news is that this is achievable without a personality transplant. So why arent HR directors sorting them out?
What gives me the chutzpah to claim that I can fix people? This question is often put to me not by the CEO, the marketing director or even the chairman that hires me but by HR directors who are too often ruffled that a Ms Fix-it has been hired without their involvement.
Okay, so I have a BA, an MS, an MPA from Harvard, Im a licensed practitioner of Myers-Briggs (personality profiles), set up, ran and sold a successful European business, published seven books on style and personal branding and do a roaring trade as a conference speaker.
But if I am honest, my success is due to being the second in a family of 12 children. Being the perennial big sister means having to have an answer for most things. So, the performance coaching lark began many years ago around a kitchen table, curbing the over-confident, motivating the under-achievers and urging each of them to live their dream.
Think about the key people within your company who are not measuring up. They have so much going for them but somehow just blow it regularly with those who matter: their peers, the boss or, even worse, with clients.
Most of the coaching I do falls into one of three categories which seem to be the weakest links in people performing at peak. They are: a lousy attitude; poor communications skills; a revolting or pathetic blind spot usually behavioural, often physical that needs sorting.
Any person suffering from one of these (or even the triple whammy) can be sorted provided you find the motivating button to push. Why should the person change? Whats in it for them? Human resources directors can be very good at this part of solving the problem. But what seems to flummox them is finding the tangible solution to put things right, giving people the how to change fix, technique or strategy they need.
Hence we are introducing this column to provide the tools and answers or just give this a try solutions that have worked with a range of political leaders, sports personalities, business teams and individuals. Besides, what better way to say goodbye to your own weak links than disguising your questions as, Ive got this manager with a problem.
