Philip, software company director
Philip was recently promoted to a director position at a large software company. He was having trouble establishing his leadership credentials. His teams were either ignoring him or turning in incomplete projects. He often projected a nice and helpful demeanor, then suddenly became angry with them when they didn't perform.

SOLUTION: Philip was taught how to use consistent language and messaging to reflect his leadership. Anna wrote scripts for his emails and his meetings. These scripts laid out his expectations, and how he planned to follow up. He then did exactly what he had described. He became less focused on being “nice” and more focused on providing specific goals for his teams. 

RESULT: Within three weeks, everything turned around. The teams responded well to the specific language Philip used. When he followed up as expected, so did they. Even the most renegade team changed their colors. The reason? When Philip behaved consistently, it become obvious that they were the ones dropping the ball. They could no longer blame Philip for “not telling us the deadline” or when their projects were due.

Mike, promoted to president of a utility company
Mike was promoted to president from General Counsel. His CEO felt that he wasn't connecting with the board during their meetings. He asked for help Mike create a warmer speaking style and become friendlier with the board.

SOLUTION: Mike was still thinking like a lawyer, and just delivering information to the board. Anna helped him see the board as cohorts who needed to feel a human connection to him. He worked on eye contact, small talk, and shorter sentences. Anna also helped him draft emails to the board that reached out on a more personal level to connect with them.

RESULT: Mike is still president, and he and the board work well together. He has their buy-in on decisions. They trust one another.

Murat, engineering firm mid-level manager
Murat was set for promotion to the next level. He was ready in every way except one: no one could understand him when he spoke. He took off in several different directions. By the time he finished, no one could tell what his message was.

SOLUTION: Murat was throwing every idea that crossed his mind into his speech. Anna helped him see that when he spoke, his goal was to help his listeners understand his message. To be effective at this, he needed to stick to one idea at a time. The extraneous thoughts were not part of his message, and they needed to be left out.

RESULT: When Murat changed from a rambling speaker to a focused speaker, he sounded like a leader. He was granted his promotion.

Sandra, publishing house executive
Sandra was getting a reputation as a single-minded, short-tempered person in meetings. People perceived her as not caring about their opinions, and she appeared to be ignoring them when they spoke.

SOLUTION: Sandra was caught up in an issue with the president of the company. She felt he was always trying to best her in meetings, and set her up as being wrong in front of others. She pre-emptively defended her position in order to combat his approach. Anna helped Sandra recognize that more communication, not less, was the answer to this problem. She needed to listen without comment to her cohorts. Anna also suggested that she make a plan to open up lines of communication with her boss.

RESULT: Sandra began a weekly one-on-one hour meeting with her boss. She quickly understood that there were many miscommunications between them. She set about demonstrating her commitment to him and the firm. Because they were talking through their issues, Sandra didn't need to use company meetings to defend herself. She allowed herself to open up more to her team, and gained their trust.