Coaching Real Leaders

No matter how hard you work and how good you are at executing tasks, there are always less tangible reasons people get tapped for more senior roles. Executive presence matters, as does finding the right sponsors.

Host Muriel Wilkins speaks with a rising leader who understands the importance of sponsorship but doesn’t know how to get there – starting with learning to tell her own story.

Further reading:

The Relationship You Need to Get Right

The Key to Landing Your Next Job? Storytelling.

Sponsorship: Defining the Relationship

Her out-of-the-box approach to solving business problems has made her successful in her current role – and she surpassed all her performance goals, despite the challenges of leading during a pandemic. But she’s been passed over for a promotion that would put her on track to the C-suite.

Host Muriel Wilkins talks this leader through how she can reposition herself for a top leadership role at her company and what steps she can take to get there.

Further Reading:

• “Why You Didn’t Get That Promotion“
• “How to Ask for a Promotion“
• “How to Get on the Short List for the C-Suite“

She’s an experienced leader who has always been highly ambitious and motivated to achieve impressive results. But now as she enters mid-life, she’s thinking about the next phase of her career and how to find a balance between striving and fulfillment. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through her concerns about aging in the workforce, finding the right challenges, and planning for her future.

Further reading:

• From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life (Arthur Brooks)
• Learning to Love Midlife: 12 Reasons Why Life Gets Better with Age (Chip Conley)
• Making Peace with your Midlife, Mid-Career Self (HBR IdeaCast)
• How Do I Get Through My Mid-Career Crisis? (Coaching Real Leaders)

After finishing business school, he landed several leadership positions and was fast-tracked into the executive level of his organization. But he’s been struggling to find his footing in his new leadership role, especially when he doesn’t agree with his boss. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how to come to terms with leadership decisions he doesn’t agree with while staying true to himself.

Further reading:

• Why We Should Be Disagreeing More at Work
• 3 Ways to Live Out Your Values at Work
• How To Respectfully Disagree With Your Boss
• The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World

She’s relatively new to the organization and more junior than most of her stakeholders. But her success hinges on her ability to lead initiatives cross-functionally.

Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this emerging leader through how to cultivate strategic relationships and increase her influence without the formal power of a senior title or position.

Further Reading:

• “How to Increase Your Influence at Work“
• “Learn to Love Networking”
• “How to Figure Out How Much Influence You Have at Work”