Ron Ashkenas on Coaching Effectiveness

10/20/20 • 23 min

Meeting Strategist - Conversations on Leadership & Communication

“The purpose of an organization isn’t to make leaders feel good about themselves and make their subordinates feel like ‘gee, I’ve got a really nice leader, I like that person’. The purpose of an organization is to get something done.” Ron Ashkenas is a seasoned executive coach and boardroom advisor and the author or co-author of more than 100 articles and five books, including the ‘Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook’.

You might have already listened to episode 20 in which Ron and I discuss the six practices that define great leaders and the challenges they are facing in today’s virtual and fast-moving environment.

In this bonus episode, we discuss his recent HBR article ‘Executive Coaches, Your Job is to Deliver Business Results’ and how it clashes with conventional wisdom in coaching. In his article, Ron suggests turning the traditional coaching approach on its head: "Instead of focusing first on behaviors and hoping that they lead to results, start by trying to achieve some specific results, and see what behaviors are needed to get them."

Although interesting for anyone in a leadership or management position, this conversation is more geared towards coaches and HR professionals. Feel free to forward this episode to anyone in your organization who might be interested. Visit the show notes for more information: http://www.meetingstrategist.org/ron-ashkenas To read Ron's HBR article, go to https://hbr.org/2020/08/executive-coaches-your-job-is-to-deliver-business-results

Previous Episode

What Makes a Great Leader? (with Ron Ashkenas)

What is leadership, how is it different from management and what does it take to succeed as a leader in today’s virtual environment?

My guest on this episode is Ron Ashkenas, an executive coach and boardroom advisor with more than 35 years of experience in supporting leadership growth and organizational transformation. He’s a Partner Emeritus at Schaffer Consulting and the author or co-author of more than 100 articles and five books, including the ‘Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook’ and the ‘GE Work-Out’.

This conversation consists of three parts:

In the first 10 minutes Ron reflects on his experiences with former GE CEO Jack Welch: was he the best or the worst leader in corporate history?
In the second part of the conversation we discuss authentic leadership and the six practices you need to succeed as a leader.
In the final 15 minutes we explore how leaders can lead effectively in today’s virtual environment.

Visit the show notes for more information: http://www.meetingstrategist.org/ron-ashkenas To learn more about Ron's work, go to https://www.schafferconsulting.com/biography/rAshkenas

Next Episode

Thuiswerkers, kom los van je Teams-scherm (Dutch)

[Bonus episode in Dutch] Bram van den Hoogen deelt zijn ervaringen en lessen als thuiswerkende manager van het compacte marketing- en communicatieteam van de Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM).

Hoe communiceer je op afstand met je team en andere collega’s? En hoe kun je als communicatieteam op afstand je voelsprieten uitsteken en zorgen dat je op tijd bij projecten wordt betrokken?

In de afgelopen acht maanden leerde Bram als thuiswerkende manager belangrijke lessen. Zijn oproep: ga niet gelijk naar de inhoud, maar maak eerst contact met de mens. En: plak niet zo vast aan je Teams-scherm. Soms werkt samen wandelen of ouderwets bellen (terwijl je wandelt) veel beter. Voor meer informatie, ga naar de show notes op: http://www.meetingstrategist.org/bram-van-den-hoogen