The Facilitative Leader

HELP! My ways of leading are not working!!An informal meeting with John (name changed for privacy reasons) a senior corporate leader of a large technology company in India who was sitting at the far end of a coffee shop to avoid getting bothered by the din in the place. I was bang on time 6:00 pm sharp which was very much an ingrained habit of mine a habit that I was and am proud of. I recognized him quite easily as I had seen his LinkedIn profile which had his very recent picture. His checked shirt and chinos made him look very business-like compared to most others around who were in jeans and tees. He was looking at his watch and sipping his coffee clearly waiting for me to come. As I walked over to his table he got up from his chair and extended his hand and he opened the conversation with “Help! My ways of leading are not working!!”I was meeting with John to possibly take on the role of an Executive Coach to him and was expecting him to ask me questions about my coaching abilities and experiences. I was so taken aback that all I could do was stay silent and make sure my jaw did not drop. I was at a total loss for words with this unexpected opening statement which even preceded the hello and the usual introductions.In the awkward silence that followed John was quick to notice the situation and with an apologetical look on his face he said “Look I have spoken to some of your references that you gave and I am already convinced that I would want you to coach me. Hence I directly started with my problem statement.”Having regained my composure from the mind state that I was in I managed to give him a smile of sorts which I think put him into a little bit of ease. I also realized that thisproblem was a very serious situation for him. He responded with the same statement again though with a lot more controlled tone “My ways of leading are not working and I need you to help me find my way out of this. I quickly need to get back to being the excellent leader that I am known to be.”I was still thinking over the words that were said and mulling over this thought in my mind - one of the most respected leaders a great orator often addressing conferences as a keynote speaker making this statement is this really true? I noticed the stress in his eyes and the unusually dark shadows beneath them. His tone conveyed a lot of anxiety. It almost sounded like a desperate call looking for that one last option.Being a bit of an analytical type of person who does not very easily show emotions I quickly recovered from this state to casually say to him “Can you please start at the beginning and tell me what this is all about?”This perhaps made him more comfortable and he looked straight into my eyes like the confident leader that he was although much in defiance of his current state of affairs. He started to share his story.“My team engagement pulse and 360 feedback that was always at best in the company for so many years has started to decline considerably in the last three quarters and I am worried that it could only get worse unless I change something though I do not know what is it that I need to change. I also have started feeling this personally as I do not see myself capable of aligning my team towards the goal and to create the required environment for them to perform at the level I know they can. I had very confidently declared to the Board of Directors a level of performance that I would get and they backed me with all these large investments” hesaid.After a brief pause he continued “Three quarters have gone by I have had multiple meetings with the team and there does not seem to be any way forward. I have my team members giving a variety of excuses for not completing their tasks which I know are not really true. I have tried various ways to give feedback guide them coach them but somehow nothing seems to work.”He looked at me as if searching for some emotional solace and as he saw me nodding while listening intently to what he was saying he continued on.“My neck is on the block now. I am not so much worried about that although I can kick myself for over committing; my real concern is that I know this team is smart has the potential and can deliver and that if they did it would be beneficial to everyone. I also know that there is something I am doing wrong or not doing something that I should be doing which will help draw out the full hidden potential of the team.”Seeing the situation and sensing his emotional state I responded with some initial probing to also let him know that I understood the depth of the situation; and after the usual contracting of a coaching assignment he stepped into the transformational journey. After seven sessions covering about 14 hours of coaching with meetings in his office his home and in some coffee shops he figured a way out that would work for him.He was back on track.A few months after these coaching sessions I ran into him at an airport lounge and that meeting was such a contrast to the first one. He was excitedly sharing the changes he hadmade to his ways of working with people how he now could get everyone to share their views early in the game to make quick aligned and collective decisions. He spoke about the joy he was seeing amongst his team members even when they were stretching themselves to get things done and how confident he was feeling about his ability to lead now. This new-found confidence and emotional state were such a delight to see. John had made my day.I have come across many such similar situations from a variety of leaders across various types of organizations across various levels of hierarchy. Large mature organizations to start-ups especially so in the last year or two have all gone through these situations and in my journey of helping them overcome these situations I have had some learnings and thoughts of my own. I have also observed some patterns emerge. Studying some of the research papers on leadership coupled with additional research that I took up interviewing several successful corporate leaders of today I thought it would be useful to share my findings in the form of a book – The Facilitative Leader. I strongly believe that this book could help leaders significantly.