Marshall Goldsmith Executive Coach in India 2007

Getting There with Executive Coach Marshall Goldsmith

The Centre for Executive Education (CEE) at the Indian School of Business (ISB) recently hosted accomplished and most sought after executive coach, Marshall Goldsmith. A spectrum of participants from companies such as Raymond Ltd., Aditya Birla Management Corporation Ltd, Godrej India Ltd., HDFC Bank, etc., interacted with Goldsmith during an Executive Coaching Programme. The Programme, held at the ISB, between August 20 and 22, was the first of its kind in India.Executive Coaching, today, is widely accepted as a ‘necessary learning’ in the arena of competitive business. It is accepted as a part of standard leadership development for top- rung executives. It is a Programme of one- to-one collaboration between a certified coach and an executive, who wants to better his leadership skills, access new perspectives and above all reach maximum potential. In the words of Goldsmith, executives should seek coaching “when they feel that a change in behaviour—either for themselves or their team members—can make a significant difference in the long-term success of the organisation.” Goldsmith has been ranked by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top 10 executive educators. He is one of the foremost authorities on how to help leaders achieve positive, measurable changes in their own behaviour and in the behaviour of their people and teams. Recently the American Management Association named him as one of the 50 great thinkers and leaders who have influenced the field of management. The trend is fast catching up in India too. Top corporate executives acknowledge the energising role that a coach plays and are fast seeking the expertise of an executive coach in order to strengthen their business vision, performance and capacities. However, there is a perceived need for a tailored programme to train senior professionals who want to be CEO Coaches. It was into this gap that the CEE stepped in. Says Deepak Chandra, Associate Dean, CEE, at the ISB, “During a Leadership Skill Programme, conducted by the CEE, we received feedback about the felt need in the industry for a cadre of executive coaches. It was then we conceived this pioneering Programme to help people, within or outside an organisation, to become good coaches. Speaking about the relevance of such a programme in the Indian context Chandra added, “The growing complexity of businesses in this era of globalisation, has prompted senior management to counsel, seek, and simply talk to a person who can be an amalgam of a sounding board, a critic, a seer, a friend, etc.” Usually CEO coaching focuses on three aspects- strategy, organisational change, and behavioural coaching. The Programme at the ISB concentrated only on behavioural change. It aimed towards positive and measurable behaviour improvement of the participants, by identifying specific behaviours to improve upon and choosing concrete methods of change.The Pedagogy Based on an empirically-tested method of executive coaching, Goldsmith devised a straightforward and highly effective process that has consistently delivered successful results across a large population of leaders in a broad spectrum of professions.During the programme, he explained why leaders who are becoming increasingly successful can also face increased difficultly when they need to change. He discussed how the behaviour that led to their present level of success might not be the same behaviour that is needed to reach a higher level of success. Participants also took part in various team-building exercises and learnt about ‘team building without time wasting.’ Said participant Vicki Nicholson, Managing Director CW Solution Private. Ltd, and an existing Executive Coach, “What stood out was the simplicity of Marshall’s approach.” Prasheel Pardhe, Assistant VP, HR at Bennett and Coleman, vouched, “Marshall gave us tips about a positive way of looking at life – managing it for oneself and for others. “ Goldsmith rated his group as “more focussed on education and having more respect for the educator, than seen in other parts of the world.” Source: http://www.isb.edu/media/UsrSiteNewsMgmt.aspx?topicID=276