Leadership impact: Let’s get real, arrogance won’t get you anywhere
Featured in the May 2019 Issue of The CEO Magazine, Executive coach Susanne Biro from Syntrina Leadership shares what it takes to be an impactful leader with CEO Magazine. There’s a question I routinely ask potential clients because I want to understand what led them to seek out an executive coach: “Why are we speaking?”“Well, apparently I’m an asshole.” This is an answer I have heard countless times, sometimes verbatim and sometimes couched in politer words. “Are you an asshole?” I inquire. We both laugh. “Yes, I suppose I can be.”“Hey, me too. We all can. Here is your coaching: stop doing that.” Again, we both laugh.We then get to work, exploring all that is occurring for the executive: the challenges of leading in a global marketplace; the politics playing out at the senior leadership level and the resulting lack of trust; engagement and specific results throughout their organisation.And this is to say nothing of their personal life and its complexities, which might include raising children, caring for ageing parents or coping with divorce, illness and death.“What is actually happening within you?”The answers to this question vary greatly but the essence is always what is happening within each of us: our personal histories are impacting our present [...]