Executive Coaching Case Study

A Global Pharmaceutical Company

Situation:

An internationally renowned pharmaceutical company appointed a new General Manager for its Asia Logistics Center based in Hong Kong. The executive who used to work in Ireland had been relocated to Hong Kong and promoted to a higher position;therefore, she was facing not only a significant cultural transition. but also a role transition to General Manager level. The company expected her to perform her leadership role effectively, which aligned with the organizational strategies of the Asia Logistic Center.

Solution:

Dr. William H. Mobley, a famous I/O Psychologist who has coached a lot of senior executives in major organizations for years with excellent results and reputations, was invited to be the coach for this executive. After discussing with the coachee, her direct boss and HR head, Dr. Mobley solicited agreement on company's expectations on the coachee, and developed a specific coaching plan accordingly which included specific behaviors, style, mindset and other objectives as appropriate to the situation. In addition, they reviewed several existing measures and data to decide on the metrics for results.

Dr. Mobley conducted the coaching sessions through private discussion with the coachee, observing the coachee in action at meetings, presentations, or communications, gathering feedback from interviews with stakeholders around the coachee to provide further context. He was also responsive to coachee's requests viaemails or phone calls, when necessary. Apart from work related issues, Dr. Mobley gave suggestions on necessary books and magazines, local facilities and shares with the coachee the lifestyle and value system of Asian people; he also provided recommendations to the coachee's husband on job search, with the aim of helping the coachee and her family better adapt to the local community.

This executive made a good start on defining company's strategies and developing structural moves; she scored an early success in the eyes of her HK staffs, and had initiated networking with the broader leadership team in Asia. By working together with the coachee, Dr. Mobley established a good relationship with her and acted as a sounding board and confidant for her.

Executive coaching has a bottom line positive impact on executive and management team effectiveness. This could be particularly true in times of organizational or managerial transformation. Managers and executives could benefit from the insights and counsel of effective coaches. Coaching session is normally twice a month face to face coaching for a period of six-month. MGP also has other experienced, skillful coaches who could deliver multilingual (including English, Mandarin, Germen, Cantonese, Hokkinese and Indonesian) coaching sessions.