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St. Louis Insight: 3 questions with an executive coach
Increasingly, CEOs and other top-level executives turn to consultants for help in navigating the complexities of running a successful business. Kevin Pallardy, partner and manager of the St. Louis Office of SSP Corp, an international executive coaching firm, offers insight on this trend.
1. What circumstances lead a CEO/Executive to seek coaching?
Leadership is a common challenge. Executives have a lot on their plate; staffs are leaner than at any time in the past, they are under time pressures, and the volume of difficult challenges has grown. We help them set clear direction, change behaviors and cultivate team behavior within their organizations.
2. How long can it take for a CEO to see progress?
We tend to focus on short-term assignments relative to the key goal. We help executives determine what success would look like and establish a near-term time frame – 90 to 100 days – to see progress toward that success. In that time, the CEO and other leadership team members focus on strategy, determine the rules of play, and identify behaviors they need to work on to demonstrate consistent leadership.
3. How does a CEO recognize that a coach would be helpful?
Most executives know their weaknesses. They might be great in sales and marketing, and maybe even the financials, but with operational details they’re not as strong. Or they determine something in their performance isn’t working – through feedback from other executives, customers, board members or employee surveys. In a common scenario, an entrepreneur is very hands-on at the startup; he or she is directly involved, able to provide direction to a few people and make decisions quickly. As the company grows, it’s a struggle to determine what to delegate. Exceptional technical or operational skills got the CEO here, but leadership skills need to catch up. It’s like baseball – a team has nine players, but the manager needs a game plan and to utilize his talent effectively in order to win.
(reprinted by permission of St. Louis CEO magazine)
SSP…now SSP BPI Group
A message from Kevin Pallardy, Managing Partner for SSP BPI Group – St. Louis
We want to share good news about our company. SSP is adding a greater global presence and expertise to better serve you. We sold a majority interest in our company to BPI, the leading European firm in human resources consulting and people management. We’ll now be known as SSP BPI Group.
While our name is changing, we’re not changing the way we do business or the way we always try to over deliver our services for you. We’ll continue to provide the high-quality, personalized services that you’ve come to expect.
I also wanted you to know that I – along with the other managing partners – have made a long-term commitment to remain as leaders with the company. This affirms my strong belief in you, our services and BPI. The current leadership and operating teams will also remain in place in our six offices, including St. Louis. Both SSP BPI Group and BPI continue as members of OI Partners.
It’s important for you to know that SSP and BPI share the same business philosophy. We believe each client has unique needs, and we deliver practical and relevant career management solutions to meet those needs. This shared view has been one of the drivers for this transaction, and we’re no strangers to BPI since we’ve been working together for the past six years, providing coaching and transition services to shared clients.
What’s different is that we now have a global presence and additional resources to offer broader and deeper services, especially in high-end and mid-range career transition and in executive coaching. With an expanded reach outside the U.S., the St. Louis office also will offer greater sourcing for global assignments through our specialized search services. In addition, you can continue to rely on our office for executive transition, outplacement, coaching, leadership development, team building and specialized staffing services. All our services will benefit from new ideas and approaches that have been effective for executives and leaders worldwide. We’ll look forward to sharing more details in the coming months about these services and other plans, including expanding with two new offices in Chicago and Milwaukee in 2008.
SSP BPI Group is now part of the world’s third largest and only independent career transition firm owned by its managers – not wholly owned by a corporation, operating company or temporary staffing firm. Founded in 1984, BPI operates in 72 offices in 15 European, North African, North American and South American countries. SSP BPI Group will be headed by Juan Luis Goujon, who was the president of the Spanish and Portuguese subsidiaries of BPI, which he established in 1991. He’s in the process of relocating to Chicago, and we are working closely with him to lead the firm. We hope you will have an opportunity to meet him when he’s visiting our St. Louis office.
In the meantime, if you have any questions about this announcement or if there’s anything we can do to serve you, please call me at 314.523-2206.
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