Expertise
Assessments in Coaching
Research demonstrates that assessments are widely used in coaching. Assessments increase the coach's understanding of their coachee and they can provide "the most powerful take away to coaches in terms of generating better self-insight and awareness."
McDowall and Smewing,. The Coaching Psychologist, Vol. 5, No. 2: The British Psychological Society, 2009
Forbes reports a "head start" and greater ongoing self-understanding that assessments provide."
2019, Ron Young, Forbes Coachee Council
Coaching has been found to improve self-awareness, self-acceptance, well-being, the ability to manage stress, communication and leadership skills, goal attainment, self-confidence, and a plethora of other beneficial outcomes.
Fasel 2013
A large number of studies have emphasized the importance of using assessments to provide feedback for effective coaching, with many deeming it an integral activity within the coaching process that reveals discontinuity between desired and current performance.
Ellinger & Bolstrom, Journal of Management Development, 18(9), 752-771. 1999.
A Leadership Brand:
The consistent behaviors that create a perception of what you are known for the brand that is you.
The Leader Image Process:
- Clarify current brand image through 360 feedback
- Identify leadership values
- Utilize "feedforward" to gather ideas from stakeholder group
- Write a draft and review with manager
- Develop a plan to implement the new brand
- Measure success
"Dr. Dennis helped me to develop a brand image that is more congruent with my career direction. She then helped me learn techniques to 'walk the talk' on my new brand. Within a few months I was able to see results." Technology Manager
Professional and Personal Development
Coaching involves learning the specific challenge the leader faces and then developing actions to address the needed changes.
6 Step Coaching Process
- Clarify current situation
- Establish coaching goal(s)
- Decide on measurement
- Create a plan
- Practice/learning
- Measure outcomes
"I offer my profound praises for Dr. Donna Dennis especially her coaching skills. I began using Dr. Dennis as a professional coach when I had serious performance issues with my team. Donna helped me "peel the onion" on my leadership style: that allowed me to obtain wisdom, tools and techniques to identify fundamental causes for my team’s non-performance. I can honestly say that the high level of performance demonstrated by my team today is a direct result of the coaching I received from Dr. Dennis; it is great to be the Best of the Best in my Division." Plant Manager
Team Coaching
Coaching is a way to improve team performance!
There are 7 key skills that are measured in the Team Emotional and Social Intelligence profile (tesi®).
- Positive Mood
- Team Identity
- Motivation
- Emotional Awareness
- Stress Tolerance
- Conflict Resolution
- Communication
"Donna helped my leadership team of eight senior managers to take its already strong performance to a higher level. She worked with us on- and off-site to help us connect at a deeper level using a variety of tools, facilitating a sharper focus on priorities and developing of insights to enable us to get after them over the short and long term. I enjoyed working with Donna very much, and valued her help." R&D Manager
Transitioning to Virtual Leadership
Many managers feel frustrated with the performance of their remote teams. Coaching is a quick way to learn how to turn challenges into opportunities for high performance. Donna is actively involved in learning cutting edge tools and techniques through research initiatives as well as staying connected to virtual leaders who have attended her classes. Virtual and Remote Leaders (Join this group at LinkedIn)
Knowledge Management and E-Learning: Virtual Leaders: Born or Made?
by Mary Key, Ph.D. and Donna Dennis, Ph.D.
With planning and attention, virtual leadership can become a core competency of your organization and an asset for the future. Chapter available for download (PDF format)
"I worked with virtual teams for a few years before I met Donna. I was not getting the results I was looking for by using emails, phone conferences and maybe the occasional face-to-face visit. It appeared that I was missing some elements as were the recipients of my communications. The buy-in, accountability and follow up were just not what they should have been. After a year of implementing some of the ideas that I learned from Dr. Dennis, I found increased improvement in results and team effort to get where we need to go. At the last face-to-face team meeting, I received kudos from my staff for the increased networking and team efforts that allowed us to achieve our goals." Manager, U.S. Government