Welcome back to the Look and Sound of Leadership, an ongoing series of executive

coaching tips designed to help you be perceived in the workplace the way you want

to be perceived. I'm Tom Henschel, your executive coach. And today,

we're talking about getting unstuck. As she greeted me in the lobby, Miranda let me see she was fuming. I knew in an

instant the decision she'd been anticipating hadn't gone her way. For over a month she'd been pitching her ideas about a major

policy decision to everyone around her. Influencing the outcome had been our

only topic of conversation during a previous coaching session. had been Once we were sitting down, she could barely contain herself as she vented her arguments all over again.

Her first argument, which she thought should be her only argument,

was that every solution but hers would completely mess up their supply chain.

Why, I asked.

And then she told me why the other solutions would be disastrous.

After she forecast her grim outcomes, I asked, what if that did happen?

Well, there'd be no product on the shelves in three weeks, she replied before I'd even

finished asking the question.

When I asked her, what if that happened, she predicted losing major

accounts and a decline in the stock value. When I asked her what if that happened, she ran out of steam. She let out a big breath and she

smiled with resignation. I'm just pissed that I lost, she said said I hate losing.

Miranda had been stuck thinking her solution was the only right solution.

Scott was stuck in a different way. Scott's a good manager, but managing

Rachel had been a challenge for a long time. She always seemed embroiled in one situation or another. Her latest situation was a

spat with a co-worker named Doug. It was now so spiteful they'd only communicate via email. Scott gave me a lot of background

about some of Rachel's past situations and to be honest there was a lot to tell.

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