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 readiness in coaching.

Darryl supported. coaching.

Darryl supported the decision I was making. We didn't know what Grace would think of it.

I was withdrawing myself as the coach for one of Grace's direct reports, a lawyer named Sterling.

Sterling most everyone agreed created swirls of difficulty everywhere he went.

His constant difficulties had prompted the company to get him coaching, but soon even the coaching

had its own swirl of difficulties.

For example, once Sterling had finally selected me as his

coach, a process which had its own swirl of difficulties, I'd given him three tasks. I give these same three tasks

to almost everyone I coach. They're not onerous. Most leaders complete

them in a week or two. You know if travel is brutal or assistance is minimal, the tasks might stretch to a month. But in Sterling's

case more than four months had gone by and he'd only completed one of the three tasks.

Finally I had decided I would go no further.

I was withdrawing as his coach.

Darryl was the head of HR.

He had arranged this meeting with Grace, Sterling's boss, so I could explain my decision

to her.

I was grateful for the opportunity. I didn't want to use my time

with Grace and Darrell to rehash my history with Sterling. What I wanted was to

...