Introduction
What separates a highly capable leader from someone who is viewed as ready for the next level of leadership?
For one Vice President in the financial services industry, the answer was not technical expertise or performance. She wanted to be seen by senior management as someone who could be seriously considered for a future C-suite opportunity. To get there, she needed to strengthen her leadership presence, communication style, visibility within the organization, and ability to navigate change with confidence
A Strong Leader Looking Toward the Next Level
This leader was already successful in her role and had aspirations for a future Controller or C-suite position.
She recognized that increasing her leadership presence would require growth in several areas.
- Wanted to strengthen communication skills in both formal and informal settings.
- Wanted to increase visibility across the organization.
- Sought to become more effective at developing staff.
- Recognized that her reactions to change and uncomfortable situations could impact how others perceived her leadership.
- Wanted to be viewed as someone capable of stepping into a larger leadership role when the opportunity became available.
Preparing for a Future C-Suite Opportunity
The goal was straightforward: become someone management would seriously consider for a future C-suite position.
To accomplish that goal, the coaching focused on five primary areas:
- Strengthening communication skills and executive presence.
- Responding more effectively to change and uncertainty.
- Developing staff and creating stronger delegation opportunities.
- Expanding employees’ understanding of the business beyond their own functional areas.
- Increasing visibility with senior leaders across the organization.
The Coaching Work
Strengthening Communication and Executive Presence
The client wanted to communicate with greater confidence, clarity, and impact.
The coaching focused on helping her become more concise, personable, and bottom-line oriented in both professional meetings and everyday workplace interactions.
We worked on:
- Using cognitive restructuring to identify and change internal dialogue that was getting in the way of effective communication.
- Reviewing 360 feedback results to gain a more accurate understanding of how others perceived her communication style.
- Recognizing that some concerns were not as significant as she believed they were.
- Developing a physiological cue that signaled when conversations were becoming less focused so she could redirect them in real time.
Over time, she became more aware of the internal thoughts influencing her communication and developed strategies to respond more intentionally.
Navigating Change with Greater Confidence
Another area of focus involved reducing reactive responses to change and uncomfortable situations.
The goal was not to eliminate discomfort. The goal was to respond in a more even-keeled and productive way.
To support that shift, we worked on:
- Reframing situations to identify potential opportunities rather than focusing exclusively on perceived negatives.
- Developing and practicing a phrase she could repeat internally to help accept situations and respond more effectively.
- Becoming more observant of how other leaders navigated challenging situations.
- Practicing behaviors she observed in leaders she respected.
This work helped increase awareness of how she responded under pressure and gave her additional options for navigating uncertainty.
Developing the Team While Expanding Perspective
The client also wanted to strengthen her ability to develop team members and create conditions that would support greater delegation.
Part of this work stemmed from feedback received through the 360 process. Team members expressed a desire to better understand the company beyond their own functional area, creating an opportunity for the client to broaden how she developed and communicated with her team.
To address those needs, she:
- Developed staff training to respond to themes identified through the 360 feedback.
- Created a structured agenda for one-on-one meetings with team members.
- Learned to ask more open-ended questions to better understand employee needs and perspectives.
- Focused on developing employees in ways that would increase opportunities for delegation.
The work helped create more intentional conversations with team members while supporting employee development.
Stepping Into the Rooms Where Leadership Happens
The client understood that readiness for future leadership opportunities required visibility beyond her immediate responsibilities.
Rather than waiting to be invited into larger conversations, she took steps to increase her exposure to senior leadership.
She:
- Asked to participate in important meetings that were typically attended by leaders above her level.
- Used those meetings to increase visibility while observing leadership behaviors she wanted to emulate.
- Requested one-on-one meetings with a new CFO whose leadership style she admired.
- Used those interactions as an opportunity to learn from and observe executive leadership firsthand.
These experiences provided valuable exposure to leadership behaviors and decision-making at higher organizational levels.
From Capable Leader to Emerging Executive Presence
The engagement helped the client become more intentional about how she communicated, responded to challenges, developed others, and positioned herself within the organization.
| Before Coaching Concerned that communication style was limiting leadership presence Internal dialogue sometimes interfered with desired outcomes Reacted negatively to some uncomfortable situations or changes Wanted stronger staff development practices Desired greater visibility with senior leadership |
| After Coaching Developed greater awareness of communication patterns and practiced more concise, focused conversations Became more aware of self-sabotaging thoughts and practiced changing them in real time Developed strategies to reframe situations and respond more constructively Implemented training and more structured one-on-one conversations Sought opportunities to participate in key meetings and connect with executive leaders |
The most significant shift may have been increased self-awareness. The client became more conscious of the internal dialogue influencing her behavior and learned to change that dialogue in ways that supported her goals.
According to her manager, noticeable changes were observed in the areas targeted during coaching.
The Power of Changing the Conversation in Your Head
One of the client’s biggest learnings was the importance of becoming aware of internal dialogue that was working against her goals.
More importantly, she learned that awareness alone was not enough. The ability to recognize those thoughts in the moment and intentionally choose a different response helped support more effective outcomes.
What This Engagement Reinforced for Me as a Coach
Two observations stood out during this engagement.
- Developing leadership presence often begins with greater self-awareness and a willingness to challenge internal assumptions.
- In some situations, meeting every two weeks rather than every week gives clients more time to practice new behaviors and apply learning between sessions.
This engagement reinforced the importance of adapting the coaching process to the needs of the client rather than the preferences of the coach.
Becoming Seen as a Future C-Suite Leader
Many leaders assume the next level of leadership requires acquiring new technical skills.
In this case, the work centered on something different.
Communication, visibility, self-awareness, staff development, and the ability to navigate change all contributed to how this leader was perceived by others.
As she became more intentional in those areas, she began taking meaningful steps toward the leadership presence she wanted to be known for—and toward the future opportunities she hoped to pursue.