Mike Pearton

The decision to engage an Executive Coach (like marriage) is a weighty matter.  After a substantial corporate marketing career and 20 years of promoting my own consulting, coaching and mentoring business, the following is what I believe to be the minimum amount of information required to make an informed decision prior to engaging on a one-to-one basis and making a final call.

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A short, true, and interesting story about Executive Coaching.

I recently worked with an Executive Director (let’s call him Joe) who believed that he was very good at managing the all-important work / life balance dynamic. His CEO, the company HR Director, his wife and family, and later, his medical doctor, strongly disagreed. They could see his sporadic tense, and at times aggressive, and even, damaging, behaviour while the fact that he was achieving his (very tough) performance objectives told him that everything was fine.

Donald Rumsfeld, was accredited with musing that his concern was that there were times when his executives, "Did not know what they did not know". Going back even further, the Greek philosopher, Epictetus, noted that “It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows”. The word "Impossible" is a bit strong but it can quite often be very difficult to modify behaviour simply by shining a light on it. In this particular case it achieved very little. Joe did, however, readily accept the option of engaging with a Business Coach given that this would be with a seasoned, experienced, professional who had significant experience of the "boardroom environment". Looking back in hindsight (that exact science activity), a major attraction was the opportunity to explore the topic in the safe space that is Coaching.

I use a Solution Focused coaching framework and have found this to be particularly well suited to the business environment. The whole approach is positive and (as you will have guessed) the focus is on developing a solution to a particular situation. Stephen Covey, all those years ago, spoke about "Beginning with the end in mind" and that is a very good insight into this coaching protocol. After a short period of time to build a bit of rapport (mainly done through encouraging Joe to revisit, and share, his Personal Values Profile, which he had done some time previous, by completing the online Life Values Inventory questionnaire), we approached the main issue at hand.

Unlike some coaching frameworks, we did not start with the CEO's views, or those of his very wound-up PA (who was reviewing her employment options), or even those of his concerned family. We started by formulating a Preferred Future Statement for the topic of Work / Life balance which Joe fully embraced as his own. In essence this was "To create a situation that allows me more free time both during and after the workday". Joe initially defined two measures of success: 1. He would take part in the company monthly golf outings with his fellow senior managers, key customers, and key suppliers which were scheduled for the last Thursday afternoon of each month (and which he seldom, if ever, joined) 2. He and his wife would be active in the Rambling Club they had joined two years ago and participate in the monthly weekend event which included a night away. Joe then added a third behavioural measure five sessions into the programme and it was a major Tipping Point for the coaching intervention. 3. He would never again take another antacid tablet.  If you cannot see why this was so important, then email me at [email protected] and I'll elucidate it for you!)

In the interests of keeping this story within the space available, the rest of the programme focused on examining Joe's use of time against his goal of achieving his Preferred Future Statement and its success measures for making efficiency improvements. After eleven coaching sessions, Joe and I declared the process a success and the other parties fully agreed. As Joe put it, he had “not only seen the light but now controlled the power switch”.

I am a seasoned business professional, with a wide range of experience at a senior level. A self-motivated individual with above average interpersonal skills. A strong bias toward achieving defined objectives through the promotion of strategic thinking, strong management and leadership, clear communication and organisational alignment.

During my corporate career I held senior positions in Marketing, Sales, and Human Resources, mainly in a manufacturing environment and later, in Business Support with a national franchise operation. Virtually all my work experience was gained with international organisations i.e. Unilever, Pilkington, PG Group (where I spent the last 23 years of my formal employment).

As Company Human Resources Manager I was a member of the Executive Committee reporting directly to the CEO. In addition to my functional responsibility, I also had a significant broader strategic accountability relating to corporate governance and diversity.

I am internationally accredited by the Institute for Independent Business International (London). Accredited Associates are required to have a proven track record of a minimum of 20 years of senior management business experience and demonstrate their proficiency through peer review at the Residential Business School in London. I completed this process in 2004.

Coaching is often offered by individuals who have high levels of theoretical coaching process knowledge and good coaching qualifications but who are sometimes short of actual senior management practical experience at an executive level.

I have coaching, management, and leadership knowledge, skills, and experience applied and honed at an Executive Team level. If my offering is of interest, you can request a copy of my abbreviated CV by sending me an email at [email protected]

I use a Solution Focused coaching methodology, and a cornerstone of my coaching process is the technique known as Socratic Questioning. If you are not familiar with this very useful management tool, then it is certainly worth googling. It is centred on the fundamental principle of Truth First and is often quite refreshing for the Coachee.

After more than twenty-five years of corporate experience, I have managed my own consulting, coaching and mentoring business for the last twenty years. Over the last twelve years I have focused almost exclusively on Executive Coaching, and today my primary focus is on the transformation and empowerment of executives who want to reach new levels of effectiveness through self-awareness.

I have my own personal coach who is a certified and practising Career Psychologist – he keeps me up to date and on my toes and also weighs in with advice and guidance as needed.

I provide high-quality, personal growth-focused, coaching and mentoring services. The agenda is always the Coachee’s, and assistance can be provided in a number of areas.

1. Developing yourself – self-awareness | assertiveness | work-life balance | communication | conflict management | delegation | influencing | problem solving | procrastination |
2. Improving team performance – cross cultural issues | effective meetings | performance management | strategic focus |
3. Managing work processes – an area where an independent experienced third party is often invaluable - a safe space to reflect | a personal testing ground before you launch | managing change | negotiation skills |
4. Other topics – glass ceiling | emotional control | self-motivation |
5. Planning your next step – promotion | retirement |

Coaching Loft – Facilitating coaching administration and reporting

Given that my coaching Practice has continued to grow, I recently took the decision to partner with Coaching Loft, a sophisticated coaching platform that was voted the best coaching management software in 2024. It has been reported that more than 3,650 professional coaches and 117 organisations worldwide currently use this renowned coaching support system.

There are a number of distinct benefits for each of the parties involved in the growth-focused coaching process i.e. the Coach, the Coachee, and the coaching sponsor / company. These include:

1. Appointment scheduling

• Shared calendars
• Parties can schedule independently
• The CL calendar syncs with MS 365, Outlook, Google etc.

2. Integrated video conferencing

• A bespoke CL system
• Can also integrate with MS Teams and Zoom

3. Client / Sponsor Portal

• Access to shared space and private space
• Access to agreed goals, milestones, and progress made

4. Chat facility

• For quick interactions between Coach and Coachee – seamless and efficient

5. Journals

• Separate space for Coach and Coachee
• Record personal notes, points for discussion and preparation for sessions

6. Automatic session logging

• Content is saved for future reference
• Logs can be exported

7. Online integrated assessments

• A base system that can be modified as required

8. Documents and files

• Storage space for shared access to related articles and other content for reading, study
• Everything in one space

9. Coachee action tracking

• A facility to monitor Coachees progress on tasks and comment on same

10. Goals and Milestones

• Create and agree a joint agenda for tracking
• Coachees can add additional, personal sub-goals

11. Coaching packages

• This allows me to present my most popular products

12. Coaching Agreement

• As required a base document can be modified to suit the parties needs
• I also publish my Personal Principles and Values as an Accredited Associate of The Institute for Independent Business (London)