As an HR pro, legal advisor, risk officer, or other compliance-related professional, are you tired of wondering, “When will I get my seat at the leadership table in this organization?” Stop wondering and listen to my guest appearance on Tom Fox’s Innovation in Compliance podcast to learn how executive coaching helps you earn that seat and has your executives asking, “Why didn’t we invite you to the leadership table sooner?”

Listen to the episode now:

My Approach to Coaching

Tom comments that using a brain-based approach seems antithetical to what lawyers generally do. He asks me to describe his coaching method and I reply that I am not coaching around expertise; rather, helping spark new ideas and innovations in their brains. A compliance issue could have multiple approaches and I am teaching professionals to be better leaders, as well as how to ask thoughtful, reflective questions.

How to Know If Coaching is Right For You

You should consider retaining a coach after you’ve maximized all the other training, development and leadership resources available to you, and you have stretch goals that you still need to achieve. A coach can help you make the changes you need to reach your goals. In addition, when you want to move to a higher level, the actions that brought you success in the past may not be the same things you’ll need to do to move ahead. Coaching can accelerate your growth to meet those new challenges. In the podcast episode, I describe the coaching packages that I offer.

Breaking Down Silos and Convincing Management

Tom asks, Can an executive coach help a compliance practitioner think through having to break down silos within an organization? Yes! and in addition to breaking down the silos, it’s all about the compliance professional’s relationship with those different stakeholders. You should think of the silos as stakeholder groups and think about how to communicate well with them and be open to listening.

Convince your management that you need an executive coach by pointing out the difference between a coach and a consultant. A coach knows how to ask questions and spark your thinking, which is what you need to help you perform better as a compliance professional. Also, show them the positive impact coaching will have on you and the organization. This makes the compliance practitioner or the executive more innovative.