Coaching for technical experts

Some people fly up the ladder because of their technical skills. Then they hit a ceiling hard. They haven’t seen it coming because up until now technical skills have been enough or the gaps in their people skills have been forgiven.

However, the next rung on the ladder raises the stakes. That level of leadership requires technical skills and the ability to influence a wide range of people to come with you.

This level of leadership is not about black and white thinking; it’s not just about being right; it’s about inspiring and negotiating. That means being fluent in perspectives other than your own. The reality is that people won’t just fall behind someone who is technically right, and those making promotion decisions know that.

My clients want a coach with the skills to see what they can’t, the courage to tell them what they see, and the insights, training and frameworks to bring them to the top of the game.

Have you been passed over for a promotion because of conflict?

Have you ended up on the radar because your team is losing staff? Are your projects dragging because you can’t get the buy-in you need from other people?

This is understandably frustrating when you have the best ideas in the room. You would be willing to give way to better ideas. You are open to someone showing you that you are wrong. But nobody does those things. Instead, you’re told you should be having coffee with more people and building better relationships.

I have worked with many high-profile individuals, coaching them on the human dimension that they might not see because they have concentrated to this point on developing incredible technical skills. Working with them on people and influencing skills, I help them to see another dimension in their roles. And when they can see that dimension, the resistance they’ve been experiencing at work fades quickly.

“James has worked closely with several of my key staff across Australian and PNG. He has a friendly and pragmatic approach that allows him to connect with people, regardless of gender or cultural background, delivering results that achieve personal and commercial outcomes”.

Andrew, Head of Contracts, Procurement and Supply Chain, Oil Search

Case study: Reducing resistance by strengthening people skills

My client^ was passed over for promotion because his direct style was creating resistance on projects. The word from HR was that his career had stalled. But although he could see the problem, my client didn’t know how to go from winning by “being right” to winning through influence. After all, he personally responded to blunt feedback, regarding it as extremely efficient.

We worked on understanding situations from multiple points of view, being more consultative and bringing people with him rather than expecting it should be enough that his ideas were “the best”.

^ Industry and other identifying information has been changed to protect confidentiality