He leads a team at a large global organization and gets positive feedback on their work. But he’s having trouble leading his team with a clear vision amid conflicting priorities and without direction from his senior leaders. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how he can help his team have organizational impact, with or without more clarity from above.
She’s finally found a leadership role that feels aligned with her personal mission. But in the wake of unexpected company-wide layoffs, she’s struggling with how to plan for her team’s future amid the organizational uncertainty. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how she can motivate and lead her team when so much feels out of their control.
Coaching Real Leaders returns April 10 for another season of real-life coaching sessions, with leadership challenges like staying motivated after layoffs, achieving team goals, and more. Listen in as host and longtime executive coach Muriel Wilkins takes you behind closed doors as she helps executives, managers, and entrepreneurs work through the challenges they face and discover unexpected insights about themselves.
She’s carved out a unique role for herself, which she loves, but worries that the pace of work is unsustainable. As she thinks about the next step in her career, she realizes that it will require her to lean on the help of others — something she’s not used to doing. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to get the support she needs to move forward in her career.
He sees himself as a servant leader and enjoys building and supporting his teams. But over time, he’s seen behavior from more senior leaders that he doesn’t always agree with, and it’s making him feel disengaged at work. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how he can respond when executives don’t model the company’s values.
He’s had fast success in a sales-driven industry and enjoys leading his expanding team. But as his responsibilities grow, he needs to learn how to delegate to his team more and empower his direct reports. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how to adapt his leadership style as his team grows.
He’s had a long, successful career as an attorney, in spite of the challenges he’s faced as a neurodivergent leader. Now he wants to parlay his legal experience and interest in advocacy into a different career in diversity, equity, and inclusion, but he’s having a hard time landing the role he wants. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader through how to move forward with his career plans even when it feels like the odds are stacked against him.
She’s had a successful career leading in the corporate world and now she’s decided to venture out on her own to build a consulting business from scratch. But she’s struggling with her move into entrepreneurship and wonders if she made the right decision. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to make the most out of her entrepreneurial journey.
He’s a self-professed “natural finance guy” and has shown himself to be invaluable to his company. His long-term goal is to become a CFO, but he’s gotten little feedback on what to do to get to the executive level. Now he’s starting to feel stuck in middle management. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through managing his career, even when the plan isn’t always clear.
Coaching Real Leaders returns October 3 for another season of real-life coaching sessions, with leadership challenges like making a career change later in life, transitioning from a corporate job to an entrepreneurial one, and more. Listen in as host and longtime executive coach Muriel Wilkins takes you behind closed doors as she helps executives, managers, and entrepreneurs work through the challenges they face.
This episode is part of a new special series from HBR’s Women at Work, hosted by Amy Gallo – an expert in workplace dynamics. Each episode offers tactics for dealing with “difficult” people at work. Every workplace has them, but what if we had better tools and approaches to improve our interactions with those colleagues? In this episode, Amy helps a leader whose boss keeps rejecting any changes she recommends. By the end of the conversation, she has the advice she needs to communicate her propos...
He’s had a successful career in the military and is deeply invested in his professional growth. As his transition out of the military approaches, he wants to figure out what’s next for him professionally. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how to best prepare for the next phase of his career.
She took on a leadership role as a scrum master because she wanted a new challenge. But after a few months on the job, she worries that she lacks the technical knowledge and years of experience to truly lead her team. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to build credibility with her older, more experienced colleagues.
He’s developed a stellar reputation at his organization as the go-to person to solve some very specific, complicated problems. But he worries that the organization has pigeon-holed him as a subject matter expert, limiting his ability to lead more broadly. He speaks with host Muriel Wilkins about how he can break out of the specialist role to reach his goal of becoming a more general business leader.
She has risen very quickly in her career, often being the youngest in the room. She’s ambitious and wants to make it to the C-suite eventually, but she doesn’t know the right moves to make in the short term to fast-track her way to the top. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to align her career path with her goals.
She’s heading toward the apex of her career and wants to play a more strategic role in her company because she feels that’s where her strengths lie. While she’s great at creating the vision, she’s struggling to set direction and then follow through with her team. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to lead with more accountability.
He’s part of a real estate organization and loves his work but wonders what his future looks like at the company and how his role could grow in the coming decades. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader through how he might use some of his entrepreneurial muscles to shift his career track toward a business leadership role within his current organization.
Coaching Real Leaders returns May 2 to tackle new leadership challenges – like learning how to hold your team accountable, making the move from subject matter expert to business leader, and more. Listen in on coaching sessions with real leaders from around the globe, as they work out the challenges they face at work, with host and longtime executive coach Muriel Wilkins.
No matter how driven and capable you are, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by a promotion and a new seat at the table. Host Muriel Wilkins speaks with a newly promoted leader who wants to make sure she’s as effective at this new level as she has been in past roles.
He’s a senior-level executive with a goal to make it to the C-suite. While he’s come close, he’s been turned down and is not sure why. Host Muriel Wilkins helps this leader plan his next moves.
As we head into the holidays after a very stressful year, many of us are struggling with burnout. This week, we revisit a conversation from earlier in the year with a leader on the brink of burnout. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader toward strategies she can take to focus her energy and scale up her leadership.
He's been at his company for many years and has worked his way up from an entry-level position to a director role. Now, he wants to get to the next level in his career, but he feels stuck and unsure of himself. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader on how to regain his confidence so that he can move forward.
No matter how hard you work and how good you are at executing tasks, there are always less tangible reasons people get tapped for more senior roles. Executive presence matters, as does finding the right sponsors. Host Muriel Wilkins speaks with a rising leader who understands the importance of sponsorship but doesn’t know how to get there – starting with learning to tell her own story.
There are all different kinds of leadership styles, but it’s hard to know what is authentic to you, or how much you should try to adapt to your environment. In this episode, host Muriel Wilkins speaks with a senior leader who is having trouble drawing a line between what is expected of her, and what feels true to her core.
We check in with three guests from Season 1 to see what they took with them from their coaching meetings and where they are now.
She's recently been promoted to a senior role, after working her way up in the industry from an entry level position. But she’s become a leader at a time when there's also a lot of change. Now she's the legacy person on her new team, and she feels constantly questioned and defensive about the way things work and the culture she helped build. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader on how to figure out what to keep from the past and what to let go of, so she can be effective.
He’s moving up a level to take on a new leadership role at his company. Now he’s managing other managers for the first time and realizing that it’s a big leap to go from managing individual contributors to managing other managers. Host Muriel Wilkins helps this leader understand how to approach his new role and what new skills he must develop in order to succeed.
She made it to a coveted senior role, but she isn’t feeling excited about her future career path. And now she’s wondering how to balance all the competing commitments in her life – children, spouse, elderly parents, and work – while still pursuing what she really cares about. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader through discovering what’s important to her, so that she can figure out what’s next.
He’s a senior leader in a hospital, who has long seen himself as an advocate for equality for his female colleagues. But in the past few years, he’s faced a few instances where women he works with have been offended by exchanges with him. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader toward a stronger understanding of his own assumptions and how he can manage across differences.
She’s a C-suite-level executive with 20 years of experience working in corporate finance. Earlier in her career, she stayed at companies for long periods of time. But in her last few roles, she’s been jumping ship as soon as the going gets tough. Is she leaving too quickly, or has she not yet found the right role? Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader through her discomfort and toward strategies that can help her see her role through to a successful conclusion.
