Harvard's First Executive Coaching Case Study Features Birkman

On September 28-29, Sharon Birkman, CEO of Birkman International, and Dan Perryman, VP of Training and Development, attended the 11th Annual Coaching in Leadership & Healthcare Conference in Boston, hosted by the Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital, and Harvard Medical School. The conference provided an opportunity for them to meet and hear from hundreds of thought leaders in the medical and psychological sciences, with a focus on positive psychology. However, for Sharon and Dan, the highlight of the weekend was the presentation given by Ethan Bernstein, Professor at Harvard Business School (HBS), on a HBS case study featuring the Birkman Method.

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First appeared on PR Newswire on September 4, 2018

HOUSTON, September 4, 2018 - Birkman International, a business specialized in assessing human behavior and perception, is newly recognized as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. The certification is effective as of Aug. 30, 2018.

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Why Birkman?

For 15 years, I have done leadership development for multi-national companies. I have a file cabinet drawer full of different assessments that I have taken over the years, trying to find one that truly that connects with my clients. The Birkman Method assessment is “the one.” It’s hard to explain why Birkman is different, but here are the reasons I, as well as thousands of others, use it as a primary tool to help organizations develop their leadership strengths.

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We always enjoy hearing from master practitioners of The Birkman Method and recently, we had the pleasure of speaking with executive coach and author Robert De Filippis. With over four decades of experience consulting across multiple industries, we asked Robert to share some trade secrets on effective coaching from his latest book, On Coaching with The Birkman Method, to drive coaching and business success using Birkman. 

Check out these tips and tricks from our insightful conversation below:

Q: What is the first step in becoming an effective coach?

A: Dr. Roger Birkman, the creator of The Birkman Method wrote, “The reality of life is that your perceptions—right or wrong—influence everything you do. When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place.”

The professional Birkman practitioner can and should use Birkman, in Dr. Birkman’s terms, to “get a proper perspective on their own perceptions” before attempting to assist their clients to do the same.

Good coaching starts with knowing one’s self. It continues with creating an operational awareness of subconscious decision processes in our clients. This way they can learn to make more effective life decisions and enjoy, as Dr. Birkman said, “how many other things fall into place.”

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Whether you are dealing with departmental growth or succession planning, it's always important to be developing the next wave of leaders in your organization. While there are several strategies to train employees with the knowledge and experience needed to successfully spearhead a team, one of the most effective and rewarding ways to address this situation is through a leadership development mentoring program. Specifically, preparing and training high-potentials in your organization to grow into a leadership position by pairing them with an experienced employee.

Besides harnessing the people you already have in your organization, an in-house leadership development program helps:

• Increase employee engagement and satisfaction
• Boost retention and recruiting efforts
• Provide the attention and training high-potentials need to excel
• Develop meaningful relationships between experienced leaders and those looking to develop new skills
• Allow seasoned employees to give back

Here are five steps to keep in mind when designing a leadership development program to equip your employees with the skills to make an impact on your organization.

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All leaders have a variety of traits in common that contribute to the growth and success of an organization. But what can separate a good leader from a great one is the ability to communicate and connect with teams. While this may seem easy to achieve, even the most respected leaders must continually practice and refine these skills.

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Confidence. Commitment. Passion. Integrity. All of these are characteristics of an admirable leader. But there is one trait that may overshadow them all: self-awareness. Self-aware leaders have the ability to monitor their own emotions and reactions. Leaders that are highly attuned to their behaviors (and how others perceive those behaviors) can make a positive impact in their organization by setting the tone for maturity, moderation, and civility that others will aim to replicate.

We promote self-awareness at Birkman—it's critical for everyone's personal development, not just leaders. However, self-awareness is difficult to practice, especially when under stress.

There are three elements to self-awareness:

• Knowing your own behavior—good and bad
• Leveraging your good behavior
• Curbing the bad behavior

It seems simple, but even those of us immersed in a company culture that emphasizes the importance of self-awareness can struggle. Ultimately, in those moments when you're frustrated in the workplace, it's hard to step back, take a deep breath, and assess how you can best handle a situation.

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In any major city, you are bound to find cafes teeming with remote-working professionals who have various skillsets and passions. In the digital age, having teams that work remotely from home (or even in other countries) is becoming increasingly common. A remote working team grants new freedom and flexibility. However, for managers who want to manage a successful team, this may also pose some challenges.   

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Achieving C-suite rank in your career may mean you’re at the top of your game—it doesn’t mean the game ends there. As TechNet CEO Rey Ramsey said, “Leadership is a journey, not a destination.” Highly effective leaders should always strive to continue to learn, improve, and grow.

Being responsible for the direction and growth of an organization is a major undertaking, and as a leader, the culture of the company is set by you. Aiming for personal excellence and professional development can inspire employees to do the same—yielding further developed talent and a greater outcome for your company's performance. In this article, I'll review some of the ways that I stay engaged with personal growth and pushing myself to new heights. 

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Whether you’re having a problem with a client, coworker, or impossible workload, approaching management with any issue can be daunting. You may think of anyone in management as big and powerful, with a massive to-do list, and no time to even look in your direction – let alone sit down and talk to you.

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