The Coach, Manager and Resource People

Weekly Contact

The Coach works with the WLI Participant approximately one hour a week. After an initial face-to-face meeting, most coaching is done on the phone. The Coach helps her to identify her learning style, career goals, work objectives, personal vision and mission. With both her Coach and Manager’s guidance, she develops an individualized Professional Development Plan, the foundation for her year’s journey.

The core 360-degree assessment used at the beginning and end of the year is Leadership Practices Inventory, created by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of The Leadership Challenge. The Participant uses the initial feedback to identify specific competencies to work on during the year. The post assessment gives the Participant feedback on her progress and the areas for further development.

The Manager works closely with the Institute Coach to develop the Participant’s work goals, review barriers to her leadership development, and identify resources within the company that may help her.

A woman may sometimes find that additional assistance is necessary. In these cases, the WLI connects her with an expert Resource Person for just-in-time, short-term coaching.

Thank you for being my professional coach. When the year started, I was unsure of how professional coaching would work for me. Skeptical, is what I would call it. The experience turned out to be much more than I could have ever expected. I appreciate how supportive and considerate you were with my busy schedule. You kept me on track with my professional and personal goals. Your questions gave me insights into others and myself that I’m not sure I would have found on my own. Then, of course the weekly sessions helped me use the tools learned at the monthly workshops. - Julie Reed, IT Project Director, Xcel Energy, Inc. and IBM

Julie Reed, IT Project Director Xcel Energy, Inc. and IBM