One of the main lessons Taylere Joseph, PhD, imparts as an executive coach at Berman Leadership Development in New York City is the need to ditch the dichotomous belief that executives are either “good” or “bad” managers. “This type of thinking tends to put a value judgment on someone’s worth, which can lead people to focus on their deficits,” Joseph says. Instead, she teaches leaders to recognize their strengths and opportunities for growth and how to work effectively with others, and this new self-knowledge helps managers achieve their goals.
Pharmaceutical companies, financial firms, nonprofits and a range of other organizations seek out coaches to help struggling executives or to enhance leadership skills for top performers. Although change takes time, Joseph sees the fruit of her coaching when her clients’ colleagues report they are seeing improvements, such as in bosses who have become more approachable or leaders who are more confident. Clients have shared that these subtle changes can lay a foundation for greater productivity, profitability and job satisfaction—improvements that can ultimately boost their organizations’ bottom line.
What is a typical example of how you help a struggling leader?
I worked with a C-suite executive who had a habit of taking on everything herself rather than delegating, which was limiting her effectiveness as a leader. Based on interviews with direct reports, bosses and peers, I also learned that she seemed to lack confidence, which affected the way she led presentations at events like board meetings. She was often overly apologetic for her ideas and sometimes defensive when people asked questions.
She was one of the younger members of the executive team and felt unsure whether she was filling her predecessor’s shoes. To help her feel more confident, I challenged her assumptions about not being qualified and asked her to reflect back on her achievements and successes. I also encouraged her to take more risks to assert herself as a leader.
As she started to believe that she deserved to be in the role, we talked about strategies she could employ to reflect this belief. At board meetings, she could see presentations as an opportunity to relay information rather than looking for permission for her ideas. When she expressed concern about delegating because she might have to correct someone’s work, we brainstormed how to decide when things were good enough to move forward. She now feels more willing to assert herself and is more satisfied with her impact in the organization.
What challenges do you face in your job?
One challenge is that companies usually want to see changes faster than people can change, so I try to set appropriate expectations about the time it takes to build new behavior. I may start by meeting a client twice a month for six months, and when the organization sees signs of progress during that time, this builds trust and they often agree to continue.
Another challenge is that the business world keeps changing, so I have to adapt. It’s important for me to understand the context my clients are working in, so I am constantly reading publications like the Financial Times or Harvard Business Review, and I also completed a business strategy certification program through Cornell University.
One of the most stressful changes in today’s business climate is the lessening of job security. In the past, most companies were striving to stay around for the long term, but now more organizations are hoping to be acquired to increase their financial worth, while others fear being bought by larger companies because this can decrease their control of the business. For example, I coached a director-level leader at a company who was managing team members who were worried they might lose their jobs in an upcoming reorganization. She felt it was important to give people an opportunity to express their feelings, but team meetings started to turn into group therapy sessions. We talked about how she could show support without enabling helplessness by setting time limits for sharing, focusing on the work and staying optimistic as a leader.
What led you to the field of executive coaching?
After I earned an undergraduate degree in humanistic psychology, I worked as an executive administrator for the CEO of a start-up company, and I noticed a lot of dysfunction in the executive team. I was searching for answers to help me navigate this situation, and I discovered “The Fifth Discipline” by Peter Senge. The book helped me see that the dysfunction was the result of how people were interacting with one another within the organizational system rather than a lack of technical or business skills. At that point, I wanted to pursue a career that would allow me to leverage psychological insights to help companies function better.
So, I earned a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy to lay the foundation for a systems way of understanding dyads and group dynamics. Then I worked as a therapist while earning a doctorate in organizational psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology in San Francisco.
After graduating in 2012, I got a postdoc at Leadership Worth Following in Irving, Texas, a company that offers executive assessment and coaching. It was exciting to see how assessments could help big-name leaders understand their behavior better and drive changes that made them more successful.
How did you get the job you have now?
I moved to New York after completing my postdoc and started interviewing for executive coaching roles, but the organizations were looking for people with 10 or more years of experience. I networked with a psychologist friend in the area, and she suggested that I join the communications committee Bill Berman was heading for APA’s Div. 13 (Society of Consulting Psychology). He eventually hired me as a contract writer, and I started writing reports for his client engagements, which included interviews and assessments. Three months later, I was asking him for feedback on a report when he said, “You want to know how much I like your work? I’d like to hire you.” I became his first full-time employee in 2015. He also partners with numerous adjunct consultants who work with clients throughout the country.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Work climates can be pretty competitive and feel like a “Game of Thrones,” so it’s rewarding being someone who can be on a leader’s side. For example, I was working with a leader who wanted coaching because he was concerned about feedback from his team. People found him argumentative, reactive and difficult to approach. After working with this client, I could see that he would benefit from additional support outside the scope of executive coaching, so I referred him to a therapist. He and I worked on new ways to manage his reactions. Rather than taking it personally when employees were late finishing a task, he adopted a solutions-oriented approach. He learned to ask questions to understand why direct reports or peers were delayed with deliverables and tried to help solve the problem. The changes he made in his behavior were so noticeable that the CEO of the organization said he was an ideal example of the power of coaching, and he was promoted.
I love facilitating success that people may not have achieved on their own, because these soft skills are not necessarily taught in business school, law school or other professional training programs.
