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Harvard Business Review
4 days ago
- Business
- Harvard Business Review
When Your Go-To Leadership Style Stops Working
As you move into senior roles, some leadership styles will come more naturally than others, shaped by your personality and past successes. And over time, your favored style may become your brand, expected by others and increasingly authentic to you. But what happens when your preferred approach suddenly loses followership? If you don't adjust, you could diminish your credibility as a leader. On the other hand, adopting an unfamiliar style can be both awkward for you and confusing for your colleagues. The challenge to become versatile across leadership styles is arguably harder than improving technical expertise or strategic competence because it calls for personal transformation. And these days, if you're not committed to developing past your comfort zone, you're unlikely to inspire others to stretch themselves and follow your example. In my work coaching executives, I've seen that having the courage to develop greater adaptability in their leadership approach is worth the effort. Leaders who expand their range of styles not only sustain followership, they're often surprised by how agility gets easier with practice. Here are five strategies to help you successfully meet the moment when your default leadership style stops working. Scan for shifts in the business, stakeholders, and yourself. When your leadership style loses impact, it's typically because something changed in the systems around you. To avoid blind spots in your effectiveness, look for sudden changes in three areas: the business you serve, the stakeholders you manage and influence, and your personal concerns. Ask yourself: Have market dynamics, customer needs, or product strategies shifted? Are your stakeholders requiring something different in order to willingly follow you? And within yourself, have any new responsibilities demanded a change in your confidence and presence? I once coached a VP who noticed morale dropping across his team and complaints rising from internal customers about work delays. As he scanned for shifts in the business and key stakeholders, he recognized that constant pivots in strategy to keep up with market competition confused the team's priorities. At the same time, internal customers were applying pressure on shared projects. And the new VP, newly promoted, was trying too hard to please everyone, rather than managing around a clear vision and strategically setting boundaries on service. The result was a purely reactive team seen as order-takers targeted for criticism rather than valuable strategic partners. By scanning at the level of the business, stakeholders and self, the VP realized he needed to lead with more clarity and conviction to improve credibility around what his team could promise and deliver. Shifting his style with this intention helped reset and re-engage both his team and stakeholders more effectively. Identify a style you're overusing and try on new ones. To help you assess which styles you tend to favor, consider how you show up across these six leadership styles, as provided by psychologist Daniel Goleman's research: directive (using command and coercion), authoritative (defining a vision to follow), pacesetting (insisting on high standards), affiliative (preferring personal bonds), democratic (seeking consensus for decisions), and coaching (prioritizing individual growth). Several factors influence your chosen style, from your personality and unique strengths, to how you were taught about leadership, perhaps from prior bosses or mentors. But comfort breeds complacency, and as needs change, your over-reliance on one approach can limit future followership. One of my coaching clients was a CEO who had spent his whole career at his company. Because of his deep institutional knowledge and a scrappy, 'roll up your sleeves and get it done' personality, he preferred to operate in the weeds, involving himself in extremely tactical issues. This pacesetting style—hands on, detail oriented and pushing for his view of excellence—worked well when the company was small and his leadership team was made up of longtime colleagues who expected it. But as the business scaled and new leaders were hired to help the company develop a mature operational structure, his involvement became a bottleneck. And his style, once effective for solving simpler problems, now limited his managers' capabilities in addressing increasingly complex ones. He realized that in order to sustain effectiveness, he needed to try on some new styles, namely a visionary one that encouraged team ownership, and a coaching one that empowered others to grow themselves in preparation for future demands. Be transparent about style changes. Expanding your range of styles is a sign of sophisticated leadership, but be prepared for growing pains. Not only is adopting a new style unfamiliar to you, but it may confuse others if done without warning. Failing to share the context of what and why you're changing, may be seen as erratic and even worse, diminish trust. To ensure alignment, build on your ongoing social contract, explaining your intention and how you'll experiment with broadening your range when leading your team. You might tell them: Over the past year, I've noticed a habit of mine that is getting in the way of achieving the results we all want. I like to jump in and insert myself in the work when I don't see progress. But that's not working for either of us. Going forward, I'm going to try to empower you more, asking questions to invite your ownership and delegating more intentionally. If I seem quieter in meetings, it's not that I'm disengaged, and if I'm asking lots of questions, I'm not trying to test you. I'm just trying to listen and encourage your process and solutions rather than mine. Reinforce how this shift will help everyone: 'Being a more intentional coach will not only help me spend more time on the big issues on my plate but also show you I trust you and want to give you opportunities to show what you can do.' Taking ownership for where your style needs to expand can understandably make you feel exposed. But remember it's courage, humility and your modeling of vulnerability that will strengthen your team's capabilities and increase your followership. Practice, seek feedback, and expect pushback. Once you've clarified your intentions, start experimenting in small, yet visible ways. Ask for feedback on how your new approach is landing, but don't be discouraged if some colleagues aren't happy with it. After all, even if your prior style had its flaws, it was familiar. Changes in how you lead them may feel unwanted until they experience the benefits of adaptation. One of my coaching clients was an SVP of technology, responsible for innovating engineering processes to improve his company's competitive edge. His style was grounded in vision-building and democratic decision-making, motivating the team to imagine the impossible and engage in healthy, inclusive debates about how to get there. While his team felt safe and supported, several recent project failures reduced other stakeholders' confidence in the SVP's operational maturity. He developed a reputation for overpromising and underdelivering, caused by two problems with his leadership approach: his unwillingness to give critical feedback to his team and an aversion to consistent, detailed reporting to his peers on progress. To his credit, he made demonstrable changes in his approach in response to these setbacks. To more objectively assess his team, he asked himself who he would re-hire (or not) if he had to start the team from scratch. Then he defined specific gaps for each and coached them with targeted feedback, acknowledging that his prior avoidance of that limited their potential. And when his team engaged in endless debates, he redirected them toward closure and action. Lastly, he had his team develop a cadence for planning and reporting out to stakeholders based on key metrics of interest. Not everyone on the SVP's team welcomed these style shifts. After all, it meant more work and personal accountability. But he continued to seek feedback as a way of calibrating his approach to avoid over-indexing the other way. And by persisting with experimentation while accepting the pushback as a necessary part of evolving, he offered a model for them to expand their range as leaders too. Commit to developing versatility over mastery. As you experiment with new leadership styles, don't be discouraged if some just never feel right. Stay open to practicing across styles so you have access to more choices when the moment calls for it. And commit to choosing your approach based on purpose rather than personal preference. This not only increases your leadership effectiveness in a given context, but it ensures you're actively growing your adaptability muscle for future needs. In today's ever-changing workplace, being adaptive is a major strategic advantage. A recent study reported more than 60% of corporate learning professionals believe leaders must become more behaviorally adaptable to meet future needs. And these days, companies are even creating C-suite roles specifically designed to foster agility because of its criticality for achieving enterprise-wide alignment. But versatility demands vulnerability and often letting go of your core identity. For example, if you're a leader who has built trusted relationships before setting expectations, you might view the necessity to be authoritative and decisive first, as an affront to your values and 'who you are.' And yet in holding onto what feels authentic, you could miss the opportunity to use a directive style when it's more effective for the moment at hand, such as providing clarity in crisis, or helping new employees know what is expected of them before ramping up to their own level of competence. To develop your adaptability across styles, let go of the need to feel authentic at all times. Versatile leaders often embody all six styles in the span of a day, depending on the purpose of the interaction. Read the room, consider if people need you to be decisive, observant, facilitative, or something else at that time, and show up accordingly, just to see what works. In any leadership role, your style of engaging others plays a significant part in determining success, sometimes even more than the subject matter of the work. And when your style suddenly loses its desired impact, it can be hard to know how to shift it without losing your authenticity or confusing those you lead. By using these strategies, you can make sure you're sustaining followership by optimizing your style for the moment and developing your adaptive range for future shifts.
Forbes
5 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Architecture Of Influence
Peter Accettura : executive leadership coach; enhancing resilience, executive presence, and decision-making confidence. getty I have always been intrigued by the concept of influence, both in one's personal life and, especially, in a business setting. The idea that someone can enter a high-stakes meeting; put forth a well-articulated proposal whose execution requires a significant investment of time, capital and human resources; face a room full of seasoned executives that either hold a contrarian view or vet the concept viability to its limit; and, despite all of that, win the day and get the hard-fought approval fascinated me in the early stages of my business life. As I proceeded through my career, moving up the ranks in a well-known, highly successful, global media company, I soon came to realize that the notion of influence was morphing in my mind from interesting to necessary as I sought to help drive the business outcomes that I passionately felt would continue to move our company upward and forward. But where do I begin? How can I develop this essential competency? In my role as an executive coach, many of my clients choose influence as a competency to develop. My first question for them: Who are your role models? In most organizations, you likely already know someone who is successfully modeling influence (or any other skill that you wish to develop). Observe them carefully. Notice what, when and how they attempt to influence the room. If you pay attention, you will notice their 'success pattern;' they are not constantly reinventing themselves. Rather, executives who do this well are unconsciously competent: It has become part of their executive DNA. They do what they do effortlessly and in flow (or it will seem that way to you). This is what I did throughout my career. Observe role models, attempt something similar, assess whether I achieved my objective, then reflect on how to do it better next time. After a while, and with many fine-tuning adjustments along the way, I became influential in my organization and can now articulate what I did to get there and how I think about (and coach) this essential, impactful skill today. There are three distinct but interrelated pillars of both personal and professional influence. Once understood and mindfully applied, they can increase your impact, earn the trust of those around you and help drive meaningful change within your organization. The three pillars are agency (the power to act), alliance (the power of relationships) and advocacy (the power to be heard). Agency is the power to act. One of the most impactful ways (there are others) to develop agency within an organization is to develop subject-matter expertise. Make yourself indispensable and unforgettable! You should seek to make your presence and participation in significant meetings a no-brainer. Those who demonstrate agency take responsibility, lead with clarity and conviction and speak up even when things become uncomfortable. Make no mistake: Influence is virtually impossible without agency. Alliance reflects the power of relationships. In fact, I believe an individual's network is their most important asset that never makes it onto their résumé. The quantity and quality of these relationships can be a game-changer for you. You want your network dispersed widely throughout the organization. Alliances must also be authentic and based upon trust, shared goals and mutual benefit. Alliances create possibility and momentum while helping shield you from resistance. It's how you can turn the potential of influence into actual leverage. No influential leader succeeds alone. Advocacy is the power to be heard. It is the outward expression of agency, which includes the support and guidance of your alliance. Effective advocacy is often demonstrated with one's clarity and conviction of ideas, with the help and participation of your alliance, which may result in the adoption of a new, bold product, service or strategy. Business Case If, as an executive in your organization, you have an idea that is contrary to the popular consensus of its leaders, what can you do? • Agency: Describe your vision, tie it to outcomes and offer to take the first exploratory step. • Alliance: Enlist cross-departmental believers willing to share time and resources. • Advocacy: Do the homework, shape the narrative and inspire with purpose and conviction. Getting Started With Influence Assess where you are concerning the three pillars. • Agency: Where are you strong? Are you a subject-matter expert? Are you unforgettable? • Alliance: Invest in key relationships across many diverse functions in your organization. • Advocacy: Start small, with low-risk cases, in preparation for bigger, future opportunities. Final Thoughts You may have a leadership title, but that alone does not bestow upon you the ability to influence. Influence is earned through impactful agency, strategic alliances and purposeful advocacy. Agency provides you with legitimacy and a platform, advocacy allows you to state the case with urgent conviction and alliance is the glue that holds it all together. Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
The Poling Group Celebrates Over 25 Years of Excellence and Enduring Commitment to Leadership Impact
05/21/2025, Asheville, North Carolina // PRODIGY: Feature Story // The Poling Group, Inc., celebrates a significant milestone, serving the business community for over 25 years. Led by President Terry L. Poling with over three decades of consulting experience, including more than 20 years dedicated to executive coaching, the company shows no signs of slowing down. It continues to serve as a trusted advisor to companies across sectors. The Poling Group, Inc. The North Carolina-based firm was built on the belief that leadership is a responsibility to influence systems, people, and outcomes with clarity and purpose. Since Poling's background includes decades of experience in corporate strategy, leadership development, and international consulting, the firm's vision has always remained focused on enabling clients to lead with greater awareness, intentionality, and impact. The Poling Group has become known for blending executive coaching, strategic advisory, and organizational transformation work. Clients turn to the firm during periods of transition, expansion, or cultural change, when leadership alignment and clarity are most critical. Its tailored approach helps organizations shift from reactive management to proactive, purpose-driven leadership. The 'Integral Leadership' model is integral to the company's methodology. It involves developing the whole leader and not only their skill set or performance metrics. The firm partners with executives and leadership teams to create new definitions of success, strengthen organizational capacity, and generate meaningful, sustained change across sectors. This work is supported by the firm's proprietary 5 C's model. The first three C's represent the foundational 'what' of change leadership. Context refers to the vision and rationale for change. Conditions pertain to the environment and resources necessary for success, and Capacities revolve around the skills, knowledge, and experiences required. Meanwhile, the final two, Consciously and Collectively, represent the 'how.' Changes must be implemented with mindfulness and intention, and they must engage stakeholders at every level. Poling aims to extend The Poling Group's impact with his long-anticipated personal development book, a product of years of thought leadership, field experience, and journaled insights. It will expand on the 5 C's Model, and potentially introduce new frameworks that reflect his evolving philosophy and the lessons drawn from his global coaching practice, all of which are embedded within the company's operations. The Poling Group's impact stems from a profound understanding of how leadership shapes organizational ecosystems. It stands as a partner and catalyst for meaningful, measurable change, whether through advising an executive team on strategic alignment, coaching a new CEO through a high-stakes transition, or supporting a cultural reset following a merger or acquisition. Poling brought a global perspective and cross-industry expertise to the launch of The Poling Group in 2007. Since then, the company has grown, drawing on its founder's earlier experience in Fortune 100 environments and complex systems consulting. After closing his earlier firm in 2022, Poling dedicated himself fully to The Poling Group's mission, returning to more hands-on executive engagements that remain at the core of the business today. Poling's motivation behind this venture stems from his desire to catalyze change that ripples outward. He was influenced by the saying 'Be the change you wish to see in the world,' associated with Mahatma Gandhi. 'Leadership isn't a mere function of business,' says Poling. 'It's a conduit for societal betterment. I built my coaching style around conscious leadership because I believe that by helping leaders grow in awareness and intentionality, they are empowered to positively influence hundreds, even thousands of people within their organizations and communities.' Terry L. Poling As The Poling Group celebrates over 25 years in elevating leadership, Poling remains dedicated to his mission. In fact, Poling states that, 'My aim is to continue helping leaders achieve greater wisdom, effectiveness, integrity and fulfillment for themselves, their organizations, and the world-at-large.' Media Contact Name: Terry L. Poling Email: [email protected] Source published by Submit Press Release >> The Poling Group Celebrates Over 25 Years of Excellence and Enduring Commitment to Leadership Impact
Associated Press
12-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Obvious Candidate Announces Executive Transition & Career Direction Coaching
UK-based Obvious Candidate is now offering one-on-one career coaching services for those at the executive level. Leatherhead, United Kingdom, May 12, 2025 -- As part of its service, the career coach specialist personally guides and nurtures the careers of each client through direct, highly focused programs. Participants will have access to video courses, live one-on-one training, and career direction guidance—which may also include mindset training if necessary. For more information, visit Obvious Candidate is expanding their services in the face of a crisis in the business world, one which now affects the majority of executive-level employees in the UK. According to a recent OECD survey, over 60% of executives have remained in a position for longer than intended simply due to a lack of upward mobility options, while a further 20% reported feeling completely disenfranchised with their work. To address the issue, Obvious Candidate seeks to create a structured path toward growth while also supporting each client's professional needs. This may include assistance in locating new opportunities and managing complex career transitions, and rebuilding confidence for those who feel professionally stagnant or overlooked. These services are provided by international career coach and thought leader Sam Waterfall, an experienced professional with several years of executive-level coaching experience. His past clients have secured high level positions at Fortune 500 companies such as Coca Cola, Rolls Royce, Facebook, and more, and now he is once again taking on a limited number of exclusive clients. In addition to these other services, Waterfall will be available to personally optimise the resumes and LinkedIn profiles of each individual client in the interest of accelerating the job search process. Due to high demand, the current wait time for this service is 7 to 14 days, though these private clients often experience the positive impacts of this work in a short period of time. One client, a CCO at a major corporation, stated, 'Sam at Obvious Candidate was recommended to me and the experience of working with him was both cathartic and enlightening. He took a very professional approach to help me explore what I enjoy and like less in my work, where my career aspirations really lay and what I really wanted to do next. I simply wouldn't have gotten there without his coaching.' Those interested in taking advantage of these services should first fill out the 'Career Transition Readiness Scorecard' at the link below. Find out more at Contact Info: Name: Sam Waterfall Email: Send Email Organization: Obvious Candidate Address: Linden Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7JB, United Kingdom Website: Release ID: 89159735 Should there be any problems, inaccuracies, or doubts arising from the content provided in this press release that require attention or if a press release needs to be taken down, we urge you to notify us immediately by contacting [email protected] (it is important to note that this email is the authorized channel for such matters, sending multiple emails to multiple addresses does not necessarily help expedite your request). Our efficient team will promptly address your concerns within 8 hours, taking necessary steps to rectify identified issues or assist with the removal process. Providing accurate and dependable information is central to our commitment.
Associated Press
07-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Mastering Business Storytelling: The Must-Read Leadership Book for Global Executives Launches June 2025
A promotional graphic for the book Mastering Business Storytelling by Taty Fittipaldi. The image features the hardcover book standing upright on a white surface, set against a light textured wall. The book cover has a playful illustration of a stick figure (Mr. Lines) riding a rocket above the Earth, symbolizing global leadership. To the right of the book is a black Amazon badge that says 'Available at Amazon' above a prominent blue QR code. New book by global leadership expert and executive coach Taty Fittipaldi reveals how global leaders can master storytelling as a strategic tool to inspire, influence, and drive success. Denville, NJ - May 7, 2025 - Coaching Expatriates Publishing is proud to announce the upcoming release of Mastering Business Storytelling: How Global Executives Can Craft and Tell Impactful Stories That Inspire, Influence, and Drive Success in Business By Using Frameworks They Already Know , written by renowned executive coach and leadership expert Taty Fittipaldi. The book is set to launch on June 24, 2025, with pre-orders available on Amazon Kindle. With business storytelling emerging as a critical leadership skill, this book provides global executives with a practical, neuroscience-backed approach to crafting powerful stories that captivate audiences, enhance decision-making, and inspire action. Why Business Storytelling Matters for Global Executives Mastering Business Storytelling tackles a critical challenge: many executives struggle to make their messages stick. Despite data-driven presentations and well-crafted strategies, leaders often fail to engage and persuade effectively. This book provides a step-by-step storytelling framework tailored for global executives, showing them how to: • Transform dry business messages into compelling narratives that engage and inspire. • Reframe existing narratives strategically to influence stakeholders and teams. • Apply storytelling across leadership scenarios—from boardrooms to client meetings. • Understand the neuroscience behind storytelling and how it impacts decision-making. • Build a personal catalog of impactful stories for quick use in high-stakes moments. 'With the right story, any leader can achieve anything,' says Fittipaldi. 'It's not about changing reality—it's about strategically reframing narratives to align with what you want to achieve. When you tell the right story at the right time, you become unstoppable.' A Book That Stands Out in the Leadership Space Unlike other storytelling books that focus solely on speeches or presentations, Mastering Business Storytelling integrates storytelling into everyday leadership communication—helping leaders transform ordinary interactions into moments of influence. Fittipaldi's approach is grounded in: Real-world case studies showcasing storytelling's impact on leadership. Easy-to-use frameworks that executives can implement immediately. A visually engaging, light, and practical reading experience. A Global Leadership Expert's Mission Drawing from over two decades leading Fortune 500 teams and coaching global executives , Taty Fittipaldi saw firsthand how leaders struggled to connect, inspire, and influence through communication. Recognizing that storytelling was the missing leadership superpower, she wrote this book to make strategic storytelling accessible, actionable, and indispensable for every executive. 'Leadership isn't just about making decisions—it's about making an impact,' says Fittipaldi. 'And the right story, told the right way, has the power to do exactly that.' Pre-Order & Media Inquiries Mastering Business Storytelling is available for pre-order on Amazon Kindle from March until June 24, 2025. For media inquiries, interviews, or speaking engagements, please contact [email protected] . About the Author Taty Fittipaldi is an executive coach, leadership trainer, and author of Mastering Business Storytelling . With over 20 years of experience leading multi-billion-dollar business initiatives, she specializes in helping global executives leverage storytelling to enhance leadership impact and influence. As the founder of Coaching Expatriates®, she empowers leaders to turn HR initiatives into success stories and drive organizational transformation. Watch the Book's Trailer Video: Video Link: Media Contact Company Name: Coaching Expatriates LLC Contact Person: Taty Fittipaldi Email: Send Email Phone: 5512274499 Address:276 East Main Street Suite 10 #407 City: Denville State: NJ Country: United States Website: Press Release Distributed by To view the original version on ABNewswire visit: Mastering Business Storytelling: The Must-Read Leadership Book for Global Executives Launches June 2025
