Improving Sales Performance
Looking for sales performance strategies? Hoping to grow revenue? Join Matt Sunshine, CEO at The Center for Sales Strategy, where he and industry experts work toward a singular goal: Improving Sales Performance.
Improving Sales Performance
Leveling Up Leadership: The Role of Executive Coaching in Sales Performance with Donna Hall
In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at how executive coaching helps leaders evolve so their teams can truly thrive.
And joining Matt is Donna Hall, SVP/General Manager at Robertson Lowstuter, whose piece in the 2025 Talent Magazine explores how executive coaching creates a ripple effect across teams and culture.
Whether you’re new to leadership or deep into your career, this conversation will help you rethink what great executive development looks like.
Donna shares such rich insights, like:
- How, if you want to be the best leader you can be, it takes the recognition that everyone has areas for growth
- Why the cornerstone of great leadership begins with authenticity
- And, finally, how Michael Jordan didn’t have a coach because he was weak. He had a coach because he was committed to staying at the top of his game
LINKS:
Welcome to Improving Sales Performance, a podcast highlighting tips and insights aimed at helping sales organizations realize, and maybe even exceed, their goals. Here we chat with thought leaders, experts and gurus who have years of sales experience from a wide range of industries. I'm your host, matt Sunshine, ceo at the Center for Sales Strategy, a sales performance consulting company. In this episode, we're taking a closer look at how executive coaching helps leaders evolve so their teams can truly thrive. Joining me is Donna Hall, senior Vice President and General Manager at Robertson Lowstutter, whose piece in the 2025 Talent Magazine explores how executive coaching creates a ripple effect across teams and culture. Whether you're new to leadership or deep into your career, this conversation will help you rethink what great executive development looks like. Donna shares such rich insights like how, if you want to be the best leader you can be, it takes the recognition that everyone has area for growth, why the cornerstone of great leadership begins with authenticity. And, finally, how Michael Jordan didn't have a coach because he was weak. He had a coach because he was committed to staying at the top of his game.
Matt Sunshine:All right, donna, let's just jump right into this, and I'm dying to ask you this question. So and here's the reason why I recently saw an interview with Walter Isaacson, who is the biographer Steve Jobs, elon Musk, einstein all of them Right, and somebody was. He was speaking to a group of people and someone stood up and asked this question and they said of all the biographies that you've done, is there a reoccurring theme or is there one characteristic or one trait that comes through time and time again with all these people? And his answer was great. I mean, he shared what he thought was the one theme which I thought was interesting. So now, when I was preparing for this conversation, I thought all right, so you've worked with, you've worked very closely with lots of leaders in lots of different industries through executive coaching. I'm wondering what are some of the patterns or behaviors that you see in those who really seem to get the most out of it, who really seem to grow the most?
Donna Hall:Yeah, so I think there are a handful, but there's a couple in particular that I think are critical. From the very beginning, there has to be a willingness to embrace the coaching. We find that a lot of people aren't, and so it has to begin with that, the willingness to embrace not just the coaching but to use it for growth. And that requires the ability and the hunger to hear honest feedback and then not stop there. You have to hear it and then put it into actual practice If you really want to be the best leader that you can be. It does take a recognition that we all have areas for growth all of us and we have to invest in what that means. And so, matt, some of these are like small tweaks, that one we all need to make. Others are large enough issues, large enough opportunities, rather, that are truly impeding their success, which means impeding the success of the business.
Matt Sunshine:Yeah, it's. It's interesting to me when someone would be not open to executive coaching, like they think they know everything so much, have it all put together that they don't need. Just baffles me All right. But when it comes to executive coaching, sometimes for some people and maybe this is a little bit of what we're talking about right now Maybe it feels a little mysterious or maybe it feels like one of those things that is a nice to have benefit. How do you explain, how do you explain its real world impact on an individual or an organization that maybe is hesitant right now to dive in. They're thinking about it, but they're like I don't know. What would you say?
Donna Hall:Right. So I think first there's got to be a recognition that coaching isn't about fixing broken leaders. There are a lot of people that think it's about that. It's about what's broken and fixing it. It really is about unlocking potential that's there but underutilized or even unseen.
Donna Hall:I think there are a lot of people who are a lot of senior leaders, who are surrounded by by direct reports and others in the organization who completely defer to them or they're too busy or afraid to challenge them. So coaching actually gives you a very rare space that's unbiased, it's objective, it's deeply focused and all positioned towards growth. So it can lead to a lot of different things, but I have seen better decision-making, stronger team dynamics across the board, clear, crystal clear strategic thinking. All of that and authentic leadership, by the way. And we at RL, the company that I work for, really believes that the cornerstone of great leadership is all based on authenticity, and so we see people's authenticity grow for organizations and not just the coach. That leads and translates to higher engagement, better retention of top talent, stronger leadership pipeline. It isn't a soft benefit, it's a strategic tool and the ROI is real. It may not always come out in just numbers, but it comes out in influence and clarity and the ability to really lead through complexity.
Matt Sunshine:Yeah, the two things that you said, one being that really resonated, and I think, and I think I think that your response to that question is something that will be maybe the most replayed part of this podcast. I think people are going to go back and listen to that again and again because I think you summarized it so well, so succinctly. Two of the things that really jumped out at me was it helps you to become a more, a better, more authentic leader and it unlocks potential. Right, and I think that's the part. I think. I think there are a lot of people that when they hear coaching, they think well, that means you think I'm doing it wrong or bad or poorly, and and I think, if you flip it around and go, I mean I don't know, michael Jordan had a coach. He was pretty good.
Matt Sunshine:No one thought he didn't do it well. I mean, he had a coach, all right. So when someone goes through coaching, what are a few of the small behavior shifts and you started to mention this before, but what are some of those small behavior shifts you see that tend to make the biggest impact on leadership?
Donna Hall:style and they've been the doer, they've been the worker and you get to where you're leading people, and then more people at higher levels, and then more people at higher levels, and then you're at the top and you still may have a hard time delegating either entirely or you pretend to delegate where you give it and you micromanage it to death. So seeing a leader make that shift with their direct reports is a real win and that's tied to the leader who they've gotten there and maybe there's a little bit of imposter syndrome and they think they have to have all the answers all the time, answers all the time. And seeing them go from realizing they don't and they don't have to swoop in like the superhero and saves the day Think Mighty Mouse you know they're in to save the day and depending on their team instead is fun to watch.
Donna Hall:It's great growth. Both of those things are tied to trust Trust both in your team and trust in yourself.
Matt Sunshine:Yeah, that's excellent, I know personally. I see leaders all the time, and I think the greatest leaders are the ones, in my opinion, are the ones that truly have surrounded themselves by people that can do each of their individual jobs better than the leader could ever do it.
Donna Hall:Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Matt Sunshine:And that's the greatest feeling too. Like I mean, that's what you want. If you think you can do everything better than the people that you're leading, that's right. Your organization is getting smaller and smaller by the second Absolutely All right. So you, you, obviously, coaching happens for all sorts of different people. So how do you adjust your coaching style, your coaching approach, for someone who is new to leadership versus a veteran, someone who's been in the game for years?
Donna Hall:Yeah, so I would draw a correlation that it is very similar to the approach that a leader, a supervisor, a boss would change their approach inside their own business that you don't lead them the same way, you don't coach them the same way. You really have to meet someone where they are and understand how their tenure differences are sure impactful, but that's not where the differences that you should consider leave off. You should also think about differences in talent, differences in skill, differences in their personality and how they best respond to feedback. If I, as a coach or as a leader of people, have a cookie cutter approach to leadership or executive coaching, you're doing it wrong. I mean just doing it wrong, and so I would say they're exactly the same.
Matt Sunshine:So this next question I want to I want to come back to something that we were talking about a moment ago. You, you used unlock potential. I really like that. So, with that in mind, there is a perception among some people that coaching is for those people that are struggling, like if you're struggling, we're going to get you a coach because we don't want you to struggle anymore. And I get that, I totally get that. But how do you flip that narrative and position coaching as this unlocking potential or a performance accelerator?
Donna Hall:Yeah, you're stealing all the words that I would use in talking to a coach, a coachee, talking to an HR professional who's considering coaching for an employee, like these are all of the words that we use. Exactly what you said. Look, sometimes we do coach and sometimes it's needed, especially with blind spots in leaders, where some of their behavior needs to be identified in a coaching scenario and help them get past that. So sometimes that happens, but if we think about it just as fixing broken leaders and not about unlocking that potential, we're missing so many opportunities. As leaders and HR professionals and CEOs, many people, many people are just leaders, are just surrounded by folks that can't give them that kind of feedback, and so we have to think about ways that they can get that feedback that they need, that they require in order to be a better leader. Coaching isn't remedial. That's the way I would say it. It's developmental for sure. It's not about fixing, it's about elevating. I would just change those words.
Donna Hall:You referenced Michael Jordan. He had a coach. He didn't have a coach because he was weak. He was committed to staying at the top of the game. Who want to sharpen their edge, gain some clarity and lead more intentionally and authentically. Back to the authentic word. If we flip their narrative, you use the phrase performance accelerator, absolutely, it becomes a strategic tool for already successful leaders who realize there's more growth potential. I can go higher, I can go faster, I can go stronger, I can be better, which makes my team better, which makes my whole organization better.
Matt Sunshine:Okay. So I know that people listening to this or watching this, whatever I know they have this on their mind, so I'm going to throw it out there and I want your response. The nowadays, almost everyone uh, carries as a badge of honor how busy they are, right? You say to someone, hey, how you doing? And the first thing they do is say I'm busy. It's like I didn't ask you if you were busy, I asked how you were doing, right? Everyone says they're busy. So talk to the leaders out there that are listening that feel that already feel stretched way too thin. How do you recommend or how do you advise them to make time for coaching without it just being that one more thing that they have to do or one more thing on their calendar? How do you balance that? Because I do think people have a lot going on.
Donna Hall:Yeah, we've always had a lot going on.
Matt Sunshine:Yeah, yeah, we've got a lot going on too.
Donna Hall:That's very true, I think, an acknowledgement of sometimes people are stretched thin because they are and that might be a real scenario that they're required to do more with less. Sometimes it can be that they're still doing all the things that got them there and not the things that will get them to the next thing, recognizing that they're not the doer of that thing anymore and they need to leave it off and delegate it to someone else, like we talked about earlier. I would draw a comparison to your physical health. You go to the doctor regularly, I hope. If you're not, please do, but you do that.
Donna Hall:To invest you can be. You have to invest time and money in leadership growth and you have to care about what kind of leader you are, how you show up, what your impact is on other people in your organization. It's a foundational investment into your long-term health and success. It isn't just another meeting on your calendar, it isn't. It also, matt, reflects what your real priorities are. We do and spend time on the things that we care about, and that time really reflects your priorities and your values and if you're not doing it is being the best leader you can be, that important to you.
Matt Sunshine:Yeah, I know someone who says I can tell your priorities by looking at your calendar.
Donna Hall:That's exactly right.
Matt Sunshine:And I love that, right? I love that Because if it's important to you, it's on your calendar and if it's not important to you, well, you do it. Whenever you have time, maybe, but it's not important because I don't. All right, last question for you. I could ask you one million questions, so I'm going to, I'm going to reserve the right to ask you more questions later, but I'll ask you one more for this podcast today. So what's one powerful question you like to ask leaders who feel stuck or unsure about what's next in their growth? How do you dig into that?
Donna Hall:So I could give you 100 answers for that, but I won't Having a hard time between choosing two between two. Okay, first is who is the loudest voice in your head right now? Is it helping you, is it hindering you? Is it good devil or bad devil, right Angel or devil Helping you or hindering you? That would be my first, and the second would be if fear, failure or judgment were not factors, what would you change or pursue right now?
Matt Sunshine:Those are great, great, great, great questions. I love them. Thank you so much for sharing. I'm sure people that are watching or listening are. If you're driving, don't write them down right now, but if you're not driving, you can write them down right now.
Matt Sunshine:Donna, thank you so much for joining the podcast today. I really appreciate it. This is incredibly valuable information, so thank you for doing that. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. I know people might want to get in contact with you. I'll put your contact information in the show notes. Best way to get ahold of Donna is probably to connect with her on LinkedIn and we'll put that link in the in the show notes and then direct message her. I know she's responsive that way and for all of you that tuned in to this episode, thank you so much for joining us. We look forward to seeing you and coming to you on the next episode of Improving Sales Performance. This has been Improving Sales Performance. Thanks for listening. If you like what you heard, join us every week by clicking the subscribe button For more on the topics covered in the show. Visit our website, thecenterforsalesstrategycom. There you can find helpful resources and content aimed at improving your sales performance.
