12MinuteLeadership

Episode 19: Coaching In Action - 3 Stories of Leadership Breakthroughs | 12MinuteLeadership

• Elise Boggs Morales • Season 1 • Episode 19

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Big transformations often start with small, strategic shifts. 

In Episode 19 of 12minuteleadership, you’ll hear how three leaders used executive coaching to create ripple effects across their organizations:

  • Jennifer cut stress and earned a promotion by setting strategic boundaries. 
  • Alan prevented costly turnover by choosing empathy over rigid policy.
  • Catherine mastered capacity management, accomplishing more without burnout.

Each gained clarity, empathy, and practical tools—and the courage to lead differently.

If you are considering hiring an executive coach or are already coaching others, this episode has the receipts for the return on investment. 

If you'd like to explore more stories and insights, you'll find them in my book Lead Anyone available now on Amazon. If you know another leader who could benefit, share this episode with them.




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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the 12-Minute Leadership Podcast where, in 12 minutes or less, I'll share small things that you can put into immediate practice that will make a big difference in your leadership effectiveness. I'm your host, elise Boggs-Morales leadership professor, consultant and coach. For the last 17 years, I have helped thousands of leaders level up their influence and achieve remarkable results. If you want to trade compliance for true commitment and create your dream team, you are in the right place. Get ready for a quick hit of practical wisdom to increase your team's engagement, inspire top performance and retain your best talent. Ready to level up your influence and get better results. 12 Minutes starts now. Hi everyone, elise here, welcome to episode 19. Today we are wrapping up our series on executive coaching. If you are just tuning in, I encourage you to go back and listen to episode 15 to get caught up In our final episode for this series. I thought we could talk about the real impact of coaching, so today I'm sharing stories of some of my most favorite client breakthrough moments and the difference coaching made in their ability to win in leadership. You can also find their stories and more in my new book Lead Anyone, available on Amazon. For each person, I'll share the challenge that they were facing the insight that shifted everything, what actions they took and what their wins were. My hope is that you can take the lessons you learned today and incorporate them into your own leadership practice. Whether you are considering executive coaching for yourself or in your role of coaching others, I know today's episode will inspire you. So let's start with my client, jennifer.

Speaker 1:

When Jennifer stepped into a brand new role as director of people operations at an architectural firm, she was immediately overwhelmed Because the position hadn't existed before. Everyone brought their questions to her, from minor office issues to major HR concerns. Her office's location near a common space, meant constant interruptions. She couldn't focus and the stress left her distracted in conversations. Before long, she had gained an unfair reputation for being disengaged. Through coaching, I introduced Jennifer to the control-can't-control exercise. On one side, she listed what she could control creating a clear role description so that people knew what to come to her for, setting office hours for people to meet with her or drop in for questions, and blocking focused work time to work on other office initiatives without interruption. On the other side, she listed what she couldn't control, which turned out to be a surprisingly short list. This clarity empowered her to act. She implemented structure, communicated expectations and modeled healthy boundaries. Six months later, her stress went from a 10 to about a three. Her team respected the clarity. And Jennifer, she not only thrived, she was promoted to an executive level position. So the lesson here is clarity and boundaries aren't barriers. They're a gift to both leaders and their teams.

Speaker 1:

The next story I'll share with you today is about my client, alan, the CEO of a successful consulting firm known for his fairness and thoroughness. One year he faced a challenge with Kevin, a leader who had added tremendous value by streamlining processes, saving the company money and elevating HR practices. When it came time for bonuses, kevin's unique role didn't fit the firm's formula. Alan stuck to the standard process, knowing Kevin would probably be disappointed. Their meeting was short, felt a bit transactional and left Kevin feeling undervalued. In a coaching session, I encouraged Alan to ask Kevin some follow-up questions and dig deeper to see how he really felt about the decision. Alan followed up, asked questions and discovered that Kevin felt unseen and was considering leaving. Instead of defending his decision, alan chose empathy. He acknowledged Kevin's value, explained the constraints and promised to work on a solution. And Kevin stayed. And nine months later, alan persuaded the board to update the process, awarding Kevin the raise bonus and eventually, a promotion. The lesson here is that processes matter, but empathy is what retains top talent. Leaders who listen and dig deeper prevent costly turnover and build loyalty that money alone can't buy.

Speaker 1:

And finally, catherine's story. Catherine had just been promoted to her dream job as VP of marketing at an advertising agency. While excited, she feared the role might consume her. She had inherited the belief that exhaustion and overwhelm were just part of leadership. Through coaching, she learned that capacity management isn't optional, it's a leadership skill. Together we calendared the big commitments for the year, including vacations. First, we mapped deadlines backwards, rated the time and energy each project required and conducted a margin audit to ensure white space for the unexpected. We also built a delegation plan identifying tasks her team could own and developing them to handle more responsibility. The results were transformational. Three years later, catherine is accomplishing more than ever without burnout. She feels empowered and in control of her calendar, and her team is thriving. Perhaps most importantly, she is modeling a healthier way of leading, showing that high performance and well-being can coexist. So the lesson here is that small, intentional shifts in how you manage capacity can ripple into both personal resilience and stronger team culture. So, in closing, what do these three stories have in common? Jennifer learned the power of clarity and boundaries, alan discovered that empathy retains great talent. And Catherine mastered capacity management as a leadership skill. Coaching gave each of them a new lens, new tools and the courage to act differently. The result wasn't just personal growth. It was organizational impact.

Speaker 1:

If you've been considering coaching for yourself or for your leadership team, I hope these stories show you what's possible. Coaching isn't about fixing weakness. It's about unlocking potential, building influence and leading in a way that creates lasting results. I hope you've enjoyed this series on executive coaching. If you'd like to explore more stories and insights, you'll find them in my book Lead Anyone available now on Amazon, and if you know another leader who could benefit, share this episode or series with them. I'll see you next time. Like what you heard on today's episode and want to go deeper, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode. You can also pick up my book Lead Anyone on Amazon. Then go to my website to check out ways that we can support your leadership goals. From executive retreats to customized training and coaching. My team of experts will help you level up your leadership and accelerate your results. Go to wwweliseboggscom for more info.