In this enlightening interview with CEO Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Warner Brown, Jr., a seasoned Executive Team Leadership Coach and the Founder of Impactful Teams, LLC. Warner brings a unique perspective to executive coaching, drawing on his rich experience as a leader in a large religious organization, where he first encountered the transformative power of coaching.
Warner's journey into executive coaching was sparked by his own positive experiences with coaching and his desire to impart that wisdom to other leaders. He emphasizes the importance of leading authentically and
harnessing individual strengths for effective leadership.
Warner, could you tell us about the moment you decided to become an executive coach and the driving force behind that decision?
I discovered the magic of coaching as I became a bishop, which is the equivalent of a CEO for a large religious organization. I so benefited from coaching that I wanted to pay it forward by coaching the leaders who worked for me and, in the future, other executives who could benefit from that wisdom. The powerful thing I discovered through the coaching I received and the coaching I gave others was the ability to lead as my best self and inspire other people to use all of their strengths for leadership.
How do you approach a new coaching engagement, and what initial steps do you take to establish a foundation for successful outcomes?
With a new coaching agreement, it's important to learn what a successful outcome will look like to your client. Why have they decided to engage in coaching and what do they want to achieve. And what is the big problem that is keeping them awake at night or troubling them during the day? Once we've discovered the ÒwhyÓ of coaching, I encourage them to take a helpful assessment to discover their strengths for leadership and in the process, we often uncover potential blind spots. Beginning with these two foundations, a leader can begin to lead themselves to be the best possible leader they can become.
Trust is a crucial element in the coach-client relationship. How do you build and maintain trust with the executives you coach?
Trust building in coaching starts from the very first moment you interact with the client, the sponsor, or other key stakeholders. Building trust is undergirded by ethical practices, establishing clear agreements, conducting discovery, and aligning with the client on coaching objectives. If you are mindful of confidentiality, boundaries, and contracting, you can actively demonstrate to your client your integrity and positive intent.
Executive coaching can sometimes involve confronting uncomfortable truths. How do you navigate these challenging conversations with your clients?
It is important to confirm with a client that they are ready for coaching. This means determining if they are ready to hear feedback that might be uncomfortable at times and then building a personal rapport with that client to establish a relationship where they are willing to hear observations and feedback from me as their coach.
The 'Impact Leadership System' is a cornerstone of your coaching methodology. Can you explain its core principles and how it differs from other leadership development frameworks?
The Impactful Leadership System is built on four principles:
1. Lead Yourself - Clarify your values and embrace your natural strengths so you can step into your leadership with greater confidence and authenticity.
2. Engage - Enlist your team and stakeholders in healthy conversations so you have the insights you need to build your influence, trust and relationships.
3. Align - Align the strengths of your team with your shared purpose so everyone is working together to fulfill the organization's mission
4. Develop - Develop new leadership strengths and systems for yourself, your team and your organization so you can co-create purpose-driven transformation
This methodology developed the leadership capacity of the entire team and not just senior leadership.
Could you share a success story where the 'Impact Leadership System' particularly transformed an executive's leadership style or business approach?
When I introduced the Impact Leadership System to a leader of a national organization caught in a major crisis, threatening the existence of the organization, this approach helped him discover his strengths for leading in that situation and the courage to engage his team and other stakeholders to address the crisis head-on and successfully resolve it.
Warner, in your LinkedIn profile, you've spoken about the frustration leaders feel when they're caught up in the day-to-day operations that should be delegated to others. Could you elaborate on how your coaching helps executives overcome this common hurdle and what strategies you recommend for effective delegation?
Coaching helps executives recognize their strengths for leadership and the leadership strengths of their team. When a team is aligned for healthy communications and mutual accountability, it functions at its highest level. Underusing or overusing our strengths or those of our team members can do harm to the effectiveness of our work.
Continuous learning is essential for any leader. What are some ways you encourage lifelong learning and growth in the executives you coach?
When a leader becomes a client, I encourage their lifelong learning by offering workshops and other resources that can serve them even after our formal coaching engagement has been completed. This includes inviting them to develop a plan for continuous learning and participate in structured conversations with other successful leaders.
