CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - (Business Wire) Career Partners International (www.cpiworld.com) recently hosted its second annual Global Executive Coaching Summit for the company’s international partners and clients. Held in Boston by CPI partner Camden Consulting Group, the summit brought executive coaches together from around the world to discuss emerging industry trends and pressing leadership challenges. Three of the key discussion topics were leadership demands in a recovering economy, reinventing the new “normal” in the workplace and executive coaching at a global level. Jonathan Rosin, vice president of talent management for Fidelity Investments, served as the summit’s keynote speaker and reflected on current leadership challenges. “The role of leaders today is becoming increasingly complex,” said Rosin. “They are weathering unprecedented economic and workplace challenges that demand both new and enhanced capabilities and skills to navigate this perfect storm. This summit provides an excellent opportunity for us as coaches to share current experiences and discuss our role in helping executives develop and hone these skills.”
Leadership Demands in a Recovering Economy
Heading into 2010, more companies than ever have experienced some reduction in workforce. Economists are forecasting that most jobs lost during the recession will not come back as companies instead work to improve internal efficiencies and realign their workforces. This combination of a fractured workforce and expectations for success presents a difficult challenge for leaders.
“Executives are under heightened pressure to demonstrate success as their organizations head toward economic recovery, yet we are also finding that they may be less confident in their leadership skills after such a tumultuous economic downturn,” said Joan Caruso, managing director for CPI partner The Ayers Group of New York City. “Coaches play an important role in supporting leaders and helping them develop effective strategies for bringing the organization together toward a common vision and set of goals. Simply put, leaders need to make sure their team is positioned for success.”
Reinventing the New “Normal”
Summit leaders also spent time discussing aspects of the new workplace environment coming out of the recession. “Today’s workplace is far more challenging with greater ambiguity and less optimism than we’ve seen in decades,” said Kris Girrell, co-host of the summit and senior partner with Camden Consulting Group. “As a whole, employees feel more vulnerable and less trustful than before. They understand the organization is different and are looking to their leaders to help better understand this ‘new normal.’ ”
Summit attendees agreed that dealing with ambiguity and resiliency were two critical skills for today’s leaders. “The workplace is definitely not as cut and dried as before, and there is certainly greater scrutiny of leadership,” said Girrell. “As executive coaches, we understand and appreciate this more challenging scenario, and we must be prepared to help executives acquire and develop these new skills.”
Executive Coaching at the Global Level
As part of the Summit, CPI’s international partners described the increasing demand for executive coaches on an international level. For multinational organizations as well as smaller, locally owned businesses, CPI’s executive coaches often take a team approach by pairing in-country offices with industry or subject experts in other offices.
“Executive coaching at the international level is complex,” said Ines Pardo, general manager of CPI partner Altos Ejecutivos in Bogotá, Colombia. “The coach must understand not only the client’s industry but also the cultural nuances of that client’s country, region or city. Now, more than ever, we are seeing the importance of collaborating between international partners to provide customized services for clients on a global scale.”
During the summit, executive coaches from CPI’s international offices discussed the value of local partnerships in bridging cultural differences and positioning executives for success. “Executive coaching can be a very powerful tool for newly placed leaders in helping them quickly adapt and assimilate to their new location,” said Pardo. “While coaching may be a relatively new tool on an international scale, there is no doubt that it is highly valued and we certainly expect this recent uptick in demand to continue in the months and years ahead.”
“This summit is an important opportunity for us as coaches to stay at the cutting edge of what is important in our field,” said Caruso. “We’re sharing best practices across industries, geographies and even countries so that we continue to build on our extensive expertise and experience. With our network of nearly 200 highly qualified executive coaches at more than 30 partner firms around the world, CPI continues to be a leader in this industry, identifying trends and issues and helping executives built platforms for success.”
CPI plans to continue its collaborative dialogue on executive coaching through the launch of a series of coaching-focused posts on the CPI blog, http://blog.cpiworld.com/category/executive-coaching/. CPI coaching experts Kris Girrell of Camden Consulting Group in Boston and Maureen Zabloudil of Kensington International in Chicago will be regular contributors, sharing their insights and learnings on an on-going basis.
Career Partners International (CPI) is one of the world’s largest providers of talent management solutions with more than 160 offices in over 20 countries around the world. Established in 1987, CPI focuses on talent management, outplacement and executive coaching services backed by the expertise and experience of more than 1,600 highly trained professionals. (www.cpiworld.com).
For Career Partners International
Laura Burrows, 336-575-6757
laura@twobpr.com
