Coaching
Coaching with Caroline
Caroline takes on a small number of individual senior executive coaching clients each year, typically at C-Suite level.
Over the last two decades, Caroline has coached senior leaders on every continent and in a wide range of roles, including CEOs, founders, managing partners, NGO heads, and public sector officials up to Secretary of State level. Caroline typically begins working with clients when they are facing a new strategic challenge or opportunity and are interested in raising their leadership game to meet the moment, but she often goes on working with clients for years as they move through different roles and phases in their career.
What differentiates Caroline as a coach
Science-based approach
Caroline is a widely-recognized authority on the application of behavioral science research in the workplace, and her coaching approach is rooted in insights from behavioral economics, psychology and neuroscience. So when clients work with Caroline, they don’t just learn tactics for improving their personal leadership effectiveness. They develop a broad understanding of the evidence on what it takes for human beings to truly thrive, and they learn how to put that knowledge to work in their teams and organizations to create working environments where their colleagues can flourish.
Balance of depth and immediacy
Caroline’s coaching sessions are highly practical, helping clients navigate immediate challenges with skill – for example, finding a way to ace a high-stakes conversation, resolve an issue in team dynamics, or take a difficult decision with wisdom and care. But this very practical work is always set in the context of the deeper shifts in mindset and behavior that the leader is seeking to make, so that each month’s progress builds new positive habits and attitudes that will last for years. Caroline does thoughtful diagnostic work to help her clients get clear on what they want those deeper transformational changes to be, which can include a narrative 360 process where appropriate.
Breadth of support
Caroline’s strong consulting and analytical background means that she is also able to go beyond the role of a traditional executive coach and can act as a broad confidential sounding board for her clients – whether they are reshaping their organizational structure and values, rethinking how to approach strategic planning, evolving their team composition and culture, improving their people processes, cultivating and deepening Board relationships, or seeking stronger ways to communicate their ideas. These are all topics on which Caroline has provided counsel to her current clients, alongside the behavioral and interpersonal support that is core to all good leadership coaching.
Professional empathy
Caroline has herself been a senior leader of a complex world-class organization. She knows what it’s like to feel both exhilarated by a job and stretched by its demands on personal time, energy and focus. She brings understanding, warmth and humor to the table as she works with clients to help them be at their best in the midst of it all.
What leaders work on with Caroline
Throughout all her work, Caroline has found that working on seven particular topics can result in dramatic improvements to her clients’ performance and wellbeing as leaders.
- Setting priorities more thoughtfully, with deeper understanding of what deserves their scarce attention and how to stay focused
- Developing personal practices that deliver more productivity for the same amount of time, while creating more space for reflection
- Learning how to strengthen crucial relationships, build strong teams and boards, and handle even the most difficult interactions with greater mastery
- Creating routines to do their best thinking more readily, so that they are able to take high-stakes decisions with appropriate wisdom and speed
- Maximizing their personal influence and impact, conveying confidence and authority while remaining true to their personal style
- Building resilience to uncertainty and stress, including developing a repertoire for staying calm and clear-headed under fire
- Creating a balanced personal operating model that sustains their mental, emotional and physical energy more deliberately and mindfully
These seven topics form the backbone of her global bestselling book, ‘How To Have A Good Day’ – and they are the reason her coaching company is called Sevenshift, LLC.
Endorsements
I’ve worked with Caroline as a coach for the last 8 years, but I first worked alongside Caroline when we were both business consultants at McKinsey over 20 years ago. It was Caroline’s somewhat unique combination of business, economic and human insight that distinguished her experience, first led me to ask her to be my coach, and from which I’ve happily benefited over most of the last decade. Over that period, at times I’ve needed someone to coach me on how to show up as the best leader I can be in difficult situations and in challenging conversations. At other times I’ve needed someone who can problem solve organization and business issues with me. I’ve needed someone who can help me articulate my leadership intention at high stakes moments, with my team, or with the entire company. And I’ve also needed someone who can capture rich and deep feedback from my team to create concrete areas for my own development as a leader. Caroline has been my trusted partner in all of these areas. Given her background at McKinsey she is smart, and nuanced, enough to understand the complexities of my business. Her research-based approach to behavior means she gives practical advice on how to change team and organizational behavior. Her breadth of experience means she is an effective sounding board on a wide range of systemic issues, including team development, decision-making processes and organizational design. She brings writing and editorial skills that help me make sure my communications match my intent. And all of this is delivered with low ego and a style that both empathizes with my situation (she’s “in my corner”) but consistently challenges me to be a better leader. There's no question that as a result of my time with Caroline, I’ve become a stronger, more effective leader. Paul T, CEO, global services company
Caroline Webb is a truly exceptional coach. She does a masterful job in helping you identify how the specific challenges you face often reflect broader patterns in your thinking and behavior. Caroline then provides you with a simple but powerful action plan to replace counterproductive habits with behaviors that lead to greater effectiveness and fullfillment. Working with her is like a gift. I couldn't recommend her more highly!Caroline M, CEO, EdTech
Caroline Webb has the ability to literally create a paradigm shift in your thinking and approach to life. I have experienced that personally and I’m still not entirely sure how she does it. Her coaching style is one of the most effective I’ve ever seen in action. Just three days in a leadership course that she ran set me on an entirely new direction. Both in terms of the way I manage my people and manage myself. I will sincerely be eternally grateful for the opportunity to have learnt from her.Ndidi, CEO, non-profit
I came to coaching with a degree of cynicism, but Caroline's strong analytical and intellectual approach gave real meaning to our discussions. That is, Caroline would never approach an issue without a deep understanding of the actual science behind it, which she combines with her excellent sector based knowledge. She also has an innate ability to ask the right question - she manages to peel back the layers of perceived complexity around an issue by simply asking very, very good questions. As a result, the answers reveal themselves in a way that is authentic and meaningful for the person being coached. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Caroline.Angela, Chair, law firm
One of my biggest challenges in my new position was to have my direct reports work as a team, and not just work as a collective group of professionals. As well as coaching me, Caroline came up with unique, creative and outside the box methods to help me with the team, which was the hardest issue I inherited. She played a key role over a couple of days of a very unique session with my directs - and we ended the meeting with an whole-hearted endorsement of the team-concept, ground rules and definite game plan. Almost a year later, I can say that it is not only working very well, but has set a great example for the rest of the company too.Nayan, CFO, global bank
I started working with Caroline after realizing that my business needed to change some of our fundamental ways of working and our approach to client relationships. Caroline worked through all of the challenges and issues I was having to deal with in a very structured and thoughtful way. Caroline took the time to explain some of the methods behind her approach and provided me with my own tools to deal with similar situations going forward. During our sessions Caroline gave me a fascinating insight into the world of behavioral science and how it relates to my day to day interactions in business, which have become significantly more enjoyable and successful as a result. It was a pleasure to work with Caroline – she is a wonderful executive coach and a wonderful person in general. I cannot recommend her highly enough to anyone who needs her expertise and her deeply caring style of interaction and delivery.Peter, Managing Partner, technology consultancy