Coaching Leaders: Perspectives from a C-level Executive turned Corporate Coach

Recently, I had the opportunity to connect with Marion Gamel, a C-level executive and Registered Corporate Coach™. Marion is a graduate of the BCA Coaching Essentials Program and we chatted over Skype about her perspective on leadership and coaching, along with her experience of virtual coach training through our program.

During our conversation, she shared a point of view that informs her work with other executives: “Think of your company as a person, a human being – grow it into adulthood using common sense, good intentions, honesty, and transparency in your communication. It’s not a different set of skills from raising a human.”

Marion’s perspective on leadership is refreshing, particularly for those who are new to the C-level and may be daunted by the seeming complexity of their role. She is a highly credible resource on the subject, having worked at senior levels in such high profile companies as EventBrite, Google, and Betsson Group.

“The more experience you have at the C-level,” she told me, “the more straightforward it becomes. As long as you know your strengths, act with positivity, be committed and have humility, you’ll do well.”

Knowing your strengths is one of the key areas in which Marion helps her executive coaching clients. She has been coaching executives for a while and pursued coach training in order to empower herself to help others harness their fast-changing environment and embrace transformation at personal, professional and organizational levels. She was delighted yet not surprised to discover how much coach training deepened her competence, structure and confidence as a coach:

“Coaching without training is like pretending to be a surgeon when you’re not,” Marion said to me, with a laugh. “When a child gets a splinter, a regular person can help them out. When a child breaks their leg, however, you take them to see someone who is properly trained – coaching is similar. There are moments when you feel particularly challenged and you know you need to develop a new skill, knowledge, and confidence to succeed.”

“Leadership is about having the maturity and awareness to say ‘I have that challenge, I can’t fully deal with it on my own, and I’m going to find the support I need.'”

Marion benefited from being coached herself during her time at Google. Her “amazing executive coach” helped her to appreciate the role of the coach; that a coach won’t make the tough decisions for you or try to tell you what strategy to use, but rather they will help you tap into the resources you have to address your current challenge and achieve your desired objectives.

One of the reasons that Marion chose the Business Coaching Advantage Program™ is because the virtual training option we offer suits her nomadic lifestyle, so she explained. While she currently calls Malta home, Marion travels for business and pleasure throughout Europe and was able to join in on the virtual classes and practicum labs from wherever she happened to be located at the time. When I asked her about her virtual learning experience, she answered, “Virtual training was a great experience for me. The frequency of the lessons and the fact that I was set up with a peer coaching partner in the program prevented me from feeling isolated.”

We are so pleased about Marion’s experience because that community feeling is a core component of the program’s design, and a requirement for successful virtual learning. Another big advantage to learning with us is the opportunity to meet and connect with a wide variety of leaders throughout the world and gain from the diversity of perspectives available.

To read more about what to expect at the C-level, check out Marion’s Linked In blog post on the subject here.

To learn more about the Business Coaching Advantage and our upcoming Fall programs, please visit our website, sign up for a free virtual Information Session, or contact us to set up a call to talk about your needs and determine if there is a good fit for our program. We’d love to hear from you!

Business Coaching Advantage Certification Program™

Our Mission: To support coaching and leadership development through positive appreciation, mindful engagement and a deeper connection with our humanity.

Our Advantage: Providing the theory, tools and practice for leaders to coach, and leadership coaches to succeed in complex work environments.

BCA Part 1: Coaching Essentials – next virtual course begins September 26th. Our blended in-person/virtual course starts on October 24th in Toronto, Canada. Early Bird Pricing is still available! Learn more here.