Success Story
By reading this letter, you will really understand what working
with Linda can mean to you and your organization, both personally and
professionally.
A Letter From Jane Ransom, Executive
Director, Central Pennsylvania Legal Services:
Linda Hall has provided executive
coaching for me over my last five years as Executive Director of Central
Pennsylvania Legal Services (CPLS). Had I not had her assistance I would have
been far less effective in my role as leader of a complex non-profit agency
facing significant challenges.
.…Rapid changes in funding streams,
technology and public policy are requiring organizational transformation in
organizations. Our very survival is dependent upon innovation in the realms of
service delivery, fundraising, staffing structure and external relations. Linda
has coached me-using our weekly one-hour phone meetings as the primary forum-as
I have led successful system changes that have enabled us to survive and
thrive. Some examples include:
-- Restructuring the agency's management
-- Creating a strategic plan with follow-up one-year implementation plans
-- Introducing service delivery efficiencies and innovations
--
Realigning organizational units and adding new territory to our service
areas
-- Establishing and implementing an aggressive resource development
plan
Linda helped me think through and lead these transformations. For
example, early on in my tenure we needed a strategic plan….There is a big
difference, however between understanding what is needed and knowing how to
produce it. Linda helped me prepare a rationale for strategic planning and a
process for involving board and staff in developing the plan. She prepared me
to facilitate planning exercises and to teach others to facilitate for their
groups. She taught me methods of analyzing and synthesizing information into a
few clear strategic recommendations.
My weekly sessions with Linda have
usually focused on a problem I am working on. In some cases we used the time to
discuss an enormous project (like restructuring agency management) for many
sessions in a row. In other cases we discussed an immediate problem (a staff
member's insubordination) and dispensed with it. Linda's approach has been to
help me analyze immediate problems, such as the latter, in the context of the
bigger projects, such as the former. She has pushed me to understand that the
manner in which I deal with the "little" issues can have positive or negative
consequences of my leadership on the "big" issues.
Linda's paramount
concern is with institutional transformation, that is, in making sure that
change really takes hold. In her coaching she has, therefore, encouraged me to
pay close attention to process. Who needs to be at the table when an initiative
is developed? What steps must be taken to ensure it is implemented and the
desired change really occurs? Are reforms in organizational structure needed to
enable its success?
Last night as I watched my son's weekly tennis
practice, I thought about how his coach has helped him become a better player.
The coach has him practice the same strokes over and over at each lesson. Yet
the lessons are not at all the same from week to week. Strokes are now
practiced in combination and simple rallying of the ball back and forth has
been replaced by hitting the ball in the context of a game with formal rules.
My game has improved with Linda's coaching. She's had me continuously
practicing the basic strokes such as writing work plans, managing conflicts or
facilitating teams. The practices occur on the job. My coach inspires me to
apply the basic strokes in all kinds of challenging situations, whether
managing a complicated Board meeting, revising the employee compensation
package in a politically charged atmosphere or handling an unforeseen financial
setback. It has become easier to win points with Linda Hall coaching. I am a
better player now and feel good about my chances even in a tough
match.
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