In this article Paul Lawrenson, Global Talent Leader at Expedia Group shares the experience of his coaching journey and how he has benefited from his partnership with WDI.
Paul views coaching as one of the key differentiating factors in securing two significant promotions, retaining his work/ life balance and continuing to thrive as an authentic leader.
His leadership impact is visible in last year’s annual employee engagement scores where Paul’s team rated the highest. He believes this was aided by “not shielding them from the situation around them, and enabling and empowering them to do great work.”
However, as he says, this hasn’t always been the case.
“In the past I used to over plan for literally every single conversation. I wanted to have all the data, context and answers ahead of time; it was a sort of security blanket for me. I would show up as rigid, more focused on the process than building the relationships, and that really inhibited my ability to be fluid and have a free-flowing, high trust conversation.”
“As I reflect now, I realise I acted as though I did not trust my team to deliver – seeking to control and limit risks around their performance. I also recognise that Imposter syndrome was definitely a thing with me; I paid far too much attention to the things I wasn’t good at. However, through our coaching work, I now focus far more on my strengths and how I achieve the outcomes I want rather than worrying about one underdeveloped trait.”
Over a 2-year period, Paul had a series of coaching sessions with Lynn White, WDI and some of the development areas included:
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