Case Study: Executive Coaching with Board of Directors - Engineering Company

The Challenge
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The Managing Director of an engineering company believed his Board of Directors were not delivering what he needed. Despite applying pressure to increase performance, he was encountering strong resistance. Compounding this, his sales team had set highly ambitious growth targets which he viewed as unrealistic.His Technical Director agreed with this scepticism.

Our Approach
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We delivered a bespoke High Performance Management programme for the Board, branded internally as ‘The Leadership Programme’. The Managing Director not only endorsed the programme but actively participated in it, which helped secure enthusiastic engagement from the whole team.

The programme covered a wide spectrum: enhancing personal and team effectiveness, clarifying organisational structure and roles, embedding performance and project management systems, and improving time prioritisation and strategic focus. Sessions also supported Directors in better leading their teams, and shifting from reactive to proactive modes of operation.|
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The Outcome

·      Teamwork improved significantly, with Directors reporting stronger alignment and collaboration.

·      The tone of internal communication shifted, with oneDirector describing the change from a “pressure cooker” environment to one that was “more fun, yet at the same time more efficient.”

·      A clear organisational structure was implemented, removing ambiguity and introducing job descriptions for all.

·      Performance and project management systems were introduced, leading to improved delivery and time prioritisation.

·      Board meetings shifted focus — one meeting per month was now devoted entirely to strategic matters.

·      Sales performance saw a remarkable turnaround. The sales pipeline grew to nine times its previous size. The Managing and TechnicalDirectors — previously sceptical — now fully backed the targets, with the  ambitions even further.

·      The company became a more attractive employer, drawing interest from high-quality recruits.

·      All Key Objectives for the year were met or exceeded.

The only major concern that remained was the tier of managers immediately below the Board — a group the MD decided would now undertake the Leadership Programme themselves.