John Donovan, the CEO of AT&T Communications said it best when he said “you can’t master things around you until you’ve mastered yourself”.  To maximize the effectiveness of coaching, one must first understand how they are viewed by their teams and their peers.  That is why my executive coaching methodology begins with a 360-degree assessment of the individual to pinpoint the most important opportunity areas and develop a focused coaching plan.  Executing the plan involves regular sessions with the executive to work through the development areas by using the challenges they are current facing as examples.  Oftentimes, it entails “shadowing” the leader to observe firsthand their behaviors versus relying on storytelling.  Near the end of the sessions, additional 360-degree assessments can be done to actually measure the improvement in the executive’s performance.