From five complaints to a trusted leader in seven weeks

Duncan joined a financial services company as a senior IT leader, responsible for more than 100 technical specialists and subject experts.

Within 15 weeks, HR had received five formal complaints from his team about his autocratic management style and adversarial communication. Two people had resigned, and both resignations were attributed to Duncan being in post.

The business had already sent him on a leadership development course to address the issues. He returned and carried on exactly as before.

Duncan did not want a coach. In his words, he had got where he was without coaching, and saw no need to start now just because some people couldn't take criticism.

That one comment revealed an unwritten rule he was running his team by: do your job well, or else.

When we proposed an EQ-i 2.0 emotional intelligence assessment to underpin the coaching, Duncan was unimpressed, but he agreed to complete it. When he first saw his results, he wasn't shocked. He was indifferent.

Duncan's results showed a leader whose strengths and gaps were combining to create exactly the problems HR was hearing about.

• Assertiveness (high): transactional, command-and-control instructions

• Empathy (low): little willingness to listen to or understand other perspectives

• Impulse Control (low): constantly changing focus, priorities and deadlines

• Stress Tolerance (high): comfortable under pressure himself, so slow to see it building in others; frustration and anger when expectations weren't met

• Self-Regard (low): underlying low self-confidence

• Self-Awareness (low): little understanding of his own emotions or his impact

• Independence (high): a preference for working alone and self-direction

None of this was intentional. The turning point came when Scott and Duncan explored how the scores worked together, such as low Impulse Control combined with high Assertiveness. Duncan began joining the dots for himself, switched off his autopilot and engaged with the coaching in a composed, reflective way.

Duncan had one 60-minute coaching session a week for seven weeks, with specific development commitments to apply between sessions.

With a clearer view of his default thinking, behaviour and communication, he could make different choices. The aim wasn't to change who he was. It was to find healthier choices that didn't feel alien to him and that would build trust, collaboration and cohesion in his team.

Between sessions, Summit's video tutorials and downloadable blueprints help leaders keep their commitments on track, without having to remember everything from each conversation.

Duncan's programme was based on our Emotional Intelligence Coaching for Leaders.

At week seven, Duncan retook the EQ-i 2.0. Every one of his low scores had improved, while his higher scores stayed within a few points of the originals.

Scores only move when a leader commits to applying what they learn after every session. Duncan did. The results showed up in his day-to-day leadership:

• He became more self-aware and considered his impact on others before acting.

• He balanced his natural assertiveness with a more empathetic, collaborative style.

• He started catching people doing great things and recognising their contribution.

• He planned projects more proactively, anticipating and removing obstacles before work began.

• He introduced one-to-ones in which his direct reports candidly reviewed his performance and impact.

• His team became more cohesive and trusting, and achieved more objectives, faster.

• Projects forecast to run over budget or miss deadlines began meeting both.

"Duncan had, in just seven weeks, with just 60 minutes of leadership coaching each week, partnered with specific development commitments, transformed his leadership capability."

Scott Watson, Founder, Summit Training

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Every Summit coaching programme starts with a clear focus on the value it will create for your organisation, and builds your leaders' self-reliance rather than dependency on a coach.

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Names and identifying details have been changed to protect confidentiality. EQ-i 2.0 scores are shared with the leader's permission.