Figure Ground Consulting
Transitions / Consulting / Executive Education / Coaching
Transitions
Most people by the age of 45 - 50 will have changed jobs 8-10 times.
Taking up a new role – especially a senior one – is a stressful and
exciting time. Changes of country, sector and level as part of that new
role, add even more complexity – and anxiety. We specialise in
coaching senior leaders through such role transitions using approaches
based on extensive action research with dozens of transitioning
leaders and their teams.
For leaders who prefer to read, rather than talk about their transition then our acclaimed book, Leadership Transitions: How Business Leaders Take Charge in New Roles, is a practical and readable guide. Click to buy
We work with leaders facing many kinds of transitions. We bring well-tried methods and approaches, plus a depth of experience and understanding of how to find a way through such challenges.
Transitions - New roles
...in a new country, company or level – and often all three. We accompany the leader over a 6 month period using a range of tools developed from our research. The leader benefits by avoiding the typical traps of arriving in a new role and by getting both feet under the desk more confidently; the organisation benefits by avoiding the expensive ‘sink or swim’ practices commonly associated with new senior hires.
We offer role transition coaching in a number of formats: one to one, for teams or for groups of transitioning executives, such as after mergers and acquisitions.
Transitions - Career re-direction
...many executives reach a point in their career when they begin to question the path they have followed so far. Brought on by job dissatisfaction, a desire for new challenges that corporate life may not satisfy or, increasingly likely, a stage in life which asks for more than the typical 9 to 5 can offer. In this work we explore the choices made so far and why these were important; how the executive is currently experiencing working life and what is prompting their restlessness. This is a transition which is often a search for meaning and relevance in the world – so we connect personal values with purposeful action.
Transitions - Portfolio careers
…how do energetic, experienced executives deal with the period of their professional lives which comes after their ‘conventional’ career? If playing golf all week doesn’t excite, and a life of gardening seems too dull, how to make the choices and shifts in lifestyle to a portfolio career? In these situations, we explore the legacy and leaving of a career; we help executives understand what is still possible from their unrealised dreams and ambitions; and to identify the new conversations they need to have with those close to them, who are often most implicated in this next phase of their life.