Coaching Real Leaders

He experienced early success and a fast promotion at his organization, but then things started to shift. Now, there have been leadership changes, and his scope of responsibilities has changed, making him feel like his career is backsliding. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how he can reframe the situation and prioritize what he wants from his career going forward. Further reading: What Grea...

She loves the work she does and has effectively managed her career to gain increased responsibility over time. She’s recently started managing managers for the first time and is struggling to find the right pace to help her organization reach long-term strategic goals, amid some short-term uncertainty. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through setting goals and timelines for the long term. Further r...

He’s a mission driven leader who has always found roles where he can help others. He was brought in at a high level at a new organization, but he’s feeling tension and conflict with the organization’s founder. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how to manage himself in this negative work dynamic. Further reading: Founder’s Syndrome Can Take Down a Nonprofit. Here’s How To Avoid It Make Sure Y...

She’s found a career path she truly enjoys, in part because of her ability to take risks and try new things. Now, as her team is reorganized, she has the opportunity to design her next leadership position, but she’s not sure what she needs to ask for in order to be successful. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through reframing what may be holding her back and identifying the priorities she wants to...

He leads a team at a large global organization and gets positive feedback on their work. But he’s having trouble leading his team amid conflicting priorities and without direction from his senior leaders. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how he can help his team have organizational impact, with or without more clarity from above. Further reading: When Managing Through Ambiguity, Develop a C...

She’s finally found a leadership role that feels aligned with her personal mission. But in the wake of unexpected company-wide layoffs, she’s struggling with how to plan for her team’s future amid the organizational uncertainty. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how she can motivate and lead her team when so much feels out of their control. Further reading: How to Deal with Layoff Anxiety Ho...

Executive coach Muriel Wilkins returns April 10 with an all new season of tough leadership challenges and thoughtful conversations. Each episode takes you behind the closed doors of real leadership coaching sessions with executives, entrepreneurs, and managers, as they work through their hardest career challenges. Muriel helps them discover unexpected insights about themselves and actionable steps...

She’s carved out a unique role for herself, which she loves, but worries that the pace of work is unsustainable. As she thinks about the next step in her career, she realizes that it will require her to lean on the help of others — something she’s not used to doing. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to get the support she needs to move forward in her career. Further reading: To Take Char...

He sees himself as a servant leader and enjoys building and supporting his teams. But over time, he’s seen behavior from more senior leaders that he doesn’t always agree with, and it’s making him feel disengaged at work. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how he can respond when executives don’t model the company’s values. Further reading: Employees Are Sick of Being Asked to Make Moral Compr...

He’s had fast success in a sales-driven industry and enjoys leading his expanding team. But as his responsibilities grow, he needs to learn how to delegate to his team more and empower his direct reports. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how to adapt his leadership style as his team grows. Further reading: Adapt Your Leadership Style to Your Situation How to Develop Your Leadership Style As...

He’s had a long, successful career as an attorney, in spite of the challenges he’s faced as a neurodivergent leader. Now he wants to parlay his legal experience and interest in advocacy into a different career in diversity, equity, and inclusion, but he’s having a hard time landing the role he wants. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader through how to move forward with his career plans even whe...

She’s had a successful career leading in the corporate world and now she’s decided to venture out on her own to build a consulting business from scratch. But she’s struggling with her move into entrepreneurship and wonders if she made the right decision. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to make the most out of her entrepreneurial journey. Further reading: So You Want to Be an Entreprene...

He’s a self-professed “natural finance guy” and has shown himself to be invaluable to his company. His long-term goal is to become a CFO, but he’s gotten little feedback on what to do  to get to the executive level. Now he’s starting to feel stuck in middle management. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through managing his career, even when the plan isn’t always clear. Further reading: 6 Ways to Tak...

Coaching Real Leaders returns October 3 for another season of real-life coaching sessions, where host and longtime executive coach Muriel Wilkins takes you behind closed doors as she helps executives, managers, and entrepreneurs work through the challenges they face. This season, Muriel coaches real leaders from around the globe who are struggling with questions like: How do I make a career change...

Every workplace has “difficult” people. No matter how hard we try, getting along with these colleagues is tough. But if we had better tools and approaches, could we not just improve our interactions with them but maybe even turn them into allies? This episode is an exclusive introduction to a new special podcast series from HBR’s Women at Work . It’s called “Getting Along” and is in Women at Work’...

He’s had a successful career in the military and is deeply invested in his professional growth. As his transition out of the military approaches, he wants to figure out what’s next for him professionally. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches him through how to best prepare for the next phase of his career. Further reading: 4 Steps to Making a Successful Career Change The Right Way to Make a Big Career Tran...

She took on a leadership role as a scrum master because she wanted a new challenge. But after a few months on the job, she worries that she lacks the technical knowledge and years of experience to truly lead her team. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to build credibility with her older, more experienced colleagues. Further reading: When You’re Younger than the People You Manage When You...

He’s developed a stellar reputation at his organization as the go-to person to solve some very specific, complicated problems. But he worries that the organization has pigeon-holed him as a subject matter expert, limiting his ability to lead more broadly. He speaks with host Muriel Wilkins about how he can break out of the specialist role to reach his goal of becoming a more general business leade...

She has risen very quickly in her career, often being the youngest in the room. She’s ambitious and wants to make it to the C-suite eventually, but she doesn’t know the right moves to make in the short term to fast-track her way to the top. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to align her career path with her goals. Further reading: How Ambitious Should You Be? (HBR.org) Do You Want the Co...

She’s heading toward the apex of her career and wants to play a more strategic role in her company because she feels that’s where her strengths lie. While she’s great at creating the vision, she’s struggling to set direction and then follow through with her team. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches her through how to lead with more accountability. Further reading: More About the Myers-Briggs Personality T...

He’s part of a real estate organization and loves his work but wonders what his future looks like at the company and how his role could grow in the coming decades. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader through how he might use some of his entrepreneurial muscles to shift his career track toward a business leadership role within his current organization. Further reading: Why You Should Become an...

Coaching Real Leaders returns May 2 with new coaching sessions, new career challenges, and new leadership lessons. This season, host and longtime executive coach Muriel Wilkins will tackle questions like: How do I move from subject matter expert to business leader? How do I hold myself and my team more accountable? How do I navigate my entrepreneurial interests within a large established company?...

No matter how driven and capable you are, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by a promotion and a new seat at the table. Host Muriel Wilkins speaks with a newly promoted leader who wants to make sure she’s as effective at this new level as she has been in past roles. Further reading: The Next Level, 3rd Edition: What Insiders Know About Executive Success Own the Room: Discover Your Signature Voice to M...

He’s a senior-level executive with a goal to make it to the C-suite. While he’s come close, he’s been turned down and is not sure why. Host Muriel Wilkins helps this leader plan his next moves. Further reading: What to Do After a Final-Round Job Interview Cracking the Code That Stalls People of Color What Do Black Executives Really Want? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californ...

As we head into the holidays after a very stressful year, many of us are struggling with burnout. This week, we revisit a conversation from earlier in the year with a leader on the brink of burnout. She’s ambitious and has always leaned into opportunities to lead. But in her leadership role, her responsibilities just keep growing, making her feel like she can’t keep up. Now she’s questioning wheth...