How Leadership Coaching Helped a BBC Executive Take On Her Toughest Challenge

Sally Osman, the then director of communications at the BBC, successfully navigated the world famous broadcaster through what was arguably one of the darkest periods in its 85 year history.

In 2004, BBC director general Greg Dyke and chairman Gavyn Davies both resigned as a direct result of the aftermath of the tragic David Kelly affair.

Osman found herself as one of the senior executives left to try and manage the consequences for the BBC, its brand and its reputation. How did she negotiate such a crisis? With the aid of coaching. Osman started having coaching sessions soon after she arrived at the BBC in 1999. She recalls, “To be honest, it took me a while to grasp what coaching was really about, until I clicked it was about trust, honesty and helping my personal development as a leader”.

Osman continued with her coaching right up until she left the BBC in 2007, but how did all this help her specifically in 2004? The answer lies in the characteristics of high quality coaching, characteristics she saw for herself and benefited from. “The great thing about good coaching is that it sometimes takes you to a very uncomfortable place. It can be challenging.

“[Coaching] helped me work through some very tricky professional issues and understand the importance of not losing sight of yourself and your own values through some big crises”.

A lot of the things that Osman talks about here reflect the very values that Position Ignition was founded upon and thrives on to this day. We believe that the relationship between an individual and their career guide should, like any relationship,  be based on trust and honesty. We also believe in really stretching our clients and taking them to challenging places within their own mind if that’s what it takes to help them become the best professionals, the best executives, the best leaders.

To find out more about what we stand for and how we work, visit About Us. If you’re a leader who’s ready to explore the possibility of leadership guidance to enhance your management, presentation and negotiation skills or increase your chances of promotion, book a free consultation with us to discuss the idea of potentially working one-to-one with one of our Career Guides.

Source: Coaching and Mentoring by Jane Renton

Photo: Mike Fleming

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