Do your leaders do the safe thing or the right thing?
You already know the answer.
This isn’t a competence issue.
You see it every week. The meeting where nobody says what everybody’s thinking. The decision that gets deferred because nobody wants to own the risk. The leader who manages upwards instead of leading outwards.
Your leaders are capable. The issue is what’s running underneath their capability.
They’re playing not to lose.
Protecting themselves from threats they learned to fear long before they took on a leadership role. That protection strategy made sense once. It doesn’t anymore. But it’s still driving.
I work with organisations to shift this. Not through training. Through the kind of work that helps leaders identify what’s actually in the way and choose differently.
It depends on where you are and what you need.
Sometimes it starts with one leader. Executive coaching over 6 or 12 months, going beyond behaviour to the beliefs and patterns underneath.
Sometimes it starts with a Leadership Circle Profile 360 across your leadership team. A clear picture of where leadership is creative and where it’s reactive. Evidence you can work with.
Sometimes it’s team coaching. Surfacing what’s unspoken. Building alignment that holds when the pressure comes.
Sometimes it’s a development programme. Leading change. Navigating conflict. Building trust. Developing presence.
I’ve been doing this work for over 25 years.
Public sector, financial services, energy, technology, higher education. Ireland, the UK, across Europe.
I’m also the co-founder of Choose Leadership.
If you want to shift how your leaders show up, not just what they do, let’s talk
“Connor McDonough is an outstanding Leadership and Personal Development Coach. He combines leadership expertise with sharp intuition, passion and commitment to help leaders identify how they show up in the world, the passions and dreams that they may have buried and the confidence and momentum to make them happen. He will champion and challenge you with a compelling blend of directness, honesty and humour that makes the journey one of transformation and joy.”
Caroline Diamond, Executive & Leadership Coach, Diamond Clarity Coaching, UK