CIS believes that every student regardless of race, gender, ability, zip code, or socioeconomic background must have what they need to realize their full potential in school and beyond. We walk by their side, in their communities, to challenge the systems and barriers that stand between them and their success in life.

Challenge:

Communities in Schools of Hampton Roads had a five-person leadership team, which included the Executive Director and the Operations Director. Two of the five were in their first leadership role. Like many other nonprofit organizations, CIS also was experiencing turnover in their staff positions. The Executive Director recognized the need to invest in staff and grow the performance of the entire team, while retaining great performers and recruiting new staff.

Solution:

The entire CIS Hampton Roads leadership team experienced 12 weeks of 1:1 executive coaching, which focused on mindset, thinking and beliefs, how they saw their employees, goals, overcoming obstacles, and leadership. The goal was to inspire the team to higher levels of success by building their leadership skills and learning how to successfully coach and guide the site coordinators they manage. The team also participated in group coaching designed to help them develop trust, recognize and support the needs of their teammates, and overcome common leadership challenges. Executive coaching helped them examine how their thinking and beliefs lead to the success of their team. They gained a clearer picture of things they can do differently to boost performance and think through any process from multiple angles instead of just reacting to a situation.