Community Building in the Washington, DC area!!

SFP Editor: What is an executive leadership coach? Lowell Nerenberg: IA good executive leadership coach is someone with the background, experience, expertise, intuition, and interpersonal communications skills to understand a leader well enough to serve as an effective resource and catalyst for the leader to achieve his or her personal and organizational objectives. There is a lot more that goes into defining the coach-client relationship and the activities involved. Suffice it to say, for now - confidentiality, safety, and trust are essential.

SFP Editor: Who can benefit from leadership coaching?

Lowell Nerenberg: Anyone in a leadership role, or who aspires to be a leader, can benefit from leadership coaching. However, for the coaching to work best, leaders must be open to learning and discovering things about themselves, no matter what they believe they already know. They must also have the courage to be candid and willing to share pertinent information about themselves, especially shortcomings and mistakes which bear on their ability to grow and expand.

Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google and now Executive Chairman of the company, was interviewed about why he has a coach. "Every famous athlete, every famous performer has somebody who's a coach, somebody who can watch what they are doing and say, 'is that what you really meant [to say]; did you really do that?' [A coach] can give them perspective. The one thing people are never good at is seeing themselves as others see them. A coach really, really helps." Access a brief video clip of Lowell Nerenberg on why might you need a coach.Watch Video

SFP Editor: What is your approach to leadership coaching?

Lowell Nerenberg: Sometimes executives think they want or need a coach or expert to come in and hand over a set of proven "best practices," which tell them what to do and when to do it. Now we all have access to the internet and countless good ideas of what we should do to be better at just about anything. But there are a number of shortcomings inherent in that approach. The most obvious one is, as we've all come to realize: we often know what to do - we just don't do it! When someone tells us what to do, we rarely "own" it. Remember all those wise things your parents told you? How often did you follow their advice?

Neuroscience research helps us understand that it is more effective to discover or uncover our own insights of what has obscured our vision (e.g., blind spots, self-limiting beliefs) - and what is now possible for us. A coach will guide a client to look more deeply into the hidden aspects inherent in the problem and help him or her discover how to resolve it. Then, the next - and perhaps most important - step in the process is for the coach to apply the appropriate amount of ongoing guidance to have the client actually follow through with their intended actions – in spite of the overwhelming number of distractions leaders face every day.

SFP Editor: How did you get involved in this type of profession?

Lowell Nerenberg:I always enjoyed helping people work through their barriers to being more effective or happier, but I didn't get much opportunity until I started my own business. I founded a wholesale computer distribution company, selling equipment and software in the Mid-Atlantic region. (I had to start my own business. I couldn’t work for anyone else: I always quit or got fired.) As a CEO I had several opportunities to coach and mentor my employees, and I loved it. We worked hard, the company became pretty successful, and it was really fun. (We even made the Inc. 500 list of Fastest Growing Privately Held Companies in the U.S. I wrote a story about the company and how we did it.) Go to Story

Fast-forward to 2005, when I became a Vistage chair. It was there that I began coaching other leaders, leading three peer groups of senior executives from several companies. After three years of that, I left to do my own thing, working more deeply in organizations by coaching chief executives and their executive teams.

SFP Editor: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Lowell Nerenberg: The most challenging aspect of this work for me is balancing the time between a) my thirst for more knowledge and understanding and b) recruiting new clients. I love the work, and the more I learn and know, the more I discover that there is always more to learn!

SFP Editor: What do you find most rewarding about being a leadership coach?

Lowell Nerenberg: There are several aspects of coaching I find extremely rewarding. The first that comes to mind is the look on a client's face when they have that flash of insight, recognizing what's possible for them and their organization, based on a simple change in their attitude or behavior. Another is experiencing a client's sense of accomplishment when he or she persistently focuses and follows through on an important project and takes it to completion. One more occurs when a team of execs sits down together and openly and honestly communicates with one another, acknowledging and taking responsibility for what they each need to work on - and committing to it in order to be a more cohesive and powerful team. That is very cool.

Finally, as you may suspect, it can be lonely at the top. There are things you just cannot talk to anyone about. The issue may be too personal. It may reveal how insecure and unworthy you feel you are as the boss. You may have the urge to walk out one day and never come back. I have the privilege of being the person executives confide in about those issues, and we talk them through. Those are very special relationships.

SFP Editor: What brought you to the DC area and what do you enjoy the most about the city?

Lowell Nerenberg: I grew up and went to school in Philadelphia and was working there in a sales support role for a computer company. One day it occurred to me that I was helping all these sales guys close business and make tons of money… and I wasn't. So I walked in and asked my boss to put me in a direct sales job. There were no openings in Philly, but he said he would transfer me to the suburban Md. office if I would shave my hippy-looking beard and cut my hair. So I shaved and cut and dragged my wife and kids, kicking and screaming, to Rockville.

I was immediately impressed with how much cleaner this area was, there were hardly any potholes, and the traffic lights were actually timed! In Philly it felt like lights turned red when they saw me coming. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that’s what made it easy for me to leave Philadelphia.

Over the years we made many close friends here, we love the area, and it's still very clean!

SFP Editor: What are common obstacles people encounter in terms of finding their leadership style?

Lowell Nerenberg: A person who wants to see things around them change for the better will eventually discover that in order to allow that to happen, something about him- or herself needs to change. This epitomizes the essential challenge of being a great leader. You change first and people and circumstances around you begin to change also.

Before reacting immediately to an annoying circumstance, I often encourage leaders to pause and literally take a deep breath, while asking themselves this question: "Who do I need to be right now to respond most effectively in this situation?" It's a very powerful question. Whether you are a company leader or simply communicating with a friend or a significant other, it's a great question to consider. This is what that question may generate in your own mind: How do I feel about this right now? Am I centered and in control, or sad, angry, and ready to pounce? What am I inclined to do or say right now? If I do or say that, knowing this person as I do, what is the effect I might set off in that person? Will the person likely feel empowered as a partner or feel crushed and want to kill me? Who do I need to be in order to produce a positive outcome?

SFP Editor: Is there a leadership style you prefer over another or find most fascinating?

Lowell Nerenberg: Great leaders have styles which vary all over the map, from the most generous and caring to the least compassionate, like Steve Jobs. Except for the fact I would be out of business, I want everyone to be omniscient, omnipotent, charismatic, loving, and centered at all times. I come from the point of view that one of the responsibilities of a leader is to mentor others to be leaders and to think like a leader - like a person who takes responsibility for their actions and the affects they have on others.

SFP Editor: Which world leader do you find - past or present - most intriguing and why?

Lowell Nerenberg: The words extraordinary people leave behind inspire me.

Winston Churchill said, "...never, never, never, never, never, never, never give up...." Churchill stood for courage and persistence.

Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." He demonstrated that personal integrity and walking your talk is essential to producing the contribution you intend to produce with your life.

And finally, Zig Ziglar, a philosopher and former door-to-door pots and pans salesman may not be a world leader, per se, but he epitomizes with this assertion, a way of being that inspires me. "You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." It is what has defined and motivated my work for many years.