Client Stories
Client Stories
We listen for our success in the success stories of our clients. These are stories of getting to know oneself better, deleting old mindsets that are no longer accurate, and leaning into strengths with grounded confidence. Stories of developing others, delegating with confidence, prioritizing with decisiveness, and leading with vision and purpose. Stories of navigating a global pandemic, highly matrixed organizations, “pop up” teaming, shifting strategic focus, changing ownership, taking ownership on, becoming a manager, a VP, a CEO, or a founder. They are stories of resilience and positive growth – stories of momentum.
Our Clients
At pLink Leadership, our team of executive coaches leverages over twenty years of experience working across a broad array of organizations and institutions.
Client Stories
Cruise
To level up leadership, build resilience, and align values with vision and purpose, a large tech company based in San Francisco required an investment across multiple levels of leaders at the same time – without spending millions or disrupting business. We designed a comprehensive and consistent leadership development program for more than 300 people, from junior through senior leadership, customized for each level and delivered virtually. Executives received individual coaching. VPs experienced a virtual Dare to LeadTM training and group coaching. Senior managers and directors participated in our exclusive Leadership Labs. New leaders and junior managers benefitted from facilitated group coaching. The entire company received Positive NudgesTM to align everyone around the same language. Our approach strengthened individual and team abilities and improved engagement and psychological safety scores across the organization. Several participants have since been promoted to more senior roles, executive coaching has continued, and the company licensed our modules to use internally as new people join.
Armanino
Becoming a partner at an accounting firm is an intimidating process that can create challenges across an organization. Competition among candidates and personal insecurity can undermine individual and team confidence, causing roadblocks and retention issues. To support this rigorous journey to partner, we created an innovative program for a major accounting firm. Working with cohorts of about 30 people, we provide cross-functional group coaching to grow confidence, collaboration, and psychological safety. Each participant also gets a 360-degree evaluation and a year of 1:1 executive coaching focused on individual needs such as clarifying values or overcoming perfectionism. From the start, the program was a rousing success: the majority of our clients made partner at the firm within the first year! The firm was delighted with the results and invited us to continue. Now in its third year, our program boasts an overall effectiveness score of 4.6 on a 5-point scale, and 100% of participants would recommend it!
For Facebook’s Women’s Leadership Day, the company requested a one-day workshop for 150 senior-level leaders and rising stars in the advertising industry to help develop workplace bravery. Women face particular challenges to being brave at work, as our women-owned business is well aware. So, we crafted a custom program, called “Creating Space for Courage to Grow,” to introduce participants to the practices necessary for becoming brave leaders. We presented this dynamic, interactive program in the morning; in the afternoon, we facilitated a robust conversation about the challenges and opportunities of being women in leadership. We were particular and intentional about inviting individual engagement by each participant. The response to this invigorating day was overwhelmingly positive from both the participants and our Facebook sponsors. In fact, we were invited to facilitate the same experience for Facebook in Australia! With a few updates for our Land Down Under audience, we delivered the same program to similarly rave reviews! #SheMeansBusiness
National Professional Association
Creating a pipeline of talent and securing the future of the profession are central concerns for professional associations. Particularly when market and workplace disruptions have become so frequent, investing in the next generation of leaders has paramount importance. To meet these needs, we partnered with a national professional association to develop and deliver a custom, best-in-class leadership academy for professionals aged 25-35. For four days, about 40 participants come together to expand their skills, their network, and their leadership capacity. Launched in 2009, the academy has become a sought-after event, attracting hundreds of applications year after year. The program’s popularity and longevity speak to its effectiveness. Graduates report greater professional confidence and self-knowledge, along with lifetime relationships forged and more opportunities. And they see results, from promotions to recognition in the annual “Top 40 under 40” list for the profession. We’re proud to help cultivate the next generation of rainmakers and visionaries.
Hilton
Hilton saw an opportunity for increased trust and synergy on their Sales and Operations team. They wanted concrete takeaways to transform the team with new clarity around goals and a strengthened sense of working together. We crafted a custom program that began with a full-day workshop to explore Trust and Vulnerability and to set up Guiding Principles for the team. We wrapped up this dynamic, high-energy session with a 90-minute interactive webinar. Follow-up emails later refreshed the team on key concepts and agreements. Participants readily learned the key concepts, such as a shared definition of trust. They also cheered the clear takeaways that included 4 work commitments – “operating agreements” created by and for the team – with the action steps needed to make them happen. And they appreciated the follow-up Positive NudgesTM that included both refreshers on the concepts and specific steps to keep the momentum going.
Air Force Global Strike Command
The words “military culture” and “vulnerable” aren’t often seen together. Indeed, the idea of vulnerability goes directly against everything that the military and its culture have come to represent – but at a steep cost. When Air Force Global Strike Command got serious about modernizing their culture, they brought in our expert team to run the Dare to LeadTM program. Working with separate cohorts over three years, we challenged more than 700 leaders to embrace Dare to Lead’s four skill sets of courage as the basis of courageous leadership, to be open about military-specific experiences, and to increase their authenticity with each other and their airmen. We facilitated in-person and online workshops, including ones for military spouses to literally bring home the learning. Our participants gained profound insights, gave perfect scores in some cohorts, and highly recommended the experience. Best of all, we succeeded in facilitating significant and highly desirable changes to the culture at AFGSC that will pay returns for decades to come.