Michael Barton
Executive & Team Coach
Enabling leaders to achieve their
highest
potential.
SERVICES
Executive coaching is one-on-one coaching with new or seasoned executives. We focus on any issues the clients needs to address. The goal is to help the executive solve hard business challenges, be more effective leaders, and build stronger business relationships. One of the most important roles I play is as confidential thought partner with deep operating experience. Coaching is done in regular hour-long calls with the client. All conversations are confidential.
Team coaching includes all members of a team and focuses on elevating the team to higher performance and cohesiveness. We focus on improving team impact, communication and collaboration. Some coaching will take place with the entire team present, and some coaching will be one-on-one with individual team members. There are strict confidentiality guidelines for team coaching.
Many company boards have been in place since the founding of the company. Low-performing boards contribute little value, while a high-functioning board will fuel growth, fund raising and competitive advantage. I work with companies to build the optimal boards looking forward to the coming 5 to 10 years. This may also lead us to revisit corporate governance or to create an advisory board. All coaching is confidential.
All organizations benefit from more intensive executive retreats that focus on company-wide issues. I work with leadership to develop workshops based on specific needs, then facilitate the workshop with the teams. All coaching and discussions that happen within the workshop are confidential.
Billie Jean King
COACHING APPROACH
Michael Barton has successfully led multiple businesses through significant reorganization and growth. He brings deep operating experience, training in multiple coaching techniques, and his own personal development to his coaching clients.
"I am passionate about using whatever I've learned from running companies to help new and experienced leaders succeed in ways they never knew they could. I'll encourage you to embrace change, clarify your goals, discover and leverage your superpowers, and deepen self-awareness.
Over the past 25 years, I've been CEO/COO a few times, so I know the demands of those roles first-hand. It's helpful for even the most experienced leaders to have someone who sits outside the company, has "been there, done that", and shows up purely to support you.
I'm most effective as a coach when I weave together my left-brain, quant-jock business experience with my decades of right-brain psychology and eastern philosophy studies. I'll bring all I have to help you be the most effective leader you can be.
Business executives are ultimately judged on the value they bring to the company and whether or not they hit their goals. This will guide our work. Personal growth and becoming a more effective leader are woven together.
I start every session by asking what you need. Then I listen. A lot. My goal is to serve my clients. Also, if we do this right, it will be a lot of fun."
Nelson Mandela
TESTIMONIALS
"He also reminds me, through his strongly Socratic approach, when I need to give myself a swift kick or a moment of grace."
~ Client
"I’ve watched him turn dysfunctional executive teams into highly effective, confident, collaborative leaders."
~ Peer consultant
"When Michael works with you, you are truly inspired and guided to be your very best."
~ Peer consultant
Bayard Rustin
ARTICLES
From Violinist To Conductor: Navigating the Leap from Doer to C-Suite
For every founder I’ve coached who has created a successful high-growth company, there’s a point in time when they face a reckoning. It’s the moment when that founder (or early stage employee) will successfully transform into the CEO, or will begin to transition out.
Don't Let Team Trauma Sneak Up On You
There are Laws of Leadership that are constant and immutable, like the Laws of Nature, You know the stuff I’m talking about; gravity; an object continues in motion along a straight line until acted on by an outside force, etc. Like the Laws of Nature, the Laws of Leadership are things that will happen with absolute certainty. One of the Laws of Leadership that may not be so obvious is this:
Whenever a new team member joins an existing team, the whole team experiences trauma.
Hiring a Coach 101
What is a coach? What do they do? How would working with a coach help? Do I need a coach with specific expertise in my field? I'm smart, I can just figure it out on my own, right?
If you haven’t worked with a coach before, it may sound a little strange to hire someone who knows nothing about you or your company to give you advice. However, that’s actually part of the benefit.
