By Nikos Lambridis, Professor of the “Leading and Managing People” unit at the University of Sheffield Executive MBA programme

At the Executive MBA programme, delivered by the University of Sheffield International Faculty CITY College, we view our students careers as shinning goals. For us, Coaching is about Unlocking potential so that along with experience and knowledge we are able to help MBA executives to establish their personal goals, work with people, communicate well and to coach their people in turn. Always taking into an account the different mentality and culture.

Our Neuroscience approach confirms that anyone with a brain has the same emotional and behavioral pattern that is developed literally from a very early age. What really is important for a Coach is to be able to recognize the rest of the Ecology we all live in and how every change we make, it will have a “ripple effect” into our family, community, workgroup and the organization will start to change as well. A Coach must be trained in Organizational Psychology to be able to understand the model: Process – Person – Context – Time.

That is the most challenging and rewarding part in coaching the Executives participating in our Executive MBA  programme in 12 different countries in the past 14 years.

Our differences matter but our humanity matters more. During the 2 years of studying in our Executive MBA Programme (EMBA) we show our students how to motivate their employees and teams to work better and with empathy, to go towards a reward state where both the Executives and their teams are at the highest productivity level.

We teach and Coach them, to place people in the core of their organizations, specifically to be able to understand their possible threats and perceptions, work on their strengths and talents, be mindful on the “here and now”, and develop their strengths into habits.

To do so, organizations and top leaders must walk away from the “Lean and Mean” model where we do more with less. This will allow people to perform better and in long-term environments.

Our Career Coaching program is focused on transition. We help our graduates to be responsible and successful in their career, retaining valued positions, and optimizing and aligning their performance with their Organizational success.

In a Covid-19 era, social distancing demands that communication become a priority, beyond business as usual. Assume there is no such thing as too much communication. Leaders should think through their messages so that they reflect empathy as well as information to help people understand the impact to the business, the roles they are playing and relevant updates. While some communication will be spontaneous, overall, it needs to be planned

We plan our coaching sessions to help our MBA Executives to cope and thrive, creating a safe place for them and their teams.

Unlock their potential and …give them the key!

Nikos Lambridis has specialized in Communications, Coaching and Emotional Intelligence. He has been teaching and coaching for the last 12 years in many large multinational companies such as Pfizer, Novartis, WIND, Abbott, ROCHE, Citibank, Marks and Spencer, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi – Aventis.