Business View Oceania l February/March 2023

24 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2 Marion Gamel is a certified executive coach and the Master Coach for EZRAx, EZRA’s executive coaching offering. Having spent years as part of management teams at companies including Google and Eventbrite, she has gained a solid understanding of what it means to be a leader including the challenges and opportunities that come with it. Coaching executives around the world since 2015, Marion strives to have a transformational impact on her clients resulting in stronger leadership, ambitious goal setting, increased confidence, fast growth and improved efficiency and agility. Marion concludes EZRA’s highlight with Business View Magazine with answers to some of EZRA’s most frequently asked questions: Q: What should executives look for when hiring a coach to help them improve their leadership skills and thus bottom line? Marion: The top two qualities executives should look for are a coach’s qualifications and track record. Since coaching is not a regulated industry, it is important to ensure that the coach you’re considering working with is certified, has received the right kind of training, and has sufficient experience in terms of number of coaching hours and the level of seniority at which they coach. I would also always advise a leader who is considering working with a coach to speak with a handful of past clients to understand what they got out of the experience, what worked well for them, what they were trying to achieve and whether they have achieved it with the support of this coach. Q: What qualities are most important for executives to develop that will ensure their success as a leader in their organization? Marion: Considering how fast change happens today, I would think first about agility. In any company, agility needs to start from the top. However, leaders also need to set a vision, a mission and a strategy that stands the test of time, so their team does not dilute its effort going in 100 different directions. The complexity of leadership comes from the fact that agility and stability can be in conflict. This is where the subtlety of leadership lies today; the ability to alternate between agile thinking (such as pivoting fast, innovating, taking risks, and establishing psychological safety) and keeping a team on track despite all the distractions and ‘crisis’ they are exposed to.  Q: What makes Ezra’s platform unique and how can it benefit its clients in ways traditional coaching simply can’t do?  Marion: EZRA is built on a tripod consisting of: • Great technology that makes coaching as simple and convenient as possible. In the same way tech has transformed how we open a bank account, book a flight, or buy food over the past 20 years, it has completely transformed coaching. • Data, that empowers leaders being coached as well as their organization to track the impact coaching has not only on the leader but also on the business. • Coaches that are carefully vetted, continuously trained and well-matched with each client, so the chemistry between a coach and coachee is optimal, and their experience and know-how complement each other.  Q: What are a few best practices for coaching executives? How does coaching at a management level differ from a VP or C-suite level? Marion: The difference often lies in the type of coaching that is required. Managers often benefit from business coaching, which is coaching them on the way they conduct business and the way they improve the performance of their team. Whereas VPs and the C-suite often benefit from executive coaching, which focuses on their beliefs, their reactions, their conduct, and the impact they have on a large fellowship.  Q&A WITH MARION GAMEL For more information, visit www.mariongamel.com