President, Fortune 200 Company

When I was being considered for my current role as President of an operating company, my work with LDW began through the executive assessment process. It was rigorous, direct, and grounded in the realities of leading a business at this level. The feedback gave me a clear view of how I was seen and what would matter most if I stepped into the role.

After I was selected, the work continued in a very practical way. My LDW consultant provided extensive assessment feedback and worked closely with my senior HR leader to shape my onboarding and integration plan. Early in my transition, she also facilitated a Key Partnership Accelerator session between me and my boss, the Group Executive. That session helped establish alignment and set the tone for how we would work together.

Over time, I asked her to become my executive coach, and that partnership became an important part of how I found my footing and built momentum in the role.

One of the things that made the greatest difference early on was her familiarity with the broader organization. She took the time to understand the key stakeholders, their perspectives, and the dynamics across the system. That helped me navigate the organization more effectively and understand not just what was happening, but why.

As I got deeper into the business, it became clear that turning it around would require more than changes in strategy or execution. It required a shift in the culture of the team and, more broadly, the organization. My own leadership style, shaped by my time in management consulting, places a premium on candor. I believe leaders have an obligation to dissent, to push back, and to challenge one another in pursuit of the best outcome. That was a significant shift for this team.

LDW played a key role in helping us work through that. My consultant interviewed the team and facilitated a series of sessions focused not just on what we needed to achieve, but how we were working together and the underlying dynamics of the team. Through that process, we uncovered something fundamental. We were not aligned on what winning actually looked like.

That became a turning point. As a team, we did the work to get crystal clear on what winning looked like on a month by month basis as we pursued our longer term goals. That clarity changed how we operated. It sharpened accountability and created a more direct link between our day to day work and the broader strategy.

At the same time, we needed to shift our orientation as a business. We had become too internally focused. With a clear growth mandate, I pushed the team to be more externally focused, to spend more time with customers, and to elevate our presence in the market. That required a different kind of leadership and a different level of expectation.

If I step back, the impact of the work shows up in a few clear ways. It helped me elevate my leadership style and adapt to the different leaders around me. It helped me strike a better balance between a high performance culture and professional development. And it helped me build a new leadership team while driving a broader cultural transformation.

Today, the team operates with greater clarity, stronger accountability, and a more shared sense of ownership. They are more candid with each other, more focused on the business, and better aligned around what it takes to win.

My LDW consultant continues to be a trusted partner. She is straightforward, grounded, and brings a level of insight that is directly relevant to the realities of the business. Just as important, she stays engaged behind the scenes in a way that builds capability without creating dependence.