Industry: National Insurance and Financial Service Firm
Firm Size: 50–200 employees
Duration: September 2019 to March 2021

Context & Business Challenge
A Senior Director started 2020 facing uncertainty while also prioritizing growth.

• Leadership Development: enhance communication, emotional intelligence, and department efficiency
• Operational Transformation: migrating from a traditional office to a sustained virtual model.
• Strategic Enablement: deploy a SaaS platform (reduce long-term overhead and improve service quality).

The onset of COVID-19 accelerated both imperatives, amplifying complexity across staffing decisions, client communications, process redesign, and financial stewardship. Brand 21’s executive coaching engagement focused on equipping the client to lead confidently through volatility while strengthening department efficiency and C-suite alignment.

Objectives (as set at the outset of September 2019)

• Reinforce Strengths & Build Confidence
• Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
• Evolve Business & Leadership Acumen
• Optimize Communication Skills
• Elevate a Bottom-Line Results Mindset

Coaching Approach (Highlights)
Design Principles

• Leader-as-Decision-Maker: Shift client from consensus-seeking to decisive ownership, anchored in values and strategy.
• EQ-first Under Pressure: Build a practical EQ toolkit usable in “heat of the moment” decisions.
• CFO Mindset: Make financial impacts explicit in every major decision; steward trade-offs.

Methods (Highlights)

• Stakeholder Maps for C suite, supervisors, and key clients to guide communications.
• Delegation Matrices to rebalance workload, define ownership, and codify standards of work.
• 90-Day Sprint Plans tied to SaaS deployment milestones and department efficiency goals.

Highlights & Outcomes
Communication

• Virtual Transition Leadership: Led the company’s move to remote work, maintaining team and service continuity.
• Values-Based Personnel Decisions: Handled staff changes with poise, aligning hires/exits to culture growth.
• C suite & Team Messaging: Clear updates on effectiveness reviews; decisions communicated respectfully and consistently across levels.

Strategy

• SaaS Rollout: Prioritized client enrollment, training, and value communication (cost savings, streamlined services).
• Process Improvements: Identified and implemented actions to reduce long-term overhead.
• Bottom-Line Orientation: Consistent focus on efficiency and proactive steps despite pandemic fatigue.

Crisis Management: COVID-19

• Situation: Rapid, unprecedented shift to virtual operations and evolving client needs.
• Actions: Pivoted quickly; maintained focus on essential goals; instituted virtual team building; continued supervisor training; addressed isolation/disconnectedness risks; remained open to client realities; collaborated closely with C suite on company issues.
• Results: Realized strengths in communication, commitment, and problem-solving.

EQ Progress (3 Month Measurement)

• Overall Emotional Intelligence: +18%
• Self-Awareness: +26%
• Self-Management: +15%
• Social Awareness: +11%
• Relationship Management: +16%

Coaching ROI & Value Add

• Executive ROI: Increased decisiveness, higher EQ, and clearer connections between decisions and financial results.
• Team ROI: Improved clarity of priorities, respectful handling of personnel transitions, and increased supervisor ownership.
• Organizational ROI: Positive trajectory in SaaS deployment, overhead cost awareness, and client-facing value communication—during a year of unprecedented disruption.

Executive Coach Reflection
The client demonstrated notable courage and clarity during a year of sustained ambiguity. Her EQ gains and communication effectiveness translated into better decision-making and tangible operational progress. The coaching relationship added value by: creating decision clarity, reinforcing a CFO lens on choices, and building repeatable leadership habits that sustained performance through crisis.

The Brand 21 Advantage
Leadership development is more than training—it’s a strategic investment in organizational success. By reinforcing strengths, overcoming challenges, and building confidence, Brand 21 helps leaders thrive in high-stakes roles and deliver sustainable growth.

Ready to elevate your leadership team?
Contact Brand 21 or schedule a complimentary 30-minute call to learn how we can help your executives succeed in business and their careers.