Connie as Your Coach

A Personal Note from Connie Barnaba

I am a seasoned HR consultant with more than 15 years of experience in managing professional employees. I know that it can sometimes be very challenging for a new manager to assume a supervisory role that requires managing direct reports who were once teammates. I know that because, in 1984, my first job as a manager required me to do that. All of my direct reports were males and former teammates who had applied for the manager’s job that I was assigned. I survived that experience and was later promoted to director and then to executive manager, reporting directly to the chief executive officer of the organization. In my 35-year career, I have managed employees as a frontline supervisor and as a senior executive and all levels of management in between.

I view my key strength as team-builder and I have always enjoyed building and working with diverse teams. At various times, having been overlooked or excluded from a team, I have developed a special sensitivity to the value that each team member brings to the table and have a gift for finding ways for each team member to demonstrate his/her unique talent. I have directed a national customer service operation involving managers and other professionals assigned to different markets across the United States, so I am familiar with the challenges of virtual team meetings.

I have always been an advocate for women aspiring to leadership positions and believe that supporting their development is a professional obligation that all successful women leaders should willingly accept. That philosophy is apparent in my professional and volunteer mentoring and coaching activities as well as in work projects I have undertaken, e.g. the creation of an intern program to recruit and promote women and minorities into more highly-compensated positions, creation of career ladders and mentor programs, and promoting the development of career strategies.

I have an authentic communication style preferring to hear and tell the truth in a private, confidential setting rather than giving or receiving politically-correct messages in a public setting. I specialize in conflict communication and conflict resolution and can be very supportive in the development of team conflict management strategies.

I believe that professional development should be a goal-directed activity and that the first step should always be to benchmark the existing skills and to identify clearly-stated, measurable goals and a timeline for accomplishment. In order to maximize the learning experience, I believe there should be sufficient “stretch” in the goals to be achieved.

I do not view coaching as a prescriptive process. I believe that coaching should assist the client examine alternatives and allow for the exercise of independent judgment, even if it results in error. I view most mistakes as learning experiences that are highly forgivable if they are not consistently repeated. The one exception is “mistakes” of moral misconduct. I view integrity as an absolute requirement for successful leadership. By faith, I am a Christian. That may or may not be relevant to a new manager or first-time mid-level manager. However, I am spiritually connected and would never participate in condoning or concealing unethical conduct.

I have a frisky Cairn Terrier named Peanut. I like to read and I love theater. I find working in my flower garden therapeutic. And I’m currently working on my first book.

Contact me today about being your coach or coaching one of your high-potential managers. Together we CAN CUT your company's COST OF CONFLICT!