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5 minute chat with Annette Reissfelder

Interview with Annette Reissfelder - Professional Accredited Coach (CAKO 2006, re-certified in 2009 and 2013).

What is new at A.B. Reissfelder Executive Coaching?

First, let’s cut through the self-development myth. My clients are too busy to want to “improve themselves”. What my clients expect from me is to help them reach concrete goals – because they realize that something fundamental has changed, or is about to change, and they aren’t quite ready for it. What that something is, is always highly individual – personal, contextual, or coming with a new role. They want me to be able to simplify things without trivializing them. I confront them with nourishing, insightful and actionable content that is very different from what they work with already...   It is worth remembering that the higher up, the more difficult it is to get unbiased, honest feedback and without the fear of exposing oneself. My clients have high moral and ethical expectations of someone who they are willing to confide in, and listen to. Of course my clients also expect me to buy into their way of seeing things, but not because I am the “supplier“, who is there to make them feel good, but because I need to understand where they are coming from. If a coach is a stable, centred personality who can gracefully resist the gratification of positive attention and praise from powerful people, conversations get really interesting... 

What is your strategy for reaching good results on the market?

Being consistent and credible – which is all about what others think of you, not how you portray yourself. I think I am the kind of personality who is really well suited for my line of work. But what’s important is what my clients think. I heavily rely on recommendations, and find LinkedIn a very valuable tool for that. 

What are the new trends in the area of your business?

It isn’t as easy as 5 years ago to find clients in the mid segment, because that segment is shrinking; the fact that some coaches who used to exclusively work at that level have now started calling themselves executive coaches is confusing the market. Executive coaching only appeals to a select minority of managers anyway; many executives believe that it’s their way or the highway. Some are happy with cosmetic changes, if need be, aimed at peers and superiors, but aren’t interested in facing real growth opportunities head-on. Others – and rightfully so, I might add – have mixed feelings about confiding into someone “new”. That’s true in most countries I have worked in. So if these potential clients meet someone who lacks experience with this specific clientele and knows nothing about their ways of thinking or the pressures they face, the probable result is - no coaching relationship J. 

Is it difficult to do business in the Czech Republic?

Last time I answered this question I said for a German who has lived and worked in various countries and speaks several languages -including Czech- well enough to work in them, doing business here isn’t too difficult. On the contrary: I have a unique selling proposition when a top manager is looking into a transition to a regional position. In these cases I usually get to meet the potential client in the selection process.

Today I might add that it is difficult to do ethical business anywhere; not least because people are prone to all sorts of insecurities… on both sides of the table. For professional coaches, compromising on ethics should never be an option.