Sabrina Roblin
(Vice President, Coaches Training Institute)

Executive Coaching Success Story

Sabrina Roblin has been with CTI, the largest in-person coach training school in the world, for over nine years. Recently, she was given more responsibilities in her position as VP of Global Leadership Development due to her outstanding work. This promotion meant Sabrina would have a much bigger role at CTI, while taking on more employees and managing the shift in her duties. The company was also facing some challenges that made her new duties especially demanding. "There were a lot of variances to navigate between my new duties and the changes going on at CTI," recalls Roblin. "I knew that to be successful in this new role, I needed to up my game as an executive." She decided to hire a coach to ensure success. "I didn't want just a coach," she says. "I was really looking for an executive mentor."

A Neutral Party and Collaborator

While Roblin had a plethora of executive coaches available to her, she decided to look outside the company for the ideal coach. "I wanted someone that would be completely neutral,"says Roblin. "I was concerned that I wouldn't be open with a coach associated with my company and I understand how important trust and openness is in a coaching relationship."

Roblin took her time and interviewed about five different candidates. She finally decided on Kristi Royse, CEO of KLR Consulting. "I chose Kristi and her company because she has a positive outlook and we immediately established a good chemistry together," says Roblin. "She seemed genuinely excited about my new responsibilities and the challenges facing the company. I liked that."

Roblin's program began with a discussion of her personal and professional goals, along with a DiSC assessment of her job performance. "This initial stage helped break things down succinctly and revealed my strengths and weaknesses," recalls Roblin. "While I knew I needed to expand my skills, this helped pinpoint where to focus." Once the discussions and assessments were complete, KLR worked with Roblin to develop a plan of improvement. "I like being proactive and getting in front of an issue or challenge. Kristi and KLR work that way as well, which made me very comfortable."

Moving Forward with Confidence

Roblin and KLR Consulting established an aggressive executive coaching plan because she was facing some daunting challenges all at once including a restructure at the company, an increase and shuffle in her staff as well as more responsibilities in her new role. "Before KLR, I felt I was out of my comfort zone and my confidence was taking a hit. KLR quickly helped put things in perspective and assisted me in finding the skills, knowledge and resources that were needed to be successful," Roblin says. "I also enjoyed their flexibility and ability to adjust my plan based on our discussions or due to changes at work. This was invaluable to my progress as I was able to use KLR as a resource to help me solve many of the business problems and personnel issues that arose on the job."

A Strong Staff

Roblin is especially proud of the improvements she has realized in managing and mentoring her staff of over 150. "Last summer, we had four staff leaders who were transitioning from contractors to full-time employees," remembers Roblin. "KLR supported the process of changing the mind-set from independents to company employees, while also bringing them up to speed on the organization's structure." Roblin and her new team work well together and because of her successful on-boarding of the new team, the four recently came together and presented Roblin with a gift of appreciation. The group enjoys a level of collaboration and communication that ensures projects are completed on time and on budget.

"I have more confidence in my work, my team is in place and my business relationships have greatly improved," says Roblin. Roblin has even started working on one of her growth areas for the coming year - the fine art of delegation. "KLR is helping me to understand that you really have to adjust your style of delegation to the individual's way of working so they understand what needs to be achieved," explains Roblin. "I am still working on knowing which projects are important for me to keep and what can be delegated to my managers. I know I will get there with KLR on my side."

Roblin knows she picked the right executive coach to ensure a successful future for her and the company. She looks forward to continuing her work with KLR Consulting and sees them as a long-term resource for successful navigation of her career. "I'm amazed at how much has been accomplished in the past year. Now that things are more settled at work, I am working with Kristi and KLR on my next set of objectives," adds Roblin.