Insights From Leadership Conversations
Lessons drawn from conversations with leaders navigating complex professional challenges
I have worked with professionals and leaders across all industries, supporting them through transitions, challenges, crises, and career growth.
Leadership challenges rarely present as clear problems with obvious solutions.
More often, they appear as tension, misalignment, or unintended outcomes when communication does not resonate as intended.
The following examples illustrate situations leaders bring to this work and how greater clarity, perspective, and intention in communication shifts outcomes.
Focus Area: Leadership Communication & Trust
Showing up like the CEO
From Confusion to Clarity
From Passed over to Promoted
Focus Area: Career Transitions & Interview Communication
From Job Loss to Greater Opportunity
Focus Area: Team Dynamics & Organizational Communication
From Conflict to Collaboration
From Aversion to Stellar Presentation
Focus Area: Leadership Communication & Trust
Showing up like the CEO
Marc was a highly effective Chief Operating Officer at a leading North American corporate real estate firm. He ran complex operations, delivered strong results, and was well respected internally. But in the boardroom, none of that was landing.
Marc dreaded quarterly presentations. When time was tight, he rushed through metrics and performance updates. His delivery was flat, his eyes stayed on the slides, and his discomfort was visible to the board and the CEO. Beneath it was a quiet assumption: that operations was “boring,” and that he, by extension, was viewed by the board as “no big deal.”
The CEO was planning to retire within 18 months. When I asked Marc if he had ever considered stepping into that role, he dismissed the idea immediately. He was certain he would never be seen as a successor.
I wasn’t so sure.
What became clear quickly was that Marc’s scope, leadership, and impact were significant. The issue was not capability. It was how he was communicating it.
We began by reframing how he saw his own function. Operations was not a collection of dry metrics. It was the engine of the business. From there, we shaped his board presentations into clear, compelling narratives that highlighted what mattered and why. We focused as much on delivery as content -- speaking to the room rather than reading from slides, bringing energy and conviction, and acknowledging the work of his team while taking visible ownership of results.
The shift was noticeable. Marc showed up differently, and he was seen differently. The board leaned in. The conversation changed.
Within the CEO succession timeline, Marc was selected as the new CEO.
How leaders communicate their work shapes how their leadership is perceived. At the executive level, it often determines who gets the role
From Confusion to Clarity
I worked with a senior executive who was respected for her expertise, but struggled with communication dynamics within her team.
Direct reports described her leadership style as inconsistent. She formed personally friendly connections, but her performance feedback was often harsh. Her messages were unclear and often misunderstood.
Trust and morale within the team had reached a crisis point.
The challenge was not a lack of desire to lead well.
The opposite was true. She was deeply committed to her team’s success.
Our conversations revealed that her past experiences and assumptions about leadership led to inconsistent approaches. Her desire to be liked conflicted with her views on authority.
Once she understood how others experienced her communication and defined how she wanted to lead and be perceived, we explored ways to adjust how she conveyed expectations, feedback, and instructions.
We clarified her intentions, increased precision in messaging, and established professional boundaries while maintaining an engaging leadership style.
We also refined elements of her physical expression, including tone, demeanour, and posture.
Over time, team morale improved significantly.
Her team reported clearer expectations, more constructive conversations, and renewed trust in her leadership.
“The clarity of thinking one achieves under Marguerite’s guidance builds confidence and trust, which results in more effective meetings. Working with her has been a very powerful experience for my professional development.”
— CEO, Sugar Maple Capital
From Passed over to Promoted
A client sought coaching as she prepared to interview for promotion to a senior leadership role. Laura had been repeatedly passed over.
Her track record was strong and her expertise respected, but in interviews and leadership conversations, she downplayed her accomplishments.
An introvert, Laura minimized her strengths for fear of appearing boastful. Her success stories were vague, lacked specific actions or results, and her presence did not reflect her abilities.
It became clear that her challenge was not a lack of confidence in her work.
The real challenge was translating her experience into language that demonstrated readiness for senior leadership.
We identified the deeper impact of her work, including her strategic thinking, ability to influence, and the ways her contributions shaped organizational outcomes.
Once Laura fully understood the value she contributed, her communication changed.
She shifted from describing tasks to demonstrating the results of her leadership and decision-making.
In her interviews, the difference was clear. She spoke at the strategic level of the role she sought, using precise, specific language. She was not performing; she was engaging in genuine conversation.
Laura shared that our work gave her the language she needed. It increased her confidence, comfort in discussing her work and value, and ability to engage interviewers. She was promoted.
“Working with Marguerite was an enriching experience. As a result of her wisdom and coaching, I am confident and engaging when articulating the leadership and technical skills that made me an appropriate candidate for this senior role.”
— General Counsel, University of Calgary, Alberta
Focus Area: Career Transitions & Interview Communication
From Job Loss to Greater Opportunity
When Simon lost his role as a senior executive in the energy sector, he was deeply affected.
He applied for roles and secured interviews, but when offers did not follow, he began to question his value and whether his career in the sector was over.
Simon had not interviewed in over 15 years and was unprepared to discuss his experience. His anxiety and uncertainty were evident in his presentation.
We began by reframing his perspective on job loss, then identified and structured his most relevant success stories.
He learned how to articulate his value clearly and confidently and how to manage difficult questions about his previous role.
As his perspective shifted, so did his presence. He re-entered the interview process with renewed confidence and a clearer sense of his experience, leadership, and contribution.
Within six weeks, Simon received three offers and secured a more senior role than the one he lost.
He later reflected that losing his previous position ultimately led to a better opportunity.
“I immediately started to convert job interviews into job offers. Her ability to coach you through the interview process, help create a story that accentuates the value you bring, position your strengths and skills in a positive light while avoiding potential pitfalls has been invaluable and instrumental in key career moves.”
— Client Director, Juniper Networks
Focus Area: Team Dynamics & Organizational Communication
From Conflict to Collaboration
A 12-member senior leadership team at a private school struggled to reach consensus.
Personality conflicts made collaboration difficult. Meetings were tense, decisions delayed, and staff saw leadership as divided.
Individual exploratory conversations revealed that team members interpreted each other's behaviour through vastly different perspectives.
Those pushing for action saw others as obstructive; those raising concerns felt dismissed and unheard.
The issue was misalignment in priorities, expectations and communication styles..
A structured assessment on productive conflict helped the team understand how these differences shaped their interactions.
During a facilitated retreat, these insights created a shared language for understanding one another.
What was once seen as personal conflict was now viewed as a difference in individual requirements and approach.
This shift reduced judgment and enabled constructive dialogue.
By the end of the session, relationships improved. Previously strained conversations became open and engaged.
Decision-making improved, and the team refocused on their shared purpose – to create the best possible experience for students.
“Marguerite has a unique ability to quickly assess patterns that are getting in the way of leaders achieving their desired impact and offers tangible techniques to powerfully improve their ability to connect and communicate.”
— Practice Leader, The Talent Company (Career Partners International)
From Aversion to Stellar Presentation
Mike, an Executive Vice-President at a large bank, was widely recognized as a leading expert in his field.
However, his role required presenting to large groups, which he found extremely difficult. He experienced significant stage fright and coped by turning away from the audience and reading dense slides. This approach made his presentations less engaging and harder to follow.
The first step was helping Mike recognize his expertise and the value he brought to his audience.
We then shifted the focus to what his audience needed to understand.
We simplified his material, breaking down complex information into clear ideas. His slides were restructured for clarity, and we worked on delivery, presence, and confidence.
As his approach changed, his experience improved quickly and the results were immediately obvious.
Presentations became not just manageable, but enjoyable for both him and his audience.
The transformation was described internally as “miraculous,” reflecting a significant and impressive shift in confidence and impact.
“Marguerite has assisted many senior executives to communicate, present, and influence at top levels in organizations. She takes the time to fully appreciate the context and understand the person to craft the most successful program for them.”
— Executive & Board Advisory Services Inc.
Every Leadership Situation Is Unique
The examples above represent only a small sample of situations leaders bring to coaching.
Often, the starting point is a sense that workplace communication needs to be clearer, more effective, or better aligned with leadership goals. Sometimes, it stems from awareness that a communication style clashes with team or peer expectations.
There is a cost when communication isn't working, and that cost can be steep – stalling or halting a career trajectory.
If you are facing a complex leadership communication or career growth challenge, a discovery call is the best way to explore support options.
Marguerite Senecal