The Feedback-Averse Leader: Coaching for Self-Awareness at Crestline Retail
A new VP got her first 360 report and questioned everything except herself. She scored in the 18th percentile on openness to feedback. You're her coach.
Duration
55 min
Difficulty
Beginner
Stakeholders
3
Company Size
Large (500-5000)
Organizational Background
Crestline Retail Group operates 240 stores across the Southeast. Maria Delgado was promoted to Regional VP six months ago, overseeing 14 stores and 1,800 employees. Her results as a District Manager were exceptional: best sales numbers in the region three years running. Her 360 feedback from her new VP peer group and her store managers revealed significant gaps in listening, delegation, and cross-functional collaboration. Maria's response was to challenge the tool's validity, question whether respondents understood her role, and suggest the feedback reflected 'politics' rather than reality. Her HR Business Partner has engaged a coach. Maria agreed to one session.
Key Stakeholders
Learning Objectives
- Establish a coaching alliance with a client who is initially resistant to the feedback process
- Understand the psychological mechanisms behind feedback defensiveness (threat response, identity protection)
- Help a client engage productively with 360 data without dismissing it
- Identify the developmental edge in a high-performer transitioning to a more complex leadership role
- Design a focused coaching contract that connects self-awareness goals to concrete behavioral outcomes
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