The CFO of a large manufacturing company recently contacted me to coach his very tenured finance executive, “Marie.” In our chemistry discussion, Marie came across as highly-skilled, somewhat reserved, very perfectionistic  – pretty much what her boss had described. The CFO had also shared Marie wasn’t very engaged with her team, had stark rough edges, and despite feedback was struggling to motivate her reports. In the midst of their big organizational changes and to be successful in her role, these behaviors were crucial. Pretty typical beginning of a coaching assignment. Yet as the contract was passed back to me, the fine print revealed a shiny red flag. Read more