biography

Ira Chaleff

January 31, 2012 By Ira Chaleff

“Executive Coach” President
Coaching High Performers to Better Results

Ira Chaleff is the founder and president of Executive Coaching & Consulting Associates. He has been named one of the top 100 leadership thinkers by Executive Excellence Magazine. He practices the high-stakes art of helping talented people prepare for and succeed in senior level roles. Whether working in the public sector with Senior Executive Service leaders or in the private sector with CEOs and leadership teams, he brings clarity to core success issues, and provides savvy and supportive guidance in tackling them.

As a coach, Ira provides a stimulating and safe environment for executives and their teams to examine and improve their leadership and followership styles and processes. One-on-one onsite or remote coaching identifies and focuses on the strategic, organizational and political challenges and opportunities his clients face. When interpersonal dynamics need remedying, he involves all those who have a stake in the change process, analyzes their input and provides frank, constructive feedback. While focusing on the individual client, he engages the wider group in supporting the coaching process to give it the time needed to achieve the desired results.

As a consultant, Ira conducts in-depth analyses of organization strengths and weaknesses and facilitates strategy reviews and organization retreats. He helps clients streamline core business processes, navigate organizational and business transitions and enrich internal communication. He helps boards and senior executives clarify problematic situations, identifies options for addressing these and guides the leadership team in moving the organization from its existing state to a more desirable condition. He particularly enjoys working with mission-driven organizations whose social value generates deep commitment at all levels of the organization.

For examples of the type of work Ira does, see cases histories, Merging Exec Teams, Interpersonal Conflict, and the Strategic Planning Retreat workshop.

As an author and speaker, Ira focuses on the vital relationships between leaders and followers, exploring the rarely examined dynamic styles of followership that contribute to leadership and organization success. His groundbreaking book, The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders, 3rd edition, is recognized as a classic in the field and has been translated into multiple languages. The text book he has co-edited, The Art of Followership: How Great Followers Make Great Leaders and Organizations has been chosen for the highly esteemed Warren Bennis Leadership Series. Ira speaks about and conducts workshops on leader-follower dynamics for a wide range of organizations. For more information about this work see www.courageousfollower.net. Ira’s most recent book, Intelligent Disobedience: Doing Right When What You’re Told to Do Is Wrong was named the best new leadership book of 2015 by the University of San Diego, and is attracting attention from senior levels of the military to those engaged in early childhood development. For more information see www.irachaleff.com

Ira was a founding partner of the Institute for Business Technology, US. IBT now known as PEPWorldwide, conducts its popular “Personal Efficiency Programs” globally, providing seminars and coaching in work flow management for many Fortune 500 companies and government agencies. Ira has published numerous articles on Workload Management in the information age.

Ira has served as executive director of the Congressional Management Foundation, a non-profit group providing management training and consulting to congressional offices. He has facilitated over a hundred team building and planning retreats for individual congressional offices and has authored and edited several books and studies on management in political environments, Ira is now Chair Emeritus of the foundation.

Ira’s clients have included a wide range of organizations, among them:

Private Sector: Ernst and Young, LLP, GlaxoSmithKline, Kraft, Volvo
Non-Profits: AARP, Council of International Schools, Credit Union National Association, Georgetown University, National Democratic Institute, National Public Radio, Radio-Free Europe, National Rural Electric Cooperatives
Government: Federal Executive Institute, NASA, The Smithsonian Institution, US Department of Agriculture, US Army, US Navy, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, EU Commission

Ira holds a degree in Applied Behavioral Science and is a Board Certified Coach from the Center for Credentialing and Education. As of January 1, 2018 he completed two terms of board service for the International Leadership Association and is a Visiting Leadership Scholar at Cambridge University in England. Ira lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains outside of Washington, D.C., where he is adjunct faculty at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia.

This work at times includes designing and facilitating sessions internationally for organizations supporting democracy growth or even for the political leadership of emerging democracies themselves.

NIGERIA

Ira Chaleff was asked to design and conduct a strategic planning retreat for the leadership of the Senate of Nigeria which was held on February 3rd and 4th of 2001. The leaders and/or deputy leaders of the three major parties were present as well as several key committee chairmen. The retreat was sponsored by the National Democratic Institute which is deeply involved in helping Nigerians develop their democratic institutions after many years of living under military government.

We established four objectives for the retreat, all of which were met:

To develop the foundation of a shared vision, mission and values on which to build a strategic plan that has the passionate commitment and support of the Senate Leadership.
To identify mission-critical goals which the Leadership will proactively pursue for the balance of their term, and the processes for successfully implementing them.
To provide an experience of strategic planning which the participants can transfer to their other roles as party leaders and heads of their individual Senate offices.
To prepare the Senate Leadership for leading the full Senate Retreat the following week and maximizing the opportunity to win the strong support of their colleagues for their strategy to develop the institution and strengthen Nigerian democracy.

While political parties inherently vie with each other for power within a legislature, the Nigerian Senators demonstrated an impressive commitment to working together to strengthen their democratic institutions.

In a country of one hundred million citizens, in which ethnic and regional differences threaten the cohesion of the nation, National Unity emerged as the single most shared value to guide the political and policy choices the Senators would need to make during the remaining two years of their term.

The other widely shared values which emerged were Justice and Fairness, Fear of God (which I interpret to mean accountability to God), Service, Accountability and Transparency, to which the Senators individually, and collectively, committed themselves.

Six goals were drafted to form the core of the institution strengthening effort over the next two years, for discussion, modification and ratification at the full Senate retreat. The goals covered the issues of Institutional Development and Independence, Leadership Process, Budget Process, Intra and InterParty and Executive Relations, Committee System and Public Education on the legislative process.

It was an honor to work with such motivated, focused and collaborative political leaders, determined to seize the opportunities that history presented them to make a difference. The group adopted as its motto, “If not now, when?”

A similar, scaled-down version of the planning retreat was also held for the leadership of the House of Representatives. There was similar enthusiastic response to the tools offered them to help form a unified vision and plan.

In February 2004, Ira returned to Nigeria to help facilitate another retreat under the auspices of the National Democratic Institute for the full Senate of the National Assembly following the elections of 2003. This four-day retreat was attended by 102 of the 109 members of the Senate. It resulted in a communique outlining its resolutions for strengthening the workings of the Senate in the performance of its legislative duties. An implementation process has been established and will be closely monitored to ensure maximum benefit is derived from the excellent work that was done at the retreat.

The approach and processes used by ECCA in facilitating strategic planning are always adapted to the unique needs of the organization, its prior experiences, culture, governance structures, resources and preferences. When there is sufficient commitment to the process by an organization’s leadership, the group emerges not just with a written document, but with a “living” shared vision and set of values that the leadership team uses continuously to guide the organization.

SIERRA LEONE

In June, 2008, Ira Chaleff traveled to Sierra Leone to co-facilitate a Leadership Development and Planning Seminar for the leaders of the 3 political parties in the Sierra Leone parliament.

His co-facilitator was Ken Nnamani, former president of the Senate of Nigeria. Senator Nnamani and he autographed copies of their books for the parliamentary leaders.

The retreat focused on clarifying the roles of parliamentary leaders and the processes for maximizing collaboration across party lines. Mutually agreeable goals were identified for the leaders to bring back to their party membership as a step towards increased collaboration and parliamentary effectiveness.

Emily Barnes

January 30, 2012 By Emily

“Executive Coach” Senior Associate

To organizations and individuals adjusting to recent, current or anticipated change, Emily Barnes brings the strategic focus and competencies gained during fifteen years of diverse experience with various leadership, relationship, performance and communication challenges.

A consultant and strategy coach, Ms. Barnes helps clients create and implement new success strategies. She coaches diverse professionals to align their individual achievements to organizational goals, identify critical success factors for both, and streamline essential job functions. Her experience with work and people management issues common to professionals in positions of authority informs her skill in helping others navigate leadership, relationship, performance and communication challenges inherent in their roles. Ms. Barnes serves public and private sector clients facing short-term, troublesome problems as well as threats to their long-term success.As one executive stated, Emily Barnes is the empathic listener, sounding board, interpreter, and strategist wanted in tight situations.

LEADERSHIP – RELATIONSHIP – PERFORMANCE – PRODUCTIVITY – COMMUNICATION
The project summaries below provide a snapshot of Ms. Barnes’ work in these areas.

Government Agencies

Small Business Administration. Targeted assistance to aspiring entrepreneurs guided the planning, development and implementation of business start-up seminars.
The World Bank. Conducted personal efficiency programs throughout agency. Measurably improved productivity among several teams by aligning work habits and systems to role expectations.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Coached team of research scientists to improved performance in work management, leadership, and communication.
U.S. Department of State. Coached information technology manager and core team to integrated performance and improved productivity resulting in faster turnaround times for customer service requests.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Led the installation of work organization processes for legal team members who reported improved performance and less stress.
U.S. House of Representatives. Coached several representatives’ staff members to improved work management and personal efficiency.

Global Organizations

A team consulting effort focused on relationship management strategies designed to redefine, support, and strengthen leader-follower relationships.
Interpersonal communication vital to team-based projects created problems for managers during collaborative efforts. One-on-one coaching closed the gap between performance expectations and skills.

Media Organizations

Guided highly successful managers and support staff of international newspaper to analyze and improve team performance following restructuring.
Strategist and sounding board for senior staff member of national news staff resulted in decision making clarity and improbable success regarding career-threatening issues.

Private

New self-management and relationship management strategies along with no-lose problem solving resulted in better relations and outstanding performance among team members previously experiencing personality conflicts at a top ten university.
Negative performance ratings in certain communities required strategic planning, program development, and implementation of diverse projects for medium-sized bank.

Nonprofit

Increased lagging productivity among core training staff for national association serving senior citizens after a restructuring of departmental roles and positions.
Restructuring plus results from 360 assessments informed the team coaching strategy to prepare managers of national credit union association for expanding leadership roles.
Coordinated the planning, development and implementation of leadership programs for thirty-six high performing professionals in seven states.

AFFILIATIONS

Advisor – Council for the Advancement of Small Business, a George Washington University program which prepares MBA students for business management.

Consultant and Coach – Executive Coaching and Consulting Associates, a consortium of highly effective executive coaches and consultants who collaborate to meet the developmental needs of senior executives and their management teams.

Productivity Coach and Trainer – Institute for Business Technology, proprietary owner of Personal Efficiency Programs (PEP), training executives, managers and staff in eighteen countries to work smarter.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

The George Washington University, Washington, DC.
B.A., International Affairs, concentration in Psychology – 1988.

Effectiveness Training Institute, Solano Beach, CA.
Completed experiential coursework, Effective Communications – 1995.

Kari Uman

January 28, 2012 By Kari

“Executive Coach” Senior Associate

Kari Uman, Senior Associate of Executive Coaching & Consulting Associates in Fairfax, VA, has more than twenty-five years’ experience as a coach, consultant, and trainer. Her particular experience and interest in gender issues, and their impact on relationships and performance, enables her to help individuals change behaviors that are undermining their best efforts. As a professionally certified coach, Uman’s approach and methodology has helped executives and managers enhance leadership skills, improve relationships, develop better self-management capabilities and manage conflict more masterfully. In her work coaching women executives, she helps them become aware of self-limiting behaviors and attitudes, create a more positive self-image, explore the myths and beliefs that are undermining their effectiveness and develop both behaviors and strategies that enhance their success. Ms. Uman was recently featured in an article in Kinfolk Magazine, In Conversation: Group Dynamics.

Ms. Uman also works with teams: the interplay of one-on-one coaching with members of a team while simultaneously focusing on team dynamics has helped her clients develop collaborative behaviors and increase trust among team members, improve personal and team accountability, and improve productivity by individuals and the team as a whole. Ms. Uman specializes in gender dynamics within teams, woman-managed teams, and teams where women are in the majority. She helps these teams identify the behaviors that undermine others, and develop both an attitude and behaviors that help the team members and leaders become more powerful and effective.

As a certified organizational consultant, Ms. Uman specializes in conducting organizational assessments and developing reports that illuminate the patterns and themes of organizational behavior, enabling organizations to move positively and effectively into a successful future.

As an organizational trainer, Ms. Uman designs, develops and conducts a broad array of workshops including leadership development, teambuilding, career development, running effective meetings, and managing gender differences. She has received the certification as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) designated by the International Coaching Federation.

Her clients include:

Crestline Hotels
Georgetown University
Intelligence Community
National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Health
JBS International
Russell Reynolds Associates
American Psychological Association
Software Engineering Institute

Ms. Uman holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, a Master’s in Education from the University of Maine, and certificates in Organization Development and Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University. Her experience includes serving as an instructor at George Mason University, Georgetown University, Northern Virginia Community College and Mt. Vernon College. She is certified in aa array of assessments, including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) EI.20 (Emotional Intelligence) and EI 360, Change Management (Prosci) and was also certified by William Bridges and Associates to conduct workshops and provide consulting services on managing organizational transitions.

Mandeep Singh

January 26, 2012 By Ira Chaleff

“Executive Coach” Senior Associate

Mandeep partners with leaders who want to bring their own vision and passions into service for the world. This necessarily means deep inner work – increasing self-awareness and personal mastery, taking ownership and accountability, and expanding the ability to influence people and networks from within the system. While this may sound like hard work, in practice it tends to be completely natural, energizing, satisfying and fun. “Serious” and “impactful” are not correlated. Mandeep’s natural style is gentle, and his clients and he tend to forge long term, easy, trusted partnerships.

As a coach, Mandeep brings this experience, and his fundamental belief in each person’s innate abilities, to create the non-judgmental and energized space for leaders and teams to truly get in touch with what is important to them, and rev up the energy and momentum to make it happen. His clients take ownership of their own power. They also leverage their own observations to get deep insights into what’s holding them back and then break those habits. A number of his clients have reported their work together has been transformative.

In addition, these leaders and teams begin to accept the world as it shows up, rather than the way they wish it would. That accepted, they hold the courage of their convictions pragmatically, communicate their vision authentically and directly, and set about influencing the people, networks and systems of which they are part to create the enabling environments within which their organizations, projects and people succeed.

Mandeep considers himself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to express his passions through two completely different careers separated by two decades. The path of transition has been bumpy and fascinating, and has provided Mandeep the direct experience and insights which make him the coach he is.

Mandeep is also an Executive Coach with the American University Key Executive Leadership Programs.

As a consultant, Mandeep facilitates interventions with senior leadership teams, helping them surface key issues and create jointly owned action plans to solve them. He is adept at uncovering unclear, missing or misaligned roles and accountabilities, business process gaps, and unspoken organizational agreements on topics that are undiscussable. Mandeep can create environments within which teams bring up the elephant in the room.

Mandeep has a background that spans 35+ years of hands-on experience creating, and facilitating the creation of, solutions to complex problems involving multiple stakeholders. In his career, he has worked internationally, across cultures and organizational boundaries, to build IT Systems, reengineer business processes, provide organizational and innovation consulting services, nurture client and employee relationships, and grow companies in roles spanning coaching, facilitation, individual contribution, and project, line and executive management. He has done this within large international organizations, federal and local governments, non-profits, consulting companies, and start-ups.

MANDEEP’S CLIENTS have included a wide range of organizations:

Government & International Organizations: The World Bank Group; DFAS, EPA, FBI, FEMA, ICE, NIC (National Institution of Corrections), OCC, TSA, USSS; Fairfax County, VA.
Non-profit: US Green Building Council
Private Sector: Allegis Group, Phelan Hallinan & Schmieg, Progeny Advanced Genetics, Turner Construction (US); Applied Materials (USA, China & Taiwan); Grupo Elektra (Mexico); Tata Chemicals, North Delhi Power Limited, Samsung, IBM and Konkan Railways (India); and EFI (USA and India).

CERTIFICATIONS:

Georgetown University Certification in Leadership Coaching (CLC)
ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
The Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) & Collective Leadership
Hogan Assessments (Hogan Personality Inventory [HPI]; Hogan Development Survey [HDS]; Motives, Values, Preferences Inventory [MVPI])
Emotional and Social Competence Inventory (ESCI);
DiSC Assessment

EDUCATION:

MBA, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta
BSEE, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur

Marsha Hughes-Rease

January 25, 2012 By Marsha

“Executive Coach” Senior Associate

After fifteen years of coaching and consulting experience and over twenty five years of leadership experience at different organizational levels, Marsha Hughes-Rease partners with senior leaders and managers to address what she calls “swamp issues”, those really messy and complex challenges that can greatly diminish productivity, stakeholder satisfaction, financial performance and personal effectiveness in any organization.

As a coach, Marsha partners with her clients to help them “leverage” their strengths, enhance their executive presence, and increase their leadership effectiveness to optimize organizational performance. She believes in creating a safe and supportive environment where meaningful and outcome-focused conversations occur that can make a difference in individual or team performance. She has coached executives, senior leaders including expatriates temporarily assigned in the US, and senior leadership teams.

As consultant, Marsha helps organizations address their adaptive challenges, make tough strategic choices about what to change, develop sustainable change solutions, and manage the transition. When partnering with her clients, she uses an intentional and systems thinking approach to facilitate the surfacing of challenges impeding organizational performance and the “discovery” of internal best practices and positive deviances that can result in higher performance.

Marsha has extensive experience working in various industries including:

Education: Dufferin-Peel Catholic School District Board, Johns Hopkins Medical School, Louisiana State University, Mary Mount University, MeHarry Medical College, Robert W. Woodruff Library Center, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, University of Maryland, University of Louisville
Health Care: American Nurses Association, Georgia Rural Health Department, Center for Vein Restoration, Mott Hospital, Saint Agnes Hospital, Veterans Administration, Walter Reed National Medical Center
Nonprofit: AARP, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, HBCU Library Alliance, , National Children’s Center, National Osteoporosis Foundation, National Center for Prostate Research, Michigan Minority Business Development Center, World Vision (US)
Public: Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Agriculture, Department of Navy, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Health and Health Services, Fairfax County Department of Mental Health, Federal Reserve Bank, Georgia Public Health Department, National Park Service, Peace Corps, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Social Security Administration
Private/Multinational Business: Betaseed, Corning (North America), Concerro, Daimler (North America), Futrend, Inc., ESPN, First Bank of South Africa, L’Oréal, Plansee Group (Austria), ZF (Germany)

Marsha’s educational background includes:

MS, Organization Development, Johns Hopkins University
MS, Nursing Administration, George Mason University
Graduate Certificate in Group Facilitation, Johns Hopkins University
Graduate Certificate in Evidence-based Coaching, Fielding Graduate University

She has co-authored several articles and book chapters, designed and facilitated leadership development programs, facilitated small and large groups, and been invited to speak at both national and international conferences. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University. Marsha stays abreast with the most current thinking and research in coaching, leadership development, and organizational effectiveness through her professional affiliation with the International Leadership Association, International Coach Federation, and Institute of Coaching. Marsha is an International Coach Federation (ICF) certified coach. She is based out of Herndon, VA.