Acknowledgements
Introduction
I: THE CORNER OFFICE SEEN THROUGH THE KEYHOLE OF EXECUTIVE COACHING
Executive Coaching in the Indian context
The Human Side of Leader Development
II: ENHANCING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
The Place of Emotional Intelligence in Leader Effectiveness—B J Prashantham
The Importance of the Emotional Side of your Personality
When the Flaw Turns Fatal
Low Self-Esteem Can Derail a Leader’s Career
III: SHAPING ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS
Why Attitudes and Beliefs Affect a Leader’s Effectiveness—Zahid Ganjee
Transporting the Winning Attitude
What Makes People Miserable
Executives Succeed When They Refuse to Become Victims of Their Circumstances
Celebrating the Feminine Side of a Woman’s Leadership Style
IV: DEVELOPING NEW SKILLS, STYLES AND BEHAVIOURS
Why Skills, Style and Behaviours Make Such a Huge Difference to a Leader’s Effectiveness—Santrupt Misra
Catching Up on Missed Managerial Learning Milestones
Developing This Mysterious Thing Called Executive Presence
Growing a Business through Disciplined Leadership
Helping the Chosen One Claim his Succession Space
V: ACQUIRING GLOBAL COMPETENCIES
Why Global Competencies Are So Critical Today—Anil Sachdev
When Indian Executives Must Measure up to Global Benchmarks
It Takes Innovation and Effort to Crack the Competency Code
VI: MANAGING CAREER TRANSITIONS
Why Career Transitions are Always Challenging—Aroon Joshi
Waking Up and Smelling the Coffee
The Anxiety of Not Having a Position of Authority
Revisiting Functional Leadership
The Need for a Coach-Mentor Partnership to Facilitate Radical Career Shift
VII: GRAPPLING WITH EMERGING EXECUTIVE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL AGENDAS
How Do Executives and Entrepreneurs Grapple with Their Compelling Agendas—R Ramaraj
When a Young Entrepreneur Has to Make a Life-Altering Decision
Coaching Principles Applied to Peer to Peer Business Mentoring
The Importance of a Thinking Partner
VIII: ENHANCING COACHING EFFECTIVENESS
What Contributes to Coaching Effectiveness—R R Nair
The Power of Public Accountability in Influencing Change
It Takes Trust, Time and Team Work to Succeed
The Pygmalion Effect in Coaching
An Introduction to Typical Coaching Processes and Some of the Frequently Used Terms

This book is a collection of 25 inspiring stories about the unique and personal developmental journey of 25 senior leaders towards the corner office. Seen through the eyes of their Executive Coaches, each of these stories tell us how they found answers to critical questions such as ‘Am I ready for it?’, ‘How do I prepare to get there?’, ‘How do I learn to succeed once I get there and how can I enjoy the journey while I am at it?’ The term ‘corner office’ is really a metaphor for anything significant that these leaders wanted to achieve in their professional careers and personal lives.

This unique collection of coaching stories is meant to inspire, help and educate many other leaders who are on a similar quest.