Julie Johnson

Biography: 

Julie has coached senior leaders across numerous functions and business sectors including Financial Services, Consumer Products, Retail, Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical, Professional Services as well as Law Firms.

Her engagements include issues dealing with the following:

Executive Leadership Development – Julie has worked with the Executive Committees from the following organizations:  Citibank, JP Morgan (and the Heritage Organization of Chase Manhattan Bank and JP Morgan), State Street, Ann Taylor, BlackRock, Pitney Bowes and the Rockefeller Foundation.  She has worked with senior management since the beginning of her career at Stanford Law School where she was a member of the Executive Team and Vinson and Elkins where she sat on the Executive Committee.  She understands the criteria for success at that level.

She is expert at helping executives operate at the next higher level of responsibility.  Julie helps executives adapt their style to ensure focus on important priorities while increasing delegation without abdication of responsibility and accountability.

Examples:

• CEO of Fortune 500 Financial Services company to clarify his leadership role and build relationships with key stakeholders and the Board.
• CFO of Consumer Products company to modify his interpersonal style to gain the trust of his peers, make difficult people and business decisions and improve performance.
• General Counsel of Manufacturing company to ensure that her on boarding into a corporate culture from a law firm partnership was successful and sustainable.

High Potential Development – High potential candidates are generally identified through the succession planning process of an organization or at the discretion of the manager.  Often the development needs are around how the skill set changes as an individual becomes more senior in an organization.  “What gets you there does not keep you there.”  Frequently the issues involve moving from being an individual contributor to a manager or executive.  The focus of the coaching ranges from skill identification to acting as a sounding board to test new skills in a more senior environment.

Examples:

• A young derivatives trader is promoted to manage a group of 300 sales and trading people.  Viewed as a promotion by the organization, the skill set of an individual contributor to a manager can be a big leap.  This trader has gone on to be a Vice Chairman of a Fortune 500 financial organization.
•  VP Credit Risk Management of a Fortune 500 Financial Services organization.   Helped to identify behaviors which had proved to be successful as she was moving up the ladder but were unacceptable at a more senior level.  “I can no longer throw my toys out of the pram,” she proclaimed as she understood the consequences of her behavior.

Women Executives:

Julie is currently working on a book and a major ground-breaking research project on Women Executives.  Julie has coached many of America’s most successful women in business.  Julie is involved in many women’s initiatives and organizations including the International Women’s Forum, The Circle Group of the National Council for Research for Women and the Stanford Business School Parity Project.

Examples:

• CEO of an Asset Management Organization who was newly appointed and relying on the functional skills that helped promote her to CEO.  She needed help in identifying new skills and how to implement them.
• SVP Marketing Services at Fortune 500 Financial Services company to lead more strategically and collaborate more effectively with other members of the senior management team.
• SVP of Risk Management in a Fortune 500 organization to recognize the importance of “branding” herself and taking charge of her career at a critical juncture.
• Addressing issues of VP of Government Affairs in medical device organization struggling with issues of having a seat at the table, peer relationships, self confidence and executive presence helped to make her successful.