News & Insight
October 2014

WJM Coach of the Month - Robert Patraw, Ph.D.

With over 20 years’ experience developing top leaders, Dr. Robert Patraw spearheads WJM’s High Impact Executive Coaching practice – a concentrated approach to development that involves fast and deep emersion followed by “field testing” of learned skills. Bob’s program is designed for critical situations where an executive is looking to change a core behavior over a short period of time, and to sustain that change over the long-term.

In this process, Bob and one additional WJM coach collaborate to provide an intensive offsite experience to the client receiving coaching. Various assessment instruments, 360° feedback, role playing and scenario planning are used to dramatically increase the executive’s self-awareness and rapidly empower him or her to enact the behavioral shifts desired by the sponsoring organization. Following the offsite, the leader receives ongoing coaching for several months to sustain gains, continue new behaviors and develop additional skills.

WJM’s client organizations, and the leaders being coached, are consistently amazed at the changes Bob helps these individual leaders achieve.

Bob first became interested in corporate life while working with on-campus recruiters. Through discussions with corporate staff he began to think about the importance of personal fit with corporate cultures and the impact of corporate realities on life as a whole. He began to understand that some of the individuals who were looking for work had a limited ability to build relationships with individuals whose style did not closely match their own or to find ways to adapt to the culture of the organization. This quickly resulted in his first forays into the world of executive coaching.

Outside of coaching, Bob has pursued interests in radio-controlled aircraft, whitewater kayaking and hiking. He has also served as an audio engineer and TV director for a large church. Bob has taught clinical counseling classes employing his temperament model for use in counseling.

Client Feedback:

My primary reason for participating in WJM’s High Impact Coaching, with Dr. Patraw was to rapidly improve my ability to deal with difficult customers both internally and externally, under very challenging circumstances. My way of responding to frustrating conflicts with others was impeding critical progress on a high profile project. Bob provided both a much needed fast start to my development as a leader, as well as a depth of self-awareness and an ability to manage myself in difficult circumstances that has made all the difference in my success as a leader.

- Senior Scientist, Major U.S. Government Contractor

Click here for two case studies featuring Dr. Patraw’s approach to “just in time” development.

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