Arete Coach 1112 Vistage: Pioneers of Chair Facilitated Peer Executive Groups, 65 Year Anniversary
- S1E1112
- 1:13:41
- February 6th 2023
This is episode 1,112 of the Arete Coach Podcast with host Severin Sorensen with another episode that explores the art and science of executive coaching. In this episode, we explore the power of peers and professionally facilitated peer executive groups, and in particular, we deep dive into the Vistage model as it celebrates its 65th year anniversary.
In addition to reviewing the historical research on the environment that cultivated TEC-Vistage, the founding of the company and its early history, this episode includes remarks and input from dozens of Vistage chairs and stakeholders passed and present.
In this episode, we explore the important role of the ancient vizier, advisor, privy councils and their parallels to the modern Chair role played in professionally facilitated executive peer groups. In a Vistage Group, a Chair is an executive coach, who is at times a coach, mentor, and facilitator of the peer executive group.
Vistage differentiates itself from other business focused self-help groups by providing professional facilitation by an executive coach called the Chair, who has had significant prior business experience and deep training in coaching skills and executive peer group facilitation. The Vistage Chair role is to facilitate the peer group discussions, asking questions to draw out the expertise of the group members experiences and ideas, and periodically provide expert advice and guidance to the members when asked, while fostering a culture of trust, confidentiality, and open communication among the members.
The goal of the chair in this model is to help members gain new perspectives, solve problems, and make better decisions by sharing their experiences and learning from one another. This and much more is explored in this episode of the Arete Coach Podcast.
The Arete Coach Podcast seeks to explore the art and science of executive coaching. You can find out more about this podcast at aretecoach.io.
This session was recorded on January 28th, 2023 via Zoom video. This session also includes dozens of interview callouts from current and former Vistage chairs and stakeholders from Arete Coach podcast recorded since April of 2020.
Copyright © 2023 by Arete Coach™ LLC. All rights reserved.
Arete Coach: Exploring the Art and Science of Executive Coaching
“Arete Coach Podcast" Explores the "Art and Science" of Executive Coaching hosted by Severin Sorensen. The “Arete Coach Podcast" is for executive coaches and anyone considering becoming an executive coach. The podcast is especially valuable to executive coaches who are lifetime learners with deep curiosity about the "art and science" of coaching. In this podcast, the ‘art of coaching’ is explored through engaging interviews with leading executive coaches from diverse backgrounds sharing their individual coaching journeys, learnings, methods, best questions, and situational approaches to executive coaching. Beyond best practices, the podcast will regularly mine research on the ‘science of coaching’ and explores ongoing scientific discoveries and studies looking for what works and why, with an aim to improve the core body of knowledge for executive coaches and the industry. Severin Sorensen has provided over 7,500 hours of paid executive coaching sessions and he holds the following coaching certifications: ICF/ACSTH Certified Executive Coach (CEC), Certified Organizational Development Coach (CODC), Certified Life Coach (CLC); and the IAC: Coach Masteries Practioner. Severin Sorensen has an M.Phil in Economics at King's College, Cambridge University, and undergraduate degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of Utah.
The Arete Coach Podcast is the copyright of Arete Coach LLC.
Severin Sorensen is host of the Arete Coach Podcast, where he interviews executive coaches and researchers with the aims to celebrate and explore the art and science of executive coaching today.
Severin is a senior executive coach, serial entrepreneur and lifetime learner with a passionate curiosity about people and businesses. Severin is the CEO of ePraxis LLC, a premier level retained search firm that provides executive headhunting, talent selection, and executive coaching. (www.epraxis.com)
Severin is a certified coach with an IAC Masteries Practitioner designation and 800+ hours of ICF/ACSTH and other advanced training in Executive Coaching, Organizational Development, EOS, Life Coaching, Emotional Intelligence (EQ), and Positive Intelligence (PQ). Severin has over 7,500+ hours of paid executive coaching working with high performing executives, owners, and operators of public and private companies throughout North America.Severin's coaching clients include boards of directors, CEOs, Presidents, GMs, COO, CFO, CTO, VP Engineering, VP Talent, and many other positions.
Severin lives in Park City , Utah and his virtual coach practice includes clients throughout the Americas.
From 2010-2018 Severin was a Vistage Chair where he coached three CEO and Key executive groups. In 2011, Severin received the "Rookie of the Year Chair Award" from Vistage. Since 2013, Severin has added international speaking for Vistage, CEO conferences, executive peer groups, and corporations on the topic of identifying and hiring difference making top talent.
In terms of the types of clients coached, Severin has coached new CEOs (with less than 2 years experience), large company executives (e.g., Managing Director of Rio Tinto), numerous high-growth entrepreneurs operating INC 5000 businesses, multi-generational family owned businesses, and primary-equity business owners who are still actively managing their companies. Severin has experience coaching both private and public company executives and their executive teams.
Severin's own coaching practice is tool based, using diagnostics, surveys, and Socratic questioning to get to root issues. You can learn more about Severin at epraxis.com (insights), LinkedIn, Quora, and Twitter. If you think you might be a good fit for executive coaching with Severin, he is happy to give you a free test drive coaching session to see if this would be good for you and your team. You can book a free test-drive 30 min coaching huddle at: calendly.com/epraxis.