Tammie Hilend is an acclaimed coach supporting individuals and teams through her fast-growing Pivot Positive, launched in 2022. With decades of experience leading global firms in business technology strategies, she equips clients to manage the ever-increasing rate of technological change. She brings compassion and humanity to the coaching space, guiding clients to make breakthroughs, develop new capabilities, and transform.
Tammie, what is it that motivates you to work with companies and individuals to support their growth? Why did you decide to start Pivot Positive and how has it grown?
I've enjoyed over 30 years in leadership roles solving business problems and creating breakthrough products while collaborating with and mentoring amazing colleagues. Pivot Positive provides the perfect convergence of my favourite things: developing effective strategies to solve hard problems through identifying strengths, and discovering new ways of working and cultivating client growth. We have grown from concept to a thriving practice of over 50 clients in less than two years purely through my existing network and client referrals.
How does your background in technology help you to support your clients now and how does your knowledge of the technology industry help you to build Pivot Positive?
Technology permeates every aspect of business and is advancing at an intensifying rate. It requires tact to leverage where and when to apply technology. Systems thinking, which originated from technology development, is equally applicable to people and how they interact, co-create, resolve conflict, and support one another. People and technology are intrinsically intertwined; my goal is to see them working together inside well-designed, intentional, and healthy systems.
What is your typical leadership style and how has this changed over time to adapt to the different roles and situations?
My leadership style is transformational and targeted. At the core of any successful engagement is curiosity and clarity of the mission. I start by understanding how an enterprise or individual envisions their future, realistically evaluating their starting point, and taking brave steps to develop capabilities and achieve meaningful growth. As coach, I ask the client empowering questions and provide tools to help them lead the process. By pairing my expertise with open communication, I aid the client in achieving their vision in a sustainable way. I do not prescribe specific solutions, but guide clients through their own ideation, pressure testing, and implementation.
Why is it important to tailor each coaching program to the client and how do you ensure the client is receiving the support they need?
People and organizations are dynamic and organic. It is vital to understand a client's priorities, their current state, positioning in their career/organization/market, and where they want to go. I apply best practice coaching techniques and tools to formulate and continually iterate a tailored plan to define their individual vision, values, methods, and measures of success.
Can you tell us about a time when Pivot Positive was able to support a client and reach a successful outcome, what was the process and how did you work with the client to achieve this?
I recently supported a large, international company with the integration of a regional acquisition half its size. The client recognized they needed deep acquisition expertise to organize and mobilize this integration from a talent, technology, and process perspective. I initiated the engagement with individual and team interviews to formulate clear integration objectives, governance structure, and a regional operating model design.
Through carefully planned workshops, teaming agreements, cultural assimilation exercises, and individual and team coaching, we defined a comprehensive vision for the future. I also use a technique of defining the operating paradox: where are strategies in conflict or incongruent with that vision for the future? By naming these disconnects and having honest and constructive discussions, we were able to make difficult choices about how the team would operate differently and hold one another accountable. No doubt old habits die hard, but we made significant progress with an actionable roadmap for this newly created team. As a neutral and experienced third party, I built trust and spoke truth to power in a way that served the team and moved the organization forward.
How would a company know if they need your services? What would be your advice to a company that was thinking about getting coaching support?
When teams are newly forming, reorganizing, disengaged, or struggling to respond to market pressures, they should consider team and leadership coaching. Overly stressed or "checked out" colleagues are expensive, often resulting in a downward spiral of productivity and an increase of regrettable employee attrition. Many companies are reactive to these situations. Being proactive in anticipation of a major change or stressor can help retain top talent and reduce lost productivity.
Finally, what can we expect to see from Pivot Positive in 2024? What are you excited about this year?
I look forward to expanding our work with the launch of our strategy and leadership framework, considering new ways of working, and navigating actionable paths to clients' success. A cohesive, congruent strategy and healthy, collaborative team can maximize productivity and ultimately boost the organization's earnings.
