Most careers don’t begin at age 7.

But, for Dr. Aaron Shaffer, it did. He started at a Westinghouse facility, helping his father administer selection testing for sheet metal workers. At the time, his father was one of the only five industrial-organizational psychologists in the country.

Aaron went on to earn a doctorate in industrial-organizational psychology. He’s spent the past 25+ years coaching leaders and diagnosing organizational challenges through his specific lens combining organizational development, data science, engineering, psychology, and business. 

His executive coaching approach is built around the individual. Each client brings a different context, a different set of challenges, and a different way of thinking. This, combined with his vast experience in organizational development, helps leaders get where they want to go (last year, when coaching 5 C-Suite contenders, 4 out of 5 of his clients were chosen for their desired position). 

Individual Executive Coaching Requires Applying the Right Tool at the Right Time

Aaron’s individualistic approach to coaching requires different ‘toolkits’ and coaching frameworks. He begins by asking his clients a few questions:

• Where do you want to go in their career (and your life)?
• What skills or behavior changes can you apply today? 
• What is your learning style – how do you take in and process information?

Depending on the answers, a different set of tools becomes relevant. He often says to clients, “sometimes it’s easier to behave your way to a new way of thinking, the think your way to a new way of behaving.”

He says, “I’d rather have usability than perfection or comprehensiveness.” A tool the client will actually use in their Monday morning meeting is worth more than an ideal, perfect framework they will shelve.

Preparing Executives by Improving Emotional Intelligence

Between 2010 and 2011, the Army and University of Pennsylvania research conducted research on “total soldier readiness,” a study on the small percentage of combat veterans who become stronger and more resilient post-deployment.

The research focused on what separated roughly 10% of combat veterans with increased resilience from the rest. The answer pointed to strong social relationships, well-developed emotional intelligence, and attention to physical fitness, nutrition, and sleep. These same variables that determine resilience under fire also determine resilience in the corner office.

Aaron now brings a version of this thinking to some of his executive clients. He gives them a resilience assessment, brings in conversations about metabolic health, sleep, diet, and movement. He also draws on philosophy, specifically Taoism, as a framework for helping people return to center. He says, “We’re all going to feel anxiety, stress, sadness. That’s fine. But your ability to bounce back, and bounce up – that we can develop.”

Aaron Shaffer’s Coaching Philosophy

Aaron coach’s from identity first, using evidence, structure, and systems thinking to help leaders transform how they see themselves, how they make decisions, and how they operate in complex environments all through practical, immediately applicable tools that drive resilience, impact, and durable change.

He adapts his coaching style to each person’s learning style, organizational context, and goals. Some clients need someone to hold them accountable, while others need a thinking partner.

On any given day, he might be on a call with a CEO about organizational strategy, then with a board member about managing a difficult employee, then with an executive working through imposter syndrome, and he welcomes that variability.

He believes that at the top of an organization, people filter what they share. Showing uncertainty during a period of change can cause ripple effects through the entire workforce, which is why it’s important to have a trusted advisor that executives can use to talk through strategies and situations.

As Aaron puts it: “It’s not that you can’t be occasionally vulnerable, but we want to see our leaders as having some degree of certainty and confidence and if you show a lack of confidence during a time of change in your company, that can be extremely unsettling for the entire workforce.”

About Aaron Shaffer

Dr. Aaron Shaffer is a business executive and industrial-organizational psychology consultant based in California. With over 25 years of international experience, he has worked with individuals, teams, and organizations on leadership development, creating high-performing teams, improving resilience, change management, and building cultures of adaptability.

In his corporate career, he served as the Sr. Director of Talent at Motorola, where he led global leadership development and worked with key talent to develop personal effectiveness, build teams, manage stress, improve efficiency, and drive business results. At ITT Industries, Dr. Shaffer led the identification and development of succession candidates and high-potential employees through individual coaching and formal development.

On the personal side, he enjoys hiking, camping, family time, adventure travel, and road cycling.  He is a competitive athlete and brings that same focus, drive, and spirit of teamwork to his coaching, teaching, and consulting practice.