Executive Development in Real Time: Embedded in the Work
“Nothing changes until something changes.”
Executives rarely have dedicated time to focus on their own leadership behavior. Their world is defined by full calendars, high-stakes decisions, and competing priorities – with little opportunity for stepping away from the work. Yet executives still recognize when something in their leadership needs to change. The question is not whether to develop, but how.
Bob Morris, an executive coach with over two decades of leadership experience at companies including PepsiCo, Cardinal Health, and Celgene, believes that executive growth must happen in real time and in real situations. “Executives learn to lead differently by doing the work differently. One real moment at a time.”
Bob uses validated assessments to help executives clarify what matters most for their effectiveness and identify a specific behavior they want to change. From there, the focus shifts immediately to how that change will show up in the work.
He begins with a simple, practical question:
“What, exactly, are you going to do differently this week?”
Rather than separating development from work, Bob anchors leadership growth directly to critical activities already on the executive’s agenda—staff meetings, Board presentations, important decisions, customer interactions, and sensitive people issues. These are the moments where leadership behaviors show up and where different choices can change outcomes.
The work itself doesn’t change. What changes is how the leader behaves in the moment.
Embedding Leadership Growth in Daily Work
Bob’s coaching approach reflects his years as a senior leader in complex organizations. It rests on a straightforward premise: meaningful behavior change happens fastest when a leader is clear about what they want to do differently and intentionally applies that change in real situations.
Each coaching session focuses on upcoming business activities where leadership choices matter. Bob and the executive identify specific situations ahead where a different approach could influence the outcome. Together, they think through the dynamics of that moment: likely issues, sources of resistance, expectations, possible conflict, and desired results.
The executive enters the situation with clear intent: how they want to show up, what they want to do differently, and what choices they want to make when it matters most.
Reflect and Learn From What Happened
In the following session, Bob uses an “after-action” approach to help the executive make sense of what unfolded. The leader reflects on how their actions aligned with their intent, the impact of the choices they made, and what influenced moments where things unfolded differently than planned.
The focus is learning. What did this situation reveal? What got in the way? What would you adjust next time? Those insights are then carried forward into the next real leadership moment.
Over time, this cycle builds awareness, adaptability, and consistency in how the executive leads.
The Focus Is on Leading Differently
This approach is effective because it places responsibility for development on the leader while drawing on the coach’s experience to add structure, challenge, and perspective. Executives decide what they want to change and where that change matters most in real situations in their work.
Bob helps them think through how to lead differently in those moments, anticipating pressure, resistance, and competing demands, so intent translates into action. Leaders then reflect honestly on the impact of their choices and refine their approach going forward.
Bob Morris: Credibility Built on Real Experience
Bob’s coaching perspective comes from an unconventional path: naval service, senior manufacturing leadership, and executive roles in organizational development and talent management. “I don’t fit the mold of a typical coach,” he says. “I didn’t come through HR or a coaching program.”
What he brings instead is lived experience. “I’ve managed manufacturing operations, carried P&L responsibility, and led executive development in Fortune 50 companies. I may not have sat in their exact chair, but I’ve sat in very similar ones, with very similar challenges.”
About Bob Morris
Bob Morris is a former U.S. Naval officer, manufacturing leader, and senior talent management executive. His coaching reflects a deep understanding of the competing demands faced by leaders in large, complex organizations.
His approach is practical, direct, and grounded in action. Rather than separating development from the work, Bob embeds it directly into the leader’s real responsibilities – their decisions, meetings, and interactions. He provides candid feedback and support, helping executives see how they are leading in the moment and make deliberate choices about how they want to lead next time.
Bob specializes in coaching senior executives and high-potential leaders, using assessments to focus attention, but embedding development in the real work, where behavior actually changes.
