CEO Today is delighted to present an exclusive interview with Cecile Leburton, the inspirational founder of Les Pertinences. Cecile is a Master Coach MCC and supervisor. She supports leaders and executive teams, trains people managers, and also works as a senior consultant in skills assessment.
How are approaches for supervision and executive coaching different, and what are the benefits for a leader in using them?
These two approaches allow leaders to take time to reflect on what they do, how they do it, and why they do it.
Supervision offers a reflective space to explore leadership topics with a supervisor's guidance. This enables the leader to shift their perspective, identify new solutions to their challenges, and sustain high energy levels.
Coaching focuses on a specific goal that we define at the outset and work on over a few weeks. This approach helps the leader achieve their goal quickly with guidance, transform certain behaviors, and sharpen their skills.
Could you share an example of coaching transforming an executive team?
I remember a leadership team meeting filled with palpable tension. Trust had eroded after poorly managed changes, leaving each director defensive and focused more on disagreements than on guiding the organization. Egos clashed, turning every discussion into a power struggle. Over four months, I conducted a team assessment to reflect employees' voices, helped the group revisit its mission and purpose, and co-created a trust contract. By transforming individual egos into assets for the team, we replaced mistrust with collective intelligence. The challenges were immense, but seeing this team rebuild and thrive remains one of my proudest achievements.
How can executive coaching help leaders balance performance demands with ease?
In a high-stakes role, leaders must cultivate a keen capacity for discernment. As a coach, I reveal and protect this essential discernment, empowering leaders to navigate their responsibilities with clarity and resilience. The power of coaching lies in the ability to identify which skills are optimal and which need development in a leader. This often requires stepping back and accepting the need to change behaviors to achieve different results. As leaders enhance their skills, I turn these improvements into powerful action levers. Moreover, aspects of people management are real challenges to tackle. In this regard charisma is not innate; it is a talent that must be cultivated. Coaching helps to develop this skill for the benefit of teams, the organization, and managers. With online coaching, we connect from anywhere, and I proudly partner with clients across France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.
How does your acting background enhance your approach to business coaching, particularly with leaders?
I'm going to share a secret with you: when I was a young business coach, my mentor told me, "Cecile, if you want to work with executives, whatever you do, don't reveal your past as an actress!" Given my rebellious spirit, I didn't follow his advice. Today, I'm proud of that decision because it has become my trademark. I see many similarities between the business world and the theater: power plays, group dynamics, competition, solidarity, the distribution of leading roles, the quest for meaning, the need for purpose, along with the importance of working on visibility. I love developing my clients' creativity, as it is a powerful lever. Boldness is often necessary if one wants to grow their leadership.
