The best team is the one you've already got. Erich knows how to get a team firing on all cylinders -- no matter how inexperienced the team or the leader is.
Get your team working better than ever with leadership coaching from Erich Viedge.
Erich has led large organisations
Erich led a 2,500 person organisation to a 12% year-on-year growth.
Erich is a LightWalker Coach
Erich is an accredited LightWalker coach. This is more than simply attending the courses and completing the projects. Coaches have to benchmark their skills according to strict requirements to be accredited. Learn more at LightWalkerCoaching.com
Multi-national experience
Erich's leadership experience extends working for American and French multi-nationals, as well as across Africa, including countries such as Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Cameroun and Gabon.
Leading without incentives
Erich has led a volunteer organisations where he and his team met all the organisation's KPIs without paying bonuses – or even salaries!
Multi-cultural expertise
Erich speaks several African and European languages, and has worked with European, Australian, American and African clients. He is an expert on cross-cultural dynamics
A leader outside work
Erich holds leadership positions outside work where he builds communities.
If this is your first coaching experience
What to expect from your session
You can talk about anything
I'm not a therapist. I'm a coach. But the way you lead your team mirrors the way your lead your family. Your friend relationships have similar dynamics to the relationships you have with colleagues.
If you want to use the time strictly for business, that's great.
But if you need to talk about something personal, that's a perfectly OK too. The coaching conversation always has a ripple effect across your whole life.
How we treat confidentiality
If your company is paying for the session, they need to know if you had the session of if you cancelled. That's it.
Anything we discuss is strictly between the two of us.
Sometimes I might feel I could have handled the conversation better. That's when I go to my own coach and I may talk about the session. But even then, it's not about what you and I discussed -- it's about improving my skill levels to support you better.
You can talk about anything (Part 2)
We live in South Africa, which, like all societies, carries some wounds. We carry the legacy of Apartheid, which means sometimes our relationships have a racial component. Our society is mostly patriarchal, which means our gender plays a role.
If you need to have a conversation about race, queerness or anything else, I can listen.
It's your session, so you can talk about anything you need to talk about. My job is to make you feel safe enough to do that.
You are in charge
You set the agenda of what would be most helpful to talk about. The coach literally has no agenda.
In-person or on-line?
I work on Zoom. If your organisation blocks Zoom, you're welcome to send a Teams link, or we can work on WhatsApp or FaceTime if you prefer.
What to expect from a coaching session
How should I prepare?
The most productive conversations are the ones where you've had a problem or an issue of some sort and you've tried a bunch of solutions. Some of them may have worked, some of them may not have, and you're looking for some input.
What else do I need to know?
I may ask you to draw or doodle, so bring a pen and some blank paper. Drawing can be a powerful way to find different ways to think about the same old problem.
I also sometimes use the LightWalker deck of cards as a prompt. The cards are a set of 66 statements and images which can sometimes be surprisingly provocative in finding new ways to approach something you may be stuck with.
What haven't I thought of?
Some practical tips include: Find a quiet place, especially where you won't be overheard. If your workplace has meeting rooms with glass walls and doors, sit with your back to the door. If you're comfortable, use headphones. Turn off your email and turn off notifications on your phone for the session. You don't want to be interrupted.
Sometimes unexpected emotions come up. Maybe grab some tissues, just in case.
Before the lockdown, Erich did some standup comedy (This is a very old picture)
What makes Erich a good coach for you (or not?)
Advertising and creative experience
I had a successful career in advertising, both as a copywriter and as client service. I've stayed connected to the marketing world through my clients and have coached ad agencies through some successful (and not so successful) pitches.
I also ran The Digital Edge Podcast for Native (at the time), which was an award-winning podcast in the digital marketing space.
PR and Journalism experience in IT and Financial Services
I was an award-winning journalist in the IT and Financial Services space for many years. I also successfully ran the South African blog programme for a US Consulting firm. This means that all the blog posts from that consulting firm to do with financial services and IT were ghost-written by me. So I have a lot of knowledge of both of those industries.
I've been (and am still) a successful public speaker
I coached (and continue to coach) public speakers, executives who want to be more effective at delivering their messages, and people who want to win public speaking competitions. I've coached a Southern African champion, for example, as well as top executives in manufacturing, banking and retail. I am a past All-African public speaking championship finalist myself and have spoken at conferences in South Africa, Malawi and Australia.
Where I've used my top class facilitation and conflict resolution skills
I'm a trained and qualified Participlan facilitator. I also do graphic recording and visual facilitation.
I've worked in manufacturing and logistics running executive breakaway sessions. I found a niche in supplier relationship management, especially repairing broken relationships between warehousing operations and sales companies, or between principals and sub-contractors.
My coaching skills make me good at resolving conflict between people and organisations. I also bring this into my couples coaching work.
I've worked with executive teams in IT, Financial Services, Banking, the NGO sector, industrial (heavy) manufacturing and retail. I know very little about Mining and have done no work in Healthcare or Aviation.
Some of my interests include...
I've written about 30 songs and some day I may record an album.
I sing tenor in the Johannnesburg Queer Chorus (JQC.org.za)
I've recently started drawing again and I lead the Drawing In Joburg Meetup group.
I speak six languages, including German, French and Zulu.
I live in Johannesburg with my two partners, three children and two pets.
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