What Clients Say
I had the privilege of benefitting from Tony’s executive coaching for several years. My professional career spans academic, research, industrial, national governmental and international organizations across several continents. Along the way I had the opportunity to participate in a variety of leadership and management training programs. None were remotely as effective as the focused, one-on-one executive coaching provided by Tony.Tony worked with me in the assessment and development of my leadership skills. He helped me to differentiate between institutional and personal goals and concerns, and established very clear and useful distinctions between leadership and management. Tony also worked with me to develop greater analytical objectivity in dealing with institutional challenges, while also encouraging me to trust in my intuition and take calculated risks.
Overall, his coaching process allowed me to explore and mature my own leadership style, a style that is effective while also reflecting my value systems and priorities. This has enabled me to develop authentic institutional growth agendas guided by a long-term strategic vision rather than by the short-term urgencies often imposed by external pressures or by artificial problems created by the organizations themselves.
Throughout the whole executive coaching process Tony was consistently insightful and engaged, providing motivation and encouragement while also being very candid and direct. He provided clear, informed and relevant advice and feedback rather than platitudes and general suggestions. This enabled me to develop and test new approaches to address difficult and long-standing institutional problems and to handle interpersonal issues among staff.
In the coaching process Tony expected accountability and provided very specific performance assessments. Through an ongoing dialog we continuously identified the most result-critical areas to focus on. Together, these elements created a highly productive learning environment. Tony always demonstrated absolute integrity in his advice, and scrupulously respected confidentiality issues.
Tony brings to everything he does great intellectual and analytical depth, as well as his own very broad experience derived from having worked for a wide spectrum of organizations, from small companies to large corporations, and from financial institutions to high-tech organizations. He combines this with a keen intuition, an understanding of the social dynamics of the workplace, and a deep respect for individual human beings. Together, these competencies allow him to cut through the fog and quickly drill down to the core issues hampering personal or institutional performance. As a result, he is able to tailor his executive coaching to the specific needs and resources of the individual and the organization, building on what each individual brings to the table.
What Tony expects from others, he demands from himself, and the depth he brings to the coaching process reflects the diversity of his own experience. I had the privilege of walking with Tony, sharing my journey with him and learning from an expert. I have been deeply blessed along the way.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Tony for many years of executive coaching at Sigue Corporation. Tony has been an incredible sounding board, and his insightful coaching, down to earth demeanor and understanding of complex business issues, have helped me to develop my leadership skills, overcome many difficult career obstacles and become the Chief Financial Officer at Sigue Corporation. I would recommend Tony to any executive that wants to achieve full potential and be successful in any professional environment.
Tony worked with our company in the role of professional/executive coach…We felt very fortunate to meet Tony and were very pleased with the results he was able to produce.Tony exhibited a deep level of knowledge of business and management. He well understood the conflicting needs that can naturally exist in a company. We were impressed how Tony approached his assignment. He collected background information, quickly began to understand the nuances of our business and was able to get underway …in a very short period of time…
At all times, Tony displayed the utmost professionalism and maintained strict confidentiality boundaries. He was cognizant of our time, making every meeting efficient and to the point. Tony displayed an excellent balance—nurturing, yet knew when to lean on people. We were impressed with how he was able to evaluate performance and to help lay out a road map for concreted, results-oriented actions…He is a wonderful resource and a delight to work with.
Please accept my thanks for a job well done. Everyone you…interviewed had nothing but kind things to say about the professionalism with which the task was completed. I found your report to be comprehensive, informative, articulate, and persuasive.
Please allow me this opportunity to thank you for your professional approach and handling of a very sensitive issue that existed within our organization. I think of you much like a surgeon in that you methodically approached a malignancy which existed in our structure and with skill and forethought removed the disease. The operation was a success!
I want to compliment you on the excellent coaching you gave the Sigue executive team in preparing for their Board presentations. The progress they made from the first time I saw their presentations to the weekend retreat was terrific! Great coaching on your part. I can also see the coaching that you have provided individuals and the team over the last two years has been really beneficial to them. The coaching you have provided…has really helped…develop leadership. You should be very proud of what you have accomplished. I find your style of professionalism, no nonsense approach, encouraging leadership as a real asset. You are a pleasure to work with.
On behalf of the CalFest Board of Directors, I am taking this opportunity to thank you for participating, as a speaker, at our…Annual Convention…in Las Vegas…The comments received on the evaluations have been extremely positive, and you can count yourself among those who did an outstanding job…We appreciate the sharing of your expertise and the time, energy and effort you put into your presentation.
Global Executive SearchTony Mulkern asked us to conduct executive searches for a client of his. The subsequent relationship I’ve had with Tony over the last five years has been one of the most productive and enjoyable I’ve had over a forty year career. He is incredibly responsive, easily accessible and very approachable. Tony is one of those rare consultants who really gets it. He has a very effective communications style and can be counted on for his leadership, empathy and genuine concern for doing the right thing. Tony is an incredibly valuable asset and one to be treasured. Our partnership with him contributed to outstanding outcomes and extremely high client satisfaction.
With Tony’s coaching…we’re seeing an increase in volume…We had been bumping along at the same level for a number of years, but from our last report, it looks like overall we’ll be up close to 100%. And our Westside location, John Keefe Company…has grown 140% since Tony began work with us. It really went up! …Tony is very personable, very candid—a straight shooter. He doesn’t hold back…. He said, “You gotta back off of some of your control issues.” …What we found is that if you give everybody the opportunity to have some input on a problem, people you don’t hear from every often have valid things to say, and it becomes a team effort. I’ve got guys who are empowering everybody below them and beside them to get the job done. What’s driving the company now is managers who are saying, “Hey, let’s set some goals and I’ll give you all the support I can.” Also, our work load has gone up, yet the amount of people hasn’t gone up in proportion….Now we’re creating an executive committee of upper management that will work together more as an executive management company would, at the larger companies….I told Tony, “You know, the dynamics of our company are…changing. I hear people talk differently today.”
How has Tony Mulkern’s coaching helped evolve my business to be all that I hoped? My goal has been to grow revenues while increasingly focusing on helping high net worth individuals to find a greater sense of freedom and joy in their financial security. The figures for percentage growth are astronomical. My gross revenue increased 97% in the last two years. My net revenue – which is even more important because it’s what I get to take home – has increased by 150 percent. I’ve grown my staff, I’m working fewer hours and making more money – and my partner and I are working together more effectively and enjoying our differences rather than resenting them.My regular appointment with Tony is like having a trainer at the gym. He’s a business trainer, someone looking over my shoulder, and that forces me to take time out to really work on my business rather than only in it. I’ve had other coaches and they tend to be glorified cheerleaders – too much “At-a-boy, go get ‘em” kind of stuff. They listen to what you say, rephrase it and spit it back. Tony’s not like that. He’s a nice guy, but he’s not trying to be your best friend – he’ll give it to you straight. There’s a breadth of experience, a depth of resource there. He works with attorneys, mortgage bankers and brokers, construction and engineering firms, high tech, manufacturing and distribution companies, and other financial service companies, and so he brings a lot of insight from other areas of business. And he’s pragmatic – he knows how to take steps to actually fix things. He’ll break down the need into numbers and reasonable goals, then come up with ways to make it work. He knows what he’s doing.
Because of my sessions with Tony, I’m doing the right work with the right people, learning what to pass on, and when to say no. I showed him my “to do” list today, and he said, “What’s going to happen if you never do this one?” and I said, “Probably nothing.” “Well, then, get rid of it!” he told me – and he was right. Part of my work with Tony is accountability. I’ve got someone who says, “Let’s go back to that issue we talked about a month ago. Why haven’t you done this?” But he gives me positive feedback too, which is great because I’m my own worst critic. When I told him I’m terrible at time management, we talked about what I’m doing, and he said, “Actually, John, you’re phenomenal, considering all the things you’ve got going on, the income you’re making, and the life balance you’ve achieved.” That’s very motivating, because it’s important to work with someone who sees your strengths.
Tony has significant human resource experience, too, which helps a lot with inter-office dynamics and partnership relations. He deals with both aspects, head and heart, and facilitates the conversations with my partner that need to happen.
The most important thing about Tony is that he’s not a life coach, not a shrink. In short, this is a person who literally can look at your business and figure out how to do it better.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Tony for many years of executive coaching at Sigue Corporation. Tony has been an incredible sounding board, and his insightful coaching, down to earth demeanor and understanding of complex business issues, have helped me to develop my leadership skills, overcome many difficult career obstacles and become the Chief Financial Officer at Sigue Corporation. I would recommend Tony to any executive that wants to achieve full potential and be successful in any professional environment.
I am pleased to recommend Anthony (Tony) Mulkern as an Executive Coach and Business Consultant. For the past fifteen years Tony has been an outstanding Trusted Advisor to myself and my leadership team.
Tony helped us transition from being an entrepreneurial company to a professionally managed firm; working through many issues as we grew from a regional firm to a global organization. He has provided one-on-one executive coaching to me and to our President, CFO, Chief Sales & Marketing Officers, Chief Operating Officers, both domestically and internationally.
Twice I asked Tony to step in and assume the role of Interim Vice President of Human Resources. In this role he was successful in recruiting top talent, including our current Chief Global Compliance Officer and our COO of International. He also created our current Performance Appraisal System, revised our Employee Handbook to include addenda for states in which we operate outside of California; and created our first Global HR Strategic Plan.
In addition to contributing executive skills, Tony provided extensive coaching to members of our sales team, introduced validated selection tools, and recruited sales leaders at all levels.
Tony has been always available for counsel, including nights and weekends. He has gone above and beyond what I expected of an advisor, and he has never given me advice or suggestions that were not accurate for my company.
Sincerely,
Guillermo de la Viña
Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board
Sigue Corp.