Transforming Leadership Alignment at Google Cloud

Client: Senior Vice President,
Google Cloud Engineering

Challenge

The senior leadership team at Google Cloud faced significant challenges in alignment, decision-making, and cross functional collaboration. Rapid growth, shifting priorities, and a highly complex matrixed environment led to miscommunication, decision bottlenecks, and team disengagement. Leaders struggled with clarity on strategic priorities, influencing key stakeholders, and fostering a culture of trust and accountability. These challenges were negatively impacting execution speed, innovation, and retention among top engineering talent.

Solution

Google Cloud partnered with CLG Coaching & Consulting for a 6-month leadership transformation based on the Art of Learned Intelligence™ programming. The program focused on building capacity in Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Relational Intelligence (RQ), and Strategic Intelligence (SQ) to enhance leadership effectiveness, team alignment, and business execution.

Implementation

  • 360-Degree Leadership Assessments – Identified key growth areas and behavioral shifts needed for leadership success.

  • Executive Offsites & Immersive Workshops – Facilitated high-impact sessions focusing on leadership communication, vision alignment, and accountability.

  • One-on-One Executive Coaching – Customized coaching for key leaders to reinforce skills and behaviors critical for sustaining impact.

Results

  • 42% increase in leadership alignment (measured through stakeholder surveys).

  • Significant reduction in decision-making delays, improving project execution speed by 29%.

  • 23% increase in cross-functional collaboration scores, fostering a more engaged and high-performing leadership team.

  • Retention of top engineering talent improved by 18%, with clearer career paths and stronger leadership development initiatives.

  • Through our work together, Google Cloud’s leadership team transformed their ability to lead with clarity, inspire innovation, and execute at scale—ultimately driving stronger business outcomes and a more resilient leadership culture.

This case study highlights how CLG Coaching & Consulting delivers measurable leadership impact by combining science-backed methodologies, executive coaching, and immersive learning experiences to develop the next generation of influential leaders

Scaling Leadership Effectiveness at a High-Growth Startup

Client: CEO & Executive Team @ Socket,
Series B SaaS Startup (VC-Backed)

Challenge

A rapidly scaling Series B SaaS startup, backed by a leading venture capital firm, faced growing pains as they expanded operations and scaled their leadership team. The CEO and executives struggled with alignment, decision-making under pressure, and effectively managing investor and board expectations. As the company grew from 50 to 200+ employees, challenges emerged around communication silos, leadership gaps, and inconsistent execution across teams.

The VC firm sought CLG Coaching & Consulting to strengthen the leadership team’s ability to scale effectively, navigate rapid change, and drive high-impact decision-making while maintaining a strong company culture.

Solution

Using the Art of Learned Intelligence™, we designed a customized 6-month leadership development program to accelerate the team’s capabilities in Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Relational Intelligence (RQ), and Strategic Intelligence (SQ)—essential for sustaining growth, attracting top talent, and optimizing execution.

Implementation

  • 360-Degree Leadership Assessments – Identified leadership blind spots and areas for accelerated development across investor/founder input.

  • Executive Offsites & Strategic Workshops – Facilitated alignment on company vision, operational execution, and investor communications.

  • One-on-One CEO & Executive Coaching – Focused on leadership presence, team management, and high-stakes decision-making.

Results

  • Increased leadership alignment by 47%, improving strategic decision-making and execution speed.

  • Reduced investor and board friction, strengthening trust through more effective communication and decision transparency.

  • 30% improvement in cross-functional collaboration, leading to better product and go-to-market alignment.

  • Retained 90% of key leadership hires during rapid scaling, ensuring stability and cultural continuity.

By integrating The Art of Learned Intelligence™, this startup’s leadership team navigated hyper-growth with confidence, strengthened investor relationships, and built an executive team equipped to lead at scale—positioning the company for continued funding, talent retention, and market expansion.

Collaborative Design for a Major Public University

Client: Associate Vice Chancellor, Campus Operations – UCSF

Challenge

The campus operations leadership team (facilities, transportation, housing, safety) was under pressure and out of sync.Rapid change, budget constraints, and a complex stakeholder landscape led to:

  • Siloed decision-making across departments

  • Slow, circular conversations with no clear owners

  • Low trust and inconsistent communication

  • A reactive “firefighting” culture instead of strategic leadership

The Associate Vice Chancellor came to CLG Coaching & Consulting wanting this group to operate as one aligned leadership team, not disconnected functions.

Solution

CLG Coaching designed and facilitated a 2-day in-person leadership offsite grounded in The Art of Learned Intelligence, focused on:

  • Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Self-awareness and emotional regulation under pressure

  • Relational Intelligence (RQ): Trust, collaboration, and productive conflict

  • Strategic Intelligence (SQ): Clear priorities and smarter decision-making in a complex public-sector environment

Implementation

  • Pre-Offsite Discovery: Stakeholder interviews and a pulse survey to surface pain points in trust, communication, and decisions.

  • Day 1 – EQ & RQ:

    • Built shared language around stress, triggers, and impact.

    • Ran trust and communication exercises to address historical tensions.

    • Defined how they wanted to show up as one operations leadership team.

  • Day 2 – SQ:

    • Introduced decision-making and prioritization frameworks.

    • Aligned on top 3 cross-functional priorities for the next academic year.

    • Clarified decision rights and created team norms for meetings and follow-through.

  • Post-Offsite:

    • Delivered a concise summary with priorities, decision maps, and norms.

    • Equipped the Associate Vice Chancellor with a 90-day follow-up plan.

Results (Within 90 Days)

  • 35% increase in leadership alignment on priorities and roles

  • 28% reduction in decision-making delays, improving execution speed

  • 24% improvement in cross-functional collaboration scores

  • Noticeable increase in psychological safety and direct communication

  • Smoother coordination and fewer dropped balls for campus stakeholders

“This offsite was a turning point. We stopped operating like separate departments and started acting like one leadership team. EQ, RQ, and SQ gave us a shared language and a way forward.”