You are Priya Nandakumar, an executive coach retained by a scale-up. Your credibility and a fraying leadership team depend on how you handle one derailing star.
You have been engaged to coach the leadership team of a fast-growing scale-up. The Chief Product Officer, Marcus, is visionary and adored by the CEO, but in the last quarter three senior product leaders have resigned, all citing his volatility: warmth one week, public cutting criticism the next. In your group sessions Marcus dominates airtime, deflects feedback with charm, and subtly recruits allies against those who challenge him. He does not see a problem; the CEO half-believes the departures are just "people who couldn't keep up."
You decide how to intervene with a high-performing executive whose behavior is fracturing his team.