Jean Hurd, Ph.D.

Jean Hurd has over twenty-eight years of work experience focused on the successful integration of business, people and technology. As cofounder of Janus Consulting, she is primarily concerned with the human issues that are critical to meeting short and long-term operational goals. She provides coaching, facilitation and training for individuals and groups at all organizational levels. Particular areas of emphasis include leadership development, interpersonal skills development, understanding individual personality styles, change management, team development and enhancing client relationships.

Jean has consulted to organizations from most industry segments including pharmaceutical, chemical, computer, utilities, education, social services, the U.S. Military, and Federal, State and local governments.

Prior to forming Janus Consulting, Jean was a change management consultant at Digital Equipment Corporation, consulting to customers in redesigning cross-functional work processes that were critical to achieving the business strategy. At Sperry Corporation (now UNISYS) Jean was a consultant with an international group providing business needs assessment and consultation to customers in planning for and successfully implementing information systems. She held other management and technical positions at William H. Rorer pharmaceuticals (now Sanofi-Aventis), Honeywell and the University of Pittsburgh.

Jean holds a Ph.D. in Adult and Organizational Development from The Union Institute and an M.L.S. in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh. She has done additional graduate work in group dynamics and counseling psychology, and is a qualified MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) instructor and certified Enneagram teacher. She serves on the Board of Youth Service, Inc. a nonprofit child welfare agency, and is an active PhillyCares volunteer with children and youth.

Publications

Hurd, Jean L. and Juri, Tino. "Coaching the Scientific and Technical Professional." International Journal of Coaching in Organizations, vol. 3, no.1, 2005, pp. 31-38. (view PDF)

Hurd, Jean L. "Learning for Life: An Investigation into the Effect of Organizational Coaching on Individual Lives." Proceedings of the First ICF Coaching Research Symposium, November, 2003, pp. 33-42.

Hurd, Jean L. Essays on the Enneagram:

  • Enneagram Monthly, November 2001, p.5.
  • Enneagram Monthly, October 2001, p.5.
  • Enneagram Monthly, September 2001, pp. 1,18.

Hurd, Jean L. and Lynne Lowe Jacobus. "Plan for Upsizing." Executive Excellence, vol. 17, no. 9, September 2000, p. 15.

Hurd, Jean L. and Lynne Lowe Jacobus. "Planning for Upsizing", Entrepreneurial Edge, vol. 4, 1997, pp. 77-79.

Presentations

Coaching Scientific and Technical Professionals. Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, August 3-8, 2007.

Executive Coaching Research: Bringing Together Knowledge and Action. Panelist, Academy of Management Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, August 11-16, 2006.

Exploring Key Issues in Coaching Research. Panelist, International Coach Federation Research Symposium, Quebec City, Canada, November 3, 2004.

In Their Own Words: The Impact of Organizational Coaching on Individual Lives. Philadelphia Area Coaching Expo 2004, Bryn Mawr, PA, April 17, 2004.

Learning for Life: An Investigation into the Effect of Organizational Coaching on Individual Lives. International Coach Federation Research Symposium, Denver, CO, November 12, 2003.

The Enneagram and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Association for Psychological Type, Delaware Valley Chapter, Philadelphia, PA, April 12, 2003.

Customer Facing Skills for the IT Consultant. Information Management Forum, Cleveland, Ohio, June 11-12, 2001.

Introduction to the Enneagram. Philadelphia Region Organizational Development Network, Philadelphia, PA, February 22, 2001.

Involving the Whole System in the Change Process: Reengineering at Rohm and Haas. Philadelphia Region Organizational Development Network, Philadelphia, PA, February 20, 1997.

Strategies for Maintaining Sanity in the Changing Workplace, Eleventh Annual Cassard Memorial Lecture for Nursing. Chestnut Hill Healthcare, Philadelphia, PA, May 9, 1996.

The Personal Side of Organizational Change. Chestnut Hill Healthcare, Philadelphia, PA, December 7, 1995.

Reengineering: A Call for Personal Transformation. Pennsylvania Nurses Association District 25 and Southeastern Pennsylvania League for Nursing, Annual Meeting. King of Prussia, PA, November 16, 1995.

Personal Transitions Required to Effect Positive Organizational Change. Northeast Coalition of Hospital and Diploma Schools of Nursing, Annual Meeting. Lancaster, PA, October 6, 1995.

The Personal Side of Restructuring. Abington Memorial Hospital, Abington, PA, September 24, 1995.

The Human Side of Downsizing. Philadelphia Area Council for Excellence, Network Meeting. Philadelphia, PA, February 7, 1995.

Personal Transformation: The Key to Reinventing Organizations. The Greater Philadelphia Healthcare CQI Network. Philadelphia, PA, January 27, 1995.

The Personal Side of Organizational Change. Southeastern Pennsylvania Association for Healthcare Quality, Annual Meeting. Wynnewood, PA, January 11, 1995.

The Personal Side of Organizational Change. Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA July 7, 1994.

The Personal Side of Change and Restructuring. Southeastern Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Executives, Quarterly Meeting. Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 1994.

Coaching Research

Hurd, Jean L., 2002. Learning for Life: A phenomenological investigation into the effect of organizational coaching on individual live. Doctoral Dissertation, The Union Institute.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between adult development and organizational development by exploring the effect of organizational coaching on individual lives. It investigated the phenomenon of being coached, to find what individuals who have been coached have to say about the impact of the coaching on their lives, careers, organizations and relationships, and the degree to which coaching can function as a linchpin between individual and organizational development.

In-depth interviews were conducted with nine individuals representing a broad range of organizations (from Fortune 50 corporations to small non-profits), job levels and responsibilities, coaches, and reasons for being coached. All had been coached for at least six months.

Findings:

The coaching process affects individual lives by helping people know themselves better, learning how to manage themselves better, how to relate more productively with others, and how to think about and address work situations. Key themes that emerged related to: the value to individuals of getting concrete and timely feedback from the coaching; coming to understand how one's actions affect others; learning to better use feedback from others; becoming more self-aware and self-accepting; learning to be more reflective and less reactive; being able to make a positive difference in how their organizations work; and the therapeutic value of being listened to and supported by the coach.

The results indicate that coaching at all organizational levels is valuable - there is a significant cascading or ripple effect; coaching creates learning for the long haul by developing skills of critical thinking and reflectivity; coaching is an extremely effective way for individuals to develop and hone emotional intelligence skills; and organizations would benefit from instilling performance management and feedback skills at all levels. Good coaching is at its core a personal, helping relationship. Be careful of a too formalized approach, or a "one size fits all" model.

Sample engagements

  • A global Executive Quality Leadership program of a major pharmaceutical company convened 20 selected Quality VPs and directors from all over the world into a virtual team for a year-long initiative, with a goal of developing critical leadership skills while working on a quality improvement program. Coaching focused on achieving both individual development and group performance goals, resulting in the successful implementation of the quality initiative and enhanced leadership skills for the long term.

  • The President of a business unit of a leading financial institution wanted to create an "up-tick" in performance among the already high performing executives of his operating committee. Coaching with the CFO and a business unit Head focused on leveraging strengths to an even higher level of individual and executive team performance.

  • A brilliant professional with a key role in major product development initiatives was negatively affecting the processes due to a lack of interpersonal and leadership skills. Coaching focused on moving from an "individual expert" perspective, to a cross-functional perspective, developing critical communication and team leadership skills.

  • A recently promoted and highly competent IT director needed to develop a leadership "presence" within and outside of IT. The focus of the coaching was on developing interpersonal communication and presentation skills, resulting in broader, deeper and more productive relationships with peers and management.

  • A director of operations was negatively impacting productivity and morale due to a hostile and overly directive leadership style. The coaching focused on developing a more open, relaxed and participative style, resulting in improved functioning of the entire unit.

  • A corporate law departmentwanted to enhance the client relationship skills of its lawyers. The coaching included a series of MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) workshops to the leadership team, followed by one-on-one coaching on the implications of their personality style, and how to leverage their style to enhance their client interactions.

  • A senior consultant in a major accounting firmhad excellent technical skills, but poor relationship skills, and was having difficulty leading project teams. Coaching assisted in developing appropriate interpersonal and leadership behaviors necessary to achieve Partner.

  • The Quality & Compliance department of a major pharmaceutical company wanted to increase Q&C's engagement as a business partner with R&D and Operations. The quality directors were coached in developing enhanced interpersonal and influencing skills, dramatically improving the effectiveness of the Quality organization as a partner to the rest of the organization.