Real Stories. Real Impact.

I’ve seen many Japanese expat managers struggle with risky management styles in the U.S. This training provided concrete management skills that I can apply immediately if placed in a managerial role.

Understanding that keeping detailed performance appraisal records is a core legal defense in the U.S. was eye-opening and deeply impactful.

Relearned the crucial power of feedback. I’m eager to apply the technique of framing constructive feedback not as a personal critique, but as a gap between current behavior and expected standards.

The U.S. operates in a low-context culture. If a deliverable falls short, I realized the issue often lies in my own instructions—giving a 50% direction yields a 50% result.

I truly realized how much productivity we lost in meetings without clear agendas, and learned effective facilitation frameworks like OARR. Implementing this immediately.

I learned how critical the SMART goal-setting process is for gaining employee buy-in. Skipping this step derails every subsequent stage of management.

Understanding cultural gaps, crafting meeting agendas, and knowing when to teach versus coach are skills I will rely on daily going forward.

Waterview’s coaching provided invaluable insights. The coach served as a mirror, helping me see what I could never have noticed on my own.

When I began, I felt overwhelmed by organizational demands. Through Waterview’s program, I gained new perspectives and skills to overcome those hurdles. A coach reflects who you are—what you discover in that reflection depends on your openness to grow.

The impact of coaching depends on your commitment—if you take it seriously, the results are extraordinary.

Without Waterview’s program, my business leadership today would be fundamentally different. Even after more than 10 years, our sessions remain a fresh, vital space for sparking breakthrough ideas.

S

Shunsuke Saito

Global CEO, HLS Global (Hotta Liesenberg and Saito LLP) (Coached by Eriko Imaizumi)

As a corporate executive, it’s easy to get stuck in your own head. Waterview’s coaching helped me clarify my thoughts and translate them into concrete actions.

I was able to map my 5-to-10-year personal vision onto a single page alongside the company’s strategic direction. It gives me an unshakeable core, no matter how much the business environment shifts.

I worked with Waterview from 2017 to 2019 while leading a U.S. subsidiary with mostly local staff. Having zero experience in U.S. labor relations, evaluation, or management, I was completely overwhelmed until I attended one of Waterview’s seminars.

Through coaching, I strengthened my ability to engage in 1-on-1 dialogue and build employee engagement—my weakest areas—and saw the organization start running smoothly.

Since returning to Japan, I continue to place 1-on-1 dialogue and engagement at the heart of my leadership across global offices.