Podcast Summary: Excellent Executive Coaching – EEC 409: How Senior Leaders Can Reignite Their Value with Loren Greiff

Episode Overview

This episode features host Dr. Katrina Burrus in conversation with Loren Greiff, a renowned career coach and strategist specializing in helping senior executives, particularly those over 40, reignite and reposition their value in the modern job market. The discussion delves into overcoming biases about being "overqualified," crafting relevant personal branding, leveraging the hidden job market, and restoring confidence for those who feel overlooked in their careers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Decoding the "Overqualified" Label

• Hidden Fears Behind the Label: Loren explains that “overqualified” serves as a euphemism hiding unspoken fears in decision makers.
  • “Overqualified is a placeholder for a lot of unspoken fears that a lot of decision makers have about said candidate who may be older.” (01:20)
  • The top concerns:
    • Not seeing the candidate’s current value or impact
    • Suspicions about tech-savviness or adaptability
    • Fears of candidates being a “flight risk” or leaving soon (02:22)
• Reframing Your Narrative: Leaders must actively, visibly demonstrate ongoing learning, upskilling, use of technology, and adaptability to counter these stereotypes. (02:50)

2. Language & Communication—Staying Relevant

• Updating Your Vocabulary: Loren warns against using dated terms.
  • “I'm a seasoned executive with 20 years of proven experience. Immediately, that is like saying something like neato or that's groovy... Seasoned is not a word that you want to be using because… it also signals that you are just a cut and paste.” (04:15)
• Show, Don't Tell: Demonstrate relevance with action-oriented, forward-looking language rather than listing past achievements. (05:43)

3. Turning Past Accomplishments into Present Value

• Tomorrow Stories: Don’t just catalog past achievements—frame them in terms of ongoing impact and current relevance.
  • “If you keep building off of the past tense, ed descriptors... you're going to be creating your professional obituary... They are hiring for visionary leaders to take us into whatever the future is going to bring.” (05:57)
  • Example: If you implemented a solution that’s still delivering results, quantify and highlight its continuing benefits. (07:03)

4. Effective Networking & the Hidden Job Market

• Why Traditional Networking Falls Short: Networking as typically practiced has a low (2%) job success rate.
• Portfolio Rocket Methodology:
  • Target the “hidden job market” — where 80-85% of executive roles are found (09:00)
  • Identify your “urgent and expensive problem” — the critical pain point you’re uniquely equipped to solve (10:30)
  • Aim for alignment, not just impressing others: “The objective is to align.” (10:45)
• Crafting Impactful Questions: Raise the level of your networking questions to position yourself as a peer and problem-solver, not just a job seeker (11:58)

5. Loren’s Own Example of Unique Value

• Uses the mission to “end career victimization” as distinctive positioning (12:17)
• Explains that if your solution isn't urgent or expensive, or you lack a unique advantage, you’ll lose out to “cheaper” or “better aligned” candidates (13:20)

6. Key Shifts in Today’s Employment Landscape

• Stop Being Passive:
  • “The way to go about a job and looking for a job is to… lean into whatever job postings are on LinkedIn… I will tell you as a former Korn Ferry recruiter, recruiters are not the messiah...” (15:08)
  • Proactive, entrepreneurial tactics, company research, and tailored communication now outweigh passive approaches.
• Experience ≠ Value
  • “Having 20 years of experience is a timestamp… I need to know that that experience is relevant for today's world.” (17:04)

7. Consistency is Key—Avoid “Fracturing” Your Message

• Your branding across messages and platforms must be cohesive and consistent.
  • “They are only working with the information that you give them. They're taking it right out of the box… You're responsible for putting all those dots together.” (19:19)

8. Research and Preparation Set You Apart

• Don’t expect decision makers to hand you the answers; deep research and preparation are now nonnegotiable (20:05)
• Utilize modern tools: ChatGPT, LinkedIn, articles, podcasts to get ahead

9. Restoring Confidence for “Invisible” Leaders

• Many clients lose sight of their worth—coaches must help uncover their “why” and unique contribution:
  • “The differentiator that nobody else can ever take away from you is, is why it is that you do what you do.” (21:10)
  • Go beyond your resume—explore the impact you want to create and how.

10. The Impact of AI on Career Coaching

• AI is now a core tool for upskilling and researching
  • “I cannot as a coach be talking about the impact of today's job search and... if we are not practicing how we are helping our clients to be better at practical uses of AI.” (23:55)
  • Practical use of AI (e.g., ChatGPT prompts) is integrated to expedite research and improve alignment with opportunities.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dated Language
  • (Loren Greiff, 04:15) “Seasoned... That's for steak or other food preparation. Seasoned is not a word that you want to be using because again, it's repetitive, it's redundant...”
• On Relevance
  • (Loren Greiff, 05:57) “If you keep building off of the past tense, Ed descriptors... you're going to be creating your professional obituary.”
• On Networking
  • (Loren Greiff, 10:45) “I don't want you to ever go into a networking conversation thinking that the objective is to impress. The objective is to align.”
• On “Hidden Job Market”
  • (Loren Greiff, 09:00) “The hidden job market is really not so hidden. Right. It accumulates easily 80, 85%, maybe more at the executive level in terms of how people actually land these choice positions.”
• On Experience vs. Impact
  • (Loren Greiff, 17:04) “Having 20 years of experience is a timestamp... So what did you do with it? I need to know that that experience is relevant for today's world.”
• On Personal Branding Consistency
  • (Loren Greiff, 19:19) “They're only working with the information that you give them... You're responsible for putting all those dots together.”
• On Using AI
  • (Loren Greiff, 23:55) “This is just the next horizon in helping to impart a way for our clients to upskill, cross skill and retool themselves.”

Important Timestamps

• 00:57 – Introduction of Loren Greiff
• 01:17 – Breaking down the “overqualified” label
• 04:03 – Language that “dates” you and alternatives
• 05:43 – Transforming dated experience into relevant value
• 08:55 – The limits of traditional networking; hidden job market explained
• 12:02 – Example: Defining your unfair advantage
• 15:04 – Top shifts in the workplace for senior leaders
• 19:03 – The importance of not fracturing your message
• 21:10 – Coaching invisible or discouraged leaders
• 23:55 – How AI is reshaping executive job search and coaching

Summary Takeaways

• Age and experience can be strengths if communicated as agile, up-to-date, and forward-looking.
• Modern executive career strategy demands proactive research, targeted personal branding, and value alignment—not just experience lists or passive job hunting.
• Language, consistency, and unique problem-solving ability (“urgent and expensive problem”) set top candidates apart.
• AI fluency and digital savvy are necessary for leaders today.
• Confidence and belief in your contribution must be intentionally cultivated, both internally and in outward communication.

Find Loren Greiff:

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lorengreiff
• Website: portfoliorocket.com
• Podcast: Career Blast in Half

This episode is essential listening for executive coaches, senior leaders, and anyone seeking to stay competitive and relevant in a rapidly changing professional landscape.