After working five years as a regional director at a large
health insurer in Oakland, Calif., Daniel Eddleman felt ready to
move up the ladder. So he found a mentor within the company who
agreed with Mr. Eddleman that his performance and leadership
ability merited the promotion.  But he'd need to work on a few
soft skills to clinch the job. "It can be a challenging
environment to get noticed in because it's such a big
organization," says Mr. Eddleman, who connected with a job coach
who helped him identify and work on three weak areas—including
the ability to self-assess, manage his emotions and brag.
Wesley Bedrosian  "I realized that I can sometimes come on too
strong. I learned to let the moment pass so I could have the
space to make a calm decision. I also learned how to acknowledge
my own accomplishments to the right people by feathering them
into conversation, which is something that I've never been
comfortable doing," says Mr. Eddleman, who ended up getting the
promotion to vice president.  Most people