Executive Coaching
What's the next level for you as a leader?The field of professional coaching began with Executive Coaching. Owners of top industries, including Fortune 500 companies, have recognized the importance of investing in the top talent within their organizations. They realize that their executive's effectiveness has an exponential impact on the entire organization, including all of their employees, as well as on the financial bottom line.
"Self-awareness is the hallmark of effective managers. Successful managers understand what motivates them and how their strengths and weaknesses influence their decisions, actions, and relationships. They know what they want, why they want it and how to communicate their goals to others to gain their support and cooperation. And they have a special combination of self-confidence, humility, and adaptability that enables them to respect the views of others and to survive in the ambiguous, imperfect, and often stressful world of management." - from Practical Coach by Paula J. Caproni
"Business, after all, is nothing more than a bunch of human relationships." - Lee Iacocca, Former Chairman of Chrysler Cooperation
"Very few executives want to be surrounded by "yes" men. Their greatest weakness is the fact that "yes" men build up around the executive a wall of fiction, when what the executive wants most of all is plain facts." - Burton Bigelow
Goals you may have as an executive:
- To be ready for increased leadership opportunities
- Clearly communicating a vision that promotes buy-in
- Ability to manage effectively through change
- Awareness of how your words and actions affect others
- On-going development and learning
- Increasing subordinate accountability and satisfaction
- Ability to communicate clearly and effectively
- Succession planning
The coach will begin by asking what your goals are as a person in a leadership role. The coach will have a conversation with you to determine your areas of strength, as well as areas that may benefit from further strengthening.
If it's desired, several other people may be invited to be involved in the process of providing information and supporting you in your goals. More formal assessment tools such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the Emotional Intelligence Inventory may also be utilized to gather additional information.
All of the gathered information will be reviewed and processed with you. You'll work with the coach to set and prioritize your goals and to develop a plan. During each coaching session you'll work on progressing towards the objectives in your plan.
Sample questions during initial sessions:
- What do your consider your greatest strengths in your position?
- How about your greatest limitations?
- What is your vision of an ideal leader?
| "I had been struggling for weeks over some very difficult decisions at the workplace. Coaching helped me to more clearly assess the situation from multiple perspectives, including employees, clients and the organization. Within one twenty minute session I became absolutely clear on what I needed to do. I was able to proceed and carry out the action despite it's difficulty." - Manager in a non-profit agency |
