How Executive Coaching Helps Leaders Grow
Growth in your leadership journey usually demands learning new skills and behaviors that were not part of your formal education. People enroll in college or post graduate studies to become skilled in their chosen field (such as accounting, engineering, teaching, etc.). Upon graduation, they enter the initial stages of their careers in the real world.
Demonstrating strong technical competence in your chosen field and applying what you learned in the workplace to obtain positive outcomes is the initial stage of professional growth. Career growth beyond this level usually requires adding skills and learning new behaviors that are not part of the college educational process. This is especially true when leading teams or advancing to higher levels in organizations.
Some organizations have formal programs for new manager training and leadership development. The majority do not. Since most new leaders are promoted based on their technical competence, the lack of leadership training relegates them to rely on their own limited experiences within their organizations. Generally, this type of sink or swim process isn’t known for consistently producing top leaders.
This, combined with cost pressures that keep enterprise HR and L&D departments lean, is also why there has been significant growth in Executive Coaching. Organizations want to retain and grow their top talent to prepare them for more significant roles, especially in leadership. So, what are these leaders working on with their coaches?
CoachSource recently published an article that shows the top five focus areas for executive coaching – Inside Scoop: What Are Executives Really Doing in Executive Coaching?
CoachSource analyzed over 2,200 executive coaching engagements during 2023-2024. The top five areas (out of 40 options) for which executives seek help from their coaches include:
- Influencing Others
- Executive Presence
- Communication Skills
- Fostering Effective Teams
- Relationships & Networking
All the areas above require learning skills and developing behaviors beyond those people entering the job market acquired through formal education or through a sink or swim process of self-development.
Most organizations now view executive coaching as a valuable leadership development resource from which almost all leaders can benefit. Professional coaches see a wide spectrum of clients with different challenges. These numerous and varied experiences give them the ability to quickly understand their organizational clients and ask the right questions at the right time. The coaching process enables clients to gain insights to achieve desired goals and/or successfully navigate through tough issues.
Executive coaches also can provide dispassionate objectivity. Said differently, this is the ability for the coach to “tell it like it is” and confront and challenge the client to dig deeper, view their real selves more honestly, or complete difficult assignments. Professional coaches hired from outside the organization have no political reason to hold back and “spin” their words by the very fact that they are not part of the organization.
Often, the higher position a client holds in an organization, the less likely it is for those around the client to disagree and push back on his or her ideas. Executive coaches can be extremely valued truth-tellers that help leaders see themselves as they are really seen by others. They often use tools such as assessments, 360’s and stakeholder interviews to get meaningful information on how the leader views themselves and how others perceive them. They use this data to partner with leaders to create personal development goals for improvement while also keeping or amplifying their strengths.
The executive coaching process often uses four key stages highlighted below – Discovery, Awareness, Growth and Achievement.
You can read more on the four stages of coaching and how coaching is used for growth and achievement here: Use Coaching for Growth and Achievement – Oppna (oppnacoaching.com)
The use of executive coaching throughout organizations continues to grow as it delivers a positive return on investment and is a highly valued leadership development experience for those who are coached.
How can executive coaching help you or your organization develop your leaders to continue to grow and reach their full potential?
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Lance Hazzard, PCC, CPCC, is a certified Executive Coach and Executive Team Coach helping people and organizations achieve success. This post includes material from the book, Accelerating Leadership, co-authored by Lance Hazzard and Eric T. Hicks, Ph.D., published in June 2019 and available as an e-book. Lance is Executive Coach and President at Oppnå® Executive & Achievement Coaching. More information on the book and Lance can be found at the links below: