Executive coaching has boomed as an industry. The misconceptions of dealing with performance issues and troublesome managers associated with executive coaching are gone. In today’s management world, executive coaching is widely recognised and adopted as a way to develop and identify top performers. Based on the ICF Global Coaching Client Study conducted by PWC, 86% of companies say they made their investment back from an executive coaching engagement.
So what exactly is executive coaching?
Executive coaching is engagement between a manager or executive and an executive coach. The engagement is a series of one-to-one focussed interactions over a period of time. Executive coaching equips managers with the knowledge and opportunities they need to develop.
It is sometimes beneficial to engage with a coach outside of your organisation to gain very different perspectives. An executive coach is impartial, insightful and knowledgeable. A great coach will enrich and enhance your potential.
You as a client can reap reasonable benefits from executive coaching. Particularly if you approach it with an open mind and a real willingness to grow.
Some benefits from executive coaching include:
Self Awareness: this is one of the most important capabilities for leaders to develop. It can help you become a more effective executive leader and help your organisation to grow faster. An investment in executive coaching can help unlock your potential to achieve your goals.
People Skills: Relationships takes work and can be hard. Learning how to navigate the human element can be the difference between significant success and average results. Manager-staff relationships are trickier than ever and the next generation approaches work differently. Better communication means developing empathy and understanding and appreciating how different groups work.
Conflict Resolution: A happy team is a productive team. But, there will always be conflict in the workplace and this usually impacts productivity. Executive coaching provides the tools to help executives identify conflicts. Resolution methods is also part of executive coaching.
Team Development: The chance of a great plan executed by a dysfunctional team beating a good plan executed by a good team is almost zero per cent. Executive coaching equips executives with the tools to engage staff and encourage team performance.
Leadership Succession Plan: Nurturing the next generation of business leaders is critical for any organisation. Executive coaching facilitates the foundational work needed to identify the next generation of leadership for the business.
Objective Analysis: Many companies become complacent and find it difficult to shift away from the “that’s the way we’ve always done it” mode. Learning to objectively analyse data and trends can help provide the vision and direction the company needs to prosper rather than ignoring the signs or impeding industry changes. Executive coaching can give executives the confidence to make decisions by ensuring alignment between objectives and the organisation’s vision and values.
Driving Change and Evolution: New technologies are disrupting traditional processes and systems. Executives must recognise these shifts and create a sustainable culture for effective management. During transformation and transition, even the most experienced executive leaders can have self-doubt. Executive coaching helps provide an objective assessment and give leaders the confidence to move forward.