Executive Coaching
There is much confusion about what Executive Coaching is- and isn't. Many consulting firms have simply gone through their marketing materials and changed the word "consulting" to "coaching." For many in the business world, that sums up what they perceive Coaching to be, a new word for consulting.
Nothing could be farther from the truth! Here are some facts:
- Executive Coaching IS NOT about giving advice or consulting. It is not about mentoring. It is not about "helping" others by providing solutions to problems.
- Executive Coaching helps create stronger and more productive people that are more valuable to an organization.
- While some coaching can appear to be ethereal and too "out there" for companies, that is a much different type of coaching (Life Coaching). There is a distinct form of Executive Coaching that is used in the corporate environment. It is directly tied to personal improvement and increased productivity that in turn pays off handsomely for the organization.
- Executive Coaching does not "fix" people. It is rare that coaching can be deployed to "fix" those that deem to be in need of a quick change by their manager.
Executive Coaching can provide dramatic short term impact for companies. But the reality is that it will take from 6-12 months of quality Coaching to make sustainable changes. Those that tell you that it can be done quicker are not well informed.- Executive Coaching is about individual planning, goal setting, and achievement. It's also about personal discovery and enlightenment. It is about realizing one's full potential, which in turn, benefits the organization.
How Is Executive Coaching Different?
It's about tangible business results. Plain and simple. Executive Coaching can:
- Reduce turnover
- Increase personal productivity
- Increase job satisfaction
- Help attract higher caliber talent
- Reduce job related stress
- Provide a sounding board for executives
- Increase the value of the organization
- Help turn managers into leaders
Let's look at turnover statistics. Imagine if a company could lower turnover (of those that are truly valued) by 1-2%. Bradford Smart in his book "Top Grading" states that turning over good people can cost an organization up to 24 times their salary! His math is compelling. Even if you put a more modest figure of 4 times a person's salary as the cost to the organization imagine what dollars could be realized if a company reduces "good" turnover by 1-2%. Executive Coaching can and should do that.
It is common in companies to think that they can't measure the impact of "soft/people" related initiatives, like Executive Coaching. A company can track any initiative that they invest in and should do so with a coaching initiative. A firm can conduct a pre-coaching assessment and circle back every 6-12 months to test for progress. Looking at everything from employee retention, to personal production numbers, it will be clear what effect the initiative is having. A company can measure the results.
Turning Managers Into Leaders
Here's the reality… Most managers in corporate America are good technicians at what they do. They typically have deficiencies in the "soft skills" area. Here is where a big distinction needs to be made:
There is a HUGE difference between Leaders and Managers. The difference is that Leaders have mastered the soft/people skills necessary to inspire people to work up to their full potential. Managers often have solid technical skills but don't inspire others to work toward a collective goal. A symptom of a typical manager is that their people are often in need of a "task with consequences" approach to their work vs. leaders who inspire self motivation for the good of the cause.
An Executive Coach can help can help an organization design and implement a program that will inspire managers to become leaders.
What You Need to Have To Be an Executive Coach
- Desire - a true desire to help others succeed.
- Awareness - a trust in ones' intuitive "gut."
- Focus - on the individual and their challenges vs. a need to "solve" things for others.
- Listening - a sincere desire to truly hear what others are saying.
- People Centricity - a deep belief that human capital is the most important asset that a company possesses.
- Ability to "Weave" - great Executive Coaches can help "weave" all of the new and improved pieces of human capital into the fabric of the organization, at ever rising levels.
- Vision - a great Executive Coach can "see" what the "new" organization will look like and help others drive toward that vision.
- Confidence - you must be able to perform "in the boardroom" on a daily basis.
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