If you read last month’s blog ‘Who is executive coaching for’ you will know that I would define an ‘executive’ as someone who manages or leads others. If you didn’t catch it, you can read it here.
So, if executives are Leaders, then surely, they are at the top of their game…they are The Boss…do why do executives need coaching?
I’m so glad you asked…there are a number of reasons and I’ll go through them here
To help improve critical thinking skills
As a Leader, Executives will be keeping a lot of balls in the air. They don’t just have a set of tasks to get through each day, week or month, they have many responsibilities in different areas and on top of that they have to be aware of, and responsible for, what other people in the business and are doing and achieving too. Keeping all these balls in the air is not easy and one of the great things that Executive Coaching can do is improve an Executive’s Critical Thinking. This allows Executives to think in an organised manner, take a step back, look at all the facts, understand connections and make fully informed decision. An amazing skill and one that CAN be learnt.
To provide a framework for focused learning
An Executive needs to have a wide range of skills. Whether the Executive is the Business Owner, who used to make the widgets and now has to direct the company, or the Sales Person, who was responsible for selling the widgets and now has to lead the Sales Team. The quicker new knowledge can be learned, the quicker it can be put to good effect in the business. There is no silver bullet or quick fix to learning the new skills, but an Executive Coach will assess the leader and the team to discover where development is needed and to identify the best learning strategies for each individual, as everyone learns differently, the learning can be as focused as possible.
To help develop leadership skills
Leadership is a tricky to master. It involves a wide range of skills and of course what you do and how you do it changes depending on the people you are leading. It is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. An Executive Coach will help a leader to understand their team in a much more comprehensive way and develop and refine their skills to get the best from their team…now and in the future.
To help manage stress and prioritise wellbeing
Now I am not a soft and fuzzy sort of coach, so there will be no group yoga or breathing exercises in my Executive Coaching sessions, but what I will do is give the Executive real tangible strategies and tools that they can use in their day-to-day life to reduce stress. These proven methodologies will improve an Executive’s wellbeing and work-life balance by making tangible changes. And not just that, they will be more effective too!
It is a common misconception that executive coaching is for people who have done something wrong, are poor managers or bad communicators, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Although executive coaching can help with issues in the workplace, an executive coach is more than a problem-solver they are an invaluable resource to help executives achieve success for themselves, their teams and their businesses.
If you would like to find out more about Executive Coaching (rather than waiting another month for me to answer questions in a blog) Book a Chat with me.
