Coaching to build senior leadership capacity
Executive consultation or “coaching” is an important tool for building leadership capacity and creating a culture of learning and growth. Stanford Business School recently surveyed more than 200 CEOs, board directors and senior executives of North American public and private companies and found that they find coaching useful. Nearly all the CEOs surveyed would enjoy coaching for themselves and were open to the feedback it would bring. About one third of the CEOs and about half of the senior executives were already receiving coaching from outside consultants. Stanford’s survey described that CEOs want coaching to improve skills for sharing leadership, delegation, conflict management, team building, internal talent development and mentoring. Our clients also value executive consultation for developing executive presence, enhancing strategic thinking, identifying individual core values and linking them to organizational values, managing career changes and creating a culture of personal responsibility and accountability.
Executive consultation is a creative, thoughtful and thought-provoking partnership between the client and the expert advisor that is designed to inspire and develop maximum personal and professional potential with tangible results. Coaching is always tailored to the needs of the organization and the individual to be coached. The process often starts with a discussion with the executive’s supervisor to identify areas of focus for development. For CEOs, key board members might be involved. A “360 degree assessment” is optimal. With this data, the coach can commence a conversation with the executive to be coached. The conversation includes a formal or informal assessment of the executive’s current situation and desired areas of improvement. The information from the supervisor and reports informs how the coach guides this discussion.
A coach’s active listening and incisive questioning offer opportunities to challenge the executive. Active listening and inquiry rather than giving advice or problem solving facilitates a new awareness of values, preferences and the executive’s unique personal perspective. The process is as much about defining the development goal as in finding a solution to a problem. Most executives develop the answers to their problem once they are clear on their goals.
The demands of the day-to-day workplace often crowd out time for personal development. Regular coaching conversations address this problem by keeping the development goals and plan of action fresh in the executive’s mind. The coach is a sounding board, and, just as importantly, supports the executive’s momentum by noting the commitments and providing real time feedback on the level of achievement.
An effective relationship between the executive and the coach supports the individual’s personal growth and success. The benefit of the relationship accrues to the organization, which is why CEOs, boards and senior executives value coaching for themselves and their teams. By improving the executive’s skills the organization benefits. Agile teams can result in part because the leader is modeling new behaviors for success learned through the process. Employees can become more motivated and productive when the executive communicates more effectively, listens better and questions well.
