Traditional management won't pass the test: upgrade to coaching leadership style
Top managers are so concerned with the organization - the vision, the goals, the key success indicators, and managing business and employees - that before they realize micromanagement runs them over.
Suppose venting with peers isn't enough to shift your behavior.
In that case, executive coaching is an excellent option to hone your leadership coaching skills and become a driver of success within your company.
This article describes the role of executive coaching in management development at the top - very different from business coaching - and how it gets your back when facing technological disruption and rapid change.
Table of contents:
- What is executive coaching, and how does it work for corporate senior leaders?
- What are the goals of executive coaching at the top management level?
- What are the benefits of executive coaching for senior leaders?
- How does executive coaching support leadership and a company's overall growth?
- How does executive coaching impact engagement and employee retention?
- How do you recognize an excellent executive coach (before hiring one)?
What is executive coaching, and how does it work for senior leaders?
In the case of executive coaching, a coach works with a C-suite leader, senior leader, or top manager to help them achieve their professional goals. The coach provides guidance, support, and feedback to the individual to help them improve their leadership skills, communication, decision-making, time management, and other aspects of their performance.
The executive coaching process lasts for about 12 months and involves several steps: meeting the coach; agreement with the company; assessment (I use PCM profile personality, an ICF accredited tool); goal setting; coaching sessions; action plan implementation; follow up and accountability; and evaluation.
Because coaching is solution-oriented and focuses on active listening, open-ended questions, effective feedback, and self-leadership, it's very suited to upgrade the leadership style and culture of an organization and provide leaders with a future-proof skill set.
How does executive coaching differ from traditional management training and development programs?
Executive coaching differs from training and mentorship: where those are focused on learning new skills, transmitting industry expertise, peer-to-peer support, and building networks, executive coaching helps you change your behavior and ways of thinking while identifying your sense of purpose.
For top managers, executive coaching is the best development approach. It offers self-reflection, deep inquiry and individual feedback to solve specific challenges, often related to leadership, relationship building, communication, and people management. For executive coaching to be effective, you must be willing to focus on your future, be brutally honest in your inquiry, and implement your action plans, however challenging.
Inquiring won´t do the trick; implementation will. If you´re not willing to be frank, and invest time, you can stop reading now, and find a more suitable development approach by reading this article.
What are executive coaching goals at the top management level?
At the top, executive coaching often is bonded to organizational restructuring, and the challenges of encompassing change, such as:
- People and team management
- Empathic leadership
- Effective communication
- Growing employee engagement and retention
Senior executives can request to HR the support of an executive coach for a specific challenge. The other way is also possible: HR spots a problem and offers executive coaching to managers to turn the challenge into a growth opportunity for the individual and the company.
Keep in mind that if your company pays for the coaching process, your individual goals need to agree with the organization's needs. That's why despite being a confidential process:
Executive coaching goals are always a combination of the individual's challenge and the organization's needs.
Executive coaching in organizational restructuring: the role of coaching leadership style
Common goals of executive coaching benefiting the organization and the individual are:
- Improving leadership skills: Communication, delegation, decision-making, and conflict resolution so managers can lead their teams more effectively.
- Increasing productivity: Identify and overcome obstacles preventing them from achieving their goals, leading to increased productivity, and better results.
- Enhancing communication: Improve their communication skills within their teams, and with external stakeholders.
- Developing strategic thinking: Developing the ability to think strategically, identify and capitalize on opportunities, and navigate complex business challenges.
- Achieving work-life balance: Finding ways to balance their professional, and personal demands.
- Managing ghange: Navigating changes in the organization, and helping them implement change more effectively.
- Developing a personal action plan: Develop a program to help them achieve their goals, and measure progress.
- Improving the overall performance of the organization: Becoming more effective leaders, which in turn can lead to a more engaged and productive workforce, and improved financial performance for the organization.
How does executive coaching support managers and their teams in day-to-day operations?
In case you´re at a different operational level or facing burning issues in your team, let me give you a few examples you could use executive coaching to solve them:
- Crisis management coaching: assists executives in navigating through a crisis and developing plans for handling difficult situations.
- Executive onboarding coaching: helps new executives adjust to their new roles, understand the organization's culture, and develop the relationships they need to be successful.
- Team coaching: supports teams working more effectively by improving communication, collaboration, and trust.
- Business coaching: supports you as an individual or your organization to achieve specific business goals, such as increasing sales or improving efficiency.
- Coaching for high potentials: focuses on helping high-potential employees to develop their skills and prepare them for leadership roles.
- Career coaching: works with individuals to identify and achieve their career goals and navigate the job market challenges.
- Career transition coaching: helps individuals to navigate changes in their careers, such as promotions, career changes, or retirement.
How does executive coaching support leadership and the overall growth of a company?
Execute coaching can upgrade a company's traditional management to leadership coaching management.
When top managers experience individual executive coaching, they get a quick grasp of the differences between “directed” thinking (in the form of yes/no answers) and open-ended questions; commanding or guiding, fear or trust.
Telling your team what to do is a remedy that works at times. Planting inquiry, confidence, and self-leadership is a cure at all times.
Falling back to the old management style is no option. The next natural step for those managers is to learn leadership coaching skills and support the growth of colleagues and employees.
When that happens, senior managers become drivers of success within their companies. Instead of fearing or overreacting to disruption, they can manage-coach employees to question, contribute and act in the face of rapid change.
How can executive coaching help your company to navigate change or tech disruption?
Here are five examples of how leadership coaching management impacts positive organizational behavior:
- Implements opportunity-driven thinking through open-ended questioning and specific actions to fasten adaptation.
- Equips employees with the skills to thrive in the new environment - including emotional intelligence, creativity, and outstanding management of uncertainty and fear.
- Enables a safe environment for practical cooperation, where people can speak their minds and come together with creative solutions.
- Promotes self-leadership so employees can identify and pursue their growth. A development path helps them to stay focused instead of silently worrying about how to stay relevant.
- Creates a leadership culture of honesty, safety, and resilience able to attract and retain top talent, with various complementary personality traits to ensure growth and stability at once.
How does executive coaching impact culture, engagement and employee retention?
Leadership needs to pass the test of the new workforce. Because for the new generation, culture is a decisive factor, these are three key factors you need to provide as a leader:
- Psychological safety, making contribution possible.
- Transparent communication as soon as the problem arises.
- Genuine appreciation and recognition, even when they make mistakes.
Working on your bias, communication, and leadership style is the best way to create a thrilling culture where employees want to belong, contribute and stay.
How do you recognize an excellent executive coach (before hiring one)?
Top results require challenging work, and they take time to happen.
As a coach I'm responsible for the coaching process and guidance but I also need to be confrontative. If the client is not committed to implementation the lack of progress will be discouraging and it is best to end the coaching agreement.
How long does an executive coaching process last?
Executive coaching tailors individual and company needs. There´s no fixed rule. I do not offer individual coaching sessions but programs lasting from a minimum of 9 months and an average of 12. Sessions are recurrent at the beginning and gently spread as the client evolves. After the program ends, clients may use accountability sessions when needed.
A coach is not someone to hold your hand forever but to help you develop and achieve your goals. Programs lasting longer than 12 months feel like a failure to me.
I don't practice executive coaching as a quick fix.
The reason for that is that successful executive coaching for top managers involves a change in behavior and mindset. Awareness is the first step but to build new habits they need implementation and repetition and those require time, assessment and monitoring progress.
After all the above: can I help you as an executive coach?
The only way to find out is to take the first step and book your call. I´m not for everyone, and neither are you. Once we can see if we can build rapport together and discuss your targeted goals, we can start working together. If not, I´ll guide you towards a better solution. I want to book an assessment call.
I'm the founder of BOC Institute, one of the renowned consulting agencies for international companies operating in Slovenia and South-East Europe.
I coach CEOs and top managers 1:1 worldwide. I'm here to save you time, energy, and money through your objectives, decision-making, and leadership development. I understand we can change the world one coaching session at a time!
Do you feel like having a call? You can reach out here and let me guide you from there.
Simona Špilak www.simonaspilak.com
