When Do Leaders Work With a Coach?
Performance, transition, succession, transformation, when else?
Leadership Coaching is a very personal process. In fact it is a mutual commitment between coach and client - equally based on competency as well as trust. There are a few reoccurring themes:
Performance Improvement
Leaders are facing challenging goals. Meeting and exceeding those goals is not a one-off task. The goal posts keep moving and the individuals involved continuously develop (or not). Reflection and self-awareness as starting points for a growth-mindset approach are part of the solution that leads to clarity and outstanding performance.
Transition
This can be a new role, a step up or promotion, a transition from executive to non-executive, settling into a new country or culture, or operating under new ownership.
Succession
Often it is part of the CEO's responsibility to identify their own successor. Defining the skills, behaviours, and options, to step into the space the CEO would leave open at any one point in time can be challenging. With the life cycle of the company this space can be more dynamic than expected.
Team Dynamics
A top leadership position comes with the requirement to navigate (hidden) agendas, (failing) collaborations and egos. Sometimes it is a process of enabling a team to raise their heads and lead themselves. This can be a question of how to read the room and bring the right people to the table. It can also be a question of how to achieve clarity and priorities whilst leading "real" people with characters, and their own challenges and drivers.
Leading Change or Transformation
A change in direction or strategy often requires a new alignment of the leader's style and priorities. During such a shift leaders need to re-think their influence and stakeholder management in the board room and beyond.
The Coaching Leader
What is the difference between a leader and a manager? How can empowerment impact the organisation? What will happen if you ask - not tell?
Further Reading
Nine Reasons Leaders Are Hiring Executive Coaches
What CEOs Really Want from Coaching
At Black Slope™ we enable Leaders to enhance performance, and lead with impact and clarity in times of change.