Executive coaching is a significant investment on the part of a business, and also on the part of the executive receiving the coaching. It requires a great deal of time, energy, and strong commitment to self-development. It is not an easy process to go through, but it does produce individual benefits as well as organizational benefits.
Recognition of Potential
When you are offered a chance for executive coaching it is a very strong affirmation of your growth potential. Your employer would not spend money on your development if they did not think you were worth it. Sometimes coaching is used as a way to help you correct a deficiency or a problem, but even then it should be viewed as a positive thing. Your employer is confident enough about your value to the company that they are willing to invest valuable resources to help you improve.
Strategic Opportunity
Executive coaching is a terrific opportunity for you to step back from the “daily grind” and take a much broader look at your life, both personally and professionally. Your coach will help you evaluate how your life and job intersect, and encourage you to reflect on the relationship. Are you out of balance in some way? Are there issues in one area that are affecting the other and need to be addressed?
A good way to approach executive coaching is to view it as life planning and development, instead of just career planning and development. Your coach is an experienced professional who can offer you objective feedback in a completely confidential atmosphere.
Leadership Transformation
Leadership is more than just a corporate buzzword, it is critical to your professional and personal success. In the modern world of business it is not enough anymore to have just technical knowledge and skills. Successful professionals have a far larger role to play as leaders of their immediate teams and within their company.
Good executive coaching produces effective leaders. Why? Because the person being coached receives intensive one-on-one attention designed specifically to focus on issues of leadership. These issues include expectations of accountability, practicing flexibility in times of change or crisis, and treating people with respect and integrity.
Understanding Coaching Roles
It is important to fully understand the roles and accountabilities of the executive coach, the executive being coached, and the employer. These may vary depending on circumstances. For example, if the employer is paying for coaching to assess and address specific employee challenges, then the coach has a responsibility to focus on those issues and may need to report progress back to the employer (depending on the terms of the engagement). The employer is responsible for allowing the person being coached to spend adequate time focused on the process, even to the point of bringing in temporary resources if necessary to cover important workload.
Before you enter into any executive coaching arrangement, make sure all parties are very clear about roles and responsibilities. This will help you receive maximum benefit from the executive coaching process and avoid problems later on.
