Executive Coaching Overview
Executive coaching (aka leadership coaching) is a specialised form of development coaching designed to facilitate the learning of busy executives who are managing highly complex problems or situations. Executive coaching works best when the individual being coached is in a senior role within their organisation and does not need direction on how to perform their role.
Executive coaching is a one-to-one conversation that takes place between the executive coach and their executive client referred to as the coachee. The executive coach and the coachee consent to an agreement, referred to as the coaching contract, for a mutually agreed number of sessions , usually six to 12. These session can be carried out either face-to-face or on the telephone. The length of session is usually between 90 minutes to two hours but this varies depending on both the coach and the needs of the coachee. The time between sessions is usually four to six weeks for this type of coaching.
Executive coaching is often viewed as a marriage between consulting and counselling where the coach provides the learning context for the executive. Much of the learning in the coaching relationship is made possible by the coach acting as a mirror for the executive. This enables the executive to reflect on past or current incidents or events in order to make sense of those happenings so that in the event that they encounter the same or similar experience in the future, they will have a more appropriate way of dealing with it. This is a process known as reflective learning and is one of the key tools of the executive coach.
Executive coaching is a longer term investment compared to skills or performance coaching and can last from anything between one to two years and in some cases even longer. The longer time frame is mainly due to the fact that the change that takes place is slowly emergent and as such has greater longevity.
The relationship between the coach and the executive is the main vehicle for change and as a result the executive will need to be discerning in their choice of coach for this type of coaching.
How Do Organisations Use Executive Coaching?
Organisations procure the services of an executive for a wide variety of reasons. There is now a trend towards smaller business leaders also using the services of executive coaches because of the many benefits that are obtained by the coaching engagement. In general executive coaching is often provided to executives as part of succession management transition management, and talent management programmes. The following sections describe some of the other situations where executive coaching can be a beneficial and worthwhile investment.
Supporting And Challenging The Executive
The expression “it’s lonely at the top” is a true adage in the context of the challenges that leaders often face. Who does the leader turn to when they have a crisis or a dilemma that needs a solution? The executive is expected to be supportive and challenging in their role as a leader, but who supports and challenges the leader when they need it most? Executive coaching delivers the most benefit to the leader by facilitating the learning process in developing their thinking through a healthy balance of support and challenge.
Changing Behaviours And Breaking Patterns Of “Stuckness”
Another specialist use of executive coaching is deliver behaviour change in the executive. It can be quite easy for a leader to develop patterns of thinking and behaviour that may lead to stuckness and an uneasy feeling of déjà vu. Some of these behaviours may have been useful in previous roles but often there are some behaviours need to be “forgotten” and replaced with more appropriate ones. The executive coach, through the appropriate interventions, is able to help the executive to change behaviour and break out of these patterns and move towards more resourceful states of being and doing.
Facilitating The Resolution Of Dilemmas
Executive coaching can be used as a tool to develop the thinking of the executive at the same time as providing unbiased feedback as a sounding board. The executive acts as an agent to help the leader make sense of complex scenarios that can develop in an organisation that is going through a major change programme. The executive coach is able to present the leader with different scenarios built up from their experience as a change agent. These scenarios can be used to identify bottlenecks in their thinking or validate the leader’s solution as being the most effective or appropriate.
Used To Facilitate The Formalisation Of A Strategy
Executive coaching is ideal for helping senior executives formalise and ultimately apply a strategy. An executive coach can be a sounding board in this instance to help the executive assess the many angles, pitfalls, strengths and weaknesses of a particular strategy. The leader is the one who will be formalising while the coach may choose to play the devils advocate as the executive streamlines their thinking.
Assists In The Discovery Of The Leaders True Essence
Often in a leader’s career they may hit a crisis of meaning and start asking themselves the “big” questions, “such as who am I as a leader?” Executive coaching provides the necessary process to facilitate the expression of the executive’s true-self in their role while answering the questions that matter most. This type of coaching is often referred to as emergent coaching as the executive discovers more of themselves as the coaching progresses.
Is Executive Coaching A Worthwhile Investment Of Time And Money?
A question that is often asked is “does executive coaching provide a worthwhile return on investment?” The answer to that question is yes, but the amount of return varies from case to case. Some studies have identified this ROI to be as high as 700%. It is recommended before embarking on a programme of executive coaching to carefully consider what value you expect to derive from the investment of time and money. This will determine for you if executive coaching is worth the outlay.
You may also find more information on this subject here: What Is Executive Coaching
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