What is Executive Coaching?
According to the International Coach Federation (ICF), coaching is defined as a partnership with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process, inspiring them to maximize their potential. The ICF explains that coaching is a client-driven process distinctly different from counseling, mentoring, consulting, and training. The Association of Talent Development (ATD) defines executive coaching as one-on-one meetings with senior managers or leaders within a safe, structured, and trustworthy environment to help the leader understand their current competencies, see how they’re perceived by others, and focus on identifying and clarifying goals and actions towards business success.
Why would I want an Executive Coach?
Executives often report feeling isolated and unsure if/where they can get honest, direct feedback. It’s challenging to find a space where you can feel comfortable and able to freely express the vision, challenges, fears, emotions, possibly options. Leaders say it’s so valuable to have an objective resource someone to confide in with no hidden agenda or needs from them, one that will be honest, direct, challenge the leader and tell them things others may not.
Coaching provides a safe, confidential space focused on your success to get clarity on your differentiating strengths, values, what’s most important, look at a topic from different angles, awareness of beliefs and behaviors that supports or are barriers to your vision. You often have the answers you need and its very challenging to have total awareness of our underlying beliefs, habits, gain clarity or fully think through various possibilities on our own, or you know what to do but aren’t sure how to do it. A coach will assist you in getting clear, finding the answers, challenging patterns, beliefs and habits, and getting brave and bigger with our vision and impact.
How will Executive Coaching benefit me?
As a leader, you play a vital role in impacting individual, social and organizational success and health. You have a big impact and influence on the systems and environments you’re a part of. An Executive Coach will support the identification of your differentiating strengths, values, priorities, and leadership development areas. Awareness and alignment of these factors have a positive impact on work/life satisfaction, enhanced communication, collaboration, quality, retention, business results and retention/engagement of teams and powerful cultures. Your leadership will impact more of what matters to you, with your personal fulfillment increasing. Do work that you're passionate about making a difference that means something.
Research has shown that up to 40% of newly promoted managers and executives fail within 18 months. Additionally, it can take up to 6 months to “break even” and begin contributing value to an organization. For this reason, executive coaching supports both your individual and Leadership success.
How does Executive Coaching work?
- Coaching sessions are one on one, confidential, safe spaces where you can be you, not have all of the answers, have a partner facilitate where to focus and what you need. They are usually every other week to keep momentum going with "as needed" touch bases in between.
- The coach will kick-off your coaching engagement with a strength-based assessment useful to identify your strengths, values, and priorities and explore how you can use that information to achieve your business goals and address any challenges encountered along the way.
- The coaching process is tailored to your needs and driven by you, with the Coach facilitating areas of focus that would be most beneficial and defining what success is.
- Once we have completed a strengths-based assessment and identified goals for the coaching engagement, you set the agenda and define what topic you want to focus on in each of your coaching sessions with the coach facilitating the process if you’re unclear on what’s next.
- There are various assessments, resources, articles, books that we can utilize tailored to you and your needs.
- Some options for starting sessions and establishing focus are:
- wins & accomplishments/challenges & roadblocks for deeper dive into what and why.
- Follow up on situations discussed and planned for last session, analyze what worked/didn't observations and learning.
- What's come up since that you'd like to focus on for the call.
- Always let me know at the beginning if there's a specific need/areas of focus.
There are options for sessions with your leadership for alignment, observation of team meetings for feedback, team sessions and assessments.
How long will the Executive Coaching engagement last?
We will meet one-on-one bi-weekly for approximately 6 months for the initial engagement, some engagements are for a year and extend with group coaching and other options. Beyond this, your coach is available for “just-in-time” sessions if something comes up that you would like to discuss, will forward relevant resources, tools and other assessments that may be beneficial.
Are my coaching sessions confidential?
Trust is an essential ingredient to an effective coaching relationship. What you share and discuss with your coach will remain confidential. An exception is made if something illegal or you indicate you are going to hurt yourself or someone else. Your coach is obligated to disclose this information. With organization sponsored coaching if there are to be check in’s or information shared that will be established and clear at the start of the coaching partnership.
Are the results of my strengths assessment confidential?
Yes! Individual results of the strength-based assessments and others are confidential unless otherwise discussed and decided on by you.