Someone once said, “The test of a good coach is that when they leave, others will carry on successfully.”
In case you haven’t noticed, there is a growing trend toward business or executive coaching.
Given today’s highly competitive business environment, more and more companies are matching their star performers with a business coach. In an article published online at Fast Company, the writer describes how business coaching is the fad that will not go away.
Have you recently promoted a star producer to a managerial position or another executive rank? Or, perhaps you are planning to promote someone to a supervisory/leadership position.
A newly promoted manager or executive might have earned a new title, a higher rank and a salary increase. Other perks might include a reserved parking space, a new office and company car. One might think that this individual is all set to command instant respect, and to lead and influence others—correct?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
Some people are surprised to discover that star producers don’t wake up the next morning after being promoted and automatically start getting the same stellar results from their direct reports.
While star producers may know how to chart and direct their own individual successes, they can be clueless about how to successfully lead others. No one has these traits encoded into their DNA.
On the contrary, successful leadership techniques are taught and learned. And, learning implies making necessary adjustments.
For instance, servant-leadership principles teach us that effective and results-driven managers learn how important it is to first leave their egos at the front door. Taking this step can be a challenging one for many people.
Furthermore, as they say, “No two people are alike,” and new managers can often find this out in self-defeating ways, if not given proper training, guidance and support. After all, it is a business leader's job to bridge interpersonal relationships and achieve results.
This is why HR strategists oftentimes connect their company’s most promising leadership candidates to an executive coach.
What can an executive coach do for you and your company, and how?
Executive coaches have been compared to sports coaches. Similar to sport coaches, business coaches get paid to push star performers to achieve even greater results.
And, as mentioned above, a new manager is expected to achieve results by influencing others on his or her team.
Be aware of one major difference, however.
In the sports world, there can be a love/hate relationship between coaches and players. This is because the professional sports coach has ultimate power and authority over the players, as in, “Get down and do 100 push-ups and then run 50 laps;” or, “You’re benched;” and, so on.
By contrast, the relationship between the executive coach and the ‘coachee’ is one of a trusted advisor/confidante, and certainly not one of a superior/subordinate. The role of an executive coach is to help the coachee sharpen skills and improve performance—not to judge, scold or discipline.
Even so, accountability is king.
In both worlds—business and sports—the coached individual is very much held accountable to the coach. And, in both worlds—the coaching experiences are measured by improved performances and bottom-line results.
Again, one of the greatest challenges for a new manager—particularly one who has derived much of his/her identity from being a star producer—is leaving one's ego at the door and learning how to influence and get results from a diverse workforce.
Especially in today’s workplaces, an executive or manager is invariably leading individuals who can be very different from one another. For instance, today’s manager can be leading four distinctly different generations. And, it’s certainly not uncommon for a manager today to be supervising employees who are older and more experienced.
What can a new manager or executive expect to learn or gain from a successful executive coaching experience?
A comprehensive list would fill volumes; however, the following examples will give you an idea:
- How to effectively communicate with each team member.
- How to evaluate training needs for each team member.
- What developmental strategies to plan for each team member.
- How to determine what motivates and de-motivates each team member.
- Why it helps to realize that team members have different levels of emotional intelligence.
- How to help each team member develop confidence and take initiative.
- What goals and expectations to set for each team member.
- Why it’s important to provide ongoing support for each team member.
Finally, it’s also important to remember that the executive coach-coachee relationship involves a lengthy commitment.
Ultimately, you want to see that the coachee is freed up to move out of his/her comfort zone in order to successfully lead others to achieve higher productivity and results.