Ignite! Newsletter—August 2010 Article
Use Executive Coaching to Accelerate Leadership Development
Executive coaching is being used in a variety of ways that organisations didn't even anticipate 15 years ago. It is being used to get new hires up-to-speed more quickly, or when a person is transitioning to a new role. It's also being used with high potential executives who are being groomed to meet an organisation's future needs. More recently, coaching is being used to help leadership teams that might not be functioning as well as they could or when there are dynamics going on that are not what they need to be.
While coaching can be used effectively in all of these situations, it also offers some challenges according to Linda Miller, Master Certified Coach and Global Coaching Liaison for The Ken Blanchard Companies.
"First is determining the right timing. There are seasons when people are really open and need coaching, and there are times where people are not open to coaching," explains Miller. "Second is making sure that coaching is focused on the right things. It's important to target coaching initiatives on what's most important for the organisation, aligning the objectives with the organisation's needs. Finally, you want to make sure that you have a good match between the coach and the leader."
That's why Miller recommends that organisations make sure that any coaches they choose are certified with the International Coach Federation and also have the right experiences to be doing executive coaching. As she explains, "At Blanchard we have a commitment not to use engagements with clients as a way to train our coaches. Instead, we work hard to present executives with experienced, qualified coaches who are certified and who have extensive leadership and executive coaching experience. There are a lot of people out there who call themselves executive coaches, but who do not have these qualifications."
Coaching as a Part of an Overall Executive Development Program
One area where coaching has become increasingly popular is as a part of an executive development program with different content areas. Coaching creates several benefits for executives going through this kind of development process. The first is that coaching provides a way to tie together all of the content being learned. Another benefit of coaching is to help executives interweave the theoretical content with practical application. In a typical executive development program, coaching is used in between content-loaded intensives where new content is being learned, so that the learning can more easily be turned into behaviour. A third way that coaching can be beneficial is for leaders to learn to coach others through their own coaching experience.
One example that Miller shares is working with several clients in an executive development program who were preparing to share their leadership point of view. This is an exercise where executives identify and share some of the influences from their past that have shaped their beliefs on leading people and organisations. Coaching helped the executives hone their leadership points of view so they were even more effective in sharing within the leadership development program and with their teams.
Miller also points to how coaching can help improve team dynamics.
"From an executive team perspective, there are so many interpersonal challenges we face at work because of style, pace, stress, and temperament. These are dynamics that need to be addressed, and coaching can help. If they aren't addressed, these dynamics remain unspoken and operate in the background impacting performance."
HR's Role in Making Coaching Successful
HR and senior leaders play a special role in making sure that coaching is successful in an organisation. One of the ways is by positioning executive coaching correctly according to Miller.
"It's important that coaching is positioned as an investment in development and not as something punitive. You want executives to be looking forward to being tapped on the shoulder for coaching rather than fretting if they get that phone call that says, 'Guess what, you have an executive coach who has been assigned to help you.'"
Second, it's important that a coaching initiative be coupled with sponsorship. This means having senior people in the organisation who are in support of coaching and advocate for it as a part of executive development-but not necessarily mandate it. As Miller explains, "There needs to be buy-in by the participants. So, for example, if we find out that a leader is being required to use coaching instead of being invited to participate, it is a very subtle but very important difference. Executive coaches need to know how to work with this situation if it happens."
It's also important that confidentiality be in place and strictly enforced. If confidentiality is not in place, that news will spread like wildfire among participants which could prevent honest conversations from happening. Any breach of confidentiality will affect all of the coaching that is going on in the organisation.
The result of ignoring any of these prerequisites, according to Miller, is that, "you may get short-term benefit, but it is not going to be the longer-term development that most organisations are looking for."
Double-Barreled Benefits When Done Well
When it's done right, good coaching provides a leader with a thinking partner. This gives an executive a way to talk openly about work challenges and opportunities. It's something that most leaders find extremely helpful says Miller.
"When we ask clients, 'What was most useful for you today?' 80% of the time the executive will say, 'It's been most helpful to think about this out loud. I've been thinking about in my head, but I haven't taken the time to think about it so thoroughly.'"
Good executive coaching gives leaders much-needed ways to process information that accelerates development and helps them perform at a higher level. It can also have a beneficial impact on retention. It's a double benefit for organisations where you have leaders who stay-and grow-helping to meet the needs of the organisation, and staying to share what they've learned with others to help the company succeed.
Would you like to learn more about using coaching as a part of an overall executive development program?
Then join us for a free webinar!
Executive Development: How to Use Coaching Effectively Thursday, August 19, 2010 5:006:00 p.m. IRL/UK Time.
Presenters: Linda Miller, Global Liaison for Coaching, The Ken Blanchard Companies
In the past, developing leadership capability was done on the job. Wisdom came over time as leaders moved into more and more senior positions. Today everything is compressed. People are being asked to step up into leadership positions sooner based on competencies that their organisations need now. One-on-one executive coaching has helped to fill the gap necessitated by this accelerated schedule.
In this webinar, Master Certified Coach Linda Miller will share best practices for using coaching as a part of a new or existing executive development program. You'll learn how executive coaching can accelerate the development of high-potential executives by providing targeted learning and growth opportunities that increase personal and organisational success.
You'll also learn:
- What high-potential leaders expect from executive coaching and how to deliver on those expectations.
- The best way to balance executive coaching with on-the-job, social, and formal training.
- High-impact delivery options for executive coaching programs.
- How to avoid some of the common pitfalls that derail many coaching initiatives.
Don't miss this opportunity to discover how executive coaching can open up opportunities and continue the development of high-potential leaders in your organisation.