Leadership Coaching Overview
Leadership Coaching Overview
Reading books, attending classes, and getting insights from others may inspire and inform you, but only you can take action. Nobody else can do leadership for you. So your effort, your courage, and your actions as a leader are your laboratory. Now, can you lead while observing your leadership? Can a finger point at itself?
If you think hiring a coach means you are weak, ask Steve Ballmer, Jack Welsh, or Oprah Winfrey. Read the biography of Abraham Lincoln, The Dalai Lama, or Margaret Thatcher. Then ask yourself why you should climb the leadership mountain without a Sherpa.
When to hire a leadership coach?
A leadership coach is rarely hired while everything is going well. Usually, there is a trigger event that causes a leader to look for help. Some of the more common drivers are:
* Your organization is under-performing. You have tried bullying, pleading, workshops, or consultants and still you aren’t happy with results
* Your board or your team is dysfunctional, and you need a safe place to vent, evaluate, and discuss options
* You love your work and your position, but your personal life is now suffering because you have not been able to strike a balance
* You recently accepted a leadership role, and need a private place to openly explore your ideas, concerns, or weaknesses with a trusted, experienced confidante
* You have been leading for years and are wondering about a career shift
What kind of goals can a coach help me achieve?
Every leader has a set of goals; sometimes those are clear and sometimes they appear only after some exploration. Many goals are related to business challenges, for example – building a team, performing a turn-around, changing a strategy, dealing with rapid growth, divesting a business, retrenching, shutting-down, etc.
Some goals are more personal, for example –
* You need an experienced confidante as a sounding board
* You want to sort out or better balance your life priorities
* You are exploring career options
* You have led small teams and want to build skills and confidence
How does coaching work?
Have you ever had a coach for a sport or performing art? Did you connect well with them? Did they have a track record of coaching teams or individuals to success? If you answered yes to these questions, think back on that coach and then ask yourself “what did they do for me?” Now ask yourself, what exactly is Tiger Woods’ coach doing for Tiger? What is Serena Williams’ coach doing for her?
Coaching at this level eliminates barriers and brings out your best. A good coach will be completely present with you, observing and learning all about you and your skill, your style, and your talents. A good coach will use the insights from that meticulous attention to help you perceive your strengths and areas for development. Finally, a good coach will motivate you to build confidence, technique, and unleash your talents to attain the highest levels of performance you can achieve.
A good coach should:
Listen actively. The focus should be on you. The coach should carefully listen to what you say, what you don’t say, and what you might not realize you are saying.
Ask questions. A coach should ask you a lot of questions. Some questions will push you into new insights. Some questions will clarify what you are saying. And some questions will explore new ideas that arise in the moment.
Give honest feedback. Leaders often are the ones from whom praise is wanted, and therefore rarely receive an honest endorsement or acknowledgement of their achievements. Leaders also rarely get insightful critiques due to their position of power or authority. A good coach will always give you a sincere assessment of what you do well and what you might consider doing differently.
Console, consider, and celebrate. Leaders typically cannot afford to openly explore half-baked ideas or vent their frustration. A good coach will give you a safe haven to brainstorm, dream, and freely express both your joys and your frustrations.
Challenge. The best leaders inspire greatness achieved by others. You have what it takes, or else you wouldn’t be reading this. From time to time, your coach should ask you to try new things and push you to stretch. You must choose when and how far to go.
Confidentiality
In order for a coach to be of value, you must be sincere, honest, and direct. Therefore, the relationship must be private and completely confidential. If you choose to speak about our coaching to anyone, it is entirely up to you. If you have been referred to a coach by a colleague they might inquire with the coach as to how you are doing. The coach’s response to them should always be limited to thanking them for the referral and to reminding them they should ask you directly how you are doing.
If your organization is sponsoring your coaching, and if they are paying for the engagement, your organization may require a “progress-report” from the coach. If that is the case, you and the coach should jointly design the content and frequency of the reports and present it jointly to your sponsor. You should be in control of disclosure at all times.
How do you pick a leadership coach?
You can try polling your trusted friends or use a professional network like linkedin for a referral. You can also go to a professional coaching organization like the ICF to get a referral. Regardless of where you find a potential coach, you really should spend a few sessions with the coach. They should be willing to meet with you without charging you. If your potential coach is any good, they will want to evaluate your openness and sincerity before signing up with you.
How much does a coach cost?
That depends on what kind of coach you hire. A “life coach” can be had for as little as $300 per month for a weekly one-hour call. A seasoned executive who specializes in coaching CEOs and executives often works on a monthly retainer or prepaid contract and, depending on the scope of the engagement, can end up charging the equivalent of $300-500 per hour depending on the situation.
(C) 2007 BlueSeven Partners LLC, all rights reserved.
Leadership Coaching Overview - To learn more about this author, visit Michael Schutzler's Website.
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Leadership coaching is a professional relationship focused on your development as a leader. A good coach will listen, evaluate, and apply their skill and experience to encourage you, and at times push you. For leadership coaching to work, you will need to be open to new ideas and strategies, learn new skills, and practice them.
Reading books, attending classes, and getting insights from others may inspire and inform you, but only you can take action. Nobody else can do leadership for you. So your effort, your courage, and your actions as a leader are your laboratory. Now, can you lead while observing your leadership? Can a finger point at itself?
If you think hiring a coach means you are weak, ask Steve Ballmer, Jack Welsh, or Oprah Winfrey. Read the biography of Abraham Lincoln, The Dalai Lama, or Margaret Thatcher. Then ask yourself why you should climb the leadership mountain without a Sherpa.
When to hire a leadership coach?
A leadership coach is rarely hired while everything is going well. Usually, there is a trigger event that causes a leader to look for help. Some of the more common drivers are:
* Your organization is under-performing. You have tried bullying, pleading, workshops, or consultants and still you aren’t happy with results
* Your board or your team is dysfunctional, and you need a safe place to vent, evaluate, and discuss options
* You love your work and your position, but your personal life is now suffering because you have not been able to strike a balance
* You recently accepted a leadership role, and need a private place to openly explore your ideas, concerns, or weaknesses with a trusted, experienced confidante
* You have been leading for years and are wondering about a career shift
What kind of goals can a coach help me achieve?
Every leader has a set of goals; sometimes those are clear and sometimes they appear only after some exploration. Many goals are related to business challenges, for example – building a team, performing a turn-around, changing a strategy, dealing with rapid growth, divesting a business, retrenching, shutting-down, etc.
Some goals are more personal, for example –
* You need an experienced confidante as a sounding board
* You want to sort out or better balance your life priorities
* You are exploring career options
* You have led small teams and want to build skills and confidence
How does coaching work?
Have you ever had a coach for a sport or performing art? Did you connect well with them? Did they have a track record of coaching teams or individuals to success? If you answered yes to these questions, think back on that coach and then ask yourself “what did they do for me?” Now ask yourself, what exactly is Tiger Woods’ coach doing for Tiger? What is Serena Williams’ coach doing for her?
Coaching at this level eliminates barriers and brings out your best. A good coach will be completely present with you, observing and learning all about you and your skill, your style, and your talents. A good coach will use the insights from that meticulous attention to help you perceive your strengths and areas for development. Finally, a good coach will motivate you to build confidence, technique, and unleash your talents to attain the highest levels of performance you can achieve.
A good coach should:
Listen actively. The focus should be on you. The coach should carefully listen to what you say, what you don’t say, and what you might not realize you are saying.
Ask questions. A coach should ask you a lot of questions. Some questions will push you into new insights. Some questions will clarify what you are saying. And some questions will explore new ideas that arise in the moment.
Give honest feedback. Leaders often are the ones from whom praise is wanted, and therefore rarely receive an honest endorsement or acknowledgement of their achievements. Leaders also rarely get insightful critiques due to their position of power or authority. A good coach will always give you a sincere assessment of what you do well and what you might consider doing differently.
Console, consider, and celebrate. Leaders typically cannot afford to openly explore half-baked ideas or vent their frustration. A good coach will give you a safe haven to brainstorm, dream, and freely express both your joys and your frustrations.
Challenge. The best leaders inspire greatness achieved by others. You have what it takes, or else you wouldn’t be reading this. From time to time, your coach should ask you to try new things and push you to stretch. You must choose when and how far to go.
Confidentiality
In order for a coach to be of value, you must be sincere, honest, and direct. Therefore, the relationship must be private and completely confidential. If you choose to speak about our coaching to anyone, it is entirely up to you. If you have been referred to a coach by a colleague they might inquire with the coach as to how you are doing. The coach’s response to them should always be limited to thanking them for the referral and to reminding them they should ask you directly how you are doing.
If your organization is sponsoring your coaching, and if they are paying for the engagement, your organization may require a “progress-report” from the coach. If that is the case, you and the coach should jointly design the content and frequency of the reports and present it jointly to your sponsor. You should be in control of disclosure at all times.
How do you pick a leadership coach?
You can try polling your trusted friends or use a professional network like linkedin for a referral. You can also go to a professional coaching organization like the ICF to get a referral. Regardless of where you find a potential coach, you really should spend a few sessions with the coach. They should be willing to meet with you without charging you. If your potential coach is any good, they will want to evaluate your openness and sincerity before signing up with you.
How much does a coach cost?
That depends on what kind of coach you hire. A “life coach” can be had for as little as $300 per month for a weekly one-hour call. A seasoned executive who specializes in coaching CEOs and executives often works on a monthly retainer or prepaid contract and, depending on the scope of the engagement, can end up charging the equivalent of $300-500 per hour depending on the situation.
(C) 2007 BlueSeven Partners LLC, all rights reserved.
Leadership Coaching Overview - To learn more about this author, visit Michael Schutzler's Website.
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Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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