Tweet

Leadership Coaching Overview

Written by: Michael Schutzler

Article Overview: What is leadership coaching? When do you hire a coach? How does it work? Some guidelines to consider when hiring a leadership coach.

Leadership Coaching Overview

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.

Related Articles
  So what differentiates a Life Coach from a Business Coach from an Executive Coach?
  How to choose your executive coach -1
  COACHING ACCELERATES SUCCESS
  Distinctive Value Propositions DVP
  Book Review: From Coach to Awakener by Robert Dilts

Article Tags: abraham lincoln, biography of abraham lincoln, business challenges, career shift, confidante, dalai lama, finger point, jack welsh, leadership coach, leadership coaching, leadership mountain, leadership role, margaret thatcher, oprah winfrey, private place, professional relationship, reading books, safe place, sherpa, steve ballmer



Related Forum Posts
Re: Business Women Peer Mentoring Spotlight - Hi Everyone, Gosh, I REALLY appreciate your concrete feedback. This was far more than I expected and I'm glad you said what you thought straight out. Each of you have shared something of value and I want to take some more time to think and really go over what each of you have said. However, I can see there are some things I need to change right away. What an interesting point about a NEW program perhaps making people think they are guinea pigs! This is NOT what I want to convey! It's funny how we can see some things so clearly in others while not always seeing it for ourselves! I must admit there are a few things I've been meaning to change (like my bio which is very outdated). Obviously, these things need to be higher on my priority list. You caught me like the plumber who puts his clients first and doesn't get around to fixing his own tap! As far as my target market, I do feel quite strongly about working with Women Leaders and doing Leadership Coaching with them. It's non-negotiable in my books. In my Executive Coaching training, the terms "Leaders" and "Executives" are interchangable. To me, an Executive is a Leader and so is the Business Woman or Entrepreneur who is CEO of her own business. I love working with decision makers! What I did learn is that I need to avoid opening up the Leadership term beyond what I described above. I'm also wondering if there is a misunderstanding with the general public as to what Leadership Coaching really is. Leadership Coaching is all about developing your leadership skills, both as a people manager and in more effectively running and growing the business. There is ALWAYS room for growth in some way. As well, sometimes, we just need a sounding board to clarify what our next BEST step is. In fact, if a woman thinks she has nothing to work on, then we aren't a good Client/Coach fit anyway. How can she grow if she doesn't see the value of expressing ALL of the great ability within her? How can her company grow if she doesn't see the value of strategic planning for the next best level? Thanks again to you all! I will go back to my website and really question whether I am conveying the right message. I got more than I bargained for in this Spotlight... you generously offered way more than I was asking. I think we could be on to something great for the Forum. Now it's time to let someone else have the spotlight. It would be great if everyone took a turn! In gratitude, Tami
Re: 3 Ways I Used Twitter To Grow My Business This Week - Hi Olivia, It seems you are working in the area of leadership area. Is Leadership = Learning? I am looking for some good books on strategy? Which one do you recommend? Thanks, Robert
Re: need pricing help please - here's my opinion that was derived from the person I heard it from (Russell Brunson) I view internet Marketing products as a Ladder. At the bottom of the Ladder is ebooks and at the top is One on One Coaching. so the ladder would look like this starting from the Top ($$$) to Bottom($) One-to-One Coaching ($$$$$$) Workshops ($$$$$) Teleseminars ($$$$) Video($$$) Audio ($$) ebooks ($) I agree with this methodology mainly because of the convenience factor and value from the customers point of view.
Re: need pricing help please - [quote="jvprosperity":t4htv1h6]here's my opinion that was derived from the person I heard it from (Russell Brunson) I view internet Marketing products as a Ladder. At the bottom of the Ladder is ebooks and at the top is One on One Coaching. so the ladder would look like this starting from the Top ($$$) to Bottom($) One-to-One Coaching ($$$$$$) Workshops ($$$$$) Teleseminars ($$$$) Video($$$) Audio ($$) ebooks ($) I agree with this methodology mainly because of the convenience factor and value from the customers point of view.[/quote:t4htv1h6] I also agree with this methodology, but sometimes some ebooks sell more in 2 digits. My 26 pages report sell for $9.77
Re: Business Women Peer Mentoring Spotlight - That is a great idea, David. This is what I had in mind for the Women's section, but it makes sense to post in on the main site. Of course, I'm waiting for some women to step up to the plate and share how they could use some support on taking the next step with their business! If you are a Business Woman reading this, I invite you to consider that this is not displaying weakness in any form. Peer mentoring and Coaching is incredibly valuable. You get to bounce your ideas off others, hear perspectives from outside your own box, and feel the power of others cheering you on. To me, it's wisdom to use all of our available resources to move towards business success. That's why I have my own Coach and my own Mentor Coaching Group. I also offer that to my clients. These are services one usually has to pay for and you could enjoy some of it free right here! So who wants to start? Can you tell I'm excited about the possibilities for you even before you begin? Warmly, Tami


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Why Use an Advertising Agency

How To Calculate A Minimum Fee For Your Services

Ways to Improve Your Landing Page Conversions

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.