5 Things to Expect from an Executive Coach
What can you or your organization expect when receiving coaching?
All leaders face challenges and roadblocks. Some of these obstacles and difficulties stem from managing direct reports effectively, being able to prioritize conflicting responsibilities, or the desire to keep growing with an organization. Even the best leaders use coaches to help them continue to develop their skills, self-awareness, and influence. A coach is a thought partner who can help you navigate issues, uncover blind spots, and identify opportunities for development.
Your relationship with a coach is a creative partnership.
Coaching is distinct from giving advice, consulting, counseling, or mentoring. You would hire a coach to help you with personal and professional goals, projects, or transitions. Your coach will help you grow by analyzing your current situation, identify limiting beliefs and other potential challenges or obstacles you face. Then create a custom plan of action designed to help you achieve specific outcomes in your life.
Here are five things you can expect from an executive coach:
Confidentiality: Your coach has a duty not to disclose any information obtained during the coaching relationship course without your expressed permission. The right to confidentiality belongs to you.
Straight Talk + Judgement Free Listening: Your coach will be honest, call things what they are, let you know where you stand, and demonstrate integrity. A coach will help you see yourself more clearly and accurately, assessing your willingness to be vulnerable and challenging you directly. Coaches will always push you to go beyond what you think is possible. Your coach will challenge you to play bigger. Executives who get the most out of coaching have a fierce desire to learn and grow.
Thought Partnership: Your coach will ask questions to help you clarify and solve challenges/problems/opportunities to nurture and evoke strategies, creating a plan of action. A coach is often the only person in an executive’s life who will hold the lamp high enough for the leader to see beyond immediate commitments and goals. Also, coaches have experience from many different environments and have the benefit of an outsider’s perspective.
Mental Models + Frameworks + Feedback: Your coach will learn new ways to respond, help identify and close skill gaps. Most people have a sense for where they lack skill, but a coach can quickly get to the pain point.
Accountability Partner: Your coach will foster accountability to increase productivity. Your coach won’t let you duck when things get difficult, helping you establish and take action towards achieving your goals.
To get the most out of your executive coaching sessions, you should come to each coaching session prepared, engaged, and open to new ideas, you will be amazed at how valuable the experience is. Remember, it is a creative partnership.
Leadership is a journey, and at different points, we need different things. Coaching is a business tool that can create a competitive advantage for leaders. Our certified coaches at Bravium have coaches themselves. Why? Because we all have a fierce desire to learn and grow, and we know a good coach can help us get there.
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