What are the most common goals of executive coaching?

In terms of leadership development the most common goals set by clients were 1) leading a (multi-cultural) team 2) improving executive gravitas and 3) reading the room to better manage/influence stakeholders.

Sadly, I see many managers in leadership positions who are either un-coachable or do not have the level of strategic thinking, emotional intelligence and basics of communication skills that can be honed to be excellent leaders to start with. Companies need to start with hiring the right candidates with (coachable) potentials. Particularly when employees are promoted to a leadership position based on their specialist knowledge.

Executive coaching often targets key areas such as honing executive presence to command respect and inspire confidence, mastering the art of influence while retaining credibility, refining communication skills for clear and impactful messaging, and improving decision-making abilities to navigate complex challenges effectively.

Leadership development is one of the key goals of Executive coaching , supporting leaders to recognize their potential, identify the gaps, and chart a way forward to fill those gaps. Coaching brings to awareness the possibilities and opportunities that exist for leaders to grow and develop themselves for the next challenging level within the organization in a structured way. Some of the aspects that coaching brings to the fore are - -Identify the strengths of a leader - Pick up patterns of derailers - explore why and how they show up - identify opportunities for development so that the next-level challenges can be met - Identify behaviours that will lead to consistently superior results - Practise the behaviours as a leader in workplace

Executive Coaching Expounds and Expand the Hidden areas of the Mentee. Including adding Light to hidden emotion, amplyfying intelligence, and complimenting the dreams and goals of the receiver.

I do a lot of coaching to support on this area of executive coaching. Vision, goals and values are very important components of an high performing team. Yet, the most important component, in my opinion, is our a leader inspires, guides and influences their team to ‘buy’ into these. Having a strategy to get people to believe in their vision is often where leaders fail as they rely on their position rather than their charisma, gravitas, motivational skills and expertise.

Career transition is an important yet incredibly challenging part of any professional's career span. Transitions can pose unique and very personalized experiences for each leader. William Bridges' Model of Transition highlights 3 stages of transition that people go through when they are faced with change. These are: Ending, Losing, and Letting Go. The Neutral Zone. The New Beginning Bridges says that people will go through each stage at their own pace. Those who are comfortable with the change will likely move ahead to stage three quickly, while others will linger at stages one or two. Leaders at each unique stage can benefit from coaching by exploring their emotions and choosing a path that seems right for them given their stage.

Executive coaching plays a significant role in career transitions, whether it is the transition to the next level or succeeding in the role they have newly stepped into. As Marshall Goldsmith famously said - What brought you here will not take you there. Executive coaching helps leaders identify and adopt the new behaviors they need to get to the next level of roles and succeed in them. It also helps identify and shed the old behaviors that no longer serve the leader.

I think we're always in transition...things are always changing. Being able to navigate this change becomes a crucial skill. The better the level of self-awareness, the more equipped the leader is to navigate the ever changing landscape, whether internal or external. Coaching allows the leader to build a deeper level of self awareness, new skills and new understandings & insights - and all of this will help living with change.

In my work with leaders as an executive coach, I have seen leaders squeezed by a mountain of expectations for the next level, the burden of managing larger teams, global roles, and expanded stakeholder ask. Amidst the shifted organizational perception, I have seen that the leaders' readiness to address these challenges is always on a spectrum. All leaders are not equally prepared to navigate the expectations. Particularly for those leaders coaching helps ! Coaching allows them to explore through deep conversations - 1- what might be the one big thing they would need to focus 2- What success looks like in the new role 3- What are the real or perceived challenges that the leader is facing 4- What makes it a challenge, really? And PERFORM!

In my journey with startups, I've discovered that executive coaching is pivotal for performance elevation. Often, it's about honing decision-making, amplifying emotional intelligence, and fostering leadership agility. At one vibrant tech company, I coached a visionary yet overwhelmed CEO. Together, we unlocked strategies for effective delegation and stress management, transforming chaos into productivity. Such transformations reaffirm that at the core of performance improvement lies the art of aligning personal growth with organizational goals, a mantra I carry into each coaching chapter.

This is an important area for coaching, due to two reasons. Firstly, many leaders often develop blind spots and performance gaps that over time, become dis-serving and actually prevent the leader from progressing. Leaders also rarely receive honest feedback which further prevents growth. Secondly, due to time constraints leaders rarely take the time to dig deeper to understand root causes - they end up working on the superficial and wasting effort in trying to fix something that is not the cause, but effect. Coaching can support in both of these elements because a) a coach is not here to please but serve and will give honest feedback and b) a coach invites the leader to a deeper reflection that allows the root cause to emerge.

I’m curious about the terminology…as if work and life are totally distinct and need to be balanced. The work I do as an #ikigai coach challenges the assumption that they have to be separate. What if we do work that we both love and are good at? Then our work becomes more a part of our life? And then maybe it’s back to terminology and we just need a better work/non-work balance?

As a coach, many of my coaches encountered the challenge of mastering work-life balance. I recall guiding a seasoned leader, worn by the ceaseless demands of leadership. Despite his stellar growth and success, he struggled with his health. We worked together, focusing not just on managing time, but on managing energy — essential for sustained high performance. As we often discussed, "It's not the hours you put in, but the energy you bring to those hours." Our journey led to him prioritizing wellness and rediscovering his zest for both work and life.

I was talking with a former Harvard Business School professor the other week on my podcast and she said "I hear many people complaining about a lack of balance in their life or career, but I hardly ever hear of people setting balance as an explicit goal in personal development and growth through coaching." We agreed that the pursuit of balance could be an important paradigm shift in the development of high-performance leaders in the coming years. When society teaches us that you have to work harder and harder to achieve bigger and bigger goals, in reality the most successful leaders, including in the world's largest companies, are those who have mastered balance in their life and work. Give it a go and see what it unlocks for you!

This is a constant puzzle for many of my clients. Ever evolving, changing and fluid, it's important we recognise what is energy giving vs draining with my clients. We must setup routines and rituals that unlock high performance, and build habits that sustain these behaviours. It's as simple...and as hard as that. Leaders must get really honest with their time management and priorities - I often see clients saying 'family is number 1' yet the choices they make are everything but. Aligning word with action has power.

A truly remarkable leader leads from their core, from the quality of their being. They are highly self-aware, emotionally intelligent, intuitive, and present. These qualities (the being) are not developed in isolation but in deep, trustworthy partnership and dialogue with coaches/individuals that can hold the complexity of life, humanity and leadership. It is only through this growth, nudged by the coach, a leader can truly step into their authentic way of leading, and so causing the biggest impact available for them. Without mirrors and the right tools (coaching), the leader stays in their golden cage - without realising they are in one.

Coaching and Personal Growth are so sides of the same coin - coaching is a compelling tool for personal growth. Personal Growth Model (PGP) by Carl Rogers talks about "willingness to grow" as an important condition for personal growth. Autonomy Authenticity willingness are important conditions for personal growth. Interesting Coaching presupposes these three areas as critical to the success of a coaching relationship. A leader can walk towards the journey of personal growth only - - if he/she is willing to invest in personal growth -Is authentic in the coaching relationship - is autonomous in the choices of growth he/she chooses to make. Coaching a leader with these 3 traits can be incredibly valuable for a client.

I was having a tripartite call with the leader and his boss, the leader mentioned that he wants to work on his executive presence and the boss smiled and said that he doesn’t understand the meaning here about executive but definitely presence is something we all need to cultivate as human beings and that statement hit hard and changed even my way of looking at things. This word Executive Presence has become a buzzword of sorts in coaching and leadership development. What all of us need is to demonstrate PRESENCE day in day out and to do that one needs transcend a lot of things not just at corporate levels but even personally This is where coaching can make a huge difference

I'd love to share a snippet from my journey as an executive coach, notably with a remarkable 16-year-old CEO. Despite her groundbreaking innovation, she struggled to command the boardroom—a space dominated by seasoned executives. We worked together to focus on cultivating her 'Executive Presence,' emphasizing confident communication, authenticity, and strategic thought leadership. Together, we navigated the nuances of assertiveness and emotional intelligence, ensuring her ideas resonated with gravitas. Today, she stands tall, her presence undeniably felt, her voice unfalteringly heard. This transformation underscores a common coaching goal: shaping a presence that aligns innate potential with perceived authority.

All the comments and goals for coaching Executives and Leaders are accurate However my comments are are applicable to all. Reasons to start the journey will change and evolve. It is the basic relationship that is forged over time, that leads to the success in adapting to new situations and thus continuing to grow. Life and Businesses are dynamic and not always predictable. At the initial stages the needs and wants at the time must be articulated so as to have a base point and to start building the Trust and Respect relationships between Coach and Client

Executive presence for me is not about 'projecting confidence, competence, or credibility'. For me, executive presence stands for being available, open and observing. Having an open mind, a listening ear and the capability to take action that serves the situation (not the leader ego). It is the ability to be with what is, even if it's the most challenging thing ever. This requires such vulnerability and courage that invites the leader to work with their own internal blocks to be able to offer that quality of presence to others. This 'executive presence' then, becomes a mirror of the quality of relationship the executive has with themselves.

Executive coaching primarily supports and empowers leaders to become the best version of who they can potentially be. The process of exploration of emotions, thoughts, barriers, opportunities, and mindsets puts the executive in a place of awareness, potentially a place from where all change begins to happen coupled with the intent of action. In my work with leaders over the years, I have observed leaders get into a reflective mode through coaching and tend to observe themselves in a dispassionate way. This not only allows them the pause to assess their mindset and actions but also gives them an opportunity to exercise choice to manifest more empowering behaviors and mindsets. Executive coaching is a privilege and an opportunity!

My clients aim for professional recognition and genuine leadership presence, where their authenticity, femininity, and appearance are in harmony with their aspirations. Embracing their worth, they prioritize well-being and positive connections, crafting a balanced approach to navigate their journey authentically and powerfully for holistic success.

In my experience of coaching leaders, I find that, at times, they put the burden of solving every problem on themselves and do not leverage their teams enough. Executive coaching helps them see that they are not playing to their strengths and determine how to marshal the required resources, build trust, brainstorm, and seek feedback. It is a powerful tool for breaking out of the - lonely at the top - emotion, which can be a padlock for the leader. Coaching helps leaders to connect better with themselves and their teams and improve organizational performance.