You’re a mid-career professional facing career obstacles. How can Executive Coaching help you overcome them?

Coaching is not a problem solving tool. However a coach partners with a client to help them become more resourceful, so that they can solve their problems. In this process, a coach supports a client to identify what they aspire for, what actions they need to take to move towards the aspiration and how they can build muscle for acceptance. Coaching also helps turn the camera towards the person (client),helping them see what is serving them and what is not and therefore what may need to change.

A haiku on executive coaching: Coaching journey starts, Strengths and vision clarified, Success grows with care. An executive coach partners with you and looks and listens with you on your: 1. Professional and personal goals 2. Areas of strengths and improvements, opportunities and threats 3. Clarification of your vision, values, and purpose 4. Development and implementation of action plans and strategies 5. Enhancement of skills, competencies and behaviors 6. Request for aid in overcoming challenges, barriers, and blind spots 7. Being held accountable 8. Being provided feedback on your progress 9. Celebration of your successes 10. Continuing development as a leader and manager

As executive coaching is a personalized and confidential process, it is paramount that the rapport between coach and client is strong. As an executive, testing out with a few coaches how the coaching process with each of them 'feels', before embarking on the deep work, is invaluable.

One of the most common yet surprisingly difficult questions that I ask my executive coaching clients when they are feeling stuck in their careers is “What exactly do you want?” It never ceases to amaze me how this simple question throws leaders off because somehow they forgot what they truly want because they got caught up in making sure that everyone else gets what they want and they no longer feel worthy. An honest answer to this question could be the pathway to a way forward.

I always equate the coaching sessions to 'dusting off the cob webs'. It allows one to see the real treasure behind it rather than focus on the cob web! Coaching conversations force an individual to - set aside time to think about their situation - focus on the way forward instead of being stuck in the situation - allowing one to look at alternative options to the situation - have an accountability partner - most importantly, have a judgement free space to share concerns and challenges and open way for positive actions

I echo what Dr LaVerne Adams has discussed in her input - often when I ask coaching clients what it is they are after in their career, they realise they don't actually know anymore. We spend a lot of time doing all the things, climbing the ladder, working hard and achieving - then we get what we want and find that we don't feel how we thought we would. Because we've become so disconnected from ourselves and what we actually want. So the start point for coaching is to get clear on what the client actually wants - what success truly looks like for them

A person can know something isn't quite ok with their career, yet they wouldn't really know what it is exactly. The coach can help them identify not only the obstacles but most importantly how to overcome them. In most of the times, the obstacles shared by the client are the door opener for the root cause of the problems.

Executive coaching doesn't only aim at fixing a single problem but rather at assessing one's career periodically. Even if we assume, there is no apparent boulder in an Executive day to day day at work, working on areas like fulfillment or Life purpose being aligned with the job is extremely rewarding.

Coaching works well when coach and executive have a good rapport, and there is a relationship of trust and openness. As such, as an executive, finding a coach with whom you resonate is crucial. Many executive coaches offer a complimentary first contact (sometimes called a 'chemistry') session which will enable an executive (and the coach) to assess whether the potential coach/client relationship will be one that works (for both sides). Don't be afraid of approaching a number of coaches for complimentary sessions in order to find the coach that suits you and your situation.

Being 100% ready to work with a coach isn't a requirement but commitment is. There will be times when the coachee feels totally ready and some other times when they regress and this is absolutely ok. The coaching space witnesses magic and transformation yet it can get uncomfortable as it incur growth.

Much of the learning which arises during a coaching relationship happens outside of the coaching session itself. It's a constant process of reflection and action-taking by the executive. Therefore, being ready to invest time and energy into yourself, and remaining committed to the process (with all its inevitable ups and downs) is key to realising transformative results.

First, find clarity amidst chaos. Look for a tailored approach that would encourage you to explore how (what I call) your leadership color and personality traits can provide valuable insights into your strengths, values, and goals. From my experience, clients who align external appearance with internal essence and leverage personality insights can gain clarity on their authentic selves and navigate career obstacles confidently and purposefully. Continuously assess and revisit this approach whenever you seek guidance, ensuring that you remain aligned with your authentic self, values, and aspirations, empowered to navigate any career challenges that come your way.