5 Ways An Executive Coach Can Make You More Successful by The Career Establishment

Executive coaching has boomed as an industry and it’s a common occurrence for people in organisations to be assigned a coach whether it be a CEO, manager, small business owners, leaders and emerging ones. They will generally see this as a positive thing. Rarely do I find in my line of work having to sell the benefits of coaching. The majority of the time the person has already a fixed idea what they are looking to achieve it generally boils down to more of whether there is the right chemistry between the coachee and the coach.

When looking to engage a coach at the executive level, typically coaches have their own solid business achievements under their belt before entering the coaching profession (which is the case for me), or else they come to it with a strong background in psychology and counselling. It’s always good to review their LinkedIn page so you are comfortable with their credentials before arranging a time to catch up with them (albeit virtually right now). That's the good thing about coaching, during times such as these coaching sessions can continue as normal moving from face-to-face to virtual meetings.

However, you may be at a point in your career where you feel you need one but not quite sure what they do and what the benefits would be to you. So with that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to reflect on what the benefits are to engaging with a coach particularly in this current climate where individuals may be feeling isolated, unmotivated, distracted and looking for more clarity around business objectives.

So what makes a good Coach?

In essence, an executive coach provides a confidential conversation about how the executive is doing. The coach uses conversational skills such as listening, inquiry, summary and reframing to help the executive gain clarity and focus, to make the shift from reactive behavior to a more purposeful and confident approach.

Let's jump right in.

The Career Establishment’s “Top 5 Ways An Executive Coach Can Make You More Successful”:

#1 Heightened Self Awareness:

This is one of the main areas coaches target. There is a good reason for it; self-awareness is the catalyst by which growth occurs. Without that first step of realization, people blindly continue doing things in the same way as usual. Whether you are in the C-suite or a small business leader, it’s important to have keen self-awareness and awareness of your interpersonal and one-to-one engagement with your clients, your reports and others. Imagine, if you had a clearer understanding of self, what power you could unleash at work. An executive coach can do that.

#2 See Others More Clearly

Being aware of ones own strengths, weaknesses, style, personality, preferences, etc., has a significant impact on how the leader behaves and interact with others. Understanding not only themselves but also their employees strengths, weaknesses, motivators and challenges allows them to see them more clearly and be better equipped at communicating, motivating and developing them in a way that is unique to them. 

A good and insightful coach will often have more neutral and accurate perceptions of those around the leader than they will and be able to share those perceptions with the leader.  

#3 Leverage your Existing Strengths

A strengths based approach is both inspiring and confidence building because it focuses on what we do right and how we can leverage our talents. When we use our strengths we also improve our engagement levels which leads to an increase in satisfaction, productivity and profitability. In a society that focuses on what’s wrong, this framework is a forward looking and positive approach particularly in times such as these.

Strengths based leadership coaching can help an individual identify and leverage their strengths, understand how their strengths work for and against them, develop as a leader whether they manage a team or not, manage their team more effectively, build strategic partnerships, develop strategies to overcome challenges and identify new opportunities, feel more engaged in their career and leverage strengths to achieve their goals. Strengths leadership coaching is an effective resource for managers, executives and teams who want an engaging, trusted, insightful and objective consultant.

A year back, I coached a Managing Director that as a leader was suppressing one of his natural talents “competitiveness” as he was no longer an individual contributor and now running a major sales business globally and he felt it would be better to lean into his other talents. I helped him see the uniqueness and value of this strength, and to learn how to lean into it in order to use it more effectively for the benefit of his team.

Gallup’s research suggests that people who focus on using their strengths are 3x as likely to report having an excellent quality of life and are 6x as likely to be engaged in their jobs. People working in the strengths zone have more positive, creative and innovative moments and achieve more on a daily basis. In addition, teams that focus on strengths have 12.5% greater productivity. We use the CliftonStrengths Assessment to gain a base understanding of each person’s talents and then help develop them into strengths.

#4 Improved Leadership Abilities

The majority of the executives I coach are looking to scale up their leadership in some way or another. Whether that be identifying their natural strengths and look to build upon that over time or they have specific challenges internally that they are looking to overcome. More often than not at the senior level it becomes pretty lonely. They need to be able to talk to someone other than their boss or others in their company about what is going on with absolute confidence. An interesting tend that we are observing is the focus on coaching programs for “emerging leaders”. Companies are recognizing the need to nurture, develop and cultivate their future talent and through coaching they ensure they are recognized, motivated and challenged.

#5 Clearer Vision & Peak Performance

Sometimes you can find yourself getting too involved and being too close to the business resulting in being unable to see the wood through the trees. During my days at Robert Walters where I was managing over 150 staff across Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam using an executive coach really helped me to stop and reflect on my business. You tend to be at running speed all the time and to work with a coach where you take the time to identify and prioritise goals and really clarify what the issues are were hugely beneficial in my career.  

Are you looking for a Coach?

If you’re looking to become the person you most want to be, you owe it to yourself and the people that you lead to make that change.

So be brave, committed and curious and reach out today to: Andrea Ross, the founder of The Career Establishment and Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach & Leadership Facilitator on +65 92720574 or alternatively: [email protected] or take a sneaky peak at our website for more details on our coaching approach: https://thecareerestablishment.com/strength-coaching/