7 Executive Coaching Tips for High Performing CEOs

None of us admit to being an underperforming CEO, but there are always things we could be doing better and habits that could improve our performance. After all, growth and personal development is a key attribute of a successful leader. So what can you learn about yourself and develop? What habits do you think you currently possess that might be hindering your career rather than enhance it? We have done our research and found 7 habits of high performing CEO’s that we think you should start implementing today.?

Speak to anyone’s partner or friends and they will list a whole heap of negative habits that a person might have. It could be that they chew their nails or that they talk over people. But what are your positive habits? Do you know them? Maybe you intentionally act on your positive habits so that you can be more productive? We believe that high performing CEO’s share the same habits, here’s our list of the top 7.?

1)Make Your Mornings Meaningful

What do you currently do in the mornings to get you ready for the day? Grab a coffee? Head for the gym? Both of these things are important to you and because of this, they give your morning meaningful. How much of your morning is spent on social media? How much of it is spent running around trying to find papers and files that you have misplaced? This sort of behaviour doesn’t give your mornings meaning and are actually going to hinder your progress for the whole day. Being organised and giving your mornings purpose will help you to set your mindset for the rest of the day into productive mode. Try writing a list of things you currently do in your mornings that have little meaning or waste time, then scrap then from your morning routine!?

2)Delegate

For the more controlling of you, delegating feels like a nightmare. You hand over control of your precious project not knowing whether the work will actually get done or not. Unfortunately, you can’t do everything and actually you aren’t paid to either. It would be a complete waste of salaries if you did everything yourself, so make the most of your highest outgoing and delegate jobs that don’t need your eye to detail and input to other people. It will also help you to build trust within your team which will in turn pay off in improved productivity.?

3)Schedule Your Duties Daily

We aren’t talking about “meeting 11am, lunch 1pm, home 5pm”, we are talking about scheduling every minute of your day. Carve out dedicated times to tasks such as reading emails or answering calls. Find a dedicated time in the week that you are “busy” and ask not to be disturbed. This is the time when you can focus on challenges or strategies that might otherwise get missed in the day to day running of a business. By allocating each minute to a task, you won’t waste any time and will get so much more done.?

4)Make Time for “Face to Face” Discussions

Most scenarios can be resolved with an email, but when that isn’t the case, you need to make time for a “face to face” discussion. Knowing when an email response is viable and when a real discussion is needed is an art that you will hone over the years of being a CEO, but for now think to yourself about the importance of the conversation and how you would feel to receive an email containing that information. If you are comfortable with it then go ahead and send an email response. If you feel that an email wouldn’t resolve your issue then it’s time to schedule that “face to face”.?

5)Communicate Effectively

Communication can make or break a CEO. You can have the best business ideas and the smartest strategies but if you aren’t capable of communicating them to your team or to the board then the chances are that you aren’t going to succeed. Learn where your communication weaknesses are and work on them. There are plenty of effective communication books and courses you can take so that you learn how to talk to people so that they will actually listen and take you seriously. Continuous personal development is a great leadership skill so learning how to communicate more effectively is another good way to do this.?

6)Give Praise and Accept Criticism

Giving praise to your team is a great way to build trust and develop the bond that you need with your employees. Seeing their achievements and recognising them is something that great leaders often do so by doing this yourself, you will become a more likeable and approachable boss.?

Some people find that giving praise is easy, accepting criticism is not so easy. We understand that it can be hard to hear and that when you are in a position of power you don’t feel that people below you should be critiquing you, but this is all part of personal development and while you may not agree with peoples criticism, you could look at objectively to see if there may be a grain of truth in it.?

7)Invest in Your Team

Your team are going to either make you or break you. As we stated before, you can’t achieve everything by yourself, so the more you invest in your team the more you will get out. Find their talents and nurture them, if they need additional training then help them with that. The stronger the bond between you and your team, the more productive the whole system becomes.?

We believe that you have it in you to become a highly effective leader. These 7 habits of high performing CEO’s will hopefully inspire you into greatness and help you to achieve it. These small changes will make an enormous impact on both your business and your career so begin implementing them today and see how they can positively benefit you.??