Benefits of C-suite Coaching

Realities of Executive Life

Executives are expected to lead in increasingly demanding environments and work with various types of people. They often benefit from having an advocate and a partner in their roles to help them recognize and address behavioral issues within themselves and their teams. It is nearly impossible for them to manage the business while coaching every team member individually. They frequently need a coach with experience in a similar operational role and can instinctively identify solutions quickly and in real time.

When you find a good coach and engage their services to help you lead your organization more effectively, you can expect the following six benefits for your business:

1. You receive real-time, personal, and group?feedback?that you can reflect on.

2. You gain objectivity?that only a third party can provide.

3. You achieve greater?visibility?regarding your blind spots.

4. The?solutions?the coach offers will be tailored to fit the unique context of your business.

5. The coach can develop a comprehensive?game plan?designed for your needs.

6. Together, you can establish a leadership?playbook?to streamline execution.

The Core of the Concept

Having worked in the corporate business environment for over 39 years, I've learned some enduring lessons.

One of the most enduring is that everyone needs a "coach," regardless of the leadership positions they hold. The reason is simple: we cannot see our blind spots. It is rare for a leader to accurately see themselves in action, or understand the impact of their actions. It takes time before we recognize what about ourselves contributes to the challenges we face. As executive leaders, we would all benefit from having a leadership or "organizational coach" at some point. This coaching can guide the exploration and improvement we know we need.

It's essential to differentiate organizational coaching from personal or individual coaching; the former is not limited to the individual, which makes it more powerful. A leader cannot be separated from the context of their leadership, which is the organization they lead. Thus, an organizational coach can help you see the actions and reactions that drive team performance, whether good or bad.

As companies strive to implement more intellectually inclusive management principles, foster engaged employees, build collaborative teams, and develop adaptive strategies, traditional HR concepts have not kept pace. In many industries, HR roles are so focused on maintaining the status quo that they have little time to adapt to or reinvent the future. Instead of leading the charge, they are overwhelmed by the challenges at hand, which means that innovation is increasingly coming from outside the HR function, and that is alright. You really do not ned HR to spend their time "hand-holding" you need them to provide the tools, training, guidance, and feedback on how we are doing as an organization.

A fresh way to support executive leadership

Organizational coaching combines 7 key proficiencies not traditionally found within business structures;

1.??? Operational experience in one or more of a business’s core functions to provide needed insights on how the functions work.

2.??? Expertise in human dynamics (people, teams, organizational behavior) to decode the DNA of the organization’s workflows.

3.??? Deep understanding of change management and organizational culture processes, in diverse environments.

4.??? Broad experience with executive leadership styles based on the strengths, weaknesses, and biases of leaders.

5.??? Alignment of commercial, operational, and human resource strategies within an overall business planning sphere.

6.??? Facilitation mastery as a group coach and mentor addressing the behaviors and tendencies of a group of leaders.

7.??? Collaborative thinking and creative development at tactical, strategic, and visionary levels of understanding.

The core skills are essential for a coach to provide valuable insights to C-suite leaders. Solutions should not only be?feasible?but also?credible,?aligned, and?systematic. Companies require recommendations that are relevant to the unique aspects of their business but can be consistently applied to anyone in the organization. Therefore, the coach must be able to customize solutions to meet the specific needs of each organization, aligning them to the culture and the mission of that organization.

Benefits to the organization

Once found, an organizational coach can decode and solve any number of organizational issues, providing road maps that guide the actions of not just the leaders themselves, but the key members of the organization. This approach provides several key benefits to the organization. Utilization of the organizational coach provides;

1.???Real-time Reflection

The coach can give audible cues in moments of engagement and challenge. They can see the dynamics for themselves and not only react immediately, facilitating closure; but they can capture more accurate data and even the reactions of other team members. The coaching discussions are then based upon real interactions, viewed from multiple perspectives.

2.???Objectivity:

The coach does not have "history" or "legacy" or relational "baggage" that would bias them. They can take a fresh look at situations and offer a perspective that is not biased by the ebb and flow of relationships in the work context. This can be critical support when things become emotional or intractable between members of the team.

3.???Visibility:

Coaches can see things that the leader or the players miss. There are interpersonal dynamics, responses, and even side interactions that are not as clear to the leader or simply escape their observation as they lead the team. This coupled with objectivity can provide a unique view of the organization as well as solutions that were heretofore missed.

4. (Systemic) Solutions:??

Great coaches have the ability to take a very broad view of problems, considering system influences and multiple factors. Much like a football coach can integrate the players on a team, the plays the team draws from and even the experience of watching other teams, an organizational coach can design solutions that few others in the organization can craft. As a result, they can offer insights to the highest levels of leadership.?????????????????

5. Game Plans:

Not only can the coach see and integrate a broader array of factors, but they can then create roadmaps and “game plans” that put the company on a consistent path to success. No executive I know wants to only win once, they all want to make a habit of winning. A coach is indispensable for that task because the determine what makes the team win consistently and they codify that set of behaviors and tasks.

6. Playbooks:

Most teams need more than a game plan, which is a higher-level roadmap that brings the company from where it is to where it needs to be. They also need instructions that link functional roles to those roadmaps. A great coach builds that with the team’s involvement but they also have an uncanny way of strategizing with the leader about the “who” and the “how” of the planning. They set up the “special teams” within the organization and employ them to drive key objectives.

7. Collaborative Thinking:

Our experience has shown that life in the C-suite can be isolating. Few individuals within the company possess the strategic thinking and objectivity necessary to make robust business decisions. Additionally, their understanding of various functions is often limited, leading them to approach business challenges with preconceived notions and biases. Most leaders benefit from having a group of peers who can discuss the specifics of their business and offer fresh perspectives on their options.

How to make it happen

First and foremost, a leader must be open to external input. Coaching places them in a vulnerable position, and they need to trust their coach completely. To find such a coach, start by looking for an established organization that offers comprehensive consulting services. This means they don’t just focus on coaching; they also provide additional support and resources.

1)????? focus on delivering business results

2)????? employ operational business leaders,

3)????? integrate coaching into a broader set of services that help your organization

?

Let us help you find the way forward!

Preceptus LLC

?