Challenge Yourself With These Four Steps

I believe that all executives benefit from working with a coach. Yet there are times when an organization doesn't have the bandwidth or resources to contract with an executive coach. If you find yourself wanting coaching but unable to hire a professional, these four steps can help you in the meantime. 

While these steps don't take the place of coaching, they can help you meet your goals.

But before you begin, get clear on what those goals are. Be sure they are measurable and actionable. For example: “Give better presentations” is not measurable and actionable. The goal “Give a presentation where I don’t read off the page” is, because there’s a clear metric for success.

When I begin working with a client I ask them to come to our meeting with at least one goal in mind. One time a client came with a list of twenty areas he wanted to improve. He wanted to move to the next level as quickly as possible; my client figured that if he worked on all areas at once, he could shave off time in his current position. Unfortunately, he wasn’t focusing on any one area long enough to make progress.

Much to his dismay, we whittled down the list to two goals, and worked on each one at a time.

Whether or not you have a coach, you can choose an area to improve. Start with just one.

Use Data

If you have trouble identifying a specific goal, investigate. Review your development plans and 360s to see which areas keep resurfacing. Unfortunately, many times managers don't provide adequate feedback. If this is true for you and your supervisor, look for data elsewhere. What is consistent across the board? For example, when I work with clients we often focus on the development areas of gaining more influence with peers, motivating teams more effectively, and delivering more impactful presentations to the board. 

When delving into your 360 data, it is important to look at the scores with a bit of skepticism. Sometimes scores aren’t consistent because of how a rater grades your performance. Use your discretion in determining which feedback is applicable to you. 

One former client had some outlier scores on her 360 that were very low and not consistent with her average scores. If we had only looked at that data, we would have identified and worked toward the wrong goals. It’s unfortunate, but sometimes a manager can have it out for you and evaluate you unfairly. In those cases, ask for input from a trusted colleague. 

 While it is essential to look at development areas, examine your strengths, too. Improving a strength can also be a goal. Lastly, look at your strengths and areas of development with the company goals in mind. If your development goal doesn’t also benefit the company, then dig a bit deeper and reassess.

Ask for Input

Once you have a goal in place, it is time to ask for feedback. To keep it simple, ask these two questions: "What am I doing that I should continue doing?" and "As a leader, what should I stop doing?" Or, ask one specific question to gain more clarity, such as: “When I present, how well do I answer John’s difficult questions?” With this data, you can create a framework for your own development without overwhelming other busy executives

Practice and Practice 

Once you begin working on your goal, there is no glamorous path to improvement—just practice. (Note: do not practice your new objectives in a high stakes meeting, or another situation in which when flawless execution is required). Also, don't look at practice and the results from an “all or nothing” approach. Practice is not about perfection. 

One client of mine would lose credibility in meetings because she shifted her point of view so frequently, team members weren’t sure of where to go next with the deliverables. In fact, she was overusing her strength of creatively pivoting. Together, we devised a plan: she would slow down and take a breath before considering a change in direction. My client practiced this technique ahead of meetings. 

In many meetings, she still shifted too quickly. My client would come to our coaching meetings disappointed. But after analyzing her approaches, we found that she was meeting her goal about sixty percent of the time. While she still had a way to go, she realized that she was executing better than she realized. 

I tell my clients that I like to see mistakes and errors; mistakes mean that they are trying and learning. Celebrate small but significant changes, your “baby steps” forward. Lastly, ask your manager to help you by having them put you in a situation where you can continue to practice your objective.

Get Feedback

Ask for feedback as you practice. Go back and ask the original set of inputters for information. Then, use this data to readjust your practice. If you have the time, ask for another 360 (or whichever tool your company uses to gather information). Or, ask a teammate to partner and give you additional, in-the-moment feedback.

Even if you don’t have the opportunity to work with an executive coach, you can take matters into your own hands. Use the formula of goal setting, data collection, practice, and feedback to continue to grow and learn.