Tips to Better Coach Your Executives

As companies grow, it becomes increasingly important for CEOs and other executives to improve their coaching skills so they can help direct reports take on more responsibilities and be successful. The need is even more important now that staff are distributed rather than working in a central office; micro-management as a back-up isn’t as easy.? Going forward, workers need to self-manage and be accountable to themselves and team?members.

As a vistage Chair, I have the privilege of working with 800 other chair-facilitators-coaches who constantly seek to improve our own skills at helping the CEOs with whom we work, but also share insights. Recently, it published an article, 9 Powerful Questions Coaches Ask CEOs , in which other chairs highlighted ideas which leaders at all levels can use to assist their direct reports.?

I thought I’d share a few of them to stimulate your thinking. You can substitute the word department or division for company, since it?applies.

• Are you running your company or leading it? ?Too many leaders spend more time than they should being “hands-on” with activities and tactical, rather than taking the time to be strategic and focus on making sure everyone is asking the big strategic, cultural and leadership questions. Leaders should allocate 20% of their time to being strategic. (That’s one of the hidden benefits of Vistage – it sets aside 7% of a leader’s time to focus on strategic growth issues.)
• Are you more of a fire-fighter or a fire-preventer? We all want to feel successful – but are we doing the things that add the most value? At our initial coaching session, one CEO admitted that he spent 50% of his time firefighting – and recognized the need to change how he and his team operate.?
• Are meetings focused on the problems needing to be solved or the value of different solutions? At our Board meetings, we use Issue processing to enable members to resolve their biggest challenge by getting fresh perspectives and accountability. The format serves as a model they can use in their companies as well: each member is expected to identify the issues around the problems and then propose the alternative solutions under consideration.?
• What habits do you have which hold you back from being the kind of leader you want to be?? We’re often focused on (new) things we want to do, without understanding that the best way to get rid of a bad habit is to substitute a good one for it. Similarly, you manage your time better when you recognize that, to have 4 extra hours a week to work on a project, you have to give away 4 hours of activities.

What questions help you coach your team more effectively? Share them with us.? If you feel that Vistage might be a tool to help you be a more strategic leader, feel free to contact me to discuss experiencing it!?([email protected] )