Executive coaching was once a practice that carried a stigma; it was mainly used in negative contexts such as solving team issues or dealing with problematic aspects of a leader’s personality. Since this time the scope of executive coaching has expanded to helping people and organizations realize their full potential, and it is now embraced as a pathway towards a more enriched workplace.
Today the executive coaching industry has estimated annual revenues 1.7 billion US dollars and the majority of Fortune 500 companies employ coaches to train their top management teams. So what is it that makes executive coaching such an attractive investment?
According to The Global Executive Coaching Survey, the most common reasons coaches are employed are improving leadership and team development skills, increasing executive presence and raising emotional intelligence levels.
To attain lasting benefits in these areas, a coach – client relationship must be one of open communication and high levels of trust. At The Roll, we ensure this occurs through chemistry sessions held at the beginning of each program that ensure professional and personal fit.
While the benefits of coaching depend on a client’s area of focus, this article will outline what you can expect from coaching, no matter what your focus is:
1. Increased Self Awareness
Self-awareness is our ability to perceive our emotional responses to situations and our ways of processing information. Becoming more self-aware is a catalyst for personal growth, when we are able to recognize our behavioural patterns it helps to identify counterproductive tendencies and the situations that trigger them. Coaches are skilled in the art of questioning and can guide clients towards discovering the underlying reasons for their behaviour. Personality assessment tests and storytelling exercises force clients to look at themselves in a new light, become more aware of their emotions and eventually become better at regulating their feelings.
2. Establishment of an Action Plan
Coaches are experts in helping clients articulate their most important values and formulating their aspirations into concrete and actionable plans. Sessions create high levels of commitment from clients through mutual involvement in every stage of the planning process.
Once a plan has been created, the spacing between coaching sessions allows for measurable progress to be made and evaluated. As a client you can expect to be held accountable for your commitments, and adjustments will be suggested in response to the effectiveness of your strategy.
3. A Safe Place to Gain Perspective
It is difficult to overstate the value of a space to openly talk about the challenges faced in your workplace. Being outside of organizational politics, coaches are able to provide this environment and share their ungarnished opinions about your situation. This process brings emotionally charged issues to the surface where they can be put into perspective, rationally discussed and eventually overcome. Once everything is out in the open, your coach can provide you with techniques and new ways of thinking that allow you to cope with the everyday situation’s professional environment in a more composed manner.
4. A Deeper Level of Learning
Coaching provides the opportunity to step back from the happenings of day-to-day life and reflect on why events are unfolding the way they are and whether we are moving in the direction of our goals.
As your coach isn’t dependent on you for his or her success, you can expect their complete honesty regarding your performance. Any discrepancies between your words and behaviors will be brought to your attention with no sugar coating. Sessions are combined with reflective assignments clients that guide clients towards a richer understanding of the underlying reasons for their performance, aspirations and current challenges.
5. Increased Level of Engagement with Work
Providing external coaching to employees demonstrates that a company is willing to invest in development and provide opportunities for professional growth creating a more positive environment. By providing feedback and building accountability, coaching address common issues such as learned helplessness and a fixed mindset by reminding employees they are in command of their situation. Coaching also helps develop a more proactive culture within the workplace as employees take ownership of their current situation and seek help from colleagues more often, leading to a more engaged workplace culture.
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