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Leaders are not born – they are developed. A key component of leadership development is leadership coaching. In achieving organizational goals, companies recognize the impact of leadership and will often invest in a coaching program to further develop leadership skills. This investment into senior leaders is often intended to provide an environment where a leader, in a new role, can safely work on their personal growth.
Leaders who are self-aware of their behaviors, can rely on a trusted adviser to point out blind spots, and who work consistently on their leadership skills benefit an organization through improved employee engagement and higher performance.
Leadership coaching involves the whole person. It allows leaders to explore their leadership style and enhance their emotional intelligence. Throughout the course of this exploration, they become effective leaders with a deep self-awareness about their strengths, interactions with team members and potential blind spots. This self-discovery will positively impact them professionally and personally.
What is leadership coaching
Effective coaching is built on the assumption that a leader can self-discover their opportunities for growth through conversations with a close coaching adviser/mentor, built on trust. An effective coach implores leaders to explore their strengths, as well as their blind spots, in the service of creating a high-performing leader. Therefore, leadership coaching focuses on both sides of the coin; positive, productive behaviors and unproductive beliefs and behaviors that are proving ineffective in both their professional and personal life. More effective leadership and personal growth are both outcomes of a series of coaching sessions.
Coaching is often targeted at more senior leaders who exhibit behaviors that might prevent their ability to get to the next level. Often what got a leader here, will not get them there.
Known more commonly as executive coaching, senior leaders benefit from the opportunity to further their personal growth with a development process focused on their unique challenges and opportunities.
What happens during leadership coaching?
Effective leadership coaching first requires a process to insure compatibility between the coach and the coachee. Compatibility is key, since a coaching relationship requires the coach to be able to challenge the coachee by holding up a mirror, for introspective reflection. The coach must increase the coachee’s self-awareness and overall emotional intelligence through this mirror. This involves diving deep into the desired leadership style of the coachee versus the actual leadership style they demonstrate. The coach should also promote reflection on how the coachee approaches decision making.
These are highly confidential conversations that require deep trust.
Who needs leadership coaching?
Leadership coaching is often part of an overall executive development, or high-potential leadership development program. It can be used selectively to support a senior leader taking on a new challenge, a new role, a new culture or some other event that requires self-reflection and a refined set of communication and leadership skills.
Leadership coaching is often part of an overall structured career development process, and therefore is often widely anticipated and accepted.
Leadership coaching with JMReid Group
We have cadre of certified coaches who can mesh with most leadership styles. We have leadership coaching for both mid-level leaders and those interested in executive leadership coaching.
Our coaches are all committed to leveraging their coaching skills to equip leaders to be successful in their leadership role and, when appropriate, help advance them to the next level in their leadership skills journey.
We know that a good coach should:
Quickly build trust
Ask thoughtful open-ended questions
Challenge existing mental models or behavioral scripts
Listen empathetically
Increase both self-confidence and self-awareness
Our coaching process or engagement includes use of assessment tools, feedback instruments and one-on-one sessions. The average coaching session runs fifty minutes. The average leadership coaching engagement is six months.
To learn more about the JMReid approach to leadership coaching, take a look at our different offerings.
