Executive Coaching: A Leadership Development Tool for Top Performers
Posted by admin, under Leadership Development
“Coaching” used to be a popular approach for derailing executives or professionals whose performance needed a lot of work. Got a problem? Get a coach. However, increasingly, coaching is being sought by some of the most successful executives in their field – those who want to get even better at their business game. So the new thinking is…Got a goal? Get a coach.
Executive coaching has evolved quickly over the years. Some consider it a field in itself; others consider it a form of consulting. There are many interpretations for “executive coaching”. No matter how you define it, coaching can be a useful tool for executives who want to develop as leaders.
Rather than debate the definition of coaching, it’s more important to consider the type of coach and approach that’s most appropriate for you given the results you want to achieve. Some executives have difficulty articulating concrete desired results, but a skilled coach can help. Often executives simply haven’t taken the time to slow down and think things through.
Coaches come in the form of business professionals, psychologists, trainers, consultants, authors, etc. They come from all walks of life. Some are tough, challenging and direct. Some are sensitive, encouraging and indirect in their style. Some impose a particular process. Some are more flexible.
A consultant with expertise in communication may focus on executive coaching that emphasizes presentation skills. A fashion consultant may offer executive coaching with an emphasis on professional appearance. Other executive coaches focus on leadership skills or business strategy. The approaches are as varied as the professionals who deliver coaching services.
Selecting a Coach
Ultimately the most important factor in selecting a coach is the coach’s track record and his/her ability to establish the kind of relationship with you that helps you achieve results.
Senior leaders who have few peers seek out coaches to discuss business and professional goals. It’s a decision that should not be made lightly.
Coaching relationships can be structured a variety of ways. Consider whether you want to work with a coach in person, by phone or both. Know what’s most important to you in selecting a good coach.
Finding the right fit is everything. You’ll know you have the wrong fit if you feel you’re wasting your time, dread your coaching conversations, or focus on issues that aren’t directly relevant to your goals. Listen to your instincts and find the best fit.
Coaching Issues
With the complexity of issues that challenge executives, there is never a loss for discussion topics between a coach and client. Below are a few of the issues that many of today’s top-performing leaders discuss with their executive coaches:
• Staying focused on top priorities
• Increasing accountability for follow-through
• Building skills in particular areas (such as communication or decision making)
• Dealing with organizational politics
• Thinking strategically
• Handling stress & avoiding burnout
• Managing teams & dealing with sensitive personnel situations
• Influencing others
• Negotiating
• Brainstorming new ideas/creative thinking
• Personal career planning
• Life-work balance issues
• Establishing clear goals and action plans
Success Factors
In addition to finding the right coach, here are a few success factors to keep in mind for those who engage in a coaching process.
• Establish clear guidelines for the relationship and coaching process on the front end. Don’t make assumptions.
• Share feedback. If something is not working, discuss it.
• Acknowledge progress and successes along the way. This helps build momentum.
• Involve other stakeholders if necessary. In some cases, others in the organization can participate in the process to share input and feedback.
Executive coaching is not for everyone. It’s only for those executives who are highly motivated, who are committed to leadership development and who want to engage in the process. Expect a minimum commitment of six months to a year.
Company Sponsored Coaching Programs
Many more companies now recognize the importance of promoting coaching within their organizations. Many have formal coaching programs that include internal and external coaches. Organizations that sponsor coaching programs need to be diligent about connecting the benefits of coaching with business results in their organizations. Without a results focus, organizations run the risk of promoting coaching for its own sake – a “campaign for coaches,” instead of solutions for executives. Coaching is simply a means.
Corporate initiatives that mandate or roll out a coaching program too broadly jeopardize the effectiveness of the program. Often those who need coaching most are least likely to be open to the process, but top performers are always looking for a leading edge. Finding the right coach can be the leading edge you need to succeed professionally.
Gayle Lantz, http://gaylelantz.com/, Founder of WorkMatters
Corporate Communication Strategy To Create National Expert Status For Your Business
Posted by Annie Jennings, under Self ImprovementWhat is the secret to business strategy and the media? Does publicity and promotion for your business cost a lot of money? Let’s find out how it works! Consultants and business professionals who run businesses, firm and corporations do not have to spend a lot of money to edge out their competitors. Consultants and businesses have to go the ‘extra mile’ to excel in their areas. They should be visible to their targeted business community and offer expanded value with guaranteed deliverables.
Find out why your clients are buying from you? Find out why they are buying from your competitors? Clients want to invest their money. Can your services be offered as an investment? Create products and services that help your clients and customers become more successful and then your business will be in demand. Don’t let your competitors sell a better product, you must sell the highest deliverable in your market area.
They also want to do business with consultants and businesses that are CENTER STAGE, that is, they are in the center of action commenting on the issues facing their industry. Professionals and consultants should seek out opportunities to be the quoted or commenting expert seen on, heard on or read about in Radio, TV, Print, Magazine and Internet Sites. Clients like to do business with people they feel are vital, creative, strong and engaged in their industry with plenty of energy to produce outcomes for them.
Invest in your client’s success. When you business become part of the success model of other businesses you have achieved a great goal. Put yourself in your clients shoes, what do you need to go to your next level. Once you discover the answer to this question create products and services that your marketplace and your clients can use to add profits to their bottom line.
Always stay innovative so you can move forward as your clients grow. Always stay inspired to create the next level in the development of products and services that can help your client. If it is your priority to make your clients success you will naturally create the newest and most forward moving products or services in your market place. Help your client be successful and surely, your business will be too!
Access more tips for Business Strategy to enjoy all new levels of success for your business at Annie Jennings PR. Find out how to enjoy outstanding Corporate Communication success for your business with next level ideas including promotion. Don’t miss your chance to be the best!
Bradley Lambert Inc | Executive Leadership Development – A Process To Use
Posted by admin, under Leadership Development
What is Executive Leadership Development? Ask large groups of people in a meeting in a corporation – How many of you have worked for a really great Leader? There will be some hesitation and then about 10% to 30% raise their hand. Then ask how many of you have worked for 2 really great leaders and the audience will laugh. Corporate America is in need of executive leadership development programs that produce really great leaders; just look at the current financial situation in our country and its cause(s).
Contrary to public opinion really great leaders develop over time from training and experiences. People showing the capacity and desire to be top leaders should be given various assignments and receive training in processes they can use to overcome obstacles and get the right things done using people. They also learn by being on teams led by really great leaders.
Most leading corporations have formal and comprehensive executive leader development plans. They go far beyond sending executives and top managers to standardized programs for executives conducted by leading Universities or paying for executives to get additional degrees while still working.
Sample Executive Leadership Development Process:
The following is an example list of items that comprise a continuing on-the-job executive leadership development process. Usually this list would be reviewed by a company’s executive team and president to tailor it to their specific needs and issues. Based on the Executive’s input the list would be refined and target implementation dates established.
1. Leader Assessment and Feedback Process – Comprehensive and regular assessment of skills with developmental feedback.
2. Individual Development Plans – training and assignment to develop and use new skills.
3. Curriculum for Executives – targeted skills and knowledge needed.
4. Curriculum for Managers targeted skills and knowledge needed.
5. Leader Alignment Sessions – Structured process for leaders to work in concert to achieve company goals.
6. Development Activities Aligned with Leadership Attributes, Management Skills and Experiences.
a. Custom “company specific” classes
b. Tailored classes to fit “company” needs – company examples and cases.
c. External classes / seminars – where tailored or customer are not necessary.
d. Cross functional working sessions – to address problems that cross departmental lines.
e. Coaching process- internal or external coaches that support development.
f. Mentoring process-Senior, people working with more Junior.
g. Rotation opportunities-assignments for breadth and depth.
h. Structure to plan for movement in the company.
i. Special projects-to develop skills, company knowledge and demonstrate abilities.
7. Leaders as Facilitators classes-by training others leaders develop their own skills.
8. Follow-up and Individual Development Assessment.
9. Infrastructure to support Leadership Development.
Executive Leadership Development is comprised of on the job learning from senior executives coupled with company/corporate-wide programs that includes tools and processes to help leaders become great leaders. Programs like this can greatly improve the day-to-day management of organizations in which they are implemented. For more information, visit BradleyLambert.
BradleyLambert.com is the website of Bradley Lambert Inc., an organizational performance solutions firm, offering services in corporate training and executive management.
Executive Leadership Development Programs Supply Entrepreneurial Ideas And Innovative Systems
Posted by admin, under Leadership Development
Executive leadership development programs which empower managers to generate entrepreneurial ideas and construct innovative systems are destined to enhance organizational performance. As studies conducted by field researchers reveal, business acumen and creative leadership rank highly as the most desirable executive qualities.
Providing managers with the wherewithal to develop, implement and follow-through on their entrepreneurial ideas as well as their innovative systems should be the “prime directive” of any executive educational program.
To accomplish that lofty mission, today’s executive leadership development programs must address every facet of leading projects, programs and progressive initiatives by taking “deep-dives” into the strategies, principles, techniques and processes needed to perform these critical tasks:
planning and organizing;
visioning and questing;
setting goals and agendas;
delegating and coaching;
executing and assessing;
managing and consulting;
innovating and entrepreneurship.
What Are Entrepreneurial Ideas?
The generation of entrepreneurial ideas requires more than performing mere research or being creative – this task combines sourcing and processing your innovative systems for new opportunities along with executing a series of strategic “coup de grace”. Traditional executive leadership development programs simply fail to prepare managers for meeting those daunting challenges.
As Peter Drucker defined it: entrepreneurship is “both drastically (upgrading) the yield from resources, and (creating) a new market and a new customer. Entrepreneurship, then, is behavior rather than personality trait. And its foundation lies in (the rigorous applications of its) concept and (in the uncompromising practice of its) theory rather than in (a feeling, a tendency to take risks, a ‘kiss-from-the-muse’ or a single bright idea or in your) intuition.” (all words in parenthesis are this Author’s)
Therefore, entrepreneurial ideas are those patterns of thought, conceptuality and envisioning which give management the ability to describe the whats and whys along with defining the hows and who which satisfy Drucker’s version of entrepreneurship.
What Are Innovative Systems?
Our research has indicated a new trend in the realm of competitive advantages – we now believe that Imagination or innovative systems, not Knowledge, is the key driver of competitive advantage. All of our executive leadership development programs and skills training courses to help clients meet those challenges.
Innovative systems must possess all the attributes of a structure. It needs to behave, operate and achieve results synergetically (enabling us to “measure our experiences geometrically and topologically and … employ geometry and topology to coordinate all information regarding our experiences, both metaphysical and physical” – R. Buckminster Fuller, Synergetics.)
Following Bucky Fuller’s guidance, we suggest your innovative systems would contain these core ingredients:
1) Entities – a person, place or thing – seen as realities, dynamics, leadership, communications, ecological niches and relationships
2) Processes – a series of steps, procedures or techniques being applied or implemented in an orderly fashion – such as, exploring, creating, implementing and supervising
3) Linkages – any connection, real or imagined, between entities, processes or the system with some portion of itself or with the world outside the system – to facilitate energy importations, exportations and transformations
Executive leadership development programs which push the envelope of subject matter beyond the normal by helping managers generate entrepreneurial ideas and executive leadership training courses which feature these concepts of the Imagination Age (by developing innovative systems and not mere Knowledge) are sure to bring success and prosperity to their students.
Copyright © 2008, Mustard Seed Investments Inc, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Bill Thomas conducts innovative leadership training programs for Awesome Leaders and Innovative Leaders – he helps professionals, managers, supervisors, executives, entrepreneurs and directors by providing focused leadership subjects, coaching and consulting support, practical exercises, tons of powerful tools and energetic interactions with his clients.
His cost-effective innovative training workshops, programs and innovative learning solutions are guaranteed to maximize the returns on your investment.
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