Monday, September 8, 2014

How Executive Coaching Services Can Improve Leadership Quality

By Mattie MacDonald


Anyone that has the ambition to climb to the top of the corporate ladder will have to accept the fact that the road is tough and competitive. Modern businesses understand the fact that only the most innovative, productive and creative companies will survive in the global market place. That is why they go to great lengths to identify individuals with exceptional potential and talent. In many cases executive coaching services are employed to nurture such talented individuals and to prepare them for increased responsibilities.

The transition from employee to manager can be difficult, even traumatic. In many cases newly appointed managers are expected to lead people that used to be their peers. A professional mentor can help new managers to develop their leadership abilities. This is done by forcing the manager to examine his own performance and those of others. Mentorship also aims to create personal contentment and to stimulate continual personal growth.

It is not only new managers that can benefit from the attentions of a coach. Many businesses realize that senior managers that have been part of the organization for a long time are in danger of stagnating. By assigning them a coach they can be helped to remain innovative and to keep exploring new ideas and theories. Senior managers often also need to be motivated and they need to identify areas in which they need to grow.

It would be a mistake to expect a coach to provide practical advice on how to manage or how to achieve the goals of the organization. That is the role of the manager. The role of the coach is to help the manager to discover solutions to dilemmas, to apply techniques that will lead to effective decisions and to act as facilitator and motivator.

For mentoring to be truly effective it is necessary to be prepared to make a large investment in terms of both time and money. Coaches are not miracle workers and results can only expected once a solid relationship has been built between the coach and the client. The cost and time factors cause many businesses to only consider coaches for those individuals that show exceptional promise.

There are good reasons why exceptional care should be taken when appointing coaches. They will be working with top decision makers and they will be enjoying privileged relationships with those decision makers. This relationship may inadvertently lead to a situation where the coach can have an influence upon the decisions made by managers. The qualifications and experience of the coach should be carefully examined prior to appointment.

It is vitally important that a coach is briefed in detail on matters such as organizational culture, the management structure and the purpose of the coaching. The coach should also be briefed on the individuals that will be coached. It may be important to enter into a written agreement that details the goals that must be achieved and that compels the coach to maintain the relationship as confidential.

Successful businesses make sure that they remain innovative and at the cutting edge of their fields. They also make sure that they groom individuals with promise to take over important leadership positions. A coach can help to prepare such individuals and to encourage them to keep growing personally and professionally.




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