Should You Consider Executive Coaching?

Should you consider executive coaching? Yes. 

Modern living is complex. Modern business is even more complex. 

Today’s executives must navigate shareholders as well as stakeholders. They must be adept at managing ever-changing social issues both inside their orgs and outside. Once you’ve figured out one aspect, the goal posts have been moved back, and situations have changed. 

An executive coach can help today’s leaders in many ways. My goal here is to help you make a decision on whether or not executive coaching makes sense for you and your organization. 

Here’s what we’ll cover:

What is executive coaching?

Why leaders and orgs consider it

What makes a coaching relationship successful?

Self-assessing your current situation

The way forward

Let’s get started.

What is executive coaching?

Executive coaching is future-focused. It’s designed to promote and improve individual performers within an organization. A great coach aids an executive in their self-discovery process, helping them to clarify and forge their own paths. 

Why leaders and orgs consider it

The purpose is to develop high-potential people. If you’re the sole executive in your org, it’s so you’ll become the best-possible version of yourself. If you’re part of a larger organization, it will help your leadership team (and managers) achieve their greatest potential. 

Coaches are brought in when a transition is taking place, or will be taking place. 

Finally, an executive coach provides feedback, and another set of eyes, on the challenges and problems the executive is facing. 

What makes a coaching relationship successful?

In order for the relationship to work, the executive must be a ready and willing participant. They must have a desire to improve. 

There must also be a personality fit between the coach and the executive; they need to have chemistry. If possible, allowing the executive to make the final determination on who their coach will be is a prudent decision.

The decision to bring coaching to an organization must begin at the top. Upper-level management must sign-off and participate in the coaching. 

Self-assessing your current situation

While it is my position that leaders in organizations should have a coach, that doesn’t mean you agree. You need to make the final determination on whether or not you think it makes sense. Going through the following process can help you make your decision. 

Set the intention 

When we’re trying to get better at anything, business included, it starts with intention. 

To reach your ultimate potential, you need to decide and commit to doing what’s necessary. It’s imperative to figure out what you really want.

Where do you want to be?

If you desire something different or better than you currently have, what do you want? 

Be clear in what you’d like your business to look like. While you no doubt have a clear vision of how you want your future to look, I’ve found taking a more integrated approach is beneficial. To help you do that, you can access our Goals course for free. 

Your current patterns

We all follow predictable patterns and habits. Some of them are beneficial, some keep us stuck. 

In order to change, you’ll need to break free of the patterns and behaviors keeping you stuck. 

Take some time to think through and answer these questions:

• How have you tried to improve your business in the past? 
• How did you go about it (be as specific as possible)?
• How long have you been feeling like you need to make a change?
• Have you tried anything that worked? 
• How has poor health impacted you (monetarily, psychologically, physiologically)?
• How frustrated are you right now? 

Close the gap

Close the identity gap between the leader you are and the leader you want to be. How will you become that version of yourself?

You need to make the shift from working towards achievement, to embracing your new identity. 

When you shift your identity, you’re no longer chasing goals and achievement. You’re simply working to get better everyday. It’s a really important shift in the way you think. 

Think about the difference like this:

• The old way of thinking was, “Once I get that promotion, then I’ll be leading a life of significance.”

• The new way is this, “I’m leading a life of significance, and all my accolades and promotions are a byproduct.”

Creating and embracing your new identity will put you in a position to be leveling up everyday. You’ll be comparing yourself only against yourself from yesterday. 

The way forward

While the fastest way to make the changes you need to make is partnering with a professional, you may not be in a position to do that right now. 

It’s possible to DIY most anything. The resources and information are out there. You can find YouTube videos and blog posts on most any topic imaginable, and executive coaching is no different. 

It’s also possible to invest in training to learn new and specific skills. There are a lot of great books and online courses focused on this type of coaching. 

How to make this your new level 

Should you decide to move forward without working with a coach, I want you to lock-in the gains you make. 

The term Yo-Yo diet refers to the phenomenon that occurs when someone gets motivated to lose weight, takes drastic action, then regains the weight once they stop the drastic action. 

I want you to avoid falling prey to the Yo-Yo effect. You do that by creating new habits and procedures to make your next level your level.  

Your SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)

• Checklists. One day, perhaps many of the things you need to be successful will be second nature. Until that day, make a checklist for everything that needs doing. For example, if you need to have a weekly check-in with people in your org, create a template for how the conversation will flow.  

• Calendar. What gets scheduled, gets done. If you don’t put all of your important activities into your calendar, they’ll get bumped by some other “emergency.” For example, schedule all of your important family activities from practices, to family dinners, to date night with your significant other.  

• Automate. The more we can take our hands off the wheel, the better. For example, set up automatic payments for all of your bills, including credit cards. Set up recurring contributions for all of your saving and investment accounts. When it comes to your duties, figure out what can be put on auto-pilot.

In conclusion

When the time is right for you to hire your executive coach, make sure you hire the “right” one.

Ask potential candidates what their process or methodology is. If they can’t answer you, they’re not the right person. The best coaches are clear in what their process is, and what a typical engagement looks like. 

There may never be a perfect time to work with a coach. That being said, I encourage you to look at the upfront costs you’ll pay as an investment in your future, as well as your organization’s future. 

Y’all are worth the investment!

We’d love to have hop on a no-cost call with one of our coaches to see if there’s a fit. 

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