There is no doubt that executives and leaders carry a lot of responsibility. They are expected to maintain focus on professional objectives, foster a culture of collaboration, and ensure that teams are aligned across departments. Executive Coaching is a powerful tool when it comes to supporting executives with these responsibilities and challenges.
Solution-Focused Executive Coaching is instrumental in providing executives with the right tools to unlock their full potential as leaders whilst operating in the fast-paced and outcome-based business environment. This enables executives to become strong leaders who are able to drive company growth by enhancing team and company performance.
Does this sound good to you? Let's take a closer look at Executive Coaching and the benefits of investing in it.
What is executive coaching?
Executive Coaching can be formally defined as a partnership with leaders and executives in a creative and empowering process that motivates them to maximize their personal and professional potential within an organization.
Executive Coaching takes a holistic approach to company growth and development by focusing on the professional and personal goals of individual executive team members. This also includes developing leadership skills that are aligned with the executive's long-term goals for company growth. Executive Coaches also help to support executives in identifying and establishing strategies for achieving new professional goals.
Why invest in Executive Coach training?
A 2019 survey of Executive Coaches found that 68% believed demand for their services would increase in that year. Their confidence underscored the fact that more executives have been realizing the benefits of retaining a professional coach. In the years since then, over 40% of Fortune 500 Companies have adopted Executive Coaching as a tool for value-creation. Here are three key benefits associated with Solution-Focused Executive Coaching:
1. Coaches help clients self-assess and transform
Executive coaches adhere to the maxim: "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; teach him to fish, feed him for a lifetime." They leverage methodologies that enable their clients to take a deep dive into their own professional thought patterns, habits and behaviors in order to authentically examine who they are as a leader and who they want to become.
Through active listening, specific questioning and goal setting, Executive Coaches allow clients to honestly and thoroughly examine their leadership style and its connection with work-related issues. Once the client better understands themself, they can transform their habits and behaviors from the inside out. The entire company benefits as a result of this transformation in leadership style and ability.
After closing the gap between the executive's actual and ideal leadership skills, the client becomes a more focused, empathetic leader, identifying required areas of improvement in management. This leads to a trickle-down effect throughout the organization, as team members recognize the positive shift in their executive's approach to leading and respond effectively.
2. Coaches help clients to optimize themselves and their companies
Solution-Focused Executive Coaching helps clients to pinpoint specific areas of opportunity in their professional life and make productive adjustments. Unlike consultants, coaches don't position themselves as experts in their relationship with clients. Rather, they act as catalysts that enable clients to uncover the hidden potential within themselves and support them to act upon it.
Coaches motivate clients to implement solutions that they discover for themselves. This often involves the achievement of small "stepping stone" goals, such as increased engagement with their team or improvements in their leadership abilities. In turn, these smaller goals contribute to an overall positive culture shift in the organization.
3. Coaches help clients to define and achieve success
Executive Coaches are not trained to set priorities for their clients. They are trained to support clients in defining what success means to them and in using this definition to set their own priorities.
Coaches help clients to identify and remove barriers to success by asking probing, empowering questions that uncover underlying issues. Instead of providing superficial advice, Solution-Focused coaches help their clients to recognize deep-seated obstacles to success and then remove them with mindfulness and clarity.
For example, suppose that a client struggles with commending his team members for their efforts on a regular basis. If this is the case, the coach can help the client to determine what prevents them from giving out praise to employees. Then the coach and client can work together to develop a new habit through an actionable strategy.
Executives who have a clear concept of what success means to them will be in a better position to guide their team accordingly. In turn, team members will feel more engaged and confident in their leadership, resulting in higher levels of productivity and satisfaction.
Leaders that invest in Executive Coach training will discover a new sense of professional purpose and develop actionable strategies to help them achieve their organizational visions.
If you are interested in finding out more about Erickson's Executive Coaching services, get in touch.
