The world is full of coaches. How can we possibly sort through the myriad claims of breakthrough thinking and assistance to find the critical insight and challenge we really need?

From The Leader's Perspective

Today's leaders are increasingly faced with new challenges. Few find themselves fully prepared to deal with the accelerating and mind numbing complexities, global realities and people issues which have become ever more demanding, and which cannot be solved with the once "tried and true" processes of the past. Most leaders have certainly earned their positions over many years. But, as one saying goes, "What got you there, may not keep you there." Leadership is as much of an art as it is a science. True artists no longer paint by numbers, but they are very much aware of the basic mechanics of their art, as their well-honed instinct finds the one, unique and true response. So it is with today's leaders.

We know that leaders struggle with strategic direction, leading change and aligning teams, all while coaching their people toward high performance. This requires leaders to be at their best and to continually grow beyond their current capabilities, even as the demands of their business continue to grow and become ever more complex. Today's - and tomorrow's - leaders will face situations that ask them to be passionate, resilient, active learners, instinctively creative, courageous, and unwaveringly committed to the organization he or she serves. They must also be willing to be challenged both by what is there and more importantly, by what could and must be there.

From The Organization's Perspective

Some have compared hiring to the lottery. This somewhat strange thinking says that the more you hire, the bigger the opportunity you have to find the diamond in the rough. Finding the leaders you need is not at all like buying lottery tickets, where you improve your chance of winning by buying more and more tickets. World class leaders are not the result of chance, but rather the outcome of a well-thought through plan to create and maintain a development culture from the top down. Organizations need the best talent available. This includes the best leaders available to bring out the very best in each employee.

Organizations are being asked to make the very best hires they can and to provide employees with leaders who will make a difference and provide development opportunities that will bring out the passion and energy necessary to make the needed difference. The leaders themselves become role models as they continually seek to grow themselves and excel at what they do.

Find The Passion And You Will Find The Energy And Drive To Be The Best

The route of coaching and career development can provide a more engaging approach to maximizing potential and strengthening employee commitment and discretionary effort. Having employees ready and able to give 120% not only has a positive effect on managing talent yet, more importantly gets employees engaged in activities they enjoy with a direct line of sight to the positive and lasting impact of their efforts. What a concept ... employees who have a say and can actually see and experience the results of their efforts. The point ... coaching for managers and employees alike can have a personal, performance related and financial payoff. That's 3 for 3 ... sounds like a 1.000 batting average ... yet 2 out of 3 would still be .667. Not bad! This could get someone into the Hall of Fame (rather than the Hall of Shame!)

There's a scene in Colin Welland's 1981 film, Chariots of Fire, where Harold Abrahams (played by Ben Cross) hires a coach to gain a millisecond advantage in the 1924 Summer Olympics. Harold is already a proven runner, but is not quite making it to the gold. During this scene, the coach (played by Ian Holm) places a row of coins on a table. The coach explains that each coin represents one of the steps taken in the race and then slaps Harold repeatedly on the back of head to illustrate the physical impact of incorrectly placed steps. He uses that metaphor very effectively as he slowly spreads the coins further and further apart until the correct spacing is achieved. That simple change of perception made the difference in Harold winning the gold, and provides us with an excellent example of the impactful influence of an experienced coach.

An experienced coach is trained to find passion and then systematically help remove the obstacles to world class results.

The Coach's Blueprint

Exceptional coaches have the real world experience of having been business leaders in their own right. They know the complexities first hand and the need to get it right in those 15 minute sound bites that are most often given to any senior leader in a very busy environment. In addition, top executive coaches stand out because of their training and skill in the use of world class assessment methodologies.

Further, effective executive coaches possess a scientist's discipline for dealing with hard data and then are driven to achieve tangible results. They take the leader's world as it really exists, as the stepping stone from which to launch the leader's bold new world of possibility. Outstanding coaches have both the art (real experience) and the science (leading edge assessment methodologies) to guide each leader realistically and then challenge each of them most effectively.

How Does Leadership Coaching Work?

Leadership coaching is business-focused and goal-oriented. Coaches use their real world experience and assessment methodologies to simultaneously achieve RESULTS, instill efficient and effective DISCIPLINE, maintain the SPIRIT necessary to tackle difficult situations, and establish high-TRUST relationships.

As behavioral scientists, they know that changing deeply embedded behavior is challenging. Only when a person perceives a need and holds the desire, and consciously believes behavioral changes are possible and necessary, will change occur.

The Right Tools

Effective coaches use sophisticated personality assessment followed by multi-rater feedback to provide the catalyst for change. The leader becomes aware of both the internal (self) and external (others) dynamics that often spell the difference between success and failure. Executives improve their understanding of how their own motives and personality influence their work and the people on whom they depend in order to achieve the necessary results. Leaders are coached on how to influence others and manage the perceptions of those around them. This approach is highly effective, especially when assisting executives to effectively lead during tough times and when providing guidance regarding how to successfully navigate through uncharted waters.

Clear Development Goals With Measurable Outcomes

When working one-on-one with an experienced business psychologist/coach, executives are asked to create a detailed development plan. Clear and attainable goals are outlined with specific, measurable and action-oriented steps being defined. The process asks coaches to facilitate meetings and encourage collaboration between the individual being coached and his/her direct manager to gain endorsement and support for the change goals and action plans. We know that for coaching to be considered first class, the real world results of a client must be there, and a more effective leader is the result.

Follow-Up And Consultation - Continued Support

The leader being coached and the organization are never left on their own to implement the coaching recommendations and resulting action plans. Exceptional coaches continue to work with the leaders on their development. Weekly and monthly schedules may be established for continued follow-up coaching and support for both the leader and the leader's manager. The coach continues to work with the valued employee until the job is complete and a demonstrable result is achieved.

Derailers Are Real

The Center for Creative Leadership did a study on career limiters or derailers. The number one derailer is lack of follow-through. The number two derailer - not far behind - is the leader's inability to address people issues. Both of them are intimately connected. Why? The leader must grow the business, set goals and meet them, and do it all through other people. Leaders are only as good as the teams they depend on to get the job done. If the team is not willing to overcome obstacles, take the initiative, or develop the skills that get the job done, including finding their own passion for what needs to be done, everyone will fail. A leader's skill in creating a vision and setting a direction must be matched with his or her ability to fully engage each manager and employee and turn them into energetic and committed high performers.

The leader and that leader's team are intimately connected in achieving the desired results. A brilliant performer/leader's inadequacy in dealing with people issues forces a tough choice: lose a brilliant talent and create a hole in the team, or keep the brilliant performer and pay the price with a poorly performing, and often traumatized team. You need team performance to succeed. And to the leader, this is "Job One."

Summary

Leadership coaching is possibly the best investment a company can make. Helping managers reach their full potential or saving executives at risk of derailing their careers offers large returns for any organization. Yet, successful development requires skillful planning and an ironclad commitment. Like Ian Holm in Chariots of Fire, the coach sees the strength that is there, and focuses on reducing the slaps on the back of the head that stifle passion and drain the energy from achieving world class results.