The 5 Secrets of Executive Coaching
How you can get the best value out of it
Executive Coaching has become one of the buzzwords in Business Life. There are success stories and even myths ranking about it.
Do all Executives have a Coach? Do they NEED a Coach? For some, it may seem a necessity, for others it may look even like a sign of weakness. For some, it is an elegant form of leveraging their game, to others it looks like an extravagant business perk.
Some people think it’s a softy-softy cladding for a hard hitter, to others it is unquestionable a vital need.
Let’s find the answers and here are the top 5 secrets.
1. You don’t need to be a top executive to use the services of an executive coach
Life sometimes sucks. Business life in particular. You are overwhelmed daily with unfiltered information, sometimes contradicting each other. You are confronted with people under immense stress. You are somewhere in the middle trying to balance all matters. You try keeping your cool. You feel how it boils inside and how your adrenaline peaks. You are not even a C-suite member but you feel this incredible responsibility. You are a buffer. Pulled and pushed at the same time and in the same rate. You need a pressure valve. You need someone to sound off to. Someone who shows a super-proof way to find your feet and to get your stress level a bit down.
2. An executive coach looks after you but be prepared for surprises
How much of a deep breath will you take, when you meet this person? How much a relief will that be to feel that you are not left alone? But don’t expect to take a long warm bath. Your coach will question your behaviour. He will ask you questions that may feel uncomfortable at first. Here is the difference: A good Executive Coach is not your wellness guru nor is he your fitness trainer. He is your PCD.
Your Personal Chief Disruptor.
He will lead you – elegantly though – into a zone of Creative Discomfort. He will, if he must, be prepared to be yelled at by you: “You don’t understand it. I’m really in a difficult place!” And he may calmly respond: “So, why are you still there? What do you like so much that you don’t come out of that cruel place?”
In short: Your Executive Coach will more than once drive you nuts.
3. You are first and foremost a human being and your coach will treat you as such
You have your personal history. Genetics, your ancestors, the family you were born into, their stories and beliefs, their trans-generational imprints: That’s all you bring into this world. Then you will pass through years of schooling and education, you will acquire your happy times and bad times. You learn for life. And more than once you may learn behaviours that don’t serve you well as you go through life. You’ll have crash moments that will most probably leave you with some scars and deeply engrained memories, not all of them the happiest. But you’ll also have your good times, these “Kodacolor Gold” moments that you recall when you need to reactivate your resources and plough on.
Your Executive Coach will help you to accept your history and support to create your life from the present moment into the future.
4. You deserve coaching when you are disoriented in your career
As a Leader or Entrepreneur your responsibilities are huge. Imagine all the tasks you perform, most of them unconsciously: Watching the traffic in front, keeping an eye on the rear mirrors, estimating the reach of your tank and the wellbeing of your passengers. Should you take a break? Or hand the steering wheel to another person and focus solely on navigating? Sometimes you may get lost. You don’t know where you want to go and WHY? Passengers rebel quietly with disengagement, the route becomes harder, the potholes deeper. Frustration and self-doubt start creeping in. Do you still want to do this? Do you want another car, different passengers? Do you want to change the tour operator or do you want to open your own business? Can I do it? Can I STILL do it? Am I too old, too ambitious, too uncompromising, too… whatever?
In situations like these a good Executive Coach acts as your compass. He shows you North and South and the stars. And then he helps you to navigate your way forward.
5. You are your sole shareholder!
If you are a middle manager, a member of the C suite, or your own boss, every step on the way you are your sole shareholder and your top investor. That is true for work, but that is even more true in life and health. You deserve to treat yourself with utmost respect. You will handle the resources given to you as your most precious treasure.
A good Executive Coach will always guide you to a measurable OUTCOME. The optimal return on your investment.
One last secret:
With the guidance of your trusted Executive Coach you will learn to LOVE yourself and what you do with passion. Forgive me if this sounds cheesy but, staying in love gives you the fire to really ignite other people, to see inside other people, to have a greater desire to get things done in other people.
And that’s what you want. In Work, Family, Rest and Play.
I am the founder of EuSoftSkills… Simply Smarter Coaching. An ABP Award Finalist and published author, focusing on Personal and Executive excellence.
Get in touch with me for a free exploratory call to see how executive coaching can benefit you and your business.