Most of us admire top performers in any field — whether it is sports, entertainment or the arts. We respect their skill, dedication and ability to amaze us under intense pressure and scrutiny. However, most of us are barely aware of the cadre of trainers, composers, coaches and choreographers that work in the shadows of our heroes. Without these experts, our favorite stars would shine less brightly.
When it comes to the world of business, we expect our leaders to perform at a consistently high level with very little practice. And we often demand they do so without the benefit of resources committed to their personal development. Fortunately, the emergence of executive coaching provides a resource for leaders to tap into a source of guidance, support and candor. Executive coaching has become an integral part of a successful leader's growth and yet many companies still fail to fully understand what it is and how it can help them get better. This issue of the Leadership e-newsletter explores coaching and how it can unlock personal and organizational results.
Ron Magnus
Blowing the Whistle: The Buzz on Executive Coaching
Jennifer Jones and Jake Appelman
Executives who have been coached have found direction, purpose and confidence in achieving their goals more quickly than they would have without their coach.
"It’s priceless," replied one of FMI’s clients when asked to describe the value he and his organization received from his coaching engagement. Then he added, "The construction industry is so business-relationship-oriented. We build buildings and projects, but it is as important for whom we build as what we build. Many of our conflicts are based on people not being able to understand each other. Communication is so important to us; it helps us have a successful project and stay out of litigation. People get into problems because, frankly, they do not communicate very well. A lot of us understand the technical side — most of us are very good at bricks and sticks — but the personal side is the tough part."
Executives at companies throughout the nation are buzzing about the personal benefits they’ve gained from their coaching experiences.
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Coaching Organizational Players
Tom Alafat, Tony Bell and Jake Appelman
Corporate coaching is a valuable tool for the development of leadership talents. All parties —the organization, the coach, and the player—benefit from this unique relationship.
James Belasco writes, "Coaching is destined to be the leadership approach of the 21st century." While the overall impact and value of coaching is gaining solid appreciation, some leaders continue to question its value to their companies. They wonder why they should invest in coaching and why it is necessary to institute a leadership–development program. At the same time, those leaders who are currently investing time in coaching need to know what’s in it for them. Why should they take on another responsibility when they struggle to keep up with their current demands?
The answers are liberating. Indeed, coaching could not be more of a win-win situation for both the organization and the coach. Research on coaching has found that the organizational benefits are huge and that the payback for the coach is life changing — not to mention the dramatic impact that good coaching can make on the player. These direct benefits of coaching make it a win-win-win. Our focus in this article is to describe all three wins: the benefits to the organization, to the player (the person being coached) and to the coach.
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