While there are many skills and traits that great leaders possess, here are three important ones to consider.
While there are many skills and traits that great leaders possess, here are three important ones to consider.
In the relatively short span of time since leadership coaching hit the business world ten to fifteen years ago, the field has exploded. But exactly what is leadership coaching?
In a business setting, leadership coaching focuses on helping the individual achieve business objectives by better understanding themselves and their environment and exploring options available to accelerate movement toward both professional and organizational goals.The leadership coach, unlike a consultant with specific methods and agendas, engages with the participant to explore what is and what could be. The coach helps map a strategy to get there and helps hold the individual accountable for the outcomes. Leadership coaches have excellent listening skills and use powerful questions to help the client.
Coaching is a skill set, a perspective and a process; it's collaborative in nature. It differs from mentoring in which the individual has walked this path before and can provide expert advice and insight. Leadership coaching skills include:
A managerial role is traditionally hierarchical and directive. The role coaching plays is supportive and developmental. While coaching for potential derailers (when a manager is in trouble) is a component of the mix, organizations are finding important ways to apply coaching even more positively and strategically. The initiatives we see are those focused on leadership development, especially for high potentials (rising stars) or the executive team, developing high functioning teams, and career development for talent throughout the organization. This represents a huge mindset shift, from fixing what is wrong, to supporting, encouraging and rewarding professional development. Studies clearly show the positive impact of talent development on acquisition, retention, employee and customer satisfaction and ultimately the bottom line.
