Executive coaching

It’s tough being at the top of the greasy pole

It’s a well-known truism that it’s tough being at the top of organisations and it is a role that, despite all the experience and qualifications, is one for which leaders often feel ill-equipped. For others it is the challenges they encounter, the multiplicity of stakeholders’ needs, the relationships with their colleagues and the unrelenting speed and complexity with which they are faced. For others too it is the isolation and the lack of confidential support. Others too feel they are performing well and yet their colleagues still insist that they need to round off some sharp edges or become aware of some blind spots

So why engage a coach?

Here are some typical reasons. You might like to check if any apply to you or to a colleague to whom you are thinking of recommending executive coaching

• Skills and performance: such as learning a new skill or growing a capability, solving a problem, making an important business decision, adapting leadership style or behaviours, improving personal performance
• Personal development: resolving unfinished business in the workplace, such as a conflict with others or problems in the team, developing emotional intelligence, building confidence
• Leadership: preparing for a future leadership role, becoming a more effective leader, developing influencing skills, becoming more strategic, creating a high performance team and organisation
• Meaning-making: finding more meaning in work, better work-life balance, clearer career direction, deciding what one really wants, making major changes

Our approach

In our coaching, we take particular care with the following:

• Initial engagement: discussions to ensure compatibility, confidence and commitment to working effectively together. The objectives of coaching are reviewed and agreed at this stage, as well as how the coaching will be conducted
• Contracting: making a clear agreement as to what the objectives are, the involvement of others, such as a line manager or sponsor, times, length of coaching, location, confidentiality, commitments by all parties to the work being agreed, reviews and feedback, the format of the work and other relevant matters
• Assessment and feedback: the use of psychometric measures and feedback from others in the organisation
• Developing a clear agenda: these are the topics that are likely to be discussed and will affect the structure, length, review and conclusion of the work
• Conscientious monitoring of the work to ensure both parties are on track to achieve the desired objectives

Case study

For a case study, click here