Through coaching hundreds of professionals over a thousand + hours in leadership, communication and conflict resolution skills, I've seen first-hand the value people derive from Executive Coaching.
Common topics people come to me for coaching include:
Transfer of Learning of Leadership, Communication, Conflict Resolution Skills
If you've ever found yourself getting excited by communication or leadership skills you learned at a course - but wondered how to put it into practice - consider coaching! Did you know the critical factor influencing transfer of training is the extent to which the trainee receives the opportunity for practice and feedback? One-on-one executive coaching can provide you with a regular place and time to be reflective about some aspect of your leadership development.
Preparing or Evaluating Difficult Conversations at Work (a.k.a. Assertion)
Sometimes it's not a course you've been to, but it's wanting to have a place to prepare for those difficult conversations. That's a specialty of mine - given my background in community, court, and corporate mediations. What many don't know is that it can be just as valuable to debrief from a difficult conversation as it is to prepare for one. Neither of those practices are common - and if they were - more people would be having the hard, but crucial, conversations we all need to have!
Debriefing 360s
360 Performance Feedback tools can be a useful or useless tool - depending on how they are implemented. Research shows, for example, reporting back to key stakeholders after asking for feedback increases their perception of your change exponentially. This requires thinking through how you are going to present your findings and what you are going to say and how often you are going to return. A coach can help you in these, and other, ways to maximum the performance feedback opportunity.
Mid-Career Transitions
Because many of my clients are mid (or later) career professionals, the topic of looking at the next phase of their career is a natural topic for coaching.
Executive Coaching is often in 3 month segments - allowing you a critical 90 days to set and meet goals and/or increase your retention of personal and professional development learning.
Executive Coaching can be done over the phone, so location is not an issue.
Coaching Style/Expectations
If any of these areas remind you of goals you’d like to set for yourself, here are a few more thoughts to help you decide whether what I offer as a coach might be a good fit for you.
Some people over expect that their coach will lead the way in the conversations and provide resources, expert advice and information to them about their situation. So, I want to address that right up front – that’s not the kind of coaching I provide!
I work best with people who are fairly self-directed but are looking for a coach who can:
Act as a sounding board to hear your own thinking and thereby gain more clarity about what you can do and how;
Act as the holder of the “big a” agenda – you say what you want, and you know you will be having an ongoing conversation with your coach about those topics so the space holds the issues in priority for you;
Act as a neutral (and confidential) third party to support you in going for what you want…with no vested interest in which choices you make; and
Act as an accountability partner, so you can leverage more action/follow through (there are "homework/commitments" at the end of each call, and a time to check up on prior homework at the beginning of each call).
If you are interested in learning how coaching might help your staff and organization, email me and we can set up a time to discuss your needs.
