Overview

So why it matters is this: if the CEO of a company is successful in her or his job, then the company is successful. The job of the executive coach is to enable and support the success of the client (as defined by the client, which is part of the process). Two obvious questions follow: (1) Will the coaching actually help the client be more successful (or better ensure success)? (2) Why would the executive need a coach at this point in his career? If he is a senior executive, wouldn’t he or she already have the proven skills to ensure success?

In response to the first question, most coaches have some screening process to see if, in fact, there is a fit with the prospective client; that is, can the coach contribute to this client’s success? Will the coach and the client have the kind of relationship in which the client will be open to the input of the coach? Will the particular skills of the coach be useful to this client? From the perspective of the client, he will use this screening process to see if he can get what he needs from this coach. Is this someone with whom I feel if I invest my time there will be a return?  Once again, the investment is small enough that there is not much risk here, but this initial non-committed screening process ought to be seen as an essential step in the direction of establishing the relationship between coach and client…or not.

Key Points

But why would the executive need a coach at this point in his professional career? My response to this will also get at the heart of why executive coaching matters.  Here are some key points:

1. There is a lot at stake. Whatever the role of this executive in the company, if she succeeds then she has fulfilled a key accountability, and if she doesn’t, that accountability will not have been fulfilled. Depending on what that accountability is, there is too much at stake to not take all the help one can get. If there is not much at stake, then why have a coach? If a vision is compelling, then it’s worth manifesting, and manifesting vision is not a core competency of most companies. It’s a lot to shoot for, which means it’s worth doing what one can to actually get there.

2. Everybody has blind spots. Blind spots are, by definition, those quirks or flaws or Achilles heels that everybody has which in some way hamper or sabotage us in the fulfillment of our intentions, but we are blind to them. A skilled coach helps you see your own blind spots and deal with them effectively.  If you can be aware of these, you have a chance to get beyond them; if you are not aware of them, you don’t have a prayer.

 Recently, in a conversation with a new coaching client, I observed something interesting: he  heard what he expected to hear in the things that I said, not what I actually said. If I said, “It  seems one thing you need to do is clarify the strategy with your team”, he heard it as, “You need  to articulate the vision better”. It was always just a bit off, but enough to make it just a tad frustrating for people to talk to him – not enough for it to be an obvious issue.  It made  conversing with him about business more of a struggle than it needed to be. When I asked him if  he knew he didn’t listen well, he was  shocked to hear it, and at first defensive. Once he saw  what I was saying, he was able to practice listening to what other people were saying more  cleanly, and his communication and relationships with others improved dramatically. It was a  blind spot made visible.

3. We all need to be more aware and awake. A form of blind spot that deserves its own category is that to some degree or another we all need awakening. We are asleep to some reality or another – face it or stay asleep! We are asleep to our own assumptions, the conclusions we have reached that dictate our actions and reactions, and even to the miraculous possibilities inherent in the people and circumstances around us. A coach can help to see what we don’t see and shake us gently to wake us up.

4.  Consider that you are in the position you are in because of your ability to learn what you need to learn, rather than because of what you know and because you already have all the skills for it. I remember sitting at a breakfast meeting with a CEO that I had been introduced to by someone on his team who told me “John doesn’t believe in consultants”.  Halfway through our conversation, he said, “You know, I just now realized why I never hire consultants. It’s because I think I’m in my job because the board believes I already know everything I need to know to do my job, and hiring a consultant is a concession that, in fact, I don’t.”  He ended up engaging my company, and his company realized fantastic results.

5. Sometimes, having a trusted confidant is worth its weight in gold. A good coach is a listener, a mirror, an advisor, a mentor, a non-judgmental confidant, a provocateur, and a person who is clear that the purpose of their work with a client is the client’s success (as defined by her).  Trust is everything; openness and straight talk is essential.

6. There’s more to being a successful executive than fulfilling your accountabilities. In some circles, this is heresy. An important aspect of one’s life in any position is the quality of how they live and what they leave in their wake. Being one’s authentic self inside of an organizational environment can be a big challenge, and we have taught ourselves “how to act” and we are relatively successful at it (or you wouldn’t be in an executive position). Unlearning how to act and having who you authentically are propel you to extraordinary success and personal fulfillment will take you and your organization to new levels.

Summary

Executive coaching matters because there is a lot at stake; because we all have blind spots, and those blind spots can kill possibility; because we all need some degree of awakening; because the executive needs to learn what he or she needs to learn in order to optimize success; because it is always worthwhile to have a trusted confidant; and, last but not least, the quality of one’s life matters, too.

If there is a more certain and beneficial offering for an executive, I cannot imagine what it could be.   For a unique blend of executive coaching and consulting, of inner work and outer work, of possibility and practicality- this coaching results in breakthroughs and transformations in service of your fulfillment as an executive and as an authentic human being. Apply for a FREE ONE HOUR EXECUTIVE COACHING SESSION.