What is Executive Coaching?
Executive Coaching is business-focused professional development with activities designed to meet the needs of one executive. The plan is grounded in assessment, development activities, and measurement.
Who is a candidate for Executive Coaching?
Typical candidates are employees with proven leadership performance, who need to broaden or deepen their leadership skills and knowledge in order to be a stronger leader or be considered for other roles in the Corporation.
What skills do Executive Coaches have?
Great coaches have excellent listening skills, and they are both generalists and specialists. They usually have a depth of education, knowledge and experience about more than one industry or organization, understand the political implications of actions and decisions within organizations, and have the ability to gather data and translate the facts and knowledge of others into real-world information for the executives they coach. The best coaches model the behaviors they coach others to develop; for example: integrity, self-confidence, focused actions, follow-through, trusting relationships, and successful business experiences.
How do I select an Executive Coach?
You might ask someone who has worked successfully with an Executive Coach for a referral, or contact your organization’s Employee Development or Talent Management department for referrals. Having identified several coaches, interview them; ask about their coaching process and methods, education, experiences, and the names of two people they have coached that you might contact.
How do I best work with a coach?
You and your coach should explore several issues before beginning a coaching engagement. These issues include: time available for meetings and development activities;priority you will give the coaching meetings and activities; personal demands (birth of new child, family relocation, very ill family member, etc.) that might distract you from coaching commitments; and changes you want to make, and/or the areas you want to improve.
How do I know if the "coaching" engagement is effective?
Coaching is about changing some facet of the current way you are working. Feedback from your supervisor, peers, direct reports, and other business associates prior to, during, and following the coaching engagement provides you and your coach with a focus at the beginning and criteria to measure progress at the close of the coaching engagement.