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Writer's pictureUlrika Gustafson PCC LL.M

Overcoming Your Blind Spots and Grow As a Leader With Executive Coaching



Leadership is a journey of constant learning and adaptation, and in today’s ever-changing organizations leaders are expected to continuously evolve, adapt and inspire their teams. Executive coaching provides a confidential and supportive space for leaders to pause, reflect and gain clarity on their leadership approach, decision-making processes and personal effectiveness. It's crucial for leaders who want to exceed the demands of their roles and drive their organizations forward.


"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else - through hard work." - Vince Lombardi

The ultimate aim of executive coaching is to equip the executive with the tools, strategies and mindset necessary for sustained personal and professional growth, even beyond the coaching engagement. This includes developing self-coaching skills and a mindset geared towards continuous learning and self-improvement. But how does executive coaching work and why is it beneficial for leaders looking to grow? In this Leadership Insights post, we'll answer that question and a few more to give you a better idea about the why's, what's and how's of executive coaching.


What is Executive Coaching?

Executive coaching is not a one-size-fits-all solution but a highly personalized process tailored to the unique needs, challenges and goals of each leader. It's a one-on-one partnership between a leader and a trained coach aimed at enhancing leadership capabilities and the leader's impact within their organization and beyond.


The process itself involves setting specific professional goals, identifying obstacles and creating actionable plans to achieve desired outcomes. Leaders often need an external, unbiased perspective to identify personal and professional blind spots. Executive coaching offers this perspective, providing insights that aren't always visible from within an organization.


A Very Personalized, Structured Process


Executive coaching is a structured process where the coach and the executive work together to identify goals, uncover challenges and develop strategies for overcoming these challenges and achieving success.


The process starts with assessing your current leadership style and challenges followed by goal setting and creation of a personalized coaching plan. Through regular sessions, your coach will work with you to explore solutions, develop new strategies, hold you accountable and track your progress toward your goals.


1. Assessment


The coaching process often begins with an assessment phase where various tools and discussions are used to gain a comprehensive understanding of the leader's current situation, strengths, areas for improvement and specific goals. Some commonly used assessments and tools are 360-degree feedback, different Emotional Intelligence (EQ) assessments, DISC assessment, CliftonStrengths, The Leadership Circle Profile and Hogan Assessments. Each of these tools can provide valuable insights into a leader's working style, behavioral tendencies and interaction with others, forming a solid foundation for targeted developmental strategies in executive coaching.


2. Goal Setting


The executive, with the coach's support, establishes specific and achievable goals that align with their personal and professional goals. These objectives become the central focus of the coaching relationship. This goal-setting process is collaborative and thoughtful, ensuring that each goal is challenging but still attainable and relevant to the executive's role within the organization. The coach uses various methods to support this process, including asking probing questions, listening actively and occasionally pushing the executive to expand their thinking, leading to goals that are transformative and in line with their values. These clearly defined goals guide the coaching engagement, providing a standard for tracking progress and evaluating success. This structured approach to goal setting keeps the coaching sessions targeted and results-driven, fostering significant growth and development for the executive.


3. Action Planning


Together, the coach and executive develop a customized Coaching Plan that outlines the steps, strategies and behaviors needed to achieve the set goals. This plan is personalized, focusing on the executive's unique professional context and aims to address various aspects of their job and leadership role. The plan is flexible of course, designed to adapt to the executive's ongoing progress and any new challenges that might come up. It includes regular check-ins between the coach and executive to review progress, adjust the plan as needed and tackle any issues that arise. These reviews help keep the executive on track and motivated.

The coaching plan also sets clear milestones and success metrics, making it easier to see how far the executive has come and what's left to achieve. This structure supports accountability and helps maintain focus on the end goals. Overall, the plan is a straightforward, collaborative effort that combines the executive's own goals and experiences with the coach's professional guidance, creating a clear path forward that is both ambitious and achievable. This methodical approach is key to navigating the executive's responsibilities and fostering significant growth.


4. Skill Development


The coach provides the executive with a variety of tools, practical exercises and proven frameworks designed to facilitate the development of new competencies and the improvement of existing skills. This comprehensive resource toolkit is tailored to the executive's specific needs and goals, whether that's to improve communication skills, enhance leadership presence, improve strategic thinking capabilities or elevate emotional intelligence.

These resources are not static; they are introduced and adapted based on the executive's progress and the evolving challenges they face. The coach's role includes guiding the executive in applying these tools and exercises in real-world scenarios, ensuring that learning translates into tangible improvements in their professional behavior and performance. This hands-on, customized approach ensures that the executive is not just learning in theory but is actively practicing and refining these skills in their day-to-day work, leading to meaningful and lasting growth.


5. Feedback and Reflection


Regularly scheduled sessions create a structured space for ongoing dialogue where the executive has the chance to share achievements, confront challenges and dive into the lessons learned throughout the coaching journey. These discussions are central to the process, offering a platform for constructive feedback and thoughtful reflection while facilitating a deeper understanding of the underlying factors contributing to the executive's successes and obstacles. This dialogue helps in identifying patterns, behaviors and mindsets that either support or hinder the executive's progress towards their goals.

This reflective practice is also instrumental in improving self-awareness as it allows the executive to gain insights into their personal and professional dynamics, understand their impact on others and recognize areas for improvement. The coach plays a crucial role in guiding this introspection, asking probing questions that prompt the executive to reflect on their actions and decisions from multiple perspectives. This process of continuous feedback and reflection is essential for growth. It enables the executive to adapt their strategies, learn from their experiences and make informed choices moving forward. This cyclical pattern of action, reflection, learning and adaptation fosters an environment of continuous development, ensuring that the executive is not only achieving their current objectives but also laying the groundwork for sustained success and personal evolution.


6. Accountability


The coach acts as a crucial accountability partner, playing a key role in ensuring that the executive maintains their focus on developmental objectives and consistently engages in actions to meet these goals. This aspect of the coaching relationship involves regular check-ins, where the coach and executive review progress, set new targets and address any barriers to advancement. This accountability framework is very important since it provides the executive with a structured approach to their development, fostering a sense of responsibility and commitment. The coach not only monitors the executive's progress but also challenges and supports them in equal measure, ensuring that any setbacks are addressed constructively and learnings are integrated into future actions.

Executives often highlight the value of having a confidential accountability partner in the coaching process - this relationship encourages them to remain disciplined in their efforts, even in the middle of a demanding and often distracting environment of their professional roles. The consistent presence of a coach who is invested in their success helps to keep the executive aligned with their long-term goals, promoting a proactive approach to personal and professional growth.


7. Sustainability


The ultimate aim of the coaching process is to equip the executive with a comprehensive set of tools, strategies and a growth-oriented mindset that will serve them well into the future, extending the value of the coaching well beyond the immediate engagement. To achieve this, the coach focuses on building the executive's capacity for self-reflection, critical thinking and self-motivation. This involves teaching the executive to ask themselves the right questions, to evaluate their actions and decisions critically, and to learn from both their successes and setbacks. By developing these self-coaching skills, the executive is equipped to navigate future challenges independently, using the insights and techniques gained during the coaching process.

Developing a mindset of continuous improvement is fundamental since it encourages the executive to view their development as an ongoing journey rather than a finite goal. This comprehensive approach ensures that the executive not only achieves their current developmental goals but also lays a solid foundation for ongoing growth. By the end of the coaching engagement, the executive is not just transformed for the moment but is also equipped with the mindset and skills to continue evolving, facing new challenges with confidence and seizing opportunities for further development. This enduring impact is what makes executive coaching a pivotal investment in an executive's long-term success and fulfillment.

 

Why Do You Need Executive Coaching?


Leadership challenges vary widely, including effective team management, building your brand and developing executive presence, culture shift and making strategic decisions. Executive coaching is a tool that helps leaders improve their skills, adapt to new situations, lead with intention and become more effective in their roles. Through executive coaching, leaders receive customized feedback and guidance that focuses on their specific needs and goals. This tailored approach allows leaders to closely examine their leadership style, how they make decisions and how they interact with their teams. It helps them pinpoint areas that need improvement, learn new ways to engage their teams and refine their strategic decision-making skills.

The advantages of executive coaching go beyond just improving individual skills. It leads to better communication, greater leadership impact, enhanced emotional intelligence and a more authoritative leadership presence - all contributing to stronger team unity and improved overall organizational performance. Executive coaching provides a supportive framework for leaders to evaluate and enhance their leadership approach, experiment with new methods and make significant changes in how they lead, and as such it is a practical resource for leaders looking to tackle current challenges and prepare for future leadership roles. It's beneficial for anyone in a leadership position who aims to have a significant, positive impact on their team and organization.


How Can You Find the Right Executive Coach?


Choosing the right professional coach can significantly impact your growth. It's important to find an executive coach who not only has a wealth of experience from your senior or executive level but also boasts a proven track record of success. This ensures that they bring not only relevant insights but also tested strategies to your coaching sessions. A coach who is well-versed in the challenges and objectives specific to your role and professional journey can offer guidance that is not only pertinent but also transformative. Their ability to tailor their advice and strategies to your unique situation enhances the value and impact of the coaching.


The coaching style is also a critical factor; it should not only resonate with how you best learn and process information but also ensure that you are entering a open, direct and supportive partnership of two individuals with one goal - your continued success.

When searching for the right coach, thorough research is key. Conducting in-depth interviews with potential coaches is an essential step. These conversations allow you to experience not just the coach's expertise and success stories but also their understanding of your specific needs and goals. This process ensures that the coach you choose is not only aligned with your professional aspirations but also truly equipped to guide you towards achieving them.

In summary, the process of selecting the right coach involves careful consideration of their executive experience, success rate, coaching style and their understanding of your unique professional landscape. By doing your due diligence you can ensure an impactful coaching relationship that significantly contributes to your growth and success.


What Are the Benefits of Executive Coaching?


Engaging in coaching can have an enormous impact on your professional development, leading to increased self-awareness, refined leadership abilities and enhanced overall performance. This process not only equips you with the tools to lead your teams more effectively but also provides you with the strategies needed to tackle complex organizational challenges head-on.


As you develop and improve your leadership skills through coaching, the benefits extend beyond personal growth. Enhanced leadership capabilities often result in increased team morale, as team members feel more supported and understood. This, in turn, boosts team performance and contributes to more effective leadership within the organization as a whole. The positive changes in leadership approach and team dynamics can lead to a more cohesive, motivated, and productive work environment.


To maximize the benefits of coaching, it's crucial to fully engage with the process. This means being open to receiving feedback, even when it's challenging, and being willing to reflect on and critically assess your own behaviors and practices. Actively applying the insights and strategies gained through coaching to your day-to-day leadership can lead to significant improvements in how you lead and manage your team. By integrating new approaches and continuously refining your leadership style based on coaching feedback, you can achieve substantial and lasting improvements in your professional capabilities.


What Are the Risks of Executive Coaching?


When engaging in executive coaching, it's important to be mindful of certain potential risks such as developing an over-reliance on your coach or acting on advice that may not be in line with your personal values and principles. To mitigate these risks, it's crucial to preserve your independence and ensure that any guidance you receive from your coach is carefully considered and integrated into your practice in a way that respects your values and decision-making autonomy. Acknowledging and addressing these potential pitfalls from the beginning can ensure that the process remains constructive and closely aligned with your professional objectives.


In selecting an executive coach, it's imperative to choose someone with whom you share a mutual understanding and respect. Establishing clear boundaries from the beginning of the coaching relationship can prevent the development of an unhealthy dependency and ensure that the coaching remains focused and purposeful - professionally trained and certified executive coaches are equally as mindful of these risks.


Executive coaching is an investment in your professional growth and requires both time and effort. It's important to reflect on how coaching fits into your long-term career aspirations and to view this investment as an integral component of your overall professional development strategy. By carefully considering how coaching aligns with your broader career goals, you can ensure that the time and resources devoted to coaching are leveraged effectively to support your continued growth and success in your professional journey.


Executive Coaching - a Valuable Resource


Successful leaders are those who continually seek out opportunities to learn, adapt to new situations, and commit to their personal and professional growth. Executive coaching is a valuable resource in this process, offering structured support to help you enhance your leadership capabilities. By approaching coaching with a willingness to learn and a clear focus on your goals, you can achieve significant improvements in your leadership performance.


Are you ready to elevate your leadership and achieve your goals?


Let's start a conversation about how our executive coaching can support your journey to success. Reach out today to explore how we can tailor our expertise to help you unlock your full potential.




Ulrika Gustafson LL.M PCC is a Certified Executive Coach, former C-suite leader and partner of HAMILTON THERRELL Executive Advisors, an international advisory group of experts in leadership and organizational transformation. She advises CEOs and coaches senior executives in Fortune 100 and 500 companies, startups, family businesses and government institutions on succeeding in demanding environments.

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