Executive Coaching

Executive coaching is a one on one relationship between an executive, manager or senior leader with an executive coach. The executive makes use of the service of an executive coach to improve performance and establish accountability. Executive coaching is therefore the activity of guiding and enabling the executive to performance improvement, personal development, realising full potential and become more effective by an executive coach.

Executive coaching is aimed at inspiring executive leaders to make behavioural changes which transform and impact executive leaders and the people around them. Executive coaching is a facilitative, one-on-one mutually designed relationship between a professional coach and a key contributor who has a powerful position in an organisation.

The usual focus of the coaching sessions is the organisational development and performance. It is a customised and holistic development process that provides deep behavioural insights to accelerate an executive’s business impact, effectiveness and decision making.

Executives have little time to devote to their personal developmental needs focusing more on the job. When managers excessively priorities their work at the expense of personal growth and development their performance and effectiveness on the jobs starts to diminish. Time and cost constraint further place pressure on executives to strike the optimal balance in their managerial endeavours. Oversight on giving attention to self improvement can lead to self defeating results.

The general structure of a coaching exercise involves the following;

• Existence of a common goal

• Motivation

• Open communication channels

• Joint decision making

• Regular meetings

• Reward and review

Executives usually function in high pressure situation all the time. The performance requirements and targets can be stressful and unbearable. Some managers cut short their family time and social engagements because of work demands. Without an intentional plan to take personal time and effort to focus on ‘self’, many end up fatigued, discouraged and possibly in failure. In extreme instances, some executives can end up in rehabilitation. The work and value of an executive coach becomes evident is these situations.

An executive coaching relationship involves conversations about the current situation that the executive is going through. They then discuss the goals and objective, the desired state of things. This would be the preferred situation. Together, they agree on an action plan that progressively works to achieving the set goals.