Leaders have worked hard to get where they are, but they don’t often have the luxury of figuring out the job as they go along. Whereas trial and error learning as an employee is somewhat expected, trial and error in a leadership position can lead to soured company culture, disengaged employees, and a higher turnover rate.
Professional leadership coaching for results can help avoid mishaps and bring leaders to a new level of performance. There are many reasons a leader or executive may engage in leadership coaching. We’re here to help answer what is leadership coaching and how is it beneficial?
What Is Leadership Coaching?
Leadership coaching is a form of professional development training aimed at managers, senior leaders, and executives. The goal of a leadership coach is to help the leader better understand themselves, including their ways of thinking and acting. A leadership coach has a specific skill set to help guide leaders on this journey of discovery and growth.
Coaching is important in leadership because leaders are role models for others, they must regularly interact with reports and teams they manage, and they have pull within the organization to get things done and make decisions. This responsibility means leaders must be both empathetic and effective. Leadership coaching can help get you there.
But why hire a leadership coach?
What Are the Benefits of Leadership Coaching?
If you need justification for leadership training, look no further. There are many benefits of leadership coaching, such as
Improved Work Performance
Enhanced Empathy
Greater Self-Confidence
Boosted Resilience
Amplified Open-Mindedness
Better Company Culture
More Effective Team Performance
Healthier Communication
A New Perspective
A Sense of Empowerment
Higher Satisfaction with Job and Life
Increased Self-Awareness
Invest in leadership coaching for these results. While there are many benefits of leadership coaching, make sure one of your primary leadership coaching goals is to raise self-awareness.
What Are the Benefits of Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness by itself has a massive list of benefits. It is the cornerstone of Emotional Intelligence. When you become more self-aware, you can:
View situations more objectively and rationally to encourage better decision-making
Come to rational conclusions, thinking through how decisions affect the company and employees
Recognize your role in the company, company culture, your teams, and the broader organizational purpose
Relate on a deeper level with reports and colleagues to form a psychologically safe environment
Understand your reports’ decisions and help guide them effectively to better behaviors without micromanaging
Leadership coaching takes managers, senior leaders, and executives to the next level with higher self-awareness.
How Does Leadership Coaching Make Us More Self-Aware?
One of the top coaching goals for leaders is to become more self-aware. And rightfully so. But how does leadership coaching do this?
Many leadership coaches will use personality and soft skills assessments during training to help you better understand your personality and habits. Personality tests such as the Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, DISC, Big Five, and others can help define your “types.” A leadership coach helps you decode the results and better understand your personality.
Leadership coaches also provide chances for self-reflection. They may have you fill in worksheets or keep journals with records of your interactions. By evaluating your words and actions in different situations, the coach can help you start to see a pattern of thoughts or behaviors. Knowing ahead of time how we might react in a situation is the pinnacle of self-awareness.
Self-awareness helps us relate to the world better. Another training modality for increasing self-awareness is to hear directly from reports and peers. The coach may arrange in-person discussions between you and team members, or they may have an anonymous survey to collect overall feedback. Knowing how others view us can help enhance our self-awareness.
Final Thoughts
While the benefits of leadership coaching are innumerable, engaging in leadership coaching is difficult work. It requires an often uncomfortable and raw review of our thoughts and behaviors and a willingness to grow and create change within ourselves.
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