We all know that running a business has always been a tough ask. Getting that right balance between leadership and management, ensuring that profit is returned but with a close eye on the cash flow, and acquiring new customers whilst maintaining existing relationships. 

For the last few years, we have also been playing jeopardy as COVID also threatens the businesses that we have worked so hard to build, stabilise or recover. 

This is where a functional relationship with an executive coach can pay dividends. But what is it that we help clients think about? 

Our executive coaching benefits.

In a place where many are calling themselves coaches, we act as external coach for our clients. Our executive coaching comes from a pure space where we centre the need of the client into the relationship to ensure great returns, personal development and professional development. We often find our clients benefit from

• An increase in awareness not just of themselves but also of the people around them. We call on appropriate tools and models with that in mind. This makes each executive coaching assignment unique. We find that clients may want to adapt their responses to different situations. Admittedly, this can initially be difficult, but with the right coach, it can lead to impressive step change and performance breakthrough even for the higher performers.
• An increased understanding of the clients’ strengths. Some coaches will work with you on maximising your strengths and minimising the impact of your weaknesses. Our approach is to help you build an appropriate strategy that resonates and builds benefits for you and your wider system (organisation, work and life space as examples).
• A renewal of skills. We often find that we work with clients on work-life balance, effective delegation, time management and capacity issues. The latter is especially interesting and often dips into understanding how you can work more effectively with your personal assistant (or virtual). Enhancing leadership skills and adopting a lifelong learning attitude is key in becoming and maintaining great leadership.

Subjects covered in executive coaching

What we experience as the ‘extra’ that makes executive coaching even more effective for our clients is the dipping into strategic vision, presence and personal growth.

• Strategy is a big, and often overused word. In our definition it is about defining what the future direction is for the business or business unit, building the milestones, coaxing support and delivering against a crafted communication plan.
• Presence is a balance of how you turn up as a leader, your communication style, inclusivity, confidence and pizazz. It is the ‘fizz’ that adds to the experience of your presence. It is a blend of emotional intelligence, uniqueness and personality.
• Personal Growth is about honing the strengths and drawing all the ‘business’ coaching discoveries into defining the future for self. Sometimes, the realisation of this is transformational but also can involve facing up to some demons.

We often get asked – will you hold me to account. If required – then yes. But leadership and executive function is a constantly moving place – ambiguity and uncertainty are on the increase due to the complexity extended to us by COVID 19. As the demands swirl and ebb along the river of life, so too does the immediacy of core decisions and actions. Executive Coaching is organic and travels along this river with you. It allows for calmness as well as the rapids that are sometimes seen and sometimes invisible.

What is the role of an executive coach?

When working with clients, our role is many. We hold a confidential space for you as a leader or manager to explore and extend your understanding of factors that affect your work.

As an example,

in a recent conversation, we explored 6 or 7 different tactical decisions that a client could take to enhance his business. The outcome was a moulding of 3 of them into a single powerful approach that would lead the client forward with the awareness of the consequences of those actions.

This type of conversation is difficult to have internally and so using an ‘external’ confidant, encouraged better debate, exploration and informed decision making.

How do you take the first step to getting executive coaching?

We understand that a modern-day senior leaders diary is somewhat busy – so we want to make our engagements simple and easy. Check out Simons availability in the first instance for a quick chat about what you are wanting to achieve.  It is important for me to understand this so that we can ensure a good coaching relationship from the start. Subsequently – we have an onboarding process to access our leadership coaching process.