We at IMLD have believed for a long time, if an executive coach truly believes in coaching, they will have a coach themselves. After all, if a coach won’t invest in the coaching process (or their own development or their own program), why should a client? In the middle of International Coaching Week, we wanted to shout out to 3 amazing coaches that we truly respect and have helped and guided us through the trials, heartaches and joys of executive coaching.
I was asked recently ‘why do you have a coach from another business when you could have someone from within your own business coach you?’ It is a valid question! I have found in my coaching practise, it is easier to have ‘one role’ with the person you are working with; which is why I have rarely coached friends. There is an already established working / relationship pattern, and coaching relationship someone has a different pattern / set of trust boundaries. When you work with someone as a peer, teammate, friend or boss, the relationship dynamic can change when you also coach them, or when they coach you. Working with an external coach avoids those complications.
In addition, working with an external coach provides a fresh set of eyes and a new perspective on an issue or problem. Unencumbered by history, bias, previous processes or relationships, an external coach can approach an issue in a way that can be different to what you expect. Often that different perspective can help someone get through their own roadblocks – the same as why we are employed as coaches within businesses. Just because we run a leadership training and coaching business doesn’t mean we can’t get stuck on business problems!
Finally, an external coach can hold you to account for your actions and responsibility in a clearer way. For similar reasons to those above, an external coach does not have heirarchy issues to consider when holding someone to account for their actions – they have been employed and have been asked to do just that.
To Evan Spargo, PCC, Sarah Devereaux MCC and Jo Lanigan – Master Certified Coach (MCC) – you are all amazing coaches in your own right, and an amazing team. It has been a pleasure to work with you all, and the team at Institute of Management & Leadership Development are the better for it. Thank you.
#coaching #executivecoaching #leadershipdevelopment #IMLD #developingleade
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Could an executive coach be of benefit to you as a leader?
Why not find out? At the Institute of Management & Leadership Development, there are two ways you could ‘try before you buy’ in regards to executive coaching.
- Call and discuss your needs with one of our Executive Leadership Coaches. You can confidentially discuss your needs, what is working and what isn’t, and one of our highly skilled Executive Leadership Coaches can discuss the process and likely outcomes with you. Or,
- Call us to complete a Velocity Leadership CheckPoint – our leadership assessment tool. Not sure what your leadership strengths or weaknesses are? Looking to get some guidance on what to improve? The CheckPoint considers 25 behavioural leadership traits, focussed in 5 distinct leadership capabilities, providing you with a ‘snapshot’ of your current leadership performance, and allowing you to make an informed decision on an proposed coaching initiative.
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