20 Coaching Articles – From Our World’s #1 Executive Coaching Blog
The 5 Tangible and Terrific Outcomes of Executive Coaching – Winds of change blow through the business world today, and there is no escape. Even in the executive suite change is felt acutely, and C-level executives are not immune to the effects of our accelerated global business climate. (Read More)
The 6 Elements of Character & Getting Leaders to Change – When I work with executives and other high achievers, my main focus is identifying each person’s unique strengths. These strengths must continue to be fostered and strengthened so clients can leverage them to become the best possible leader. A positive side effect of this, of course, is that it helps the organization achieve its goals. Additionally, I have to focus on identifying, in partnership with each client, which development needs must be addressed. (Read More)
Close the Coaching Gap – Winds of change are blowing all through today’s business world, including through the executive suite. In other words, there’s no choice but to face change – not that there ever really was. The difference is that today’s business changes are likelier to be felt at the executive level, which means that leaders must be prepared to be strong right out of the starting gate and maintain strength and agility. It’s not easy.
The CEO Imperative – In today’s challenging economy, CEOs and senior executive teams are facing enormous challenges when it comes to achieving and sustaining breakthrough operating results. Globalization, economic change, more stringent regulation, and tougher governance make realizing shareholder value increasingly difficult. But, there is a tougher challenge: identifying and developing new leaders. (Read More)
Why Executive Coaching – There is nowhere to hide. Not even the executive suite is safe from the changes sweeping business today. In fact, the impact of those changes is felt most keenly at the executive level. CEO’s, COO’s, CFO’s, and senior VP’s—like everyone else—have to hit the ground running and keep running fast.
The Vulnerability Decision – Last week I talked about the first (i.e., it is lonely at the top) of several reasons why CEO’s need a coach and I introduced Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, who in a powerful video excerpt talked about why he works with a coach. It is my experience and, in fact, there are ample research studies that now exist that support my premise that most CEO’s “in their head’s” want to work with a coach, however, when it comes to actually “executing the decision”, most decide not to work with a coach due to the negative stigma attached. (Read More)
The Role of Altruism in Executive Leadership and Executive Coaching – Altruism is commitment to the welfare of others, in contrast to egoism, which is commitment to the welfare of the self. Altruism operates on numerous levels and is valued by society in many ways. It may play a role in close relationships like those with family members and close friends, in professional relationships at work, and in broader ways, such as through the volunteering of time or giving of wealth to help those in need.(Read More)
Character Determines Your Ultimate Destiny – One day, he was sitting on top of the world with a $1-million salary and $5.5 million in stock options. The next day, his board asked him to resign in shame and embarrassment after being caught in a lie about a degree he said he had earned in the early 1980s from Stonehill College in Massachusetts. Who am I talking about?
The 4 Stages of an Executive Coaching Intervention – Today there is often a large gap between what we expect from executives and what’s available to help them develop the attributes and skills necessary for meeting all the expectations placed on them. Executive coaching is designed to bridge that gap, yet only around one-third of organizations make use of executive coaching in developing people for executive roles. (Read More)
The Importance of Positive Thinking for Executives – After the economy took a major battering a few years ago, the concept of “positive thinking” took a pasting as well. Critics said companies promoting positive thinking wanted to improve employee morale while denying them raises and overburdening them with the tasks of their laid-off co-workers. (Read More)
Do You Have a Personal Mission Statement? – Do you have a Personal Mission Statement? If you don’t think of yourself as a brand just like a company brand you are making a big mistake. One thing that I have learned that I try to pass along to the executives and companies I work with is that it is truly the disciplined pursuit of less that gives us more. (Read More)
5 Ways Executive Coaching Can Help Your Company – Coaching is more personalized than consulting, and it’s less emotionally intensive than therapy. Executive coaching is about helping you be the best version of yourself as a leader. It looks toward the future following the path that you, with some help from your coach, define. (Read More)
How to Measure Business Coaching Success – Business coaching rests on a foundation of commitment to working on issues that are holding the client back. That may mean the client must learn new skills, or develop problem-solving abilities. One way or another, however, business coaching means change. If nothing changes, the coaching isn’t effective. (Read More)
Why Feedback is so Important with Business Coaching – Entering into a business coaching relationship with a client requires that both parties make their expectations known from the beginning. After all, you can’t create a roadmap unless you know where you’re going. One of the most critical elements of a business coaching plan is good feedback. “Good” refers to high quality here, not just positive feedback. When negative feedback is presented tactfully and constructively, it can be as effective as positive feedback. (Read More)
5 Personality Traits an Executive Coach Can Help With – In today’s culture, we tend to make CEOs into icons. People who work in a company with a charismatic CEO often have a sense of security knowing they have a “heroic” leader at the helm. It’s not easy admitting that an admired CEO has flaws, or that there can be a negative side to the very traits that made him or her right for the CEO job. (Read More)
How to Build Leadership Skills in a New Executive – Perhaps you serve on the board of a company that has just hired a new executive. Or perhaps you are that new executive and you’re excited and motivated, but slightly wary of your new position. In the business world today, executives in all industries face major challenges, because they’re expected to achieve and sustain stellar results. Furthermore, globalization, changes in the marketplace, and an increasingly strict regulatory environment raise expectations of today’s executive. (Read More)
How Leadership Coaching Can Help Teachers and Students – Inherent in the teaching profession is the value of leadership. I know this directly as our daughter Kristina is a 26 year old 5th grade teacher now beginning her third year. She has grown dramatically as a leader thanks to her school’s recognition of her potential. She has learned from older teachers and has received lots of feedback through in-class observation and evaluation as well as stretching opportunities through after-school programs and leading safety patrol and managing student trips to Washington DC. Whether you’re leading kindergarten students in learning a poem or helping high school seniors master differential calculus, if you’re a teacher, you are a leader. It only makes sense that leadership coaching can benefit teachers, because a teacher with outstanding leadership skills is more likely to take the initiative to improve the learning environment. (Read More)
On the Mattone Leadership Enneagram Inventory (MLEI) – Most of us have some idea of our inner-core (i.e., character, self-concept, values, thinking patterns, emotional make-up, etc.) strengths and weaknesses, but we may not know much about how the inner-core strengths and weaknesses we possess translate into the “traits” that ultimately determine how you come across as a leader, which are the outer-core leadership behaviors we exhibit. Said another way: the strength, vibrancy and maturity of your inner-core determines the strength, vibrancy and effectiveness of your outer-core. (Read More)
The Benefits of Disrupting Yourself – We all know on some level what disruption is, and, in general, we tend to think of it as a negative thing. But disruptive innovation is the reason we have many of the affordable technologies in our lives now. In business, disruptive innovation is one that improves a product in a way the market doesn’t anticipate. Markets can be completely upended by disruption and new categories of consumers created by it. (Read More)
How to Gauge the Success of Executive Leadership Coaching – A 2014 study found that more than three-quarters of businesses planned to devote resources to leadership development to develop the skills of high-potential individuals and improve overall organizational culture. Coaching is one of the most frequently used leadership development tools, with 83% of organizations intending to use coaching. (Read More)
