Take a second to consider any high-performing athlete: to reach the top, their coach must be by their side – at all times – to guide them through any difficulties and successes to help them to reach the best possible version of themselves.
Executive business coaching, in a similar fashion, means setting up objectives, questioning, listening, prodding, a little bit of “pushing”, rewarding and supporting.
The goal is helping managers to be better businesspeople, work through the toughest issues and make their own fully formed decisions to stay ahead of the game.
Therefore, you will (re)own the vision and the strategy to paint a desirable shared future and assert your leadership in the long run.
Throughout the work-shops, the objectives could adjust over time, urgent issues will be addressed, covering all topics that make-up the daily managers’ life in the company (and sometimes beyond..).
To be successful, executive coaching should be seen as an investment, time wise and financially.
Deeper than mentoring and a step further than consulting.
Ultimately, the conversations(1) between the coach and the coachee must lead somewhere to provide a return on investment — for the business leader, the coach and the organisation.
(1) When you have a conversation, you listen closely and respond appropriately, so that your conversation is a true exchange of ideas, not just people waiting for their turn to talk. A good conversation makes you feel heard, satisfied, and maybe even more informed.