Leadership Coaching: What it is and why does it matter?

Leadership Coaching

Organizations today do not hire leaders for their technical expertise only. They search for an all-around leader who, along with their technical expertise, can motivate their team and enable all team members to work to their highest potential. Leadership coaching programs enable leaders to grow out of their technical shell and become the coaches their teams need them to be in order to achieve excellence.

Why should leaders enrol in leadership coaching?

In today’s VUCA world, organisations are changing rapidly. Corporates no longer want leaders who are experts but are unable to lead teams.  Leadership coaching helps leaders, both new and existing, to develop leadership qualities. Leadership coaching helps to build the EQ of a leader. This in turn enables them to be more self – aware as well as have greater awareness of the behaviour of others.  With Leadership coaching leaders learn to give their team opportunities to be the best and to excel not only within the organisation but also to develop themselves professionally. All in all leadership coaching prepares leaders to guide their teams in a world of uncertainty.

What is leadership coaching?

Leadership coaching usually is a 6-8 month (this varies based on the requirement of the individual and the organization) coaching engagement for leaders or managers who wish to learn to lead well. Leadership Coaching is imperative for those the organisation leans on to make their organisation successful.   Leadership coaching is ideal for team leaders, supervisors, and managers who currently lead small or big teams. Anyone with a significant leadership role in the organization should ideally undergo Leadership coaching.

Leaders in a leadership coaching program get to introspect, analyse, and understand their leadership roles better. They get an opportunity to hone their leadership qualities for the growth of the organisation as well as the team.

Program details of leadership coaching:

Leadership Coaching usually is a 6-8 months or longer coaching engagement. Usually six coaching sessions are mandated as part of this program but the total number of sessions can also be customised based on the requirement of the leader as well as the organisation.

At the beginning of the engagement, coaches have a one-on-one session with the leaders, where both of them discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the leaders to be coached and set course goals accordingly.

Assessment of the coaching engagement can be done mid way during the engagement.  And then final debriefing is done at the end of the program with coaching engagement closure.

Why does leadership coaching matter?

The whole can be greater than the sum of the parts and this adage truly applies to leadership skills. An effective leader can work with their team to enable them to deliver more than any of them could have done individually. The leadership coaching program is the best way to enable leaders to learn how to make the many individual team members work to deliver more than what any individual person could have done. Leadership Coaching is therefore beneficial for anyone who is currently a leader or wishes to be seen in a leadership role in the future.  It is valuable for the senior managers and team leaders who wish to rise high in their careers by being able to lead their teams to achieve more. The program is highly favourable to the existing CXO’s as well.

How does leadership coaching enhance performance

Here are the top five ways in which leadership coaching enhances performance

  1. Empowering leaders – Leadership Coaches frees and empowers leaders to leverage their and their teams strengths to deliver their best possible work. Coaches help leaders learn ways to work together with the team in a supportive manner and work as a cohesive unit to achieve their goals.
  1. New light on existing problems – Often leaders are unable to objectively see the problem. Leadership Coaching puts team and individual problems in a new light and thus can lead to effective problem solving and growth for both the leader and the team in question.
  2. Flexibility – Leadership Coaching helps leaders to become coaches who are flexible in their acceptance of different personalities and ways of working. This increases diversity and it also allows leaders to see issues from different perspectives. 
  3. Better Communication – Leadership coaching covers the common barriers in open communication in a team. The leader is then better able to build an environment of trust where people can communicate their doubts openly. This also helps avoids problems of ‘Group-Think’
  4. Superior Performance – Leadership coaching leads to better personal and professional outcomes for the leader as well as the team. Leaders are better able to overcome obstacles with team members who may otherwise have been reluctant participants to the teams’ growth. They are able to help team members who are enthusiastic to work to their highest potential as well.

Leadership Coaching can create a great impact on the performance of leaders as well as their teams. This is why it is an invaluable tool for any organisation to grow and succeed.