"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
-- John Wooden

For Executives & Leaders

Coaching is collaborative communication and partnership focused on aligning inherent values while enhancing learning, performance and quality of life. Executive and leadership coaching are one-on-one partnerships designed to reach performance, developmental and career goals. These partnerships, or designed alliances, address the client's whole life and focus on where the client is now and where they want to go. The agenda is set by the client, who also has the answers. Weekly contact can provide a sounding board and strategic partnering, along with powerful facilitation for personal growth, and behavioral and attitudinal change. The executive and leadership coach is an objective partner who will support and yet challenge views, behaviors and attitudes in a constructive manner. Above all, the executive gains an ally whose primary motivation is their success.

Executive and leadership coaching is becoming increasingly popular in the corporate world as evidenced by the November 2002 article titled “The Case for Executive Coaching”. Those selected for coaching tend to fall into one of three categories: highly successful "stars" who the company wants fast-tracked to the next level; individuals the company wants to retain because they are vital to the company's success; and talented individuals who may have a "blind spot" which compromises their overall success. Common to all successful executive and leadership coaching relationships is a strong sense of trust, a degree of mutual learning, and an openness/willingness to say what has to be said, or more succinctly, trust, collaboration and integrity. As with other coaching, the coach is most effective when he/she can get out of the way of the leader’s learning. Executive and leadership coaching begins with contracting (developing expectations), followed by an executive/leader assessment, action plan identification, implementation and evaluation. The coaching contract can specify phone and/or face-to-face interaction, assessments, shadowing, team activities, co-coaching, etc. The benefits to executives and leaders receiving coaching are that coaching:

Creates improved performance
Produces long lasting results that are integrated into real life and work situations
Reduces turnover costs, including training costs for new employees
Enables the company to keep and develop highly valuable employees who have industry and company knowledge
Demonstrates the company's values and its willingness to support employee growth

For executives and leaders who recognize that business today requires a different kind of leader, a focus on leadership authenticity may be desired. Authentic leadership is recognized by the hallmarks of inside-out leadership integration - - one effects change on the inside to create change on the outside. Do you have what Kevin Cashman, author of "Leadership From the Inside Out" calls authentic leadership - "authentic self-expression that creates value."? Is your leadership authentic self-expression? Does it create value? How authentic is your leadership? Where do you stand on the internal and external indicators of authentic leadership? Coaching to foster authentic leadership includes:

Get clear on intention, risks, and rewards of authentic leadership
Determine gaps (360^o feedback, shadowing, style assessment, language, leadership profiles)
Focused daily actions
Inquiry and powerful questions to deepen learning and forward the action
Frequent reassessments and feedback

For corporations considering coaching for their executives and leaders, the late Thomas J. Leonard, founder of Coach U and Coachville, created the following lists:

And for those of you considering becoming a "corporate refugee", Thomas J. Leonard's list "Ways To Get Out Of Corporate America! may be just what you are looking for.

"No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it."
-- Andrew Carnegie

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are." -- John Wooden

For Executives & Leaders

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
-- John Wooden