Coaching can catapult your career
Anyone can sign up for executive or career coaching, hand over the money and sit in on a series of sessions, but not everyone is “coachable.” If your mind is closed to exploring new insights about yourself and being challenged about your assumptions, you won’t be able to reap the real benefits. Executive coaching offers you a full, 360-degree view of your skill set, character and roadblocks — warts and all. It can be hard to hear, but at the end of the day, if you want to see a change in your work life, you need to make a change in the way you live it.
“Coachability” — or your ability to reflect, review and improve — is a significant indicator of how much value you’ll get out of any sessions you do, but (and here’s what your boss is thinking) it’s also an indicator of an effective leader.
Good leaders have high emotional intelligence. They build strong teams by empowering others. They are interested in self-improvement. They want to know what they don’t know and understand their own limitations. They feel uncomfortable in comfort zones and consciously step outside them to drive innovation. They respond positively and constructively to challenges.
Bad leaders, on the other hand, are ego-driven. They don’t reflect on their mistakes. They fracture the teams they lead. They don’t bounce back with solutions; instead, they hit out with criticisms. They lack emotional intelligence. I could go on, but I’ll just point to this Uber CEO as a classic example of the kind of leader no one wants to be. It took international headlines and serious brand damage for him to realize and admit that he needed to change.
The people who will get the most value from coaching are the ones who already have good leadership traits but maybe aren’t using them effectively. These traits may be lying dormant, or they could be masked by the frustration and cynicism that is born out of being passed over for promotion. That last “maybe” might ring true for you, and it’s a vicious cycle that you need to break if you want to be recognized in your organization as leadership material and promoted accordingly.
I suggest that before you “throw in the towel and go work for an NGO” that you give executive coaching a shot. And not just any old shot; make it a good, purposeful shot, with energy and commitment, because it might just support you to enhance the leadership skills your boss wants to see. My clients report that it has helped them develop their influence and impact as a leader, build effective teams, improve time management and work-life balance, boost self-confidence and achieve their professional goals. It’s definitely not fluffy. So don’t give up just yet. Change is the only thing in life that we can be truly sure of. Start with yourself and embrace it. Why not let your company pay for your professional development if it is offering?
This article originally appeared on GreenBiz.
