Leadership and Change Management

Chapter 6 : Coaching Leaders

Demystifying coaching
The leader as a coach

Improving as a coach

What can a coach do to be a better coach?

Chapter Summary

Coaching is a partnership between a leader and an individual who reports directly to him in which the coach focuses on helping the direct report optimize his or her potential. Coaching activity is non-judgmental and involves teaching. This process aims at helping people build abilities, knowledge, and skills. An effective coach knows what questions to ask while evaluating a situation, or assessing problem behaviors, or calibrating his own coaching capabilities.

Coaching can be classified into two types: performance management coaching, and performance enhancement coaching. Coaching ensures the personal development of the workforce while creating a positive emotional environment. It usually brings about better results, because emotionally positively charged people certainly strive to accomplish the tasks expected of them. Often the behavioral characteristics required to be a successful coach and a successful executive are not the same.

Hence an executive coaching somebody might need changes in his/her own behavior along with changes in the behavior of the person being coached. Coaches with a long-term outlook, who are concerned with saving valuable resources for their organizations, are found to be more effective than coaches who expect immediate benefits from their coaching. Those who take a long-term view do not get bogged down by personality conflicts.

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