The best executive coaches have conversational intelligence and can actively listen to business leaders. They focus on what business leaders say without interruption, and then they respond with care: they are Socratic teachers rather than teachers who follow the rules. Your coach must fully invest in you as a leader and as a person. They should be excited about your career, your personal development and your future, and be fully committed to what you say.
Doing so is necessary so that they can use their training as a coach and provide you with the most relevant ideas and observations. Motivation is essential, but the bookend of that quality is responsibility. Many leaders need a responsible partner, someone who makes sure they do what they set out to do. That's not weakness, it's just intelligent leadership.
If you want to overcome the main challenges and experience significant changes during your participation as a coach, you'll need to find a coach who knows how to use both motivation and responsibility in an expert way when necessary. The executive coach must be able to investigate and discover unproductive or useless assumptions and confront the leader in a calm, polite and non-judgmental way. A good executive coach is an expert in “tough love” and in finding the right balance between supporting and challenging the executive. It is estimated that there are about 50,000 experts in leadership coaching, but only a small percentage of these coaches can deliver the results that leaders, human resources (HR) and companies rely on.
Marshall Goldsmith, considered the world's number one leadership thinker and coach, lists three essential qualities of leaders who manage to improve themselves through coaching commitments. A certified coach isn't required; many of the best executive coaches aren't certified and instead have hands-on leadership experience. However, it can be difficult to choose the right coaches who truly take leadership development to the next level and provide a level of training that is not only transformative for the leader, but also generates a measurable business impact. When selecting an executive coach, there are 10 criteria you should consider: 1.Active Listening: Look for someone who actively listens without interruption and responds with care.
2.Investment: Your coach must fully invest in you as a leader and as a person. 3.Motivation & Responsibility: Find someone who knows how to use both motivation and responsibility in an expert way when necessary. 4.Investigation & Discovery: The executive coach must be able to investigate and discover unproductive or useless assumptions and confront the leader in a calm, polite and non-judgmental way. 5.Expertise: Choose someone with expertise in leadership coaching who can deliver results that leaders, human resources (HR) and companies rely on.
6.Leadership Experience: Look for someone with hands-on leadership experience rather than just certification. 7.Disciplined Approach: A leadership coach who has a disciplined approach is much more likely to help the leader maintain the process and achieve results. 8.Tools & Resources: Ask if a 180-degree or 360-degree tool will be used, how valid/reliable it is, and who will have access to the results? 9.Eclectic Background: Choose someone with an eclectic background that spans more than two decades of experience in human resources in some of the world's most admired organizations at the level of national, regional and global leadership, both in emerging and developed markets. 10. Transformative Training: Find someone who provides a level of training that is not only transformative for the leader, but also generates a measurable business impact.
