Executive Coaching

Benefits of an Executive Coach

Social media and streaming services mean that every move we make can be uploaded and watched by millions of people within seconds. Because of this, leaders around the globe are no longer just beholden to board members or customers but are held to a higher standard by everyone.

Executive Coaching

This means that leaders need to constantly put their best foot forward – there is no room for mistakes. Now more than ever, it’s pertinent that today’s leaders have someone behind-the-scenes, helping them hone their talent and acquire new skills to reach audiences the way they intend, and be the best possible representatives for their companies.

Enter the executive coach. The same way an Olympic athlete needs a trainer to take their raw talent to the next level, executives need a coach to help sharpen their skill set and turn them into a well-polished professional. Companies and executives need to embrace coaches now, in order to be trusted caretakers of the standout brands of tomorrow.

Embracing Your Weaknesses Is the Real Key to Success

It feels like every year we read that public speaking is listed as one of people’s top fears. This is also one of the most important skills that a leader needs to master in order to succeed at their job. However, just because someone is the CEO or Vice President of a company, does not mean they are a master speaker, or can nail every interview or presentation, especially when pressed on uncomfortable topics or asked unexpected questions.

It can be difficult to embrace a weakness and come to terms with the fact that there is something that you’re not that good at. Oftentimes, you’re not “bad” at something, it’s just a skill that you may be scared to embrace or have not practiced. That’s where an executive coach comes in. It’s their job to take someone’s weakness and turn them into strengths. An executive coach will help you identify what your weakness, or weaknesses are, own them, and figure out the steps to take to develop it into a strength.

Embracing your weakness will not just make you better at one specific skill, but also open the door to new opportunities. It will make you stronger, smarter, and better prepared to take on any new situation you encounter.

Pushing Past Your “Limits” Is Hard to Do Alone

We come across new challenges all the time in life. Whether it’s putting ourselves in an unfamiliar social situation, or attempting to master a new skill, it’s important that we continue to push ourselves to accomplish new things. Being “good” is fine but will not help you stand out amongst the thousands of leaders representing today’s biggest and best organizations. Coaches will help ensure that you are dedicating the time to flex the professional muscles you have begun building and take them a step further. Something that you likely would not be doing alone.

You’ve become a strong public speaker but are not always able to bring emotion into each speech to connect with your audience. A coach will push you to bring your presentations to the next level and give you the tools you need to create an emotional connection with your audience, ending in a speech that not only gets your point across, but leaves the audience wanting more.

You’re not always going to push yourself to sprint on the highest level on a treadmill at the gym, sometimes you’ll want to jog. That’s why you get a personal trainer, to push you further than you thought was possible. The same idea applies to an executive coach. They will help bring you to places you did not think possible, and be just as invested in your success, as you are.

Continued Success Comes with Continued Practice

Just because you’ve “mastered” the skills that are needed to succeed in a job, does not mean your work is done. Muscles that are built and not constantly used, are eventually lost, and you’ll have to rebuild them. A coach will ensure that you are continually stretching and building the muscles that you’ve built, by pushing you to continue practicing what you’ve honed, and finding new and better ways for you to use them.

Today’s greatest leaders don’t stay stagnant, they are continually pushing the limits of how they are connecting with their audiences–whether it be customers at a user conference, or employees at a training event. A coach will ensure that you are constantly exploring new ways you can continue building your toolset, and keep you committed to practicing what you’ve learned.

No one is an expert in everything, and it’s important for companies and executives to embrace this fact and understand that everyone needs a coach. It should not be a shameful or taboo topic. With such high expectations of today’s leaders, they need cheering on too! After all, it can be pretty lonely at the top. In the words of Hall of Fame basketball coach Pat Summitt, “Most people get excited about games, but I’ve got to be excited about practice, because that’s my classroom.”

 

Co-Authors: Katherine and Chessa Eskandanian-Yee, Co-Founders, LeaderEQ