Leadership skills coaching gave Suzanne* peace of mind

 

Some would argue leaders are born, not made. I disagree. I have coached many individuals in leadership skills and they have gone on to be effective leaders as a result.

One question many executives face over their careers is: should I stay or should I go?

As an example of effective leadership coaching, Suzanne* is an in-house lawyer heading up the legal department of a Commonwealth government agency. She was looking for ways to optimize her leadership skills. However, she had reservations about her career direction and needed a trusted advisor as a sounding board.

* To preserve client confidentiality I have changed her name

Furthermore, the organization itself was going through a restructure, with the result that Suzanne needed to “put on a brave face, and be resilient and responsive to the team.”

Suzanne was introduced to me as part of professional development offered to leaders at my department. She took up the opportunity to look at her strengths and areas to work on with great enthusiasm.

Identifying new approaches to develop leadership skills

We worked on identifying new career directions using a capability test to help Suzanne gain increased self-awareness. Ultimately, she learned where her key skills lie and what her career options were. In the end, she changed her mind about leaving the agency. However, the peace of mind she gained from arriving at this decision through a thorough analysis of her options was invaluable.

“I had never looked at these things before – as previously I hadn’t been looking to make changes in my career. I found myself in my 40s with family in a different city to the one I was living, looking at alternatives.”

“Alan helped me at a critical juncture in my career when I was looking at options by helping me through the process. His approach helped me crystallise my thinking. Using Alan’s methods, I was able to satisfy myself with my decision to continue in my current career path, rather than pursuing alternatives. Ultimately, coaching gave me confidence that I was on the right path.”

The impact of our coaching sessions

Through coaching, Suzanne came to understand herself better, and how areas she needed to address were impacting her career.

Following regular one-on-one coaching sessions over 12 months, Suzanne developed a confidence in herself, which translated into better leadership approach.

“It was highly important for me to do the coaching at the time. It was vital in terms of where I was at and what was going on in the organization,” Suzanne says.

My approach to leadership coaching

According to Suzanne, she greatly appreciated my approach, which is to be as interactive as possible to understand her challenges. My sessions are not structured, hence I am guided by the client. I take my client’s lead and ask probing questions to elicit responses to recognize their style and how it may impact progression or leadership.

“Because Alan wasn’t a family or friend, he could be objective. If I invited a viewpoint, Alan was very forthcoming even if it wasn’t something I wanted to hear

“I found this approach to be beneficial, as well as his guidance on certain scenarios.”

Develop your skills through executive leadership coaching

Leadership skills coaching is effective in pinpointing specific skills that leaders want to develop. For example, a manager may be having difficulty inspiring their team, although they may be very functionally sound

You can engage executive leadership coaching to improve the following leadership skills, for example:

1. Inspiring others to perform higher levels of achievement
2. Stimulating others intellectually, questioning accepted wisdom and challenging others to create alternative solutions
3. Stretching the individual’s ability to take on more responsibility
4. Empower people to solve their own problems
5. Produce opportunities for followers to become leaders

I offer tailored executive and behavioural coaching services

My coaching and development programs enhance the key skills that optimise potential and performance. I focus on helping executives achieve success through self-insight and skillful relationship management.My coaching sessions include: Behavioural coaching – helping to manage disruptive behaviour within teams Stress management – prevention or recovery from difficult stressful periods or incidents Professional development – executive coaching support for key leaders to develop interpersonal skills.

I tailor my programs to suit the particular needs of each person. My approach includes:

• A briefing for the person being coached as well as the sponsoring manager, for example manager or team leader
• Creating a behavioural profile which provides an objective ‘picture’ of the individual and a sound empirical framework for the coaching process
• Tailored coaching sessions that help the client better understand themselves and develop the skills and strategies that enable them to function more effectively at work.

By using a holistic approach to behavioural coaching, I aim to help individuals and leaders improve in all areas or their lives.

* To preserve client confidentiality I have changed her name