“Every famous athlete, every famous performer has somebody who is a coach. Somebody who can watch what they are doing and say, ‘Is that what you really meant?’ They can give them perspective. The one thing people are never good at is seeing themselves as others see them. A coach really helps.” -
Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google
Many leaders share Eric Schmidt’s views on the powerful impact of coaching to broaden perspective and see new ways of doing things. How does the coaching conversation impact a leader and their organization?
A leader’s performance is measured by their ability to achieve results. To succeed, they have to get work done with and through others. They must know how to motivate employees, give clear direction and manage performance. It’s no easy task, especially when different situations call for different leadership styles. Lack of awareness about how a particular approach impacts others gets in the way of the work. Sometimes a leader needs perspective. Sometimes they need someone who will tell them what others might not. Sometimes they need to step away, analyze the situation, and choose the right approach for that situation. That’s what the coaching conversation can do.
One employee’s performance had been troublesome for some time. My client came to the session with a plan to deal with the performance issue. We talked through the plan and explored the impact of each aspect of the plan. The discussion reinforced the leader’s decision, but then raised some key questions about the best approach to the performance conversation. We looked at options for approaching the performance conversation. We role-played the conversation to practice the new approach and new skills. The client walked away from the session with strategies and skills to lead well in their specific situation.
Dealing with individual performance issues is a common concern for many leaders. Add to that managing team performance issues and the concerns are multiplied. When team performance gets off-track, the leader spends more time dealing with conflicts, petty disagreements, and “rogue” leadership behaviors than getting the work done. It’s not easy to execute strategy when leaders are constantly putting out “fires” in the relationships oftheir team members.
Without every team member consistently demonstrating behaviors that drive the collective strategy, the organization experiences confusion and sometimes chaos. The strained team dynamics and dysfunction cascade throughout the entire organization. Senior leadership teams need to be aligned on mission, vision and strategy. Get clear on how decisions will be made. Communicate what is expected of each team member. And reinforce behaviors that line up with expectations. Just like leaders, teams get caught in natural patterns that come easy to them. The neutral, yet sometimes provocative, perspective of a coach described by Eric Schmidt creates a turning point. A coach asking the team “Is that really what you meant?” engages the conversation that breaks through the confusion to get the alignment needed to move the organization forward.
Like Eric Schmidt, leaders who have a coach are ready to address the challenges of leading the organization and driving results. Many leaders act with confidence, but inside they wrestle with the deeper questions of how to handle new situations they have never faced before. Coaching builds the confidence and skills to lead individuals and teams through today’s challenges.
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The Impact of the Coaching Conversation
“Every famous athlete, every famous performer has somebody who is a coach. Somebody who can watch what they are doing and say, ‘Is that what you really meant?’ They can give them perspective. The one thing people are never good at is seeing themselves as others see them. A coach really helps.” -
Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google
Many leaders share Eric Schmidt’s views on the powerful impact of coaching to broaden perspective and see new ways of doing things. How does the coaching conversation impact a leader and their organization?
A leader’s performance is measured by their ability to achieve results. To succeed, they have to get work done with and through others. They must know how to motivate employees, give clear direction and manage performance. It’s no easy task, especially when different situations call for different leadership styles. Lack of awareness about how a particular approach impacts others gets in the way of the work. Sometimes a leader needs perspective. Sometimes they need someone who will tell them what others might not. Sometimes they need to step away, analyze the situation, and choose the right approach for that situation. That’s what the coaching conversation can do.
One employee’s performance had been troublesome for some time. My client came to the session with a plan to deal with the performance issue. We talked through the plan and explored the impact of each aspect of the plan. The discussion reinforced the leader’s decision, but then raised some key questions about the best approach to the performance conversation. We looked at options for approaching the performance conversation. We role-played the conversation to practice the new approach and new skills. The client walked away from the session with strategies and skills to lead well in their specific situation.
Dealing with individual performance issues is a common concern for many leaders. Add to that managing team performance issues and the concerns are multiplied. When team performance gets off-track, the leader spends more time dealing with conflicts, petty disagreements, and “rogue” leadership behaviors than getting the work done. It’s not easy to execute strategy when leaders are constantly putting out “fires” in the relationships oftheir team members.
Without every team member consistently demonstrating behaviors that drive the collective strategy, the organization experiences confusion and sometimes chaos. The strained team dynamics and dysfunction cascade throughout the entire organization. Senior leadership teams need to be aligned on mission, vision and strategy. Get clear on how decisions will be made. Communicate what is expected of each team member. And reinforce behaviors that line up with expectations. Just like leaders, teams get caught in natural patterns that come easy to them. The neutral, yet sometimes provocative, perspective of a coach described by Eric Schmidt creates a turning point. A coach asking the team “Is that really what you meant?” engages the conversation that breaks through the confusion to get the alignment needed to move the organization forward.
Like Eric Schmidt, leaders who have a coach are ready to address the challenges of leading the organization and driving results. Many leaders act with confidence, but inside they wrestle with the deeper questions of how to handle new situations they have never faced before. Coaching builds the confidence and skills to lead individuals and teams through today’s challenges.