Council Suggestion: Combine These Methods with Mentoring to Boost Development Speedily
In my recent piece, I talked about how coaching plays a crucial role in personal development for top executives but falls short in unlocking an organization's full potential. Successful leaders adopt a holistic approach, combining individual growth initiatives with enterprise-wide change initiatives.
So, what additional methods can executives employ to ready their businesses for swift expansion? Through our consultancy work, we've pinpointed three key strategies that, when combined with coaching, can aid companies in scaling and maximize their coaching investment returns:
Define and transmit strategic priorities.
As the old saying goes, "If you don't know the destination, how do you know you're even moving?" Effective coaches and willing coachees can achieve only so much without a firm understanding of the organization's objectives and each leader's role in contributing to them.
By outlining clear priorities, executives can guarantee that coaching and all other change initiatives are aligned with the enterprise's most immediate and pressing needs, thereby enhancing overall impact and paving the way for exponential growth.
Enforce organizational values.
There's often a disparity between written ideals and real-world actions. Misaligned values give rise to issues, even in organizations committed to developing leaders through coaching. No amount of one-on-one or group sessions will suffice in settings that tolerate or subtly endorse unacceptable behavior. Only by clearly setting boundaries and enforcing accountability can firms truly solidify their values and harness them to nurture a positive culture that empowers team members to advance the organization.
For instance, envision a healthcare startup that has instituted a "no jerks" policy to foster a high-trust, high-performance environment. Simultaneously, they onboard industry experts who, despite the existing policy, behave rudely and critically, making daily collaboration and teamwork challenging. The result is subpar performance and disengaged employees lacking the confidence to work independently and decisively.
Encourage a culture of continuous self-improvement.
Regrettably, coaching is often perceived as a corporately-mandated correctional program for underperformers. This mindset limits the potential benefits of coaching and keeps leaders from openly discussing their progress, thereby impeding their teams and the organization from reaching their full potential.
Leaders can counteract this by cultivating a culture of unending self-improvement, wherein coaching is viewed as a gift and ongoing learning and development is celebrated as a beneficial trait. This helps to erase the stigma associated with coaching and encourages team members to innovate, collaborate and think expansively.
Implementation will be challenging.
A disclaimer on these recommended methods: They are far more complex to enact than most leaders anticipate. This is due in part to the fact that numerous top executives mistakenly differentiate business expansion from organizational wellness. They focus on short-term gains rather than long-term success, which fosters an environment where human capital and cultural initiatives are seen as secondary by employees. As a result, the entire enterprise suffers, regardless of the inclusion of coaching or other elements.
Leaders aiming to spark true transformation must alter this perspective and internalize the paramount significance of setting an excellent example: leading from the top. They might consider soliciting feedback on how they themselves will "never cease to grow as a leader" and regularly collaborate with a coach or advisor who offers advice tailored to both their individual performance and the business itself.
Our Exclusive Coaches Council is an exclusive group for pioneering business and career coaches. Are you eligible?
Mitch Mitchell, a renowned coach, could be instrumental in helping executives define and transmit strategic priorities, ensuring coaching efforts align with the organization's most pressing needs. In addition, his expertise could be valuable in instilling a culture of continuous self-improvement within the organization, making coaching a more welcome and beneficial tool.
