4 Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Executive Coach

By Timothy Kitching Executive Coaching Director at the KONA Group. It was not that long ago that having an Executive Coach was viewed in a negative light. executive coachingVery few of a company’s top executives were signed up for executive coaching sessions unless there was an underlying performance concern There was almost always a company-sponsored Australian sales training courses or sales management training and coaching programs, but that was typically for the whole management group. Getting picked-out in particular to go through executive coaching? That might have caused some anxiety in the past but not anymore. The fact is, being chosen today to receive Executive Coaching is viewed as a huge benefit and prerequisite of any effective leader’s growth Executive coaching’s impact on business operations has become so great, seventy to eighty percent (70-80%) of companies now use it. The demands of managing Australian organisations or business units with varied groups of people in ever challenging environments requires different ways of thinking and continued personal development. That is what Executive Coaching is all about. In today’s increasingly complex and competitive business world, executive coaching has become a valuable tool to hone an executive’s leadership and interpersonal skills. So as with all personal development programs the key question is how to get the most out of your executive coach and here are 4 tips to get the most from your sessions: 1. Together with your coach, work-out a feedback mechanismwhere you can tell your coach what’s working and what’s not. Make this a regular thing in each of your coaching sessions. 2. Keep an open mind to the feedback you may get. You may receive feedback that is confronting or challenging or new.  Try not to adopt a ‘BED’ attitude and Blame, Excuse or get Defensive and reject this feedback. Ask questions to get a better understanding and explore the feedback with your coach before making a decision regarding it’s relevance or otherwise. 3. Make it a point to have your executive coach work with youon mapping out and crafting a developmental program. At the very least this should set down your key strengths, areas for improvement and further development, the roadblocks to change. 4. Create SMART goals to ensure you create real change. Your executive coach should be able to tell you how practical or impractical your plan is and help you in measuring its progress at certain points. Remember that a good Executive Coach is there to help you develop personally and professionally The achievements, however, are yours to don’t expect a coach to do the work for you or come up with solutions for you.  That is your job, not theirs. If you are looking for support and help to grow in your role and overcome the challenges of running a business and team please contact Tim Kitching at info@KONA.com.au or call 1300 611288