Recently I gave a keynote at a company, and while I was there I overheard one of the senior leadership team members say he didn’t believe in coaching and that nurturing emerging leaders isn’t important to leadership development.
My first reaction was to ask myself, “What am I doing here?” The second, which followed closely, was that it’s no wonder the company has trouble meeting targets and pleasing stakeholders, or that they rely outside consultants to tell them what is wrong. (Which, by the way, is not the same thing as coaching—it’s the difference between someone telling you something’s wrong and having them help you get it right.)
I believe, coaching emerging leaders makes the development process smoother, quicker and more thorough. Here are some of the areas where coaching is critical to leadership development:
Self-identification of leadership. Emerging leaders need to develop and identify their own leadership framework. Leadership is a difficult role, and unless they’re among the rare few who are born leaders, coaching will help them identify and clarify their leadership—which, in turn, leads to clarity regarding those they’ll be leading.
Development of emotional intelligence. An older generation may consider leadership to be all about being the boss and guarding the bottom line, but happily the field has changed since those days. Emerging leaders need to be able to explore who they are as a leader, which includes developing and managing their emotional intelligence, and a coach is well equipped to guide that process.
Communication and feedback. Coaching provides an outside perspective that helps emerging leaders understand how to communicate with clarity, how to embrace feedback and how they influence the potential of others just with their communication.
Effective decision making. In the fast pace of business, emerging leaders have to learn to be decisive. You can leave that critical process to chance, or you can have a coach on hand to provide best practices, tools and techniques to make strong decisions quickly.
Motivation and effectiveness. A key ingredient of every emerging leader is finding their personal source of motivation when times get tough. Sharing inspiration with a coach helps put them in touch with that source.
Leveraging their leadership gaps. Every leader needs to know their strengths and weaknesses, and be able to identify some of their blind spots or triggers. Once they understand those gaps, they can leverage them to their benefit. As I discuss in my new best-selling book, The Leadership Gap, what you don’t own ends up owning you. Emerging leaders in particular can’t afford to allow blind posts or other areas of weakness to get in the way of their authentic, honest, courageous leadership.
Manifesting character. Emerging leaders who start out on the path of leading with character will earn trust, receive and give respect, and be consistent in integrity. Coaching helps keep them on that path in the difficult early stages.
Good leaders are passionate and committed, authentic, courageous, honest and reliable. But in today’s high-pressure environment, leaders need a confidante, a coach—someone they can trust to tell the truth about their struggles, which is a difficult role for others within the same organization to fill. That’s where coaches truly earn their keep.
Lead From Within: Every good leader and every great emerging leader can benefit from a coach. Coaching gives them the confidence they need as an individual and as a leader to lead self and others to success and achievement.
N A T I O N A L B E S T S E L L E R
The Leadership Gap
What Gets Between You and Your Greatness
After decades of coaching powerful executives around the world, Lolly Daskal has observed that leaders rise to their positions relying on a specific set of values and traits. But in time, every executive reaches a point when their performance suffers and failure persists. Very few understand why or how to prevent it.
Additional Reading you might enjoy:
- 12 Successful Leadership Principles That Never Grow Old
- A Leadership Manifesto: A Guide To Greatness
- How to Succeed as A New Leader
- 12 of The Most Common Lies Leaders Tell Themselves
- 4 Proven Reasons Why Intuitive Leaders Make Great Leaders
- The One Quality Every Leader Needs To Succeed
- The Deception Trap of Leadership
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.
Hanumant Talwar
07. Nov, 2017
Good article! Well articulated and expressed… totally agree with you as a fellow coach. Let me know if we can work together on some projects.
Hassan Syed
09. Dec, 2017
I have been reading the beautiful quotes. Believe me , that my family, son, daughters and my wife after having read it all feel much better . Lilly I also need your advice on some very serious issues and some horrible experiences we are undergoing through .
In prayers
Hassan Syed
Islamabad, Pakistan
Maryellen
07. Jan, 2018
Love this article. I started a leadership group at my school when I saw limited opportunities for faculty to gain insight into leadership outside of their classrooms. Serving as a mentor has inspired my own leadership!
Jeremy Thompson
23. Jan, 2018
It’s interesting to learn that there are coaching classes that can help leaders be more effective by helping them develop their skills and self-identification frameworks as your article mentioned. That is great to know as having a way to improve one’s leadership will definitely be beneficial not only to them but also those around them. Honestly, I would love to try out some of these coaching lessons if possible. Thanks for the helpful article detailing the world of leadership coaching!
Ashley Maxwell
16. Mar, 2018
I really appreciate how you said that an executive coach can provide someone with constructive feedback to help them work better. I also like how this feedback can help them learn how to give and receive feedback from their employees as well. If a CEO was looking into the doing an executive coaching program, I would assume that they would keep your advice in mind.
Rosie Beckett
11. May, 2018
I appreciate that you say leadership coaching can help emerging leaders to develop emotional intelligence and effective decision-making skills. This would be a large benefit for businesses because you need leaders who are willing to make strong decisions quickly. If I was a business owner, I would definitely think about getting this coaching for new leaders because it provides training for new skills and character development, which are vital to businesses.
Hector Uba
20. Aug, 2018
Thanks for elaborating on why leaders need coaching and how it can help them. In my opinion, the biggest benefit of getting coaching is that it provides an outside perspective that helps you gain a better perspective on your life and job. I would imagine that everyone would benefit in some way or another to have coaching sessions every now and then.
Tatiana Wilson
02. Nov, 2018
It got me when you mentioned how executive coaching helps future leaders understand the importance of communication and how their words can affect the potential of others. A friend of mine is interested in becoming a leader in his firm, however, he is not confident in his communication skills. He even noted that I am a lot more competent communicator than he is. That is why this part of the article got me. I will share this with him.
Silas Knight
03. Apr, 2019
It’s great to know more about executive coaching. I love how you said that it helps these leaders build their own leadership framework. That skill is important for any leader, I would think, and it doesn’t just come naturally!
Sarah Smith
27. Aug, 2019
It really stood out when you said that recognizing emotion in others is key, as well as being able to control our own emotions that come as a response. I’ve been feeling motivated to seek leadership opportunities at my work, but I been a bit timid because I’m not sure I have what it takes. Your article helped me understand the beneficial qualities that leadership coaching would help me develop, and now I’m excited to find a program to participate in!
Liz Peter
13. Sep, 2019
Thanks for explaining why leaders need coaching and how it can help them. The advantage of getting business coaching is that it provides an outside perspective that helps you gain a better perspective on your life and job.
Rachel Frampton
16. Sep, 2019
I have worked with different team leaders and managers throughout my life and I always wonder if a leader should stop learning once they’re already in that position. I’m glad that I’ve stumbled upon this article, thank you for elaborating further the importance of coaching to emerging leaders, it’s interesting to learn that leaders must explore who they are and develop their emotional intelligence. If I’ll be asked to be a team leader someday, I would like to find a coach who’ll guide me throughout the process.