Dr. Earl R. Smith II

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

Some of my organizational coaching engagements begin with a search for the right place to start. Most often, the initial contact comes from either the CEO or Chairman of the Board. “What can we do to shake things up? Where do we start and get a high-impact initial result?” Before I respond to questions like these, I insist that we do an organizational and management assessment. After all, responding before knowing is probably one of the reasons that the company is facing the challenges that it is. One of the most frequent results of the assessments is that the leadership within the company is simply not up to the task of running it and leading the team.

Leadership coaching has become an important part of today’s business environment. We would all like to believe that we are born leaders but experience constantly reminds us that leadership – like other social skills – takes cultivating. The need to develop and improve leadership qualities is now taken as a given in the corporate world. There is great emphasis on developing qualities of leadership in managers of various levels. For everyone who is trying to get a foothold in the corporate world, leadership qualities are very important.

Many people offer leadership coaching services. Most of them have never been a successful leader. I call these the ‘do as I say, not as I do crowd’. One of the things that I have learned during my six times as a CEO and years in coaching senior executives is that leadership is not an intellectual exercise – not something that you understand then can do. Good leadership skills can take years to prefect. However, when you do perfect them, they are assets for a lifetime. While you are looking for a leadership coaching, remember to pick a coach who is experienced in the areas you are trying to master.

Leadership skills are very personal issues. By that, I mean that your tendencies toward people and situations play a big part in defining – and limiting – the kind of a leader you can become. In working with your leadership coach, you are going to have some very direct and personal conversations. You need to be able to communicate openly. The coach must have good communication skills. More often, problems in leadership coaching engagements occur not because the coach fails to see the problem but because the relationship will not bear the weight of the message.

Make sure that the leadership coach has a proven record of accomplishment. The coach must understand your requirements perfectly. The goals of the engagement should be very clear. Remember that not all successful leaders make good leadership coaches. A good coach has a record of accomplishment as a successful leader and as a successful coach.

Good leadership coaching provides motivational support and establishes productive focus. Good coaches pay particular attention supporting both. They help you manage change and feel empowered. These coaches work on the interpersonal aspects of the leadership.

One very important benefit of good leadership coaching is behavioral and performance enhancement. If the time, effort and money invested in the process is to be justifiable, you must improve as a leader and that improvement must be measurable. The coach should help you over-come hurdles and meet challenges that had seemed daunting. All of this progress should be measurable. Many ‘leadership coaches’ are good at keeping the client’s attention away from the lack of metrics. They produce a series of emotional highs and finesse the issue of cost-benefit. Never let this happen in your leadership coaching engagement.

I particularly enjoy my work as a leadership coach. Watching clients face and master challenges that they once thought beyond them is a source of great satisfaction. Participating in their satisfaction is the icing on the cake. Everybody can learn to be a better leader – and that learning can make a great difference in how your life turns out. If you want to learn more about leadership coaching or may coaching services, send me an e-mail and we will arrange a time to talk.

Related Articles:

• A Leadership Coach – Finding the Right One
• Leadership Coaching – High Impact Support
• Leadership – The Subtle Dance
• Leadership – Promoting Synergies
• Leadership – a Sense Outside of the Self
• Leadership – The Fire of the Mind

Dr. Smith is a proven senior executive, successful entrepreneur, published author and public speaker. He serves on boards of directors and advisory boards or as a strategic advisor to CEOs. Dr. Smith specializes in turnaround management, strategic planning, leadership development and executive coaching. He also works as an executive and/or life coach in the areas of personal growth and spirituality. He is the author of Amazing Pace: Turbo-charged Business Development – a book that shows how Advisory Boards can dramatically increase revenue. Dr. Smith is also the author of Dream Walk: Parables for the Living – a book of Raven Tales and exploration.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 15th, 2008 at 2:36 pm and is filed under Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.