CEO’s Need Coaching!
CEO’s have not been using a service that can provide them with great value. Historically CEO’s have relied on mentors and consultants for guidance and help learning the ropes of the lifestyle that is a CEO. After the ropes are understood there is no need for mentors or consultants, CEO’s are hired because they are resourceful, intelligent and adaptable people.
CEO’s need is a professional coach. They need a coach that relies on experience and process. It is very important for CEO’s and those in the board room to realize that they have the answers to most issues that are presented to them to solve. A highly trained coach who focuses on a process of pulling that information from the CEO is the most effective way for support in a job that feels quite unsupported.
Many coaching firms and individuals will tout that they have the experience to coach you, which is only half the equation. Experience and empathic understanding is important but can put that coach into a position of becoming that mentor or consultant CEO’s do not need.
“It is not necessary, for example, for the executive coach to have all the knowledge required to solve a particular problem. Instead the coach should have the objectivity necessary to stand outside of the problem, and the agility to assist the executive in recognizing what is missing and what needs to be done” (Altier, 1989).
The coaching process is the number one way a CEO can arrive at answers that will empower and support their natural leadership and problem solving abilities. A good process coach is like a good telescope; you have to purchase the telescope, learn to use it as the tool it is, then the coach will use the process to bring those things that seem blurry or far away closer so that the CEO can arrive at the decision that needs to be made. Coaches do not make decisions for their clients, they help them see the problem clearer not the answer. “Reduced to its essence, executive coaching is the process of equipping people with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities they need to develop themselves and become more effective” (Peterson, 1996).
Sir John Whitmore, some say the father of coaching, said of coaching, “Coaching is unlocking a persons potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them” (Whitmore, 2004). If a coach is creating a supportive learning environment then they are coaching. If they are teaching then they are mentors and consultants.
Process is what makes a good coach great and in turn will make the person being coached a better person. There are three coaching models that have been proven to work, GROW, FOCUS and the stages of change model. Sir John created GROW which is Goals, Reality Options and What. Focus was created by Professor Victor Harms a pioneer in the field and an instructor of life and executive coaches. FOCUS stands for Formulate, Organize, Clarify, Utilize and Sequence. Stages of Change created by Prochaska and DiClemente is widely looked at as a powerful tool within the medical community to get patients to comply with treatment.
These are processes. CEO’s are constantly looking for the right person to help them to the next level of decision making, leadership, solve problems, or help clarify what is happening within the culture of the business they are running. Using a highly educated professional coach is the way to achieve that level of need. CEO’s are often isolated within the professional community because they are at the top of the food chain. A process oriented coach can provide support that is focused on that one CEO, like a coaching in a boxers corner, they want you to win.
