Why Leadership Coaching Is Essential to Your Career Development

by Pario Coaching Tools Pario Coaching Tools is part of Pario Innovations

Regardless of your current role, if you have leadership responsibility you need to make space and time for reflection. This enables you to consider the wider options and see things in context. All too often, one of the main reasons that leaders fail, is because they lose this wider perspective. One of the key challenges is to question existing assumptions and look for feedback from the external environment. Leadership Coaching helps address this challenge, and has the potential to offer significant benefits.

1. You'll pick up another point of view.

An experienced coach, can act as a ‘sounding board’ and help leaders see things in context. Thinking about the challenges created by Sustainable Strategic Management, for example, enables the organization’s vision to be considered in the context of triple bottom-line criteria. Increasingly, it is necessary to look beyond short-term financial gain and also consider issues relating to the environment, sustainability and social responsibility. Coaching can help senior managers confront difficult issues and evaluate different response options.

2. Your organization will perform better inside your industry.

Leadership Coaching Training can help managers acquire skills that contribute to increased productivity and long-term success. We know, for example, that supportive, performance-focused leadership contributes to improved motivation. The process starts with constructive dialogue based on Purposeful Conversations that (i) raise awareness, (ii) create insight, (iii) encourage meaningful action, and (iv) offer support. This is the AIMS model, which is easily applied to normal review discussions. The process helps people make progress in their day-to-day work.

3. You'll pick up certainty and mindfulness.

An approach that builds on the Seven Principles for Exceptional Performance described in the Pario Handbook (pub 2019) helps create conviction and contributes to shared purpose. This clarity is important as it builds motivation in others and also helps to develop people’s resilience when they are experiencing pressure at work. Being clear about priorities also helps people to focus on separate important activities from those things that may be urgent, but are of less significance.

4. You'll improve as an innovator.

The general purpose of Leadership Coaching Training is to improve responsiveness to challenges and unexpected change. To do this effectively, managers need to use their knowledge and experience in new ways and receptive to alternative views and possibilities. Being able to build on feedback is important, and more effective leaders actively seek ideas and suggestions from members of the team. Developing capability is therefore one of the key competencies required for the 2020s. A proactive approach needs to be coupled with effective action, and this is strengthened when managers have an understanding of critical competencies and the factors affecting people’s motivation.

So how do we go about developing the essential skills? One option is to use an online leadership development program can be adapted to meet specific requirements. When linked to an initial self-assessment questionnaire, this approach enables tailored content to be included in the leadership modules. The feedback process can be supported by team workshops and one-to-one coaching. The aim is to develop managers self-awareness and understanding of the behavior linked to exceptional performance.