Executive Coaching Blog

Coaching skills for leaders

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:01:00 GMT

Coaching skills are a powerful tool for effective leadership within the workplace. When we think about the most admirable qualities of a good leader - like the ability to inspire, motivate and provide support for change - these are the skills and qualities of a coach.

There are many benefits inherent in leaders developing their coaching skills, including higher retention rates for their direct reports and increased engagement and productivity from both their people and themselves.

Acquiring coaching skills enhances a person's ability to be able to:

Build trusting relationships with their people
Develop the skills of others
Have the right conversation at the right time
Get the best out of their team
Support and empower those around them

Coaching skills also allow leaders to develop those in their team who may be under-performing or disengaged, and to enhance the performance of their entire team. Even with the "stars" on any team there is room for improvement.

Coaching skills are typically 'soft' skills, rather than management skills and both can work together to ensure that you and your team are doing the best job possible. Managing a team of people is a difficult job and one that can be made easier with the knowledge and skill of coaching and an understanding of when to have a coaching conversation as opposed to a leader or manager conversation, in different situations.

Supporting teamwork through coaching

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:46:00 GMT

Team work is a vital component of most workplaces. It is a skill most of us build throughout our educational experiences, starting from primary school, and one that can continue to be developed throughout our careers.

Teams that work well together, encourage open communication and have relationships built on trust, are more effective and harmonious. Not all teams will be able to work well together straight away as there are many different personality types to take into consideration. With a little effort, teams will eventually be able to work constructively towards a common goal, secure in the knowledge that they will be able to achieve what they set out to.

Coaching supports teamwork by:

Providing opportunities for conversations. A team coaching session allows team members the time and space to discuss any issues they may have, allowing them to be aired, talked over and resolved before they become a larger problem.
Putting the focus on goals. A coach will work with a team to discover their ultimate goals and how those goals will be reached, leading the team towards one common approach.
Increasing trust and communication within the team. Creating a safe space for conversations between team members allows them to build trust and strengthen relationships.

Teams who undergo coaching will also learn more about themselves and their management styles and how to interact more effectively with others.

For more information about our team coaching programs.

A leader’s many hats

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:33:00 GMT

Leaders within an organisation are often called upon, and expected, to be many different things to different people, at different times and in varied situations. Of course, depending on the size and structure of a business, leaders may be called upon to be mentors, advisors, consultants and counsellors, just to name a few of the many "hats" a leader wears.

While all of these are important, three essential "hats" for a leader to understand and master are:

Manager: To be able to manage both people and day-to-day operational tasks, to deliver positive business results. The manager monitors the progress of their team and ensures resources are available for everyone to do their job effectively.

Leader: The leader must be able to communicate a vision for the future and guide people through the changes and processes required to reach that goal.

Coach: The coach is expected to develop their staff members and assist them in reaching their full potential through coaching conversations.

Without these skills, leaders may falter. To be proficient at all of them, leaders must be allowed to learn and practice on the job, to make mistakes and be open to growth and change. As well as organic learning, leadership training programs are also important.

If you are a leader, what hats do you think are important in your work? How often do you wear more than one?

Reflecting on the year that was

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:20:00 GMT

Now that 2011 is drawing to a close and we are thinking more about turkey and cake rather than sales targets and skill development, it's a good time to take a moment and reflect on the year that was.

For some of us it may have been a great year of growth and success, while others may have been affected by situations out of their control such as the European debt crisis. No matter which camp you sit in, or if you're somewhere between the two, 2012 is just around the corner and ready for you to tackle head on.

What are some positive changes you can make to ensure the next 12 months run as smoothly as possible? At the IEC we like to take some time around this part of the year to take a look at what we have done, and what we could do better.

We look at our year from both an individual and business perspective. Do we need to take more time for our family, friends or even ourselves? Are there aspects we can change to create even better, more effective programs for our valued clients, whether they are looking for a corporate program or to become an executive coach themselves?

As businesses and individuals we need to continue to adapt, change and grow to be successful, healthy and happy.

What are some of the changes you plan to make in the New Year? Do you have a list of goals for 2012?

From all of us at the IEC we wish you a safe, happy and healthy Christmas and new year .

Reach your goals in 2012

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:34:00 GMT

How many times have you made a new year's resolution and failed to achieve it? Many people view a new year as a fresh beginning, filled with hope and optimism that this is the year they will achieve their goals. But so often we fail to reach our objectives and many resolutions are broken before the firework smoke has even cleared.

While most people start thinking about their resolutions and goals for the upcoming year in December, not many plan how they will achieve them. People start the year with a lot of enthusiasm and then life gets in the way and distracts from what they are trying to achieve.

In order to achieve goals, a more integrated approach to setting the goal and building the foundation needs to be taken.

An executive coach can help you with this. The common theme in all executive coaching is to assist the coachee to express more of their full potential. Rather than being a teacher, advisor or content 'expert', the executive coach facilitates the coachee through an intensive and accelerated process of professional and personal development.

A coach can then help you discover where you are and what you need to do (or change) in order to achieve your goal. And it is the coach's role to hold you accountable to your agreed actions and timeframes, so that you do get results and achieve your goals.

What coaching isn't

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:12:00 GMT

At the Institute of Executive Coaching people often ask us what executive coaching is. Sometimes, to make the definition clearer, we start by explaining what coaching isn't...and it isn't:

Telling someone what to do
Sharing your own previous life experiences
Advising on the next step someone should take

Executive coaching is a collaborative relationship that uses an adult learning framework to help executives and business professionals identify and remove those interferences limiting them from reaching their full potential.

Rather than being a teacher, an executive coach facilitates the coaching counterpart through an intensive and accelerated process of professional and personal development.

The process involves:

Goal setting
Taking action that ensures sustainable behavior change
Reflecting to make sense of these changes in terms of new understandings, the counterpart's initial goals, the desired organisational results and the coachee's long-term, personal potential.

Executive coaching has many benefits for organisations, including increasing the productivity and effectiveness of individuals and teams.

To find out more about what executive coaching is not, take a look at this video.

Why develop a coaching culture?

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 00:16:00 GMT

One of the fundamental responsibilities of management is to develop the skills and performance levels of staff members. This helps to increase individual productivity and thereby impacts the success of the organisation. Leaders who have strong coaching skills generally achieve better business results through better team management skills, so much so that coaching is now considered an essential skill for effective managers.

In much the same way we don't expect a computer to increase capabilities without an upgrade, we don't expect people to deliver more without the program support and development opportunities created through an organisation with a coaching culture.

Some benefits of a coaching culture include an increase in staff and customer satisfaction measures, enhanced planning and business development skills and improved capacity to offer and receive feedback.

The Institute of Executive Coaching helps organisations develop an internal coaching culture by equipping leaders with the knowledge, skills and tools they need to be effective coaches within their organisations through the Coaching Skills for Leaders program.

Participants in the Coaching Skills for Leaders program develop a range of coaching skills, including the ability to:

effectively use executive coaching in a leadership context
immediately apply practical coaching tools and skills
build relationships of trust with stakeholders
help others deal with change
identify development needs and coach appropriately
handle difficult conversations
empower others

For more information about the Coaching Skills for Leaders program, click here.

Mentoring training

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:32:00 GMT

The role of a mentor is not one to be taken lightly, whether the relationship comes about from a structured program, or emerges organically (sometimes a person may not even realise they are someone's mentor until the relationship has been going on for awhile).

The aim of a mentor is to provide insight and guide a mentee to reach their highest potential. Ideally a mentor is someone who has "been there and done that" and is able to pass on their knowledge to the mentee.

If you are a mentor, or are thinking about becoming a mentor, mentor training is a great way to ensure both you and your mentee gain as much as possible from the relationship.

The course is available online and will teach you what mentoring is and provide you with the tools and skills to be an effective mentor. The program is designed to be practical and interactive.

The number one thing for a mentor to keep in mind when guiding a mentee is that while their own experience is invaluable, each person still has their own journey. What works for one person may not necessarily work for another. As well as the successes, the mistakes the mentor has made also have a silver lining. For mentors, be ready to share your mistakes and also support the mentee through theirs.

Investing time, effort and thought into this relationship will have benefits for both parties and will ensure the time and effort put into building it is worthwhile.

Celebrate diversity within your organisation

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:22:00 GMT

A lack of gender diversity at senior levels is an issue facing many businesses around Australia, with everyone from the Prime Minister to the media weighing in on the debate.

Solutions have been suggested, such as board quotas and leadership position targets, to increase the number of women in leadership or executive positions in Australia. A recent survey of 134 businesswomen by Telstra (November 2011) found 50 per cent of respondents believe women need greater confidence in their own abilities in order to improve gender diversity in senior management positions.

It also found:

65% said flexible working conditions would make it easier for women to reach senior levels

Professional development opportunities and mentoring programs were also seen as important initiatives to enhance gender diversity.

Only 21% said enforcing gender quotas would help

At the Institute of Executive Coaching, we focus on the development of executives to increase the gender diversity throughout an organisation through a systemic approach. By working with both men and women, awareness can be brought to the gendered conversation rituals at work.

Everything at work depends on conversation. Growing up, men and women develop very different conversation rituals which affect and shape their lives at work, as well as at home. There are reasons why women may feel ignored in a meeting or why men talk differently to other men than they talk to women.

Our training "Men and Women in Conversation" identifies different conversation rituals with the aim of breaking down barriers and promoting increased confidence in workplace interactions.

How coaching works to improve sales performance

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:27:00 GMT

Sales coaching is a vital skill for the manager of a sales team and a proven method of improving the performance of the sales team. While setting targets for a person being coached is an effective development tool, without proper support and planning in place, targets will have limited success.

When a manager is acting as a sales coach, they start by observing the team member completing their normal tasks at work, such as making phone calls or visiting clients. This will provide them with the knowledge of the way in which a person works; not just if they are meeting their goals, but how they go about it.

The coach will then meet with the team member and discuss with them how they go about their tasks. At no point does a sales coach give advice, rather they ask a series of tension-raising questions (direct questions that will lead to the source of a problem ie: what else could you have asked that client about their insurance needs?) that will help the person discover the problem - and the solution to the problem - themselves. This method allows the coach to stretch the thinking of their client and assist them to take ownership of the situation and solution.

A common misconception is that sales coaching is just for underperformers, however this is not the case. Coaches can also work with the best person in the team to assist them in reaching further, or sharing their knowledge and expertise with others to help them improve their own performance.

While increased sales is the main benefit of using a sales coach, there are other benefits for staff and the organisation, including increased confidence, heightened ability to set goals and plan to meet them, capacity to identify interferences (such as why they don't like calling customers) and to effectively deal with those interferences so they disappear.

Sales coaching is not an exact science, but an effective sales coach knows the correct questions to ask to assist the person in improving their performance and reaching their goals. The Institute offers training in Coaching Skills for Sales Managers. Click here for more information.

The importance of feedback

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:16:00 GMT

Some leaders may be reluctant to give feedback to employees, for many reasons. Overcoming this reluctance is important as feedback clarifies performance goals, identifies weaknesses that need improvement, encourages self-development, and highlights strengths that can be leveraged. In this way leaders ensure the growth of their people, and thereby their organisation.

When providing feedback to employees there are a number of tips to keep in mind:

· Keep it regular - take time to give positive feedback regularly and consistently for work well done, then when you have to give negative feedback, it will be done in the context of a strong and positive relationship.

· Be open to walking in the others' shoes. When a person is given feedback about a gap in their performance, then the vital skill is listening to their point of view with openness. From a relationship perspective, a person needs to be heard and understood rather than simply agreed with.

· Clarify - ensure the receiver understands what you have said to them, encourage them to ask questions or discuss the feedback with you.

· Be open to upward feedback - employees aren't the only ones who can grow using information from feedback.

· Put it into context. Explain the how and why to the employee so they have a clear understanding of what you are talking about and how their behaviour is affecting you, them, the organisation and other staff.

· Encourage a coaching culture within the organisation - this approach enables the capacity to offer and receive feedback

Different types of conversations drive success in a workplace

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:09:00 GMT

A critical factor of a leader's success (and therefore of a businesses' success) is understanding that there are different types of conversations and knowing the right conversation to have at the right time.

In your life outside of work there are different conversations you have - when your child is in trouble or when you have to ask your partner a favour - and you will use different methods of achieving your desired outcome. The same applies in the workplace, different conversations are needed at different times and an effective leader will know what types of conversations there are, and more importantly, when to have them.

The benefits of having conscious and effective conversations - especially regular expectation setting conversations - include, maintaining and building relationships, supporting staff and driving desired business results.

At the Institute of Executive Coaching we train professionals in our Levels of Conversation model, which explains the five different types of conversation a manager can and should have with their direct reports, and when each of them is appropriate for best results.

Once learned, these varying types of conversation can be used in a range of situations in the workplace, and allow a leader to focus on business outcomes while also supporting their staff members.

Program participants:

Gain understanding of the purpose and effective use of workplace conversations
Develop awareness of how effective conversations contribute to business results
Learn about the conduct of effective conversations to achieve different outcomes
Practice some conversational techniques and skills based on the Levels of Conversation model

Click here for more information about or Effective Workplace Conversations program.

The benefits of SQ and EQ in business

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:17:00 GMT

Intelligence comes in many forms, including academic, social and emotional. All three of these have an impact on an individual's life and success in their career. While most people have a high regard for someone who is academically astute, social and emotional intelligence can have just as much impact and are recognised as being desirable traits for a successful leader.

First up, an explanation of SQ and EQ .

Emotional intelligence: is about self-awareness - knowing your motivators, what annoys you or makes you happy - and being able to manage these emotions.

Social intelligence: is not just about knowing yourself, but also how you are reflected in the world - how you appear to other people. SQ is also about picking up on others emotions and being able to use this information to relate to others effectively.

Every day leaders communicate with people in order to do business successfully, whether this be clients, employees or their boss. High-levels of EQ and SQ allow them to interact effectively to gain a better understanding of others' needs, effectively collaborate with others and build trust and rapport.

In order to develop social and emotional intelligence you need to take a look at yourself and how you react in different situations. Next time you feel stressed, happy or angry, take a minute to think about why you feel this way. You can also observe how you interact with others and their reactions to you. Try putting yourself in their shoes; how would you feel if someone communicated with you in the same way?

Just these few simple steps will go a long way toward helping you develop the skills needed to connect with others and build social and emotional intelligence.

Learning from the Human Synergistics annual conference

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:21:00 GMT

Our Client Services Director, Julie Parkinson, recently attended the Human Synergistics conference in Sydney on cultural transformation achievements and sustainability.

This is what she had to say:

One theme reiterated by nearly all of the speakers was the importance of authentic/real/courageous conversations in the workplace.

Two of the most memorable quotes were from Qantas, People and Corporate Services Group Executive Jon Scriven. First he quoted wine maker Wolf Blass: "Great leadership has the same qualities as great wine - clarity, consistency and character." He also said "at the heart of business is a good conversation."

At the Institute we couldn't agree more. Leaders that are lacking in effective conversation skills find leadership difficult. As part of our conversations program we help develop individuals' abilities to engage in specific conversations to help set expectations, maintain relationships, be an effective leader and drive desired business results. This includes having the difficult conversations that many people would rather avoid.

The next speaker who stands out in my mind was Rob Murray, CEO of Lion (formally Lion Nathan National Foods). He explained the company's story and the ongoing journey they are on towards achieving the optimum culture within the workplace. He described culture as "how I explicitly and implicitly am expected to behave in order to fit in around here." At the heart of the Lion culture are 10 constructive behaviours. Rob spoke about the way to achieve these, which for him is around having real conversations across the business.

This is something I really believe in; real conversations should be commonplace across a business and different conversations are appropriate for different situations. From difficult conversations, to coaching and mentoring conversations, each type has its own set of skills to make them effective. Every manager should be skilled in having these conversations, and know when to use each type.

Well, that's what we believe, and teach. What do you think? Do you believe conversations are at the heart of a business? Have you ever been taught how to have an effective conversation or is this "assumed knowledge"?

Simple tips to motivate your team

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:22:00 GMT

As a team leader, senior executive or CEO, part of your job requirement is keeping your team motivated and engaged. Sometimes this may not be easy; for example through periods of change and uncertainty.

Some of the top IEC tips for motivating teams include:

Clearly define the desired outcome

Employees want to know what they are working towards so they can have a sense of accomplishment once it is completed. It needs to be a concrete and specific goal such as "bringing in a new client once a month to help achieve the overall goal of growing sales revenue by 20 per cent by the end of the year".

Provide consistent feedback

Regular feedback, both positive and constructive, will help to foster open communication between managers and team members. Try using a coaching conversation, instead of explaining what went wrong and how they could do it better next time. Start by asking the employee open questions; "What do you think could be done better?" or "What have you learnt from this experience?"

This will assist them in growing their knowledge base and to become more engaged in the work they are doing. Your team will develop a deeper understanding of how their efforts have contributed to the business and what their value is as a member of the team.

Set challenging (but realistic!) goals

Your team will have to work harder to achieve a challenging goal, but this will help them to think outside of the box and work together to accomplish it. It will also provide an outlet for them to become more creative and strategic and move away from mundane, day-to-day tasks.

Achieving this goal will also give your team a sense of satisfaction from a job well done, and motivate them to work harder to achieve the next goal.

Trust your team

You are a manager, not a watchdog. These employees have been hired to do a job and while you have to oversee what they do to ensure quality, they will not gain confidence in their skills if someone is constantly monitoring what they are doing.

Motivating dissatisfied teams can be hard, especially in this time of economic uncertainty, but a motivated team is worth striving for to increase productivity and retention rates, providing savings on your businesses' bottom line.