In over 30 years of coaching c-level executives, I am frequently asked if an executive coach/advisor can really help a senior leader. I get it. Once you have reached this level, you’re expected to know what you’re doing and be pretty good at it. Often, these leaders are confident and don’t spend a lot of time thinking about personal development. The results speak for themselves and it can be hard to see how a coach can help.

I would agree that a traditional junior-level coach from a coaching consortium many organizations belong to, likely won’t have the experience or expertise to go beyond asking questions until they get a breakthrough. This is not the kind of work I am generally asked to do as an executive advisor.

I typically provide solutions that fall into three categories:

1. Assessing the situation
2. Personal Development for C-Level Leaders
3. Tackling A Specific Business Issue

Personal Development for C-Level Leaders

In my previous blog, I covered Assessing The Situation. Today, I want to share how even the best senior leaders could benefit from the right Executive Coach or advisor. I can confidently share that C-level leaders who are succeeding in their roles see some of the BEST results from the business advisory type of coaching I offer. Whether you are starting a new role, trying to take your leadership to the next level, or planning for the future, you can benefit from an advisor-coach. Here are a few examples of clients I have worked with in the past two years.

1. Accelerate a President’s integration into a new role with a new team. 

This year, I helped several new business unit Presidents understand their roles, assess their team, and integrate into the culture quickly. Their goal was to demonstrate visible leadership fast, identify opportunities, and deliver results quickly. An executive coach/advisor is that they can get to know stakeholders, help identify and triangulate conflicting expectations before the client shows up for work. We generally start talking to stakeholders 15-30 days before the new leader arrives. In one case, a head of innovation had three senior stakeholders. One expected him to revolutionize the brand,  one expected him to lay low, maintain the status quo and keep innovation out of operations, and yet a third wanted him to take over an innovative customer experience. Part of my role was to sort this out and create stakeholder alignment before the new leader started so he didn’t walk into a minefield of competing loyalties.

2. Build a targeted plan for development.

It is sometimes difficult to focus on your own development in the midst of everything else you need to deliver but working with a coach is a surefire way to ensure not just that you are developing, but that you are developing in the areas most critical for your organization. A good coach will gather personality assessment data, stakeholder interview data, and information from the boss or board and work with you to figure out how to develop the areas most critical for your success. I have helped clients identify mentors, stretch assignments, taught some skills myself, and perhaps less frequently, recommended advanced classes or programs targeted to the skills they need right now. My clients have made progress on deepening their understanding of finance, general management skills (managing a P&L), becoming more strategic, and improving communication, team development, and stakeholder management this year alone.

3. Articulate and build a legacy.

Many senior leaders move so fast that they don’t take time to intentionally design the legacy they want to leave. I’ve challenged several to consider what they want to be known for AND THEN identify opportunities each week to bring that legacy to life. Could they do this on their own? Sure. Would they in the heat of the battle? Not likely. Several leaders have told me that the time they spend with me is like a strategic retreat that renews their focus on driving what they want to create. One CEO wanted to build a certain culture, but his interactions with his direct reports weren’t doing this to the degree he wanted. We worked on figuring out how he could set clear expectations around what was important to reinforce the culture he wanted to create in every interaction. Six months later, he has embedded that culture in the organization.

Even great leaders need to flex their development muscles to get better, but putting them in “training” isn’t always the answer. A great senior executive coach can quickly get a handle on how to help a leader get laser-focused on what will take their performance to the next level, while at the same time making progress on real, relevant, and complex issues.

If you would like to strategize as to whether a coach is appropriate for your situation, call us. It’s what we do.