Practical ways to adapt your approach

Many of us can easily recall precisely when key events occurred around the world and in our own lives. It is fair to say that the current pandemic is one of those events and is well and truly etched in our memories for as long as we shall live.

In March 2020 you can probably recall the moment you first heard the word “lockdown”. It likely stopped you in your tracks as you were confronted with the thought, what does this mean for me and my family? Then came the closure of businesses, JobKeeper, Jobseeker and a mountain of eye watering debt, the likes of which we have never seen before in this country.

Except for Victoria, most states have since relaxed the restrictions imposed, however the constant media reminders and escalated infection control procedures practised daily in businesses across the country are a constant reminder of what running a business looks like in the year 2020.

This period marks the greatest challenge to leaders. Many of your peers and employees are likely worried about their future. Now more than ever, your people need the steady hand and re assurance of your leadership.

The problem though, is that leaders are human too and are not immune to the anxiety, stress and sleepless nights caused by the uncertainty we have lived through for the best part of this year.

Right now, as a business owner or leader you have a lot on your plate and sometimes it may even seem too much. This can impact your ability to think clearly or may cause you to lash out (metaphorically) at team members or even become short tempered with your customers.

But how can you morph and adapt your leadership to cope with the current demands? To help, we have outlined five practical approaches you can adopt.

1. Lead Self

It was Charles Manz who first used the term ‘Self-leadership’ in 1983; and from this we know that to be a successful leader we must lead ourselves first, before we can lead others. The current situation calls for in-depth personal reflection to truly understand who we are, how we got to where we are today and what our natural tendencies and behaviours are when we are in a crisis and under pressure.

Self-awareness is one of the key elements of emotional intelligence (EI), which Daniel Goleman, a renowned psychologist, refers to as a person’s ability “to identify and manage their emotions and identify and influence others’ emotions”

Self-awareness provides a leader with key personal insights and enables them to self-manage those circumstances when triggered by a situation, an event, or a personal interaction. At the end of the day, we cannot control the occurrence of “stuff” that triggers us, but we do get to choose our reaction. As leaders we are constantly on display, and our people and our clients are making decisions about us and our leadership based on what they observe.

2. Get ‘real’

Many leaders tend to think that showing vulnerability is a weakness- in fact, it is a strength of leadership. When leaders stop wasting energy trying to conceal what they think other people should not see, it allows them to start showing their “real” self. By accepting vulnerability as a strength, leaders can stop worrying about having every answer and realise it is okay to not know. True wisdom comes from stepping away from the fear of not knowing.

The idea of being “real” was popularised by American management guru Warren Bennis in his 1989 book On Becoming a Leader, and gained further attention through the 2003 publication Authentic Leadership by Bill George, a professor at the Harvard Business School. Such leaders know and accept themselves and present a genuine and empathetic face to their teams.

They communicate truthfully and directly, and lead with the heart, not just the mind. But they are no softies. Truly ‘real” leaders always keep their goal in mind – the good of the organisation they are responsible for and lead. Mission-driven, they can separate out personal feelings from work imperatives.

3. Model the behaviour

Peter Drucker a renowned management consultant once said that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”.  He did not mean that a great strategy is not important but rather that an empowering culture was a more certain route to organisational success.

Culture can be described “as the way we do things around here”. It includes leadership, communication, people, policies, vision, values, onboarding, and hiring and firing processes. Especially during the current situation, people like to work for and with leaders and managers who make them feel good, and these positive feelings result in improved performance. When leaders and managers do not promote these positive feelings throughout the business, performance decreases and mediocrity increases.

Most of us are familiar with the proverb that “a fish rots from the head”, which means that leadership is the root cause of an organisation’s failure and demise. This is true whether that organisation is a country, a company, or a business unit – toxic leadership can poison the emotional climate of a business quicker than you can say profit and loss! Modelling the type of leadership behaviour that you expect in your business is critical as it sets the tone, creates the environment, and builds your unique culture.

4. Communicate

George Bernard Shaw once said, “the greatest issue in communication is the illusion it has taken place”. As we know, great communication is much more than just getting your message across. It has to do with understanding the emotion and the intentions behind the information contained in the message. Leaders need highly advanced communication skills, not only to clearly convey a message, but to also listen in a way that gains the full meaning of what is being said and makes the other person feel heard and understood.

This is where favouring your right ear is important. While this may seem quite unusual, experts tell us that the left side of the brain is where the primary processing centres for both speech comprehension and emotions happens, and as the left side of the brain is connected to the right side of the body, favouring your right ear can help you better detect the emotional nuances of what someone is saying.

Many of us despite our best efforts to get the message across, on occasions find that the listener has heard differently to what was intended, the message somehow was blown off course and landed on a different landing strip than we intended! Adopting a non-judgemental approach and crafting powerful questions can help a leader explore deeply and increase their success of more effective communication.

5. Get data, get results

Leading others is difficult. It’s fair to say you would not purchase a piece of capital equipment for your business without the benefit of objective data, so why would you attempt to lead your highly valued (and costly) team without the edge that scientific objective insights can give you? As a good friend of mine in Dublin used to say, “Are you stupid or what?”

Your team members are made up of vastly different personalities, all with their own unique passions, backgrounds, views, and work styles. With the best will in the world, misunderstandings and differences of opinion can create friction within the group.

Left unchecked, this can put a damper on performance and enthusiasm, leading to conflicts which may be hard to resolve.

This is the last thing you need right now. So, how can you harvest the best each team member has to give, using their attributes to maximum benefit, while managing those behavioural traits with the potential to upset team dynamics?

The answer is behavioural assessments, which give you detailed information about you and each of your employee’s skills, behaviour, and personality traits. These next generation of unique customisable smart tools from Great People Inside that we recommend, provide leaders with heightened self-awareness and valuable pointers about the way their employees can function to optimum capacity at work – both as individuals and within the team.

Your choice

We appreciate that every business is unique, and that in the 21^st century, businesses invest in defining, developing and implementing that very specific culture, that state-of-the-art customer service, those distinguished values and dynamics that deliver their business advantage and success. In other words, we understand that a business’s uniqueness and greatness cannot, and should not, rely on a “one size fits all” approach.

The assessments we recommend are unique as they offer a menu of more than 60 validated dimensions from which you choose to measure precisely what is important to your business.

If you’d like to learn more, or if you would like a FREE trial, please click on this LINK and we will get back to you promptly.

David Leahy

Great People Inside

The post MORPH YOUR LEADERSHIP appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Why does conflict occur in teams?

Some of the main reasons conflict occurs in teams include a lack of effective communication, competition, personality differences and underperformance.

What should managers do when conflict does arise?

The best thing for managers to do when conflict arises is to address it head on. If conflict goes unresolved in a team environment it can fester and cause big and costly problems for companies. At the very least it can cause a communication breakdown in your team and at worst it can negatively impact on company results and increase staff turnover.

When conflict arises, managers and leaders have an opportunity to strengthen communication and trust within the team. To be effective, leaders must calmly and objectively address the issue with a direct conversation. Coming to a resolution will involve setting clear intentions, being considerate of both sides and encouraging input.

In some cases conflict can’t (and shouldn’t) be avoided in the workplace, but there are many ways to reduce the likelihood of it occurring. Here’s what you can do.

Hire the right people

Choosing the right people for your team can help to minimise conflict. By hiring people based on not only their experience and qualifications, but their personality type and working style, you can ensure they’ll fit in with your workplace culture and work effectively with other employees. JobFit is a great tool for selecting the right candidates. JobFit uses objective data to identify the attributes that will make a candidate most successful in the role, like personality, behavioural traits and occupational interests. By selecting candidates based on these attributes, you can handpick personality types that are likely to meld with your existing team members and workplace culture.

Seek out tension

One big mistake that poor managers make when conflict arises is to ignore it. Conflict can be uncomfortable to address, so many managers put blinders up when there is tension in their team. While it might seem easier to just ignore it, conflict that goes unresolved will not disappear. Unresolved conflict can reduce productivity, damage morale and cause disengagement within your team. To minimise the likelihood of conflict occurring, managers can look for tension points and address them before they become a problem.

Have regular one-on-ones

Having regular one-on-one meetings with each member of your team provides a forum for giving and receiving feedback, building trust within your team and making sure communication lines are strong and effective. One-on-ones also give you an opportunity to identify tension and problem areas.

Foster communication

One of the main causes of conflict in the workplace is ineffective communication. When team members don’t feel comfortable communicating with every member of the team, tension is given an opportunity to brew and cause problems. To foster communication, managers can regularly discuss individual and team wellbeing, have an open door policy, and most importantly they can adopt a coaching mindset. A coaching mindset is all about facilitating an environment in which individuals can grow, develop and solve their own workplace problems independently.

Undergo team coaching

A team coach works with teams to strengthen lines of communication and streamline collaboration so that individuals can work more effectively together. A coach provides non-judgemental support, ensuring the welfare of the team and can give teams the tools needed to address tension when it occurs. Team coaching can also help individuals gain a coaching mindset so that they can communicate more effectively and support their teammates to do the same.
To find out how your team could benefit from team coaching, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.

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Why do people avoid conflict?

Just as conflict is a part of human nature, the human construct of social niceties has brought with it the desire for us to avoid conflict all together. Our natural tendencies and how we are hardwired can influence how we believe conflict should be addressed. Managers who are naturally highly accommodating may want to be the ‘good guy’, but in doing so can often avoid important and constructive conversations that have the potential to ignite conflict. Equally, highly assertive managers may tend to take a very direct approach (the “four by two” approach) which can start the whole conversation off on the wrong foot. Which approach is right? Consider this.

Conflict happens. It’s a normal part of everyday life whether we like it or not. Although we might think that conflict interferes with our business objectives, the way we deal with it can have an even bigger impact on the overall success of your company.

Conflict that is swept under the rug will not just go away. Unresolved conflict can fester into a wound that is hard to heal, so it’s best to confront conflict before it turns into a bigger problem. If conflict goes unresolved, you could see employees’ engagement and productivity levels plummet and your best talent walk out the door. Taking an overly direct approach may see the employee defending their position rather than listening, and feeling hard done by, which is also likely to cause a reduction in engagement and productivity.

How does conflict interfere with communication?

When managers fear conflict, they can breakdown the communication lines that run within your organisation. If managers fail to communicate effectively with their subordinates and teams, employees might feel less likely to approach their leaders if and when something goes wrong. And if a manager is scared to give constructive feedback to an employee or team, it can negatively impact the growth and development of that individual or team.

So, how can leaders face their fear and address conflict head on?

Gain a coach’s mindset

Coaching skills equip individuals with the ability to communicate effectively, giving them the confidence to approach difficult conversations with ease. A coach will set regular one-on-one meetings with their coachee to see how they’re going with their work and find out what their challenges are, so that they can reach their goals independently. They will also provide regular feedback, both positive and constructive, so that individuals can better understand their strengths and areas requiring improvement. Regular and effective communication means that these leaders often know about issues before problems arise. Conflict is therefore less likely to occur and if it does, they’re well equipped to deal with it.

Be objective yet considerate

When conflict does arise, a great leader will consider each party’s concerns, while remaining focused on the overall objectives of the company. When dealing with conflict in the workplace, it’s important to put yourself in the shoes of each individual involved with the conflict while formulating an outcome that will best serve the company. Remember, if one or more parties isn’t happy with the outcome, it could impact negatively on their wellbeing, engagement and productivity.

Be open

A coaching leader is open, trustworthy and approachable. Maintaining open lines of communication amongst individuals and teams is the best way to prevent conflict from arising and to address it effectively when it does. Giving regular feedback is a great place to start. It’s important to foster an environment in which people feel confident to approach their managers and fellow workers when there is a problem or when they would like advice.

Seek out conflict

Poor managers often have their blinkers on when there is a problem within their team or wider organisation. In order to address conflict, you’ll need to know when it is occurring. Seeking out conflict is not as investigatory as it may seem. You simply need to communicate effectively and follow the progress of individuals and teams so that you know if they have any concerns and if any problems are emerging.

Leverage conflict for growth and development

Where there is conflict, there is the opportunity to learn and grow. Addressing and resolving conflict is a huge learning curve for leaders and employees alike. It requires leaders to problem solve in a high pressure situation and manage relationships in an objective yet empathetic manner which addresses each individual’s needs and desires.

To find out more about how to manage conflict effectively in your workplace, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.

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What exactly is a coaching culture?

A coaching culture is a workplace approach in which leaders, managers and staff members work together to increase individual, team and company organisational performance.

A workplace that has a coaching culture is one where workers feel empowered to work towards their own goals independently. Managers who foster this type of environment have a positive impact on employee engagement and organisational productivity. In the same report, Gallup found that managers are a huge influence on engagement rates, accounting for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units. And with high engagement rates comes better company results.

So how can you transform your managers into coaches to create a coaching culture in your workplace?

Teach coaching skills

A coach is someone who works one-on-one with an individual or with a team to help them unlock their maximum potential. In a workplace environment, a coach helps individuals achieve their professional outcomes while still holding them accountable for their work. They also provide non-judgemental support, ensuring the welfare of their coachee is met, both at work and outside of work.

Not all managers have a coaching mindset, but all great managers do. Prioritising coaching in your workplace training is the best way to create a coaching culture at work. This type of training is particularly important for employees who are transitioning into leadership roles, however can be beneficial for every employee within your organisation, no matter what their role is. Make sure your coach training is from an International Coaching Federation Accredited Coach Training Provider (ACTP). The IECL offers excellent courses that comply.

Adopting a leader-as-coach mindset will help you as manager/leader to identify coachable moments. And in turn encourage your team to model this type of behaviour with their team members The development of a coaching culture starts at the top. As leaders we are constantly on display so maintaining self awareness and composure especially in stressful situations is a must.

Communicate effectively

A coaching mindset involves asking the right questions and listening intently. Rather than saying “do this please”, a coach will ask “what approach do you think will help to achieve this outcome?”. This type of framing puts the onus on the coachee to think, gives them ownership and empowers them to reach their own goals and helps them to gain valuable problem solving skills along the way. A great leader/manager will arrange regular one-on-one meetings with employees to see where each employee is at with their work. They will check in to see if individuals feel good about their work, and they will give feedback, both positive and constructive, on a regular basis.

A great coach will prioritise the development of individuals because they know that in order to achieve vital business objectives, the company needs engaged, motivated and high performing individuals to work collectively towards a shared goal.

Prioritise employee engagement

Tying together talent and employee engagement to achieve important business objectives is what coaching is all about. The more engaged your workers are, the more motivated they will be to achieve results.

In Australia and New Zealand, the Gallup study found that employees have lackluster engagement scores, with just 14% feeling engaged in their job.

To keep employees engaged, it’s important to nurture their own professional development. In order to develop your people, a good step is discussing with each employee their own professional goals and communicating clearly and precisely how the organisation can support them to achieve these. In this regard it’s really important that the employee understands they own their own development and their careers and that the company’s role is to support them and guide them along the way. It should not be a case of the employee waiting for something to happen to them. Remember, not every organisation has the resources to provide in-house training or coaching but organisations focused on developing people can support their development through various outsourced initiatives and check in regularly to see how they are going. A focus on workplace morale should be prioritised in the same way that other important company objectives are. The wellbeing of individuals and teams will have a direct influence on their level of productivity and performance.

Foster an environment of trust

A workplace environment in which managers trust their employees and employees trust their managers is one where productivity can thrive. Creating trust is challenging and again this is where a coaching mindset can play a huge role. Professor Ralph Stacey says it best – “the quality of the system is determined by the quality of the relationships which is determined by the quality of the conversation.”  

When individuals have accountability over their work, they are more likely to achieve important business outcomes independently. Autonomous workers also understand how their everyday work contributes to the overall success of the company. This connection helps to empower individuals to reach their highest potential.

To find out more about how to incorporate a coaching mindset in your leaders, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.

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According to a 2010 Executive Coaching Survey however, nearly half of managers spend less than 10 percent of their time coaching others. So why is this? When employees are transitioned into management roles, often it’s their technical ability that gets them there rather than effective leadership skills. Leadership skills often need to be learnt on the job and many managers aren’t given the coaching they need to become great coaches themselves.

When managers lack coaching skills, it can be detrimental to the development and engagement of the people they manage. Managers who lack coaching skills often fall into the habit of instructing their team what to do. By directing individuals on what to do rather than giving them the tools and guidance to solve problems on their own, managers hinder the development of their team, hurt productivity and inhibit overall company success.

So, how can managers put coaching skills into practice within the workplace?

It all has to do with communicating effectively.

Build relationships of trust

One of the most important coaching skills for managers to maintain is the ability to build a relationship of trust among individuals. This can be achieved by fostering lines of communication between you and your reports. A great coach will organise regular one on one meetings with their reports to gain insights into their strengths, weaknesses, challenges and successes. This is a great way to help facilitate a relationship of trust and to help the employee develop, overcome challenges and reach their potential.

Ask the right questions

How do you see yourself growing in this role? What options do you have to overcome this challenge? What do you think you should do?

Each of these questions encourage an individual to think about and seek solutions to their own workplace problems. By helping an employee find solutions on their own, rather than telling them what to do, the individual will be better equipped to solve problems in the future, helping your team and company to reach success.

Listen intently

After asking the right questions, a coach will listen intently to what their reports have to say. Listening isn’t just about hearing what they have to say. It’s about taking onboard the challenges, questions and queries that employees have and thinking of ways to help them reach their goals. It’s about being patient and determined to facilitate long term results among their team and organisation. A great coach will let employees express both their workplace and personal struggles without passing any judgement.

Provide regular feedback

Managers who lack coaching skills will often wait until there is a problem in the workplace to give feedback. This can hurt employee confidence and engagement. A great coach will provide feedback on a regular basis. They will congratulate successes and strengths as well as identify problem areas. When identifying problem areas, a leader with coaching skills will concentrate on the problem area alone, rather than questioning the individual’s character. They will make their reports accountable for their own success and failures in order to improve engagement. They will also provide encouragement to employees with the aim of empowering them to reach their goals independently.

Let it spread

In order to become a great a coach, one can benefit greatly from being coached effectively.

A great coach will pass important leadership skills onto the person they are coaching, thus strengthening coaching techniques within the entire organisation. The idea of coaching is for it to spread throughout an organisation so that every employee has a coaching mindset. They will then be equipped to encourage the development of other employees so that together, teams can reach important business goals.

For more information on how to leverage the power of coaching, check out our article on the power of coaching for your team.

To find out more about how to incorporate a coaching mindset into your workplace, contact us today for an obligation free discussion.

The post The forgotten skill set of good leaders – Coaching appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

When you’re in a leadership position, you’re in charge of helping people grow and thrive within their professional roles. But who in an organisation helps leaders grow and thrive? Leaders are often left to their own devices with limited, if any, guidance and support. Being a leader can sometimes be likened to being the angel on top of the Christmas tree, the closer you get to the top the more uncomfortable it gets!

Executive coaching can help leaders meet their highest potential as key members of an organisation and therefore drive company success. Coaching gives leaders the opportunity to learn new skills and put them into practice effectively.

What is an executive coach?

Executive coaching involves a professional, confidential relationship between a coach and a key member of an organisation which facilitates individual development and performance growth. As opposed to a mentor, who offers professional advice and guidance, a coach is someone that professional leaders can lean on for support. Coaches help leaders to think about things differently, they challenge an individual’s beliefs and help them to reflect on any limiting assumptions they’re making; coaches hold leaders to account and support them as they move beyond their comfort zone.

So why is coaching such a powerful business tool?

Find out by reading the full article on Business Woman Media. 

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Importantly, this is where management and coaching intersect – every great manager must also be a great coach. According to a study conducted by Bersin & Associates, managers who effectively coach individuals achieve 21% better business results than those who don’t.

So, what is coaching?

Coaching concentrates on individual development, rather than the tasks of the job. Coaches help to facilitate and encourage learning as opposed to teaching. They will ensure that individuals are responsible and accountable for their work and therefore motivated to achieve goals autonomously. Coaches facilitate an environment in which individuals can grow and develop. A manager who utilises coaching techniques will support individuals on their own journey to success.

For more information on the benefits of coaching check out our article on this topic.

What happens if a manager lacks coaching skills?

Managers who consistently adopt a “tell” approach rather than a coaching approach are ignoring learning opportunities and therefore are less likely to achieve outstanding results with their team. It is well known fact that people leave managers, they don’t leave companies.

If you are appointed as a Manager, it is merely a title, however being a leader is something that is bestowed on us by others. Great leaders understand and appreciate their staff. They provide positivity and insight. And they have excellent motivational and communication skills – in other words they are great coaches.

For more information on how to be a successful leader check out our article on this topic.

So, how can managers integrate and adopt a ‘leader as coach’ mindset or approach into their personal management style? Here are our top three coaching skills for every great manager to get the best out of their team.

Asking and listening

How amazing is the human mind? Did you know the mind cannot not respond to a question? Our minds are geared to grapple with questions and find answers. What are the possibilities for you if you were to access the combined power of the minds of your team?

By asking open-ended questions, you release this power while simultaneously facilitating the learning process. By asking for example, “In your view what are the options that would deliver success in this task?”, rather than simply instructing an employee on how to do it, employees are given the space to think creatively and develop their own path to developmental success.

A large number of managers are promoted because they demonstrated to their superiors they are great problem solvers and “doers”. These traits have enabled them to be successful and get to where they are today in their role. The challenge for them is that these traits which have served them so well and helped them achieve, may not be effective when they are now faced with achieving results through others.

In addition to crafting great questions, a manager with a ‘leader as coach’ mindset will listen attentively to what their employees have to say. They will resist the opportunity to finish sentences, they will use silence. By doing this they will likely gain opportunities to demonstrate their true leadership by acknowledging to the team on occasions that the team or individual’s idea or approach is superior to their own. By not only listening but taking on board their employee’s concerns and desires, managers can help them to better develop in their role and in the company.

Building trust

The Oxford English dictionary defines trust as: “Firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something”. Successful coaching relies entirely on a relationship of trust between a manager and their employees. Adopting a ‘leader as coach’ mindset requires managers to start with a firm belief in the ability of their team members.

With trust comes accountability, and with accountability comes results. To reach their peak potential, employees need to feel accountable for their own work and therefore for their own achievements. While managers need to trust that their employees have the capacity to achieve success, employees need to trust that their work is being appreciated, that their manager has their back and that their job is secure. Building trust is a gradual process which can be achieved by maintaining open lines of communication and providing support whether it be task-related or emotional.

Giving constructive feedback

Constructive feedback is a developmental tool that is vital for organisational success, but which is often underused by managers. A great manager will give feedback to employees, often. They will make connections between an individual’s strengths and the company’s mission to improve development and drive success. Expressing these connections positively through regular feedback is the best way to achieve results.

For more information on how to deliver constructive feedback check out our article on this topic.

At Directions Unlimited, we understand how important it is for managers to incorporate coaching skills into their role, and we offer executive coaching to help you develop a coaching mindset. Contact us for an obligation free discussion on how executive coaching can prepare you to effectively manage your team.

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Often when we look at highly successful people, we don’t stop to consider what might have gone on behind the scenes to help them get to where they are. Or in fact, who helped them.

An athlete wouldn’t dream of training without the support and development of a sports coach. Their training is crucial to ensure they are at peak performance. The same can be said about the executives and managers in a business. How can they perform at their best, with the most impact, without a coach?

What is executive coaching?

We like the IECL definition which is that executive coaching is the process of working with executives and managers in a solution-focused, collaborative relationship to help maximise their potential. It can take form in a variety of ways, but the overall goal is to help you be the best version of yourself as a leader, manager, executive, and person.

Coaching is not about mentoring, counselling, managing, leading, or giving advice. It is aimed at unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance by helping them to learn through doing rather than just telling them what to do. It’s about helping someone develop and advance in their business, role, or life.

Put simply, an executive coach can give you the tools and support you need in order to reach your potential and beyond. An executive coach can get you focussed on the things you usually push aside. This could be due to limiting beliefs, stories you tell yourself, or that ‘inner village’ chattering away in your head telling you why something isn’t possible. In effect, a coach helps you to get out of your own way!

Is coaching the same as mentoring?

No. While the terms ‘coaching’ and ‘mentoring’ are often used interchangeably, there are subtle differences.

Mentoring provides an avenue in which the mentee is given access to the mentor’s wisdom, ‘tricks of the trade’ and short-cuts to success – helping to shape their values and beliefs in a positive way. Mentors give advice and guidance.

Executive coaching, on the other hand, is less prescriptive. Coaches provide a balance of security – in that they are available to be leant on, and challenge – the coach provides a safe, non judgemental, supportive and confidential environment where they challenge the coachee to move beyond their comfort zone, think about things differently while also holding them accountable for achieving their own outcomes.

In executive coaching it’s the ability to explore ideas, issues, obstacles or opportunities with the help of a skilled coach in this environment that leads the ‘aha moment’ or what Dr Hilary Armstrong refers to as ‘exuberant learning’. Executive coaching is a partnership – think of it like a Pilot and Co-Pilot – which helps people achieve clarity of direction. It increases the choices available to them, and offers rapid development.

What are the benefits of executive coaching?

Some of the benefits you could see from executive coaching are:

Unbiased support

Often a person is so deep in the day to day happenings of business, that they can’t see the forest for the trees, and any internal support (unless an internal coach is employed in the organisation) they seek is often laden with ill-advice and a lack of knowledge.

When you engage an external executive coach, as they are not working in your business, they naturally approach the engagement with an unbiased non judgemental perspective which can be very helpful in supporting the coachee to explore alternate approaches and different ways of thinking about things.

Strategic direction

It’s pretty hard to succeed in business without a plan, and a good plan includes a strategic direction. Without one, it’s as though you’re hopping in the car for a drive and you have no idea where you’re headed!

An executive coach helps you to identify what’s getting in your way, supports you to identify your objectives and to clarify the direction you want to take. From there, they support you to map out different strategies and set clear goals. Setting goals is a crucial part to personal and business advancement, yet is often not done effectively. An executive coach can help change that.

Accountability

In addition to supporting you on your journey, an executive coach will be there to hold you accountable, ensuring you complete the tasks needed to reach your goals. Knowing that you need to report back to your coach and not wanting to disappoint them is sometimes all the push a person needs to stay on track to success.

Success

With the right coach you can identify what’s getting in your way. This may result in freeing up more of your time to work on the bigger picture items which will directly contribute to your success. By working with a coach you get to understand how you are ‘being’ in your role in the business (even as the business owner), develop further as a leader and identify what actions need to be implemented to succeed.

At Directions Unlimited, we strive to approach coaching as a dialogue, not as a dictation. Our first step is always to ensure the ‘chemistry’ exists between coach and coachee and we then partner with you and support you to identify and achieve your goals.  

Direction’s Unlimited Director, David Leahy, graduated from the prestigious Institute of Executive Coaching in Sydney, and has coached executives internationally in South America, USA, Europe, Asia and Australia – helping many individuals and companies attain their goals.

If you would like an obligation free discussion, contact us today and see how our tailored coaching approach can help you excel.

The post How can coaching benefit me? appeared first on Directions Unlimited.

Unless these attributes are in balance, however, employees will not follow. Too much of any classic leadership trait can overturn the ship.

And trying too hard is a real no-no. Truly authentic leaders make it seem effortless. They know when to assert themselves and when to let others step up, establishing genuine common ground with those they lead.

While some leadership traits are inherent, there’s plenty of scope to work on others.

Let’s take a look at five fundamentals of successful leadership.

1. Creating a productive environment

The best leaders lay the foundations for a rich, fertile working environment, which recognises potential, rewards excellence and encourages creative thinking.

It’s all about mindset. They start with the belief that every one of their staff, given the right circumstances and support, has the potential to deliver great results.

This involves helping each employee to be the best they can be. Rather than expecting everyone to reach the same dizzy heights, shrewd leaders concentrate on bringing out individual strengths and minimising weaknesses.

Healthy work environments thrive when the leader takes an inclusive and supportive approach to staff, encouraging their feedback, rewarding their problem-solving and understanding their challenges.

So what leadership attributes help build a vibrant workplace?

• Ability to foster robust debate and manage many different personalities and working styles.
• Strong communication skills via clear expression, clever questioning and smart listening.
• Team and relationship building via empathy, motivational qualities and ongoing support.

Read more about how to excite your team to achieve greatness.

2. Building an appreciative self

An exceptional leader will work towards developing their ‘appreciative self’.

Put simply, this involves more focus on what’s working and what they want more of, and less focus on problems and what they want less of.

This theory is outlined by Gervase R Bush in his book, Clear Leadership: How outstanding leaders make themselves understood, cut through the mush and help everyone get real at work.

Bush criticises the traditional notion that problem-solving is the sole province of leaders.

Firstly, ‘top down’ solutions can lead to resistance from those who had no say in creating them.

Secondly, leaders are often too far removed from the actual problems to be able to draft an effective solution without input.

Empowered leaders shift problem-solving away from themselves, encouraging their staff to come up with their own solutions and solve problems at source, Bush claims.

This clears the decks for these ‘appreciative’ leaders to concentrate on positive solutions, honing in on areas of the organisation where things are going right and building on the gains.

With this approach, leaders’ beliefs are seen to be self-fulfilling. If biased towards seeing the best in people, the best is what they get. When focusing on the worst, they will receive more of that.

3. Building an authentic self

Fed up with slick personas and faceless ‘suits’, workers are increasingly demanding that their leaders are real people.

Today’s bosses can no longer hide behind a facade or remain aloof from their organisation’s people, as pointed out by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones in Managing Authenticity: The Paradox of Great Leadership.

Building a genuine presence is tricky though, and it’s not something you can claim for yourself, Goffee and Jones say. Your employees and managers are the true judges of how authentic your leadership is in practice.

This is where balance makes its entrance. Expressing yourself whenever and however you like doesn’t make you an authentic leader – it’s more likely to make you a huge irritation to your staff.

Developing a truly authentic leadership self, according to Goffee and Jones, means striking the subtle balance between expressing your own personality and managing the multiple personalities of the people around you.

This is done in two main ways. Firstly, by ensuring your words are always consistent with your deeds, so leading by example.

Secondly, by finding genuine common ground with those you are leading.

The latter point is particularly important as staff instinctively know when their bosses are faking.

So an authentic leader must show different faces to different members of the organisation, while ensuring every face has a true element of their own self.

This is not impossible, but it’s not easy either, and requires some genuinely creative thinking to hit the right note each time!

4. Managing change

Organisational change is just as inevitable as any other change in life.

Nothing in this world stays the same, and we spend our lives working out how best to adapt to changing personal circumstances, working environments, national shifts and global trends.

Yet we often resist it, until we hit upon a solution to the new challenge – be it technological, behavioural or attitude-based.

The best leaders understand our inherent fear of change and are adept at guiding us through.

They know how to calm our anxieties, showing us the benefits of moving forward and mapping out new ways of doing so.
Leadership Management Australasia (LMA) points to the evolutionary nature of change in the contemporary workplace, claiming that change is not only inevitable but essential in terms of business sustainability, functionality, efficiency and profitability.

According to LMA in Leadership through Understanding, smart leaders negotiate change by:

• Skilling up the workforce. This equips staff with the tools and techniques to embrace change.
• Involving staff early and deeply. This increases staff commitment and helps them ‘own’ the change.
• Communicating wisely. Real staff input is gained by communicating change widely, regularly and consistently.
• Being supportive. Specific, ongoing support is essential to help staff successfully deal with change.

5. Eagerness to go on learning

Learning never ends. No matter how accomplished we are, and how high we climb in our chosen field, we can never know all the answers.

This is partly because human beings are inherently imperfect, and partly because the world is in a constant state of flux.

Even if we know everything there is to know about today’s labour force and economy, next month – or next week – it will change.

And we never stop learning about human psychology, constantly finding better ways to understand and relate to others.

The best and most respected leaders learn from their staff, managers, colleagues and peers on a daily basis, knowing that even the lowliest employee has something to teach them.

While people are the chief asset of every organisation, it takes a quality leader to exploit their full potential and ensure that the company thrives and grows.

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