If you believe the adage, ‘time is money,’ then you’re saying that the concept of time (and the elapse
If you believe that ‘time is money,’ then leadership should be taken seriously. If you think about some of the ridiculous ways you spend your time as a leader, you’ll quickly see how time is indeed passing right by you—and costing the company money. For instance: Running from one meeting to another, dealing with workplace drama, observing lackadaisical performance, watching customer satisfaction scores tank, and more…all while trying desperately to cram one more thing on your calendar.
The list could go on, but if any (or all) of the above apply to you and/or your company, then you don’t have an employee problem. You don’t even have a quality problem or a customer service problem. What you have is a leadership problem.
I admit that Executive Coaching isn’t for everyone. It’s not a road for the faint of heart. But if you’re wondering about it, then here are six reasons why you might have never allowed the thought of having an Executive Coach enter your mind.
(Translation: You have a really [really] strong work ethic. You work…a lot.)
No one is more productive than you—right? Time is money, and you’re definitely earning yours! And your hectic schedule shows just how hard you’re working to earn all those dollars. If this is you, then it may be time to realize that you’re mistaking your ‘busy-ness’ for productivity. Just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you’re busy doing the right things. A better question to ask is: What (and Who) is not getting your attention because you’re so…very…busy?
Great athletes work hard, too…but not all by themselves. They maximize their time by having a Coach who can expedite their progress. If you look at most athletes that have excelled, you’ll see that they’ve always had outside coaches that work alongside them to achieve higher level results. Executive Coaches are no different. They help increase your focus, your leadership stamina, and your leadership influence in a shorter time than if you try to do it alone. You just get to the finish line quicker.
(As one recent CEO Coachee shared with me as we began working together, “I do think highly of myself and all I’m doing. I think I’m already a really good leader; I just thought a Coach might have some good insights for me because I believe in personal growth.”)
While it always helps to work with an executive that believes in personal growth, this Coachee has uncovered areas of severe pain that he’s causing for those around him. In reality, your influence may not be what you think although your intent is positive. You may not actually be living your intent. You may feel like you are accomplishing everything you’ve set out to do; your goals are crystal clear…in your own mind.
(Translation: You quietly tell yourself that having a Coach is a sign of weakness.)
Greatness in anything, whether in sport or music or in leadership, rarely comes because someone is born a genius. To be great at something requires a deep passion to, first of all, be ‘great,’ and second of all to be strong, to be resilient, to be steadfast. As Marshall Goldsmith notes, what got you where you currently are won’t get you where you want to go. Having a personal recognition of Goldsmith’s insight is the first sign of strength.
... or “If his team could just gel more and work cross-functionally, we wouldn’t have this problem!” or “It’s the downturn in the economy; that’s why things aren’t running so smoothly here.”
(Translation: You are, in essence, pointing the finger at someone or something other than yourself.)
Indeed, Executive Coaching is not for the faint of heart. As Jack Nicholson’s character so emphatically states in the movie, A Few Good Men, “You can’t handle the truth!” His point: There are just times in life when we simply need the personal resolve to handle the truth. It may hurt, it may be ugly, it may bruise the ego, it might not be fair…but it’s the truth. Executive Coaching is all about helping you focus on your strengths and finding ways for you to better utilize your strengths in all that you do.
Coaching is also about helping you uncover your blind spots and helping you move past them as avenues for increasing your effectiveness. It’s about calling you out when you make a misstep; it’s about the truth around direct observations; it’s about keen insights and alternative perspectives. Instead of pointing the finger, sometimes it’s just healthy to turn your finger around and point it toward yourself, as your blind spots might be playing a role in why others aren’t getting the results you want them to get.
(Translation: I’m approachable! I’m a nice person! I’m not going to bite anyone’s head off.)
Do you really think that everyone around you is going to readily walk up to you and tell you a few things you may need to hear? Really? Once again, your intent is probably good here; however, your intent isn’t what makes you a stronger business leader. The actions you take to live your intent are what make you a stronger business leader.
(Translation: You make excuses, whether money or time or “I’m not the problem…”, etc., for why you will not work with a Coach. To talk yourself out of it, you make your case by using all kinds of negative stories around the ROI of the Coaching process.)
As noted, time is money. But your crazy-busy schedule isn’t making money for the company either; nor is your lack of approachability (to play off of some of the prior points in this blog). The better question is: How much money might you be losing the company because you just won’t reach out, take a risk, and hire a Coach to help you do what you do…better? What opportunities may have been missed?
You’ve probably seen a saying floating around on social media that goes something like, “What if we invest a bunch of money into training our people and they leave?” and the response that follows is, “What if we don’t, and they stay?” Pity the company that has a boatload of executives that refuse to have an Executive Coach on their sidelines.
Your company sets prices for products and services, and there’s a lot of thought about what goes into your pricing formula(s). You set a fair price for the raw materials, the skill, the expertise, the time, the service, the knowledge and intellect, the design, and a litany of other considerations—and your price is what it is. Why should an Executive Coach be any different? If you get the logic about working with a Coach, then you will recognize that, “A Coach just costs too much” is nothing but an excuse.
In short, Executive Coaching is about bottom-line business results.
Photo credits: iStock by Getty Images