More and more companies are using leadership coaching to improve their bottom line. It is one of many approaches to developing leadership talent. Three reasons that leadership coaching is particularly effective include:
Individualized attention. Unlike many other approaches to leadership development, each participant gets focused attention to learn about their strengths and development opportunities; and, develop specific action steps that tie to organizational results.
Accountability. Coaching is results-focused. The client creates goals and the coach helps hold the client accountable to those goals. Coaches provide clients with the process, tools, structure, and support to achieve higher levels of performance.
Safe environment. Coaches create a safe learning environment where clients can discuss confidential situations, use the coach as a sounding board, overcome roadblocks, and create change.
In a study focusing on “Maximizing the Impact of Executive Coaching,” (The Manchester Review), the authors found:
- Coaching programs delivered an average return on investment of 5.7 times the initial investment.
- Benefits to companies included improvements in: productivity, quality, organizational strength, and bottom-line profitability.
- Benefits to the leaders who received coaching included improved working relationships with direct reports, immediate supervisors, and peers; better teamwork; and, increased job satisfaction.
So, while there are many ways to develop the leaders in your organization coaching is an effective, proven process that achieves individual and organizational results.
