A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason. – J.P. Morgan
Over the last several years, organizations have spent more and more money on leadership coaching for their executives and key leaders. When done well, leadership coaching can have a dramatic impact on the development of those being coached. This is due in large part to the relationship established between the coach and client. Through this relationship, and the ability of the coach to uncover the internal drivers of client behavior, sustainable results can be achieved. Unfortunately, not all coaches work with their clients to get at the drivers of behavior, preferring instead to jump to problem solving and action planning too quickly. In doing so, the client may not be able to sustain the change in behavior they are striving for, because they aren’t personally invested in the solution.
I’m a firm believer that as a leader you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Surround yourself with great people (who are a good fit to your culture and environment) and you are on the road to success. Yet, I regularly see leaders who want to be the center of it all. They feel like they need to be the smartest ones in the room. Instead of sharing information, they withhold it thinking it gives them power. They let their egos and/or insecurities get in the way. They fail to invest in their team because they are afraid that that if their team members look too good, they will look bad (e.g., stupid, not knowledgeable, less skilled). As it turns out, they end up “looking bad” because the team isn’t as successful as it could be. And they only have themselves to blame. 
