Every C-Suite Leader Should Have a Coach

A decade or so ago, when I was a Group HR Director, I used to think that coaching was something that we sourced for leaders who were not performing. As coaching has evolved and become more mainstream, I am now of the view that all C-Suite leaders benefit from coaching and with growing pressure on leaders from all directions, I would now assert that all C-Suite leaders should have a coach.

From my experience of coaching CEOs and members of Executive Committees from global organisations, I would say that the CEOs and C-Suite leaders I have worked with are world class in some elements of the role, highly proficient in others and have blind spots in parts.  If you were a top-level sports person and you had several clear blind spots you would work with a coach to identify and improve them.  Often the blind spots of sports stars impact only their results.  Because of the significant shadow cast by the CEO or C-Suite Leader on their organisation, one blind spot in, for example, engaging people, over time has a direct impact on the organisational culture and becomes a derailer for the whole company.

I think most are now familiar with the role of the coach, holding up the mirror to build awareness of performance, and support the practice of new habits to accelerate learning.

With the modern demands of increasingly active Boards, social media, demanding employees and a realisation of the social impact of corporations, the role of the C-Suite Leaders has never been broader.

In addition, much as we would all like to think of the Board Room of the EXCO as a ‘safe space’ for sharing ideas and challenges, often the CEO or C-Suite roles are lonely, where having an independent advisor or confidante is of great benefit. As one CEO pointed out to me recently, ‘no one needs to hear the truth more, but gets told it less from folks around them’.

For these reasons, in my view, all C-Suite leaders should work with a coach. This applies to CxO’s new in role struggling with prioritisation and early impact, and to those further into their tenure where they need to reinvent themselves to adapt to changing context or business needs.

I strongly believe that the role of the C-Suite leader is context specific and will be very different from one situation to another. However, some elements are common:

• Developing, articulating and owning the company story, vision and mission. As a Board Chair pointed out in a board meeting, I was facilitating last month, ‘the story is the leader when the leader is not around’
• Developing culture and talent – ‘prioritising the soft stuff’
• Leading and aligning the Executive Team, instilling effective governance
• Working positively with the Board and external stakeholders
• Managing yourself, balancing the many priorities in your leadership – I work with many CEOs who are hard charging

Perfectionists whose short-term business performance comes at a longer-term cost to them (and ultimately their business).

If I was to be able to build a composite of every C-Suite Leader I coach, I think I could create a corporate superhero, a leader who would finally exceed the expectations of their board. Whilst this is never practically achievable, it is possible to work on the blind spots of leaders so that, it is possible to mitigate areas of weakness and support the CEO to play to his or her strengths.

I think most are now familiar with the role of the coach, holding up the mirror to build awareness of performance, and support the practice of new habits to accelerate learning. The most effective way I have found to do this with C Suite leaders is to work with them ‘on the job’ shadowing key meetings and activities. By practicing joint reflection, and supporting experimentation of different practices, the coach can support new habits in real life situations.

By working with a coach that has real c-suite experience, the process of learning and improvement can be both achievable and sustainable.

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SUPPORT WITH DEVELOPING YOUR CEO OR EXECUTIVE TEAM, I WOULD BE HAPPY TO DISCUSS THIS FURTHER.