I began my business career fifty years ago. Back then, coaching wasn’t a common part of anyone’s career development. Businesspeople thought coaching was an admission you needed help and didn’t have “the right stuff.â€
Things are different today. Today we know coaching can make a big difference in a manager’s performance and career. How big? That’s a question Anne Perschel addresses in her post, “8 Reasons Why Coaching New Managers Is A Wise Investment.†Here’s the money quote.
“I’ve been an embedded coach at Same Company for over fifteen years. To measure each client’s progress, I gather 360 feedback at the beginning, middle and end of the coaching engagement. Coaching new managers typically delivers improvement scores of 2 – 4 points on a 5-point scale. Senior executives typically improve by 1 – 3 points”
You should read Anne’s post for all her reasons. I have one of my own.
Leadership Development and Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the “soft stuff†that’s hard to get right. The ability to deal with people and their emotions is at the core of what leadership is. It’s often the difference between being a technical expert and being a leader.
To develop emotional intelligence, an aspiring leader must look long and hard at his or her performance. He or she must confront uncomfortable truths about how they act and how what they do affects others.
Leadership Development and Coaching
When you develop emotional intelligence by yourself, it’s easy to skip the hard truths. It’s easy to rate yourself on your intentions instead of your performance. It’s easy to cut yourself some slack. A good coach won’t let you do that.
A good coach does something no other form of leadership development can do. He or she helps an aspiring leader confront sensitive personal issues.
Leadership Development Bottom Line
Your leadership development program should provide coaching for everyone responsible for team performance. When you do that with new managers, you reap the benefits sooner and for a longer time.
