How can you overcome your blind spots and grow as a leader with executive coaching?

One thing I’ve found helpful is to remember what got you here may not get you there. Executive leadership is an ongoing process and one of the best tools, if properly executed and reviewed with a qualified coach, is 360 degree feedback. It can validate your strengths and weaknesses as well as identify blind spots.

Executive coaching is a personal or professional process undertaken to ensure that you are continuously developing in your role as a leader. It is often there to identify your blind spots and aid you in making some transformational decisions or to up skill in areas that are lacking. The coach should be qualified and provide you adequate attention and focus at each session and also homework that you should undertake between each session.

Executive coaching is based on one on one sessions to work on your goals and objectives. It enables you to lean in and find resources within yourself and enhance your capabilities to deal with challenges and overcoming obstacles. It helps leaders in achieving their goals, breaking the glass ceilings and going to the next well. It helps them in sharpening their skill sets to navigate through the different roles.

Overcome Blind Spots, Unlock Growth: Recognize areas where you need improvement. Seek constructive feedback from trusted sources. Practice self-reflection and awareness. Embrace diverse perspectives and new ideas. Develop a growth mindset. Conquer your blind spots and unlock your potential. #BlindSpots #PersonalGrowth #SelfAwareness #LeadershipDevelopment #GrowthMindset #ProfessionalDevelopment

Executive coaching is an immersive and transformative journey alongside a skilled guide. It's a profound process that fosters self-discovery and personal awareness, ultimately unlocking untapped professional potential. Through introspection and open dialogue, coaches guide executives to gain insights into their strengths and areas for improvement, creating a solid foundation for growth. This heightened self-awareness fosters personal growth and positively impacts the teams and organizations they lead. As the saying goes, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," in the realm of executive coaching, that first step opens the door to a world of possibilities.

I've had the privilege of undergoing executive coaching over the span of eight years. This experience has been instrumental in not only refining my leadership skills but also fostering significant personal growth. Considering leadership as a skill, I've come to appreciate that it's an ongoing journey. In essence, we are all perpetual "works in progress" in our leadership development. Executive coaching has played a central role in cultivating self-awareness, helping me discern my motivations and align them with my core values. This heightened clarity has empowered me to lead with precision and authenticity, enabling me to serve others more effectively as a leader.

Did you know how the word “coach” came into existence? It originated from the word “coach”, a mode of transport, which is meant to take you from where you are to where you want to be. This is precisely what a coach does—helps you to get to the higher level of performance that you want and peak your potential. So if you want to grow to your next level and bring out your best, it will be wise to work with a coach. Above is an extract from the book - Get High - How to coach yourself for high performance in your work.

I met a C-level friend recently. As expected he was BUSY. When I suggested that he should consider executive coaching his eyes lit up. Executives are capable hardworking individuals. Their strength may very well be the reason they do not seek help. Let's face it, strong people feel they can handle it and they may be right, it's just that they may be missing out on a better option - executive coaching. Coaches need not be the best players. A great football coach does not necessarily need to be the best player. A coach draws out potential and surfaces blind spots. Coaches enhances your effectiveness and are net time savers. We see the benefits of coaching in top sports; similarly executives can benefit greatly from executive coaching.

Elite executives, athletes, and performers engage with coaches to guide them through a process of self-discovery using thought-provoking questions. Even the most successful people need help staying accountable and on track toward their goals. Coaches optimize performance and instill mental resilience with personalized guidance to each individual's unique needs, through the power of asking great questions that ignite new solutions. A great coach stretches your thinking and potential. Want different results? Your actions have to change. Changing actions come from changing our thinking. Coaches can’t do the work for you or tell you what to do, but act as trusted guides, enhancing performance and helping you through self-directed exploration.

According to an HBR study, 97% of leaders say that strategic thinking is important, yet 96% don't make time for it. Many leaders work with a coach because they want to bounce off with someone who can expand their thinking and field of awareness. It's a safe space to reflect, make sense of things, and take better decisions. You have the solutions - a good coach helps you find them. It's always a beautiful moment when I see a lightbulb going off!

Finding the right coach is crucial and often the chemistry is either there or it's not. It can be hard, and its worth finding someone though a recommendation who has had coaching with that individual beforehand. You can usually get a feel at the first meeting how it is going to work.

When looking for an executive coach I think people miss the target by trying to find someone to similar or complementary. If we can only take strong critical feedback from people in our in group it will manifest itself in homogenous teams that lack any substantive diversity. Find an executive coach that makes you uncomfortable for a myriad of reasons so you not only have to learn how to process challenging information about yourself, but evolve in who you take serious when it comes to accepting feedback or asking for input.

If you are considering working with an executive coach who can lead you to high performance, here are some pointers. Choosing the right coach is rather simple. Just ask yourself these simple questions: 1. Do you think you can establish chemistry with your prospective coach? 2. Do you feel comfortable and at ease to talk to the person you are considering as your coach? 3. What is your gut feeling telling you about how your prospective coach can help you with your challenges? You can further check if: 1. The person is a credentialed coach, 2. What their coaching experience is and 3. Seek testimony from their clients. Above is an extract from the book - Get High - How to coach yourself for high performance in your work

Make it simple but impactful: Set Clear Goals: Define what you want to achieve through coaching. Be Open and Coachable: Stay open to feedback and willing to make changes. Take Action: Apply what you learn in coaching sessions to real-life situations. Communicate Effectively: Be honest and open with your coach to maximize the benefits. Reflect on Progress: Regularly assess your development and adjust your approach if needed. Stay Committed: Consistency and dedication are key to reaping the full rewards of executive coaching.

I encourage colleagues to be present, be open, and be vulnerable. Make your coaching session the most important thing you do in that hour. Give it the attention it deserves because it’s an investment in you and the results flow through your teams. Find time to check in with your executive coach throughout the month when you need more hands-on help with real, current scenarios - realize most executive coaches want to impact your career at the moments that matter most and that may not align with your scheduled coaching sessions. Remember: executive coaching is a two-way relationship. Be willing to share, listen, and improve. At the same time, challenge your coach with your own questions and ensure you always have clear takeaways.

Be curious & coachable! Critical nuanced feedback can be game-changers but oftentimes isn’t ever given, especially to executives. What you don’t know are your blind spots. Get into the habit of actively and purposefully being curious about what you might do/say/ask differently to improve your impact. Then do it and reflect your takeaways back to your coach.

Learnings are great; it is in action that we create success! To make the most out of your Executive coaching experience, you need to be strategic, show up for yourself, and take the intentional steps necessary to create successful outcomes.

Executive coaches believe in the absolute agency of their clients to meet their goals. Executives who work with an Executive Coach gain an accountability partner as you make your possible reality.

Executive coaching boosts self-awareness, confidence, and communication, enhancing leadership presence and influence. It aligns you with your core values and strategy, boosting productivity and performance. It sharpens problem-solving, decision-making, and fosters creativity and innovation. Coaching also increases resilience and adaptability, elevating satisfaction and engagement.

You must understand that coaching involves self-awareness, feedback, and intentional self-improvement. And so executive coaching will help you with : Self-Reflection: • Coaching encourages you to reflect on your behaviors, decisions, and interactions with others. To Seek Honest Feedback: Coaching Creates a safe space where you can provide candid insights without fear of repercussions. Helps you to Assess Behaviors and Patterns: • With the help of a coach, you are able to analyze your actions, reactions, and recurring patterns that May be hindering your progress. Helps you identify triggers. Helps to set clear goals and even challenge assumptions as you grow as a leader.

Coaching provides a safe space for the client to be vulnerable, question things and ideate new solutions. Through coaching clients become more self aware and develop the skill to listen to themselves and create small goals that will help them achieve their dreams.

I strongly advocate for using proven ASSESSMENTS in coaching engagements. I use ones that compare clients to norms in the workforce, focusing and speeding up coaching, giving clients MORE BANG FOR THEIR BUCK and helping them reveal unacknowledged strengths, developmental areas and BLIND SPOTS. I use them to help clients go into CAREER TRANSITIONS with their eyes wide open and to help us prioritize how to lean into strengths and overcome blind spots, particularly those developed from working in HIGHLY SPECIALIZED WORK CULTURES. Coming from the military and FBI, I want to spare clients that “Alice in Wonderland” feeling as they step out to compete, when the entire workforce feels alien to them and blind spots can be utterly derailing.

The biggest risk for executive coaching is resistance from within oneself. One needs to be ready to change and rethink things. Also, it’s important to know what you want from the coaching sessions. If targets are not clear, it can easily lead to a feeling of wasted time. Targets should be well defined and typically focus on one (or a few) concrete items at a time. Coaching is a process. It takes time and mental investment from the person being coached. The coach can’t provide the answers. One needs to be ready to work to find those answers. If this is not understood, then coaching will likely fail. The same outcome occurs if the person being coached is not truly ready to change or rethink items.

I think that if you don’t really understand how the process of coaching works you will be disappointed. I see clients coming in with expectations of a done it for you formulae which of course is not going to be provided. Also if you are looking for a quick fix , you risk not getting the full benefits of coaching. And also if you are too rigid to change your way of thinking.

Inaction is the primary risk of executive coaching. If others are aware that you are being coached, they will expect to see some kind of change in behavior or performance. Especially if some form of 360 or interviews were conducted in advance. It's often better to not even pursue coaching then to signal that you are pursuing growth without follow through.

Key risks are: Time, Cost and Bad Habits Time is the most valuable resource of course. Cost, yap, executive coaches can be costly. Bad habits is when coachees forget they are the ones who do the lifting and rely heavily on shortcuts or quick fixes.

The biggest mistake C-level clients tend to make is hiring an executive coach just to show off their dedication to self-development and project problems in the organization to their subordinates - "you see, they need coaching, I'm fine". A leader that is incapable of self-reflection would rather not spend on coaching themselves, but they better hire coaches for their people to help those cope with their superior :)

One of the challenges that a coach might face is the tendency to advise or mentor, specially if the coachee wants to work on subjects that are familiar to the coach. It is paramount that the coach remains neutral so to ensure accountability of the coachee for any change even little, that s(he) agrees to make. The moment when the coachee discovers/acknowledges an action that s(he) can take to progress is very special, it is often full of gratitude.

Overcoming blind spots and fostering leadership growth through executive coaching involves a tailored approach to self-awareness and skill development. Executive coaches help leaders identify and address blind spots by providing constructive feedback, encouraging reflection, and offering guidance on areas for improvement. This process is complemented by setting clear goals, creating actionable plans, and leveraging the coaching relationship to enhance leadership capabilities.

The first step in overcoming a blind spot is being aware of and willing to acknowledge and address areas in which you can improve. When you possess the self-confidence to lean into an area that you perceive as a weakness, you become a better leader by encouraging others to do the same and sometimes seeing leadership potential and inspiration in others who may not have that same blind spot.

From my experience as an executive coach, clients overcome blind spots and flourish as leaders by embracing feedback openly, even if it's uncomfortable, and reflecting regularly on their strengths and weaknesses. Developing self-awareness through introspection and assessments. Set clear goals with your coach or mentor and commit to consistent growth actions. Cultivate a learning mindset, seeking new perspectives and skills. Holding yourself accountable for progress and adjust strategies as needed. Continuous self-reflection and guidance can illuminate blind spots and propel leadership development.

I believe that if you don’t monitor progress you may never know what’s working and what’s not. You therefore risk being in it without results , or not celebrating your accomplishments and progress. And so, continually checking in and evaluating is key.