Can you imagine saying these words to Donald Trump or in fact to your CEO or any other of your c-suite executives? Probably, not. It is certainly not easy to start that conversation with superiors and understandably so.
Sadly, it is often executives at the very top of an organization who need coaching as much as anybody else, and maybe even more. They may be at the top of the organization and have reached that point by their own skills, experience and contribution to the company. However, it doesn’t mean to say they are perfect leaders by any stretch of the imagination. Not surprisingly, people at this level get less and less feedback as they become more senior. Why? Most of the people they work with on a regular basis will be subordinates. Even if they are overseen by a board of directors or another senior figure in their organization, it is likely that those people don’t work with them on a day to day basis. As a result, many executives don’t get the regular one on one or feedback sessions other employees might get; nor are they likely to be on the receiving end of those “back of the taxi” informal feedback moments. And even if there is somebody in the organization who might be in a position to give them feedback, it is often the case that executive level feedback can be focused on business performance and results rather than the soft skills of managing a team and communication.
The sad consequence is that the issues that some senior leaders might have are never fixed, negative behaviour remains unchanged and their reputation as a monster manager or as somebody who is difficult to work for continues to grow. This, in turn, affects the organization as a whole – it reinforces negative behavior, can lead to demotivated employees, and can create an environment of destructive leadership. We often hear about the importance of leading by example, destructive leadership can result in leading by bad example, reinforcing negativity throughout the organization.
So although it is understandable that it might feel extremely daunting to offer feedback to a senior executive, the sad truth is that they are often in need of this input and would actually like to receive some constructive feedback. The phrase “it’s lonely at the top” is undeniably true.
During my executive coaching career working with c-suite executives I can’t remember how many times I have heard comments such as “Well actually, this is a concern I have but I don’t feel I can share it with anybody else in the company” or “I’d really like to be able to motivate and lead my team with passion but I’m not sure how to go about this.” An executive coach can play that perfect role of an independent advisor, neutral to internal politics and with no hidden agenda.
The key question is to how to get an executive to embrace coaching. There are a number of approaches we would highlight:
- Despite the occasional misinterpretation of some people that executive coaching is for people with issues or problems that need fixing, the general consensus is that executive coaching is a great opportunity for the coachee to look at potential development opportunities and how they can take their performance as a senior manager and executive to the next level. The use of a 360 tool can often be a useful way to provide independent data for executives which can be used as the base of a discussion about the benefits of coaching. Pitched to an executive from the correct angle, it will often be positively received.
- Using the executive as an early adopter or guinea pig is another potential approach. With a view to introducing coaching at various levels in the organization it is a great opportunity for the executive to lead by example, by working with a coach. It also gives them the opportunity to potentially extol some of the benefits to other coachees in the program.
- As more companies carry out Great Place to Work surveys and tie the results to performance and potentially to compensation, this is another avenue to broaching the subject of coaching at the executive level.
And if none of these approaches work then maybe it is time to share some of the data and research showing how coaching can benefit an organization – a subject we will cover in our next blog!
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