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What is a Leadership Coach?

Business guy dreaming big

Have you long dreamed of being an executive in a Fortune 500 company or even starting your own company? The good news is that the world is always in need of strong, visionary leaders. The bad news? It turns out that few of us are actually blessed with natural leadership skills. As you scale the corporate ladder, you add to your arsenal of expertise, making you an ever more in-demand employee. But you don’t necessarily learn the one thing that is most crucial to effective leadership: how to manage people.

Despite the frequency with which the term “born leader” is bandied about, this phrase is often a misnomer. The fact is that until you have devoted time and energy to learning how to effectively manage a team, this skill can be frustratingly elusive. Many people assume that leadership is something you learn by osmosis rather than a skill that requires cultivation. While working for a strong leader can certainly teach you a thing or two, the best leaders understand that they have much to learn. Enter the leadership coach.

Leadership coaching helps you understand and apply the behaviors of an effective professional leader. Think for a moment about painting a mural. Before you became a leader, you might have been responsible for painting a single square, or possibly a section of squares. But now you have to take responsibility for the big picture, leading each painter to complete their square in harmony with the others for a cohesive final result. A leadership coach can help you orchestrate a massive team effort, such as painting a mural, while recognizing the strengths and attending to the needs of each individual painter.

A Coach for Confidence and Charisma

Have you ever given a toast at a wedding? If you’re not used to public speaking or being the center of attention, you may suddenly find yourself ill-equipped to confidently command the attention of the crowd. If you don’t do something frequently, it’s unlikely that you’ll excel at it. The same is true for leadership. A true leader possesses a confidence and charisma that makes people want to align with their mission. However, leaders must also be self-aware and empathetic, able to recognize how their actions affect others. A leadership coach can help you figure out how to strike this tricky but crucial balance.

In a session with a leadership coach, you might work on defining your leadership style, work on your communication and listening skills, or discuss how to motivate and empower your staff. Many workplaces are abandoning a strictly hierarchical managerial structure in favor of a system that is more collaborative in nature. A leadership coach will help you better understand where your company is within this continuum and learn how to succeed within its structure (or improve it!). If you’re starting your own business, your coach can help you determine which leadership style you want to implement and practice putting it to work.

A Consultant for Entrepreneurs, Executives & Leaders

A leadership coach is trained to help you cultivate your managerial skills until they are as strong as the other skills that have catapulted you into your high-level role. If you’re an entrepreneur, you will likely be building your team from scratch, so your leadership coach may work with you to define and execute the team synergy you’re hoping to achieve. Perhaps you have already launched your new business and have not yet achieved cohesiveness among your team members. A leadership coach can help you determine potential breakdown points in your communication or leadership style and work with you to get things back on track.

Whether you’re brand new to your role or a seasoned executive, you may also benefit from leadership coaching. Changes in leadership can happen abruptly, catapulting individuals into new positions for which they’re not adequately prepared. Leadership training can help new C-Suite executives acclimate to their new duties, particularly with regard to managing teams with which they may not yet have had much interaction.

In other instances, new executives may spend months treading water in a position to which they’ve been promoted, reluctant to ask for help because they have been entrusted with an important role and believe they should automatically know what to do. Here, too, leadership coaches can help by helping leaders recognize that they’re not alone as well as identify the gaps in their training and get up to speed.

But you don’t have to be in a position at the executive level to benefit from leadership coaching! Whether you manage three people or three hundred, focusing on leadership as a distinct skill will benefit you in your career and help you ascend to higher leadership positions if you so desire. In fact, a leadership coach can help you discern whether you are interested in pursuing higher-level leadership roles or wish to pursue further development in your current position.

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What is the Difference Between a Life Coach and a Leadership Coach?

Energized womanAlthough both life coaches and leadership coaches help you chart your life path, a leadership coach focuses much more closely on helping you develop high-level managerial skills. Whereas a life coach looks at the macro picture of your life, taking into account all areas in which you could potentially benefit from guidance, a leadership coach works on the micro level, concentrating specifically on helping you become a more effective leader.

A life coach can certainly assist you in strengthening your leadership skills, but their training takes a more general, zoomed-out approach. In helping you make a plan to be more self-actualized, a life coach may actually identify leadership coaching as an area you might wish to pursue in greater depth. In short, if you’re interested in taking a look at the big picture of your life, choose a life coach; if you’re more interested in cultivating your managerial skills, choose a leadership coach.

A Coach to Help You Navigate All Workplace Relationships

Many of us spend more time with our coworkers than with our family and closest friends. The way in which we are received by our colleagues can have a profound impact on our self-esteem and self-concept. Because of this, our workplace relationships take on great importance. Communicating effectively with your supervisors as well as staff you manage is an indispensable life skill. Leadership coaching can also help you learn to question your assumptions about others and become more aware of the effects of your own actions.

You might consider consulting a leadership coach when you first begin a new managerial role and are trying to get your bearings. By addressing any leadership deficits you may have proactively, you will begin your new role on the right foot. It is completely natural for new managers to need guidance in how to communicate more effectively, better recognize the achievements of their employees, and adjust to change. A leadership coach can also help you develop a framework for developing work/life balance, a common problem for new managers adjusting to a new set of responsibilities.

How to Find a Leadership Coach

Ready to find your own leadership coach? Congratulations–you’re taking an important step toward becoming a highly effective and well-regarded leader. Now take some time to consider exactly what you’re hoping to get out of leadership coaching. 

Have you just been promoted to a leadership role at your current company and want to start off on solid footing? Perhaps you’ve been hired into an executive role at a new company and have some concerns about building trust with your new staff. Or maybe you’ve been working in a leadership position for some time and feel as though you’re not connecting well with your team. In any case, leadership coaching can help you get the results you need.

Leadership Coaching for Entrepreneurs

If you’re starting your own company, chances are you already have some strong leadership qualities. Still, most new entrepreneurs have at least some room for growth when it comes to managing people and developing a growth mindset. Getting a business off the ground while acclimating to the dynamics of a new team is a lot to juggle. Many new business owners do not break even within the first year, or even the first few years. A leadership coach can help you see that bumps in the road are normal while helping you identify areas for improvement.

Many successful entrepreneurs later choose to share their strategies with others through leadership coaching. You may even be able to find a coach with direct experience in the same type of business you’re launching. They can offer firsthand insight into what did and didn’t work for them, helping you identify possible pitfalls and recover from unexpected turbulence. In the first few years of a new business, it can be hard to see the forest for the trees. An entrepreneurial leadership coach can help you gain much needed perspective.

Leadership Coaching for Executives

Successful executives are forward looking, adaptable, and focused. They are also gifted communicators who are adept at providing constructive feedback. A true executive leader empowers and inspires their team members and helps a group of varied individuals work together as a highly effective group. But even when you’re motivated to adapt these qualities, you may need some guidance as to how exactly to make it happen

Talented executives often make leadership look easy, but at one point everyone starts out with the same insecurities and vulnerabilities. It’s nearly impossible to get something right your first time doing it. Fortunately, anyone can improve their leadership skills with the right resources. When you embrace the idea of leadership as a constantly evolving process, you’ll become more comfortable with moving into the unknown in your new role. Many executives who pursue leadership coaching see their effectiveness as a leader improve dramatically.

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How Will Leadership Coaching Change My Life?

Business guy dreaming big

When you consult a leadership coach, you are making a true investment in your professional success and happiness. First of all, leadership coaching can help you see that you’re not alone in feeling insecure about your leadership abilities–even leaders who project complete self-assurance sometimes doubt themselves. You’ll find out which concerns are normal and even healthy and which may be distortions that are holding you back.

A leadership coach might help you work through real scenarios from your job in which you feel your leadership skills have fallen short. You might share feedback from reviews with your supervisors or complaints from the employees you supervise. A leadership coach can help you identify the gap between how you want to be perceived and how you are actually perceived by those on your team, guiding you to bring the two into harmony.

Many entrepreneurs and executives find leadership coaching invaluable. Today’s leaders must be able to pivot quickly to address new issues in the workplace at a moment’s notice. They must be confident and decisive while also showing sensitivity to their team members’ concerns. Leadership positions can be lonely, since it’s generally considered inappropriate to be overly collegial with those you supervise. It can be easy to feel like you don’t have anyone to talk to about your workplace concerns. Your leadership coach can be an important ally and sounding board as you’re forging your path toward effective leadership.

How to Become a Leadership Coach

Perhaps you’ve already become a successful leader and want to give back by sharing your insights as a leadership coach. Entrepreneurs and executives often develop a side business in leadership coaching because they recognize its value. Some even decide to make leadership coaching their primary career. At some point, every flourishing business leader was a fledgling in their field, and more than likely received guidance from a cherished mentor. Leadership coaching can help you pay this mentorship forward while earning a living.

If you think leadership coaching might be right for you, spend some time thinking about what kind of approach you’d like to take. How would you describe your leadership style? Do you want to focus on entrepreneurial or executive leadership? Is there a particular field in which you’d like to specialize? Would you prefer to meet with clients in person or online? Research the websites of several leadership coaches to find out which approaches align most closely with yours. You may want to contact a leadership coach for an informational interview to learn more about their path into coaching. Depending on your experience level, it may benefit you to pursue leadership coaching certification. Visit the websites of various programs to find one that reflects your coaching philosophy and is a good fit for your budget and location.

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After finding my life coach, I’m now happier, more positive, more motivated, and I have tangible results. I’m now achieving my goals and living the life I was meant to live. I feel way more confident and powerful now.

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Coaching is fun! I’m no longer lost. I feel so powerful, inspired, motivated, worthy, and loved. Hear me roar!

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