We first have to take a look at the concept of coaching to understand what an executive coach is. Coaching is described as a collaboration with customers in a thought-provoking and innovative process according to the International Coaching Federation (ICF). It is the practice of encouraging them to optimise their personal and professional potential. Coaching is a method guided by clients that is different from other professions of service, such as coaching, mentoring, consulting and training.
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Who is an Executive Coach?
Of all the various capacity building practices, coaching is perhaps the most (and perhaps the only) individually oriented method. It involves a close and confidential link between the coach and the coached person. The executive coach offers a secure, organised and trustworthy atmosphere to provide help to the client by meeting one-on-one with senior managers or leaders of an organisation such as a director, vice president, president, or member of the C-suite. The coach also helps the leader to consider their present talents, see how others view them, and concentrate on defining and describing current goals and the necessary action steps to achieve those goals.
All executive coaches have the common elements.
- Discovering the viewpoint and reality of the client,Â
- Setting targets or goals,Â
- Providing various points of view or alternativesÂ
- Selecting the best course of action to move forward toward a desired level.Â
This is rooted in a relationship founded on confidence and protecting the privacy of the client while affecting confidentiality.
How can an Executive Coach help you?
An executive coach will work with you on a step-by-step basis, taking you to a greater self-understanding, better self-management, and deeper levels of empathy. Your executive coach is here to assist you in cultivating the emotional intelligence skills needed to achieve your potential.
1. Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is one of the key areas coaches target. For that, there is a valid reason. The catalyst by which development takes place is self-awareness. People blindly try to do things in the same way as normal without the first step of realisation. We all face certain circumstances, people, or thoughts which cause reactive emotions in us during life and despite being largely unaware of them. We may know we’ve had a “bad” day, but why and what went wrong that is somewhere we lack.
Self-awareness starts with knowing ourselves to find the answers to these questions. Individuals with high emotional intelligence are very conscious of their own thoughts. This awareness helps them to monitor their emotions.
2. Self-Regulation
Mostly, understanding of one’s emotions brings in discipline to manage one’s feelings. But the role of self-regulation is, at the very least is to make awareness more attainable. For instance, imagine a job situation where you have to supervise a new employee and you face feelings of inferiority, but you don’t understand what your feelings are. All you know is that when you interact with a person, you feel awkward, edgy, or uneasy.
The first step in controlling your emotions and managing the situation with ease and comfort is self-awareness. Individuals with high emotional intelligence have better abilities for self-regulation. Self-discipline is not limited to feelings that are awkward. In your professional life, when your mentor pushes you down the road of greater self-control, you will also find improved self-management. You gain influence over and aspect of your professional life and see changes in the balance of time management, organisation, and work-life.
3. Empathy
Empathy is that it makes it possible for individuals to feel how another person feels. Chances are you can sense it if someone empathises with a concern you have. Â Empathy refers to knowing the thoughts of other individuals and it follows better relationships with company partners and subordinates. In addition, individuals are easily influenced by you and seek your advice. Great leaders have one thing in common that is being empathetic.
4. Boost in Cognitive PerceptibilityÂ
When your mind opens up in one field, the tendency is for your comprehension to expand into other areas, as well. With respect to emotional intelligence, being able to place yourself in other people’s shoes and understand things from their perspective are all essential characteristics. If you can acquire these characteristics, you’ll be exposed to a variety of new viewpoints on concerns you once ignored. For the aforementioned reasons, a flexible mentality would replace rigidity. Exercise your brain and you will reap cognitive benefits that will support you in many facets of your everyday life.
5. Encouragement
When you begin to see results, greater motivation kicks in. Regardless of whether the goals have been reached, everybody gets a rush of dopamine when they realise the potentiality of results. Once again, self-awareness is at the centre of everything. It is when people are self-aware that they understand their intrinsic motivation, and when they control the motivation they guide it in the right direction.
As a consequence, it is no wonder that motivation is a key component in being successful and happy. It is the main factor in causing the difficulty of a challenging job, long hours, and almost impossible challenges in the workplace. If the staff lacks enthusiasm, then they will not turn up for work.
6. Social Skills Enhancement
The social skills of successful people can be seen in their daily life as well as their professional and personal relationships. Emotionally aware teams have a range of specialised social skills. They have outstanding leadership skills that allow them to lead without being dominated; negotiate efficiently so that every group feels like a win-win situation; work well together in teams to combine management and negotiation to help them achieve the target.
7. Enhancement in Leadership Ability
Because of their ability to recognise and control their own emotions, those with high emotional intelligence are better leaders. Your direct reports should realise that you are paying attention to their wishes, that you appreciate their issues, and most importantly, that you care about the situation. In order to lead, one must be able to solve problems. Either they no longer have faith in your ability to help, or they think you really do not care. The representatives in both of these cases lost, and that’s unfortunate.
The positive outcomes you see in the organisational setting when your executive coach helps you improve your emotional intelligence quotient is due to your EIQ. Among the benefits of hiring an executive coach are the changes of self-awareness and emotional intelligence, making us more empathetic to the needs of others.Â
Are you interested in another coaching field? Check out this Coaching as a Career. Â
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is an Executive Coach?
An executive coach is a trained professional who assists individuals in developing self-awareness, clarifying priorities, achieving growth objectives, unlocking potential, and acting as a sounding board.
Why is emotional intelligence important in executive coaching?
An executive coach will work with you step by step to help you develop a better understanding of oneself, better self-management, and greater compassion. Your executive coach is here to help you develop the emotional intelligence skills you’ll need to reach your full potential.
What steps do you need to take to become a certified executive coach?
An approved training programme will help you become an certified executive coach. Obtain the minimum number of hours of coaching experience. Team up with a mentor coach
How does an executive coach help in gaining self awareness?
One of the main aspects that executive coaches focus on is self-awareness. There is a good explanation for this. Self-awareness is the driving force behind growth.
How does executive coach help in enhancement of leadership ability?
The executive coach assists the executive in realising leadership ability by working on areas for change, and gaining perspective on problems, especially interactions with colleagues and supervisors they oversee, through intense inquiry.
