Use Coaching to Unleash Leadership Potential

You just promoted one of your top employees to a leadership role and you want to be sure they succeed. Leaders must possess the unique ability to create vision and drive results while supporting the company’s greatest asset: its people. If you don’t listen and cultivate, your assets will leave. Now in a post pandemic environment this is more important than ever. So, what tools and resources do you provide your newly promoted leader?

The Importance of Executive Coaching in Leadership

Leadership means guiding, not directing and GovCons that integrate executive coaching into their organizations see improvements in retention, teamwork, relationships, and job satisfaction. Moving away from a “command and control” leadership style in favor of a “coaching culture” are companies that are better prepared to quickly adapt, manage workforce priorities and support employees’ physical and emotional well-being.

Ideal Times to Introduce Executive Coaching

What is an ideal time to introduce executive coaching?

After a leader’s promotion.
Following a merger or acquisition.
After a leader’s role has changed significantly in scope or scale.
After being assigned to a task force or key initiative.
To accelerate a high-potential employee’s development to leadership.
As part of executive leadership development programs.
As part of succession development and/or development of the organization’s leadership pipeline.

Focusing on High-Potential Employees

Let’s focus on high-potential employees. In every company, there is a group of individuals whose performance is head and shoulders above their peers. In the industry, we call them the high potentials. What criteria constitutes a high-potential employee and how can you and your organization grow them as leaders in a meaningful way?

Characteristics of High-Potential Employees

According to Harvard Business Review, companies think of high potentials as the top 3% to 5% of their talent as individuals who consistently and significantly outperform their peer groups in different settings and circumstances. These high potentials display strong capacity to grow and succeed in their careers within the organization, while also exhibiting behaviors reflecting organizational culture and values in an exemplary manner.

Challenges Faced by High-Potential Employees

As you’re considering developing your high potential pipeline, consider the challenges they are facing. Another Harvard Business Review analysis reveals five key challenges that has remained constant over the last 20 years:

Leading Teams
Leading Change
Leadership Style
Leading at Scale
Driving Business Results

Living in a post-pandemic world, these issues are widely exasperated, and challenges and skills gaps even wider. To address these challenges and support your high potentials’ growth as leaders, companies should invest in executive coaching as a development strategy.

The Role of Executive Coaches

Executive coaches act as a guide and mirror to give clients a confidential space that leads clients to identify and create a path to their professional goals. Leaders are coached to develop their capabilities, develop self-awareness, be motivated to achieve their fullest potential, transition to their next role, overcome self-limiting beliefs, understand their leadership style, and enhance team interactions.

The Impact of Executive Coaching

In a study by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), results showed the respondents displaying overall positive impacts of coaching in these areas:

80% in self-esteem/self-confidence
73% in communications skills
71% in interpersonal skills
70% in work performance
51% in team effectiveness

BOOST Your Leadership Strategy

We can BOOST your investment in leadership strategy. Help your leaders become more confident, feel valued, and be prepared to advance your organization to the next level. Contact us to discuss opportunities with our ICF Certified Executive Coach!

#BOOSTingGovCon

Key Takeaways

Leadership Role Transition: Promoting top employees to leadership roles requires providing them with the right tools and resources to succeed.
Executive Coaching: Integrating executive coaching into organizations can lead to improvements in retention, teamwork, relationships, and job satisfaction.
Ideal Times for Coaching: Executive coaching can be introduced by govcon HR or executive leadership at various times, such as after a leader’s promotion, following a merger or acquisition, or as part of leadership development programs.
High-Potential Employees: These individuals consistently outperform their peers and display strong capacity to grow and succeed within the organization.
Challenges for High-Potentials: High-potential employees often face challenges such as leading teams, leading change, and driving business results.
Role of Executive Coaches: Coaches act as a guide and mirror, helping leaders develop their capabilities, self-awareness, and motivation to achieve their fullest potential.
Impact of Coaching: Executive coaching has been shown to have positive impacts in areas such as self-esteem, communication skills, interpersonal skills, and work performance.
BOOST Your Leadership Strategy: Investing in leadership strategy can help leaders become more confident, feel valued, and be prepared to advance the organization to the next level.

About the Authors, Wendy Rufo and Zebrina Warner

Wendy Rufo has over 20 years’ experience in GovCon Human Resources specializing in HR mentorship, strategy and compliance, policy and procedure best practices, benefits compliance/administration and talent relations. Wendy brings her extensive experience to GovCon clients, BOOSTing their HR organizations to the next level.

Zebrina Warner is a frequent contributor to the Boost Blog for all things coaching. As an ICF-certified coach and an author of a bestselling leadership book, The Leader’s Choice, she works with companies and organizations to build the learning and development of their greatest asset – their people.