Coaching Executives

We help CEOs, executive directors and other members of NGO leadership teams deal with the unique problems they encounter at upper levels of management. Our coaching is specifically designed to support executives as they reflect on their roles and review the effectiveness of their management styles. The coach and executive work together to set personal and professional goals and develop a custom-tailored strategy to achieve them. Executives typically enjoy the opportunity to use the coach as a sounding board and a confidential colleague, and they discover that they very quickly grow in their effectiveness and positive impact on their organizations.

There are many kinds of situations that suggest that Coaching Executives would be a highly desirable intervention, but in our experience, the following six situations are the most common triggers.

1. Maintaining Excellence: To insure that they stay on top of their game, many executives of humanitarian aid groups use this type of coaching. It is also used by those who feel they need an outside resource or sounding board because of the isolation that often comes with occupying a top spot.
   
   
2. Balancing Goals with People: Ambitious people who are really focused on reaching goals tend to get promoted because of that talent. Later, they are sometimes criticized for stepping on toes and bringing down morale. Helping these leaders come to a better sense of balance between these two competing parts of their job is perhaps the single most common reason for bringing in a coach.
   
   
3. Recently Transferred Staff: When executives are brought in to head up a group that doesn’t know them, they often have problems adjusting to their new circumstances, no matter how talented they are. This is especially true when the new posting is problematic, dangerous, or where there is a history of contentious relationships.
   
   
4. Grooming New Leaders: Coaches are frequently used to help those identified as having high potential futures hone their leadership skills, so they are ready to step in when a higher level role opens up.
   
   
5. Personal Style Issues: People whose style is seen by others as abrasive, bossy or even bullying can often get away with that when they hold less conspicuous jobs, but in positions of authority that can produce very big problems. Coaches are often brought in to work with such managers to help them better understand the impact they are having on others and to modify them.
   
   
6. Lack of Growth or Range: Sometimes new managers don’t grow with the size of their staffs. They don’t delegate, for example, or develop their team members. Coaching helps them expand their range of management skills.

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