You were moved into leadership because you are good at your job. Your reviews are always five out of five, or ten out of ten. Because of your skills, you are highly thought of by your peers. It was inevitable that you’d be moved to leadership. And that is where the challenges start. Your peers are no longer your peers, they are your direct reports. An invisible barrier now exists between you and them, because you have decision making power in their working lives. That sets the stage for all manner of turmoil. Self doubts spring up, the desire to be ‘liked’ and second guessing yourself. Suddenly, you are faced with conflicts where both sides appear to be right. But you can’t let any of this show, you mustn’t let your guard down. It’s time for you to consider finding the right executive coach for you.
An executive coach can help you cut through all the negative self talk and find your strengths
Or, let’s say you’re an experienced leader, all the hurdles mentioned above have been cleared, or at least it seems so. But, your enthusiasm for dealing with the human resistance to change, the petty conflicts, the egos above and below you…you just don’t care as much anymore.
Perhaps you’ve been put on a performance review, given a deadline for improvement. Maybe a direct report has made a human resources complaint about you, and that person is correct to have done so…
What are you going to do? All of these scenarios and more require action. The least effective strategy would be to ignore it. Having somebody in your corner would be very helpful, someone completely outside the workplace, and, outside the home. Somebody with whom you can let your hair down and who doesn’t mind listening to your complaints. Somebody who essentially affirms what is right with you, and helps you confront what isn’t so right.
A good executive coach can help you find your true compass and cut through all the negative self talk about what all you’re not good at and redirects to what your strengths are and how maximize them.
Your coach helps you confront complex, even baffling situations in your professional life.
An excellent executive coach might help you understand the rightness of leaving current employment, or staying with it, but with a new mindset.
Your coach will help you confront the direct report’s claim, or the performance review, without all the scathing self blame. And, help you form a strategy for successfully dealing with it.
Your executive coach, like a good lawyer, helps you confront complex, even baffling situations in professional life, and gives you the assurance that you are not alone.
Finally, leadership, whether its of five people or five hundred, is a lonely, difficult road to walk. Dealing with it without an objective third party can lead to bad decisions, the most common one being to confuse what is right for you with what is right for the company. That is an incredibly common mistake, and is how many executives find themselves in hot water.
If you’d like to talk more about executive coaching, I’d love to hear from you.
