• Home |
• About Us |
• Our Clients |
• Our Team |
• Contact Us |
• Testimonials

Does coaching suit everyone?

We are all leaders in our own lives and in our spheres of influence in our work, and everyone should be treated as such. It is interesting to note that many organisations are now taking this approach with their employees and can see the benefits of treating all employees as empowered leaders in their own right.

Coaching can help people to “step up to the mark” of this responsibility, but does it suit everyone? As with most things in life – sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t!

Often if a leader is prepared to talk about their role and the issues that they are faced with, then they are receptive to being coached. However, it seems very rare that leaders actually approach a coach to ask for help – often there needs to be some other stimulus that prompts their interest. This interest usually comes from another source – for example, a colleague, a friend or even a member of reporting staff who is currently undergoing coaching of their own, and can recognise and recommends the benefits to be accrued from coaching. The interest can also come from a leader meeting a coach in a social or networking situation, and them being engaged and interested in what the coach does, and in sharing what they do and what they may be struggling with. None the less, it is certainly the experience at Developing People Limited that it is quite rare for a leader to approach us directly and to specifically ask for coaching without any external influence.

During this initial conversation, it will usually become clear whether or not a person will be interested in being coached. The sort of signs that are encouraging are the openness of the leader, their uncertainty, their interest in their performance and their relationships, flexibility of thinking, and their interest in their own learning and development. Signs that are discouraging are over confidence, arrogance, superiority, taking a fixed and judgmental view on things, not listening, inflexibility, and an absolute certainty and clarity of vision and purpose that cannot be changed – in short, some of the classical characteristics of a driving “A” type leader. These characteristics do not mean that this type of leader cannot be helped and coached, but more that they are less likely to want to be supported and challenged about their issues, goals and approach.

In practice, it is then very rare that a leader will cancel or not complete a series of coaching sessions once they have been started. This is likely to be because any leaders who are reluctant to be coached would not put themselves into this position and commence the coaching in the first place. Coaching is not for everyone, but for those that it works for, it is an invaluable tool.