Executive coaching: a tool for the development of leaders

Is executive coaching fundamentally different from manager or employee coaching? Because of the nature of each of these functions, it is obvious that there are significant differences.

If the individual coaching process remains the same regardless of the position occupied by the person being accompanied, the coaching themes will be adapted to the function, but not only that. The profile of the professional coach, his experience as a coach and his experience as a manager, must be consistent with the profile of his client.

Discover the file below to understand in depth all the specificities of executive coaching.

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In what situations is executive coaching used?

Because of his position within the company, the manager sees an inevitable distance created with the rest of the organization.

A distance that, in large groups, can be harmful to him if he finds himself in difficulty...

The challenge for managers is to find the right distance that will allow them to best embody their various leadership positions: develop a clear strategic vision, have a strategic understanding of their environment, competitors and the market, constantly juggle between long-term and short-term visions, engage their teams and stimulate collaboration between them in a context of permanent transformation, etc...

It is through the diversity and complexity of these issues that we can say that, throughout the career of a manager, the intervention of a professional coach can be beneficial.

To talk more concretely about an example, let's take the case of taking a leadership position. This is a typical situation where executive coaching is useful. In fact, this is one of the situations most frequently encountered by Talentis professional coaches who support managers.

This moment is a turning point in the life of a leader because he will have to adopt new postures specific to his new status, and interact at a completely different level within the organization. The manager is in a way entering a new dimension in which he will have to find the right distance from his teams.

Read our article on taking over as a manager.

More generally, in the exercise of his functions, the manager may be required to work, with a coach, on various skills such as:

- Develop your influence

- Strengthen the impact of its communication

- Effectively manage your time and energy

- Take a step back...

The manager can also work with a coach on the more strategic aspects of his function. In this case, the coach will act as a real “sparring partner”, stimulator of reflection and “challenger” of ideas through careful questioning. In executive coaching, the client works both on their identity as a leader, and on their ideas, decisions, strategy, etc...”

What is the position of the professional coach during executive coaching?

During executive coaching, the coach will adopt a benevolent listening posture, on par with the person being accompanied. Being at the right strategic height, having a fine and precise understanding of the challenges of the manager, being able to “hit the ball” with him on strategic issues, these are the qualities expected in a coach who is preparing to support a manager individually.

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How will a manager choose a coach?

Once the manager has clearly identified his coaching objectives, he will be able to discuss with his HR manager who will suggest preselected coaches with finesse according to their ability to meet the challenges of managers.

The discovery interview that will follow will allow the manager to validate the alliance with the coach. Does he expect him to listen kindly, or rather a partner to challenge his ideas and push him further? Or even both at the same time? In all cases, the manager will make sure to choose the coach he considers best “equipped” to make him move forward in relation to his goals. A coach who is able to give him constructive feedback, to question his ideas, but also a coach with whom there is the possibility of creating a link.”

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Learn everything about professional coaching with our guide

Does an executive coach have to have been a manager himself?

At Talentis, we have this philosophy.

We believe that a coach who is preparing to support a manager must have a broad vision of the latter's challenges and adopt a real “business partner” posture. This is broken down into 3 points:

• Strategic vision

• Understanding the organization

• Good understanding of transformations

It is easier to understand the complexity of these issues if you have been a leader yourself.

To guarantee our clients expert support, we only recruit the top 5% of coaches. They all have at least 10 years of business experience as a manager and a minimum of 1000 hours of executive coaching under their belt.

Are there specific modalities for executive coaching?

There are no specific modalities for executive coaching. As in any individual coaching, the tools and methods are varied. It is up to the coach to adopt the right posture and to identify the best approach to support the manager's goals:

• Situation

• Writing

• Metaphorical representations

• Challenge/mirror effect

More offbeat modalities, in the presence of experts, can also be proposed:

• Horse Coaching: since horses are a mirror of human emotions, working alongside them allows individuals to have clear feedback on their leadership and assertiveness.

• Work with actors and singers to improve oral communication.

• Manage stress and energy with Mindfulness.

• Perform the coaching session while walking, in a park or in the forest...

During your career, has there been any executive coaching that has particularly impressed you?

I remember a B.U boss of a large French service company who told me: “You can't imagine how alone I feel...”

Today, executive coaching has become so important that even business founders get coached.

They are supported to work on both their identity as leaders and as “founding directors”. How to accept the fact that the commitment of its employees will very rarely be able to match theirs, which is, very often, more than 100%? How do you go from a startup to a “Scale Up” stage? Or, how do you abandon certain missions in favor of the teams?

If we had to find a sentence to describe executive coaching, we would say that: “Being coached as a manager means showing courage, self-confidence and humility to meet challenges in contexts of profound change.”

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Support the development of your managers with our professional coaches

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