Do you enjoy watching big sporting events like the Olympics? Do you marvel at the astonishing achievements of the athletes? One aspect I particularly appreciate is the fact that so many of the athletes specifically acknowledge the challenge and support of their coaches. Clearly coaching for high performance is one major factor in their success.
The coach believes in the athlete and keeps them focused on their skills and performance. The coach challenges them to continue to push themselves to go further and improve on their personal best. This has a significant effect on the individual. I think these examples of what can be achieved with the coaching for high performance can be transferred from Olympics to Executive performance.
Executives operate in a complex environment with many factors influencing their performance. The focused support of an Executive Coach can make a significant difference to their thinking. This will build their capability and their skills in negotiating the business world. In my experience, when the executive can talk through issues with a supportive yet objective coach, this makes a huge difference to the quality of their decisions and actions. The coach provides frameworks to analyse the situation and develop solutions. They challenge the thinking and encourage creativity. This leads to quality decision-making on the part of the Executive. In the process, the Executive develops his/her capability and is committed to take action and more confident in initiating that action.
In the interviews with the Olympics coaches, they talked about delving into all the details that contribute to performance and seeking to improve each one a little bit. These little improvements add up to significant performance improvement. Could this be a new approach for Executive Coaches? It may demand a different type of contract – it would need to be longer-term and be more like a partnership, with the coach standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the Executive, as they work together on the Executive’s performance.
Is that an option, what do you think? Please post your comments and questions below. I’d love to know if you are already working in this way or are interested in trying this approach. Contact Amanda direct to discuss coaching further.
See my post on what is coaching and how does it work?
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