The following key elements are necessary to build an effective leadership coaching process:

Assessment

The essential first step of any leadership coaching process is the assessment phase. It's impossible to develop a top-notch coaching plan for anyone without first assessing who they are and what they need. The assessment phase generally consists of three components:

                                    1. An in-depth assessment interview.
                                    2. Conduct developmental feedback interviews with key stakeholders.
                                    3. Sophisticated leadership personality assessment using well-validated personality tools.

A first rate executive assessment can help any executive more objectively identify his/her own leadership strengths and weaknesses so that they can create a customized development process for him/herself. The same process can be used to help a management team work better together by understanding more clearly how to work more effectively with their differing personalities, etc. Leadership Personality Assessment tools are used to identify and compare an executive's leadership personality profile to validated personality traits of effective executives.

Debriefing

The debriefing by the leadership coach is both a continuation of the assessment phase and the preliminary ground laying for action planning. The debriefing is a two-way process where the executive interacts with the coach regarding the results of the assessment process. Often, the reactions of the executive provide further data for developing action plans and for use by the coach to help motivate an executive to stretch and grow.

Action Planning

After the executive and coach come to an agreement on what developmental needs take priority (identifying which are truly achievable and most important) the executive develops an action plan. The coach helps the executive understand the benefits to change and the consequences if he/she doesn?t. This then becomes a powerful motivational tool.

Then they look for real-time situations where the executive can practice new behavior that he/she has learned through the coaching process. A time frame for completion of specific tasks is developed and implementation begins. The action plan becomes the tool to compare what is wished for to what is achieved.

Act

Now the executive practices his/her newly learned or refined skills keeping track of the results: successes, failures and resistances and any other factors that might derail the development process. The executive then meets periodically with the coach to reassess and refine the developmental process.

Reassess/Refinement

Reporting back to the coach and reviewing his/her progress is the next phase. When striving for personal excellence, a continuous development process becomes a part of daily living for high-performing executives. A first class executive coaching process can help you accelerate your professional development.

        Leadership Coaching