“The major work of this century is the transformation of organizational DNA from bureaucratic to self-management – creating the environment where commitment & vision create sustainable results”
-Cynthia Scot
Results are the Focus
The executive’s singular job is to get results. The future will challenge organizations to surpass both current and predictable levels of performance and productivity. And organizations are experiencing massive, relentless change, and must learn to change with the market and times. If we are to have learning organizations, we must have learning executives.
Successful organizations focus on the ‘measurables’ of performance, such as profit, productivity and customer satisfaction. And they recognize that these necessary measurements are the outcome of performance, not the cause. As a result, they also focus on the leadership practices, cultural factors and the learning and development practices that drive performance.
The Path to Results
Many recent studies have shown that “Technical Skills” (our natural skills and learned skills through training and experience) represent 20% of the input into our performance. The remaining 80% which affects our performance comes from our "Personal Skills" (those crucial other elements such as Authenticity, Commitment to Grow, Concentration, Emotional Stability, Enthusiasm, Judgment, Resourcefulness, Honesty, Open-mindedness, Self-Awareness, etc).
Executives must be stellar at these ‘personal skills’, also known as Emotional Intelligence. This must be the focus of their continued growth and development. And the focus of their efforts to develop others.
Developing Leaders
Organizations in the midst of today's changes need coaching at the executive and the manager level to effectively communicate and facilitate where the organization is and where it is headed. In addition to educational development and experience, long-term successful leaders need honest, objective feedback. Coaching can also facilitate productive change in persons, teams, and systems by enabling leaders, managers, and employees to uncover potential that might otherwise go untapped.
We need excellent leaders if we are going to succeed at creating a tomorrow that sustains us; and we need leaders who have committed to internal mastery, who know themselves and bring their best selves forward on a daily basis. Leadership coaching helps to:
- Create a vital sense of purpose, and actions aligned with your values
- Find ways out of the distractions and urgencies of daily work, and ways into working, living, being and “leading on purpose”
- Manage transitions, new responsibilities, and celebrate successes
- Expand leadership skills, knowing that the skills that have allowed you to get to where you are may not be enough to sustain you as you move forward in your career
- Create leaders around you
- Lead from a breakthrough mentality vs. maintaining the status quo mentality
- Find new and productive ways to manage the interpersonal aspects of leading others
- Find powerful ways to influence and inspire others
Leaders expected to coach workers every day
Leaders must also become better coaches of others. Nearly nine out 10 firms expect their leaders to deliver coaching as part of their day-to-day work, according to a survey by the Institute of Personnel and Development. The vast majority of employers believe coaching can deliver tangible benefits to both individuals and organizations. A majority of employers planned to increase the use of coaching over the next few years. The research also found that coaching provided by a manager or supervisor is becoming increasingly popular as the value of sustainable on the job learning is recognized in the workplace.