To rise thrive is to redefine success and create a life of wellbeing, wisdom and wonder.
Uncertainty is a fact of life. If we all knew what was going to happen next then the journey wouldn’t be half as much fun!
But uncertainty, or the tough times you may be going through, whether on a personal or on a professional level can be stressful and sometimes it’s important to recognise that we need a helping hand.
Coaching is a very powerful tool in the face of uncertainty… people, businesses and organisations have experienced the value that professional coaching can provide, and the benefits are many – not just around individual performance, but organisational performance too, with a positive impact on the bottom line.
As the coaching profession continues to grow and expand, you will start to see more and more information about the importance of credentials as this is a point of focus! There is a push for educating individuals and corporations in order for the profession to rise to achieve the highest standards. A coaching credential serves to communicate these standards with no uncertainty. And this is valuable, because it enables clients to feel secure in knowing that their credentialed coach brings credibility, training, experience and excellence to the coaching relationship.
Although anyone can use the title executive or life coach, coaches can only receive accreditation from authorities such as the International Coach Federation or the International Association of Coaching. These and other accrediting associations offer hands-on training and classroom courses in core competencies and coaching ethics, after which students must take a coaching exam to earn their accreditation or certification.
Workplace coaching that creates a culture that engages teams for great performance…
Here’s how coaching can work for your people and your company.
Let’s look at the two types of leaders that we know of: The manager, who loves to tell you what to do and how to do it, very much command and control, dictating and planning everybody’s tasks and time, minimising every form of risk.
And the leader, who listens most of the time. A good leader is a curious observer, understanding challenges, problems and issues, and asking insightful questions to help uncover a solution. Leaders are collaborative. They recognise the skills and talent, and take risks by empowering team members to have a voice and come up with a plan.
A problem often leads to opportunities because they challenge us…
A manager when faced with a problem will either: accept the status quo and go on about the problem, dwell and drown in the problem, or they may even blame others rather than take accountability for it and if things aren’t working their way… they tend to have this mindset of – if it’s not broken then why fix it!
The difference here – compared to a leader is that leaders look at problems as opportunities – to find a better way, to challenge the status quo. When this happens, teams and organisations have a better chance of moving past the problem, rather than get stuck on it.
Many leaders are natural coaches, because they see mentoring and developing others’ talents as part of their role. And while they are not usually trained to be a professional leadership coach – imagine what any organisation could potentially create for their people and business if they were!
You don’t need a title to be a leader…
Coaching is an essential tool for achieving business goals and the only reason it’s not practised enough, is usually because of time! And this is a detrimental mindset – what tends to happen is that most managers will think “I would rather do it myself because I know it will get done.” But by not backing away and giving others the opportunity, there can be no hope of fresh perspectives, new ideas and growth, and evolution which are so critical to business success.
Leaders, on the other hand are not insecure about things not being done ‘their way’, and nor are they insecure or threatened by talented people – it tends to be in their nature to gravitate towards competent, capable people anyway, and vice versa, because when you give people a chance to shine, then guess what? They step up. They put in the effort and they show you their abilities. But leaders get a genuine thrill out of carving a path that allows others to shine and will delight in another’s success.
Managers have a place in many organisations because every business needs solid players as well as superstars. It’s about understanding the difference between the two styles and utilising them effectively.
Either way – managers can benefit from coaching as much as leaders can – and using coaching tools and techniques will assist both as a whole to be on the same page.
For those leaders that want to become better leaders, investing time in learning more about coaching is highly beneficial. It helps to develop a culture of trust and solid relationships, as well as help you tap into a greater connection with yourself – embracing strengths and weaknesses, because the better you know yourself, the better your ability to relate fully to others, and this has the greatest impact on your ability to lead.
