Executive coaching at different levels of management

Although the above leadership skills are necessary for all leaders, the aim is to develop different competences at different levels of leadership. 

Team leadership coaching 

Young, novice managers are often faced with the problem that their management toolbox is not sufficient to deal with the challenges they face. Although a mentor within the organisation (e.g. a line manager or other department head) can be of great help in developing young leaders, this rarely works well in practice due to lack of time or other resources. In such cases, it is worth seeking the support of an executive coach. 

What areas need to be developed for team leaders?

• The ability to review, map and prioritise managerial tasks, so that the manager does not get lost between tasks;
• Learning to delegate effectively;
• Expanding the management toolbox, with a particular focus on modern trends, such as agile management methods (e.g. lean, scrum, etc.);
• Developing leadership self-awareness;
• Excellent conflict management;
• Increase receptiveness to feedback, feedback;
• Familiarisation with the tools of self-development;
• Defining career goals and the steps and tools needed to achieve them.

Middle management coaching

At this level, managers are faced with different problems than team leaders. The responsibility and risk are higher, and the middle manager is now mostly in charge of other managers at a lower level, which can be particularly difficult if he or she has moved up from one of these employees. There is also a greater need for strategic and analytical thinking. 

What areas need to be developed for middle managers? 

• Decision-making ability
• Analytical approach
• Strategic thinking, good planning skills
• Selecting information, identifying trends
• Advocacy and influencing skills
• Risk appetite
• Career management and self-development
• Coaching other leaders, coaching-type leadership 
• Motivating others

Executive coaching

In the case of senior management coaching, it is the development of experienced managers, where most of the competences mentioned so far are already embedded in management practice. 

What areas need to be developed for senior managers? 

• Change management, managing and effectively implementing critical changes
• Crisis management
• Strategic approach
• Open-mindedness, receptiveness to innovation, change and its implementation
• Ability to develop alternatives
• Anticipation of future trends, ability to forecast
• Preparing for critical or risky tasks
• Talent coaching
• Coaching type leadership

What skills should an executive coach have?

• Own leadership experience: in order to be credible in the eyes of your client and to be able to see through the challenges that arise, it is important that the coach has his/her own leadership experience
• Expectations of leaders, knowledge of leadership roles and responsibilities
• Knowledge of business processes, organisational functioning
• Results orientation
• Basic psychological knowledge required for the coaching process (e.g. personality types, leadership styles, behaviour change tools) 
• Open, empathetic, mature personality
• Coaching experience in developing leaders at similar levels in similar industries

How to choose an executive coach? 

It is a common problem that managers do not know exactly how to choose their ideal coach. While chemistry and sympathy and ease of connection are essential, there are other factors to consider. We've put together some considerations to talk about in the first meeting. 

What are your qualifications? 

Be sure to choose a highly qualified coach with a recognised qualification, preferably with relevant professional experience. 

What successes have you had with other leaders? 

Find out how long the coach has been active and what successes he or she has achieved with managers at a similar level. Share your coaching goals and ask about your experiences. Pay attention to how the coach responds - while it is necessary to have the right confidence, a fair candidate will not guarantee progress, as this will depend largely on the attitude of the manager. 

How do you define and measure success? 

It is important that the measurement of success is not only based on the individual interests of the client, but that progress is also felt by the key stakeholders who are affected by the leader. Overall, therefore, success should be measured in terms of skills development and behavioural change, as well as their impact. 

How do you manage confidentiality? 

While confidentiality is part of the code of ethics of the profession, it is worth discussing in detail how confidentiality will be handled - especially if the coach involves other stakeholders in the organisation in the coaching process. Make sure that you always seek consent before sharing anything with others.