I love my executive coaching clients. I love helping them and I love seeing their success. It is truly on honor to work with each and every one of my clients. I love seeing their revelations and renewed energy. And I particularly love when I see them using the coaching skills and lessons they learned to their own employees. This trickle-down effect is one of the positive aspects of coaching. Any client of mine who has breakthroughs, who absorbs and internalizes the essence of coaching, muscle testing and Neuro Emotional Coaching® is going to reap a benefit bigger than himself or herself. The successful and open “coachee” is going to bring a positive attitude and new form of communication to her own direct reports and employees. This will bolster the success of the business and make everyone feel better, more included and more motivated.
Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just as an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability. Anne Mulcahy, Former Chairperson and CEO of Xerox Corporation has said,
“I think of the trickle-down effect of business coaching as one of its real selling points. And this is equally true for large and small corporations. Take, for example, a small start-up internet company with a limited budget. If I work hard with the company president and he or she, in turn, can apply my methods to the company’s employees and help them learn the tools to success, the whole business benefits. Likewise, if I coach the top and middle echelon managers in a company the size of Xerox, these individuals can use my methods on their direct reports and employees. Again, success breeds success. This is the broader side of business coaching.”
There are many reasons why people come to coaching but whatever the reason what we do and learn in business or executive coaching or leadership development must be communicated to employees.
One of the first things that we do in executive coaching is define goals. Then, we work on what may be standing in the way of reaching them and on ways to achieve them. But, it’s important to ask yourself why you have established certain milestones and what their importance is not only to you, but to your business. I ask you to consider, “What good is it to define and work on your short and long-term company objectives if you don’t share these goals with those who work for you?” Not much. So, once you and I work to focus on where you are headed and how you are going to get there, you must communicate this to your employees. Only then will they be able to drive the engine forward for you. This constitutes leadership.
In coaching, you dig deep to find out who you are vis a vis your business. But, I have found repeatedly that it’s not enough to know your own expectations, you must know what you expect of your employees. If your company is large, you will work directly with the managerial level. The managers, in turn, will benefit from coaching in the same way as you will. They, then, will be capable of working on the expectations for each of their direct reports, who, in turn, should work with the employees in their echelon.
Make sure all managers and employees understand their duties and – most importantly – why those duties are critical in helping the company reach its objectives, financial and otherwise.
Provide incentives for employees who are creative, helpful and open to change. You want employees to come to you with ideas without fear of being scoffed at or shut down. Give those with creative ideas an incentive for sharing them with you.
Review your goals and expectations with employees regularly. Remember, in coaching you will learn not to stagnate. You will learn to continually assess and reassess, to think and act. You will be learning continuously. As long as you are at the head of your company or department, you are going to be changing and growing. Your employees deserve to know how they are doing and if you are changing or adding expectations and direction.
You may be the one being coached, but the benefits of coaching don’t stop with you or at my office door. Coaching is so much broader than the individual. Bring your employees into the circle and see what happens!
