Dynamics of coaching an executive team

I often get asked, “Is it beneficial to hire the same coach for coaching different levels of leaders in an organization?”

As I reflect on coaching interventions where I had the opportunity of coaching the head of an organization and his direct reports, I find my experience has been great as that helped me to:
·     Understand their individual perspectives & aspirations,
·     Understand the organizational perspective & the big picture, and
·     Most importantly their expectations from & challenges with each other

Coaching the BOSS helped me understand his vision for the organization, his thoughts on how his team was performing, expectations from each of his direct reports, and what in his opinion needed to change for the team and the organization to be successful.

Coaching the DIRECT REPORTS helped me understand what
was their individual vision/aspiration, what was working well, their core strengths & limitations, and what needed to change for them to become great at what they do.

Coaching across the levels gave me a deeper understanding of:
·     the leadership team’s operating styles
·     their individual strengths & limitations, their blind spots
·     the chemistry between the Boss/Direct reports/Peers
·     difference/conflict in organizational values and individual values, and
·     alignment/misalignment between organizational goals vs individual goals & aspirations

Armed with this knowledge my coaching sessions were focused on supporting each one of them to achieve their desired goals while keeping the bigger picture in perspective. Coaching also helped them to understand their journey going forward and actions that will help them achieve the same.

The results were outstanding both individually as well as collectively for the organization. It was great to see an increased alignment between the leaders as well as an openness to challenge each other.
In this entire journey, I had to tread very carefully to maintain complete confidentiality.

So, when people ask me “Is it beneficial to hire the same coach for different levels of leaders in an organization”, I share my experiences with them and help them make a decision. I request them not to be
guided by the organizational hierarchy while hiring a coach.…. rather focus on the credentials and experience of a coach.

My business experience as the Managing Director and Director of Fortune 100 companies enables me to Coach leaders at all levels and
help them to be successful. Because a COACH doesn’t coach LEVELS, a Coach coaches an INDIVIDUAL.

What do you say?
It would be good to hear your experience on this topic either as a Coach or as a client.