An executive coach is a professional trainer who works closely with a company’s executive to identify the executive’s strengths and weaknesses and, as a result, optimize the executive’s performance and leadership. He or she is usually outsourced by a company during a period of growth or transition, with the overall goal of expanding the company and moving it forward.
During the first stage of executive coaching, the coach will usually speak directly with the executive to get his or her perspective on what he or she hopes to achieve through the coaching. The executive coach may request that the executive provide a high-level outline of his or her strengths and weaknesses in the executive role, as well as his or her long-term vision for the company. During this initial phase of coaching, the executive coach will frequently shadow the executive in order to observe the executive’s day-to-day work routine. At this point, the executive coach will examine the executive’s schedule, particularly his or her time management, as well as the percentage of time spent on various tasks.
The executive coach will already have an idea of what is affecting the executive’s performance in the second stage of executive coaching, such as non-executive tasks that could be delegated to other staff members to free up the executive’s time. At this point, the executive coach will frequently speak with those who report directly to the executive as well as others with whom the executive interacts on a daily basis. This allows the executive coach to gain a better understanding of how the organization functions as a whole, as well as whether there are any miscommunications or bottlenecks in particular processes.
The executive coach will share his or her thoughts and proposed solutions with the executive after identifying areas of the executive’s workload that could be improved. These suggested strategies could include moving certain tasks and responsibilities around the organization, as well as advice on how to improve the executive’s time management, leadership style, and communication style.