Executive Coaching - Individual programme

Are you a top manager/executive?
Do you wish to improve your performance in your role through more robust leadership and structured expertise?
For more than twenty years I have been supporting top managers and company executives in their professional and personal development: find out how!

What is Executive Coaching and how it works

Executive coaching is a programme designed for top managers or executives who manage strategic roles in diverse types of organizations and who wish to improve their performance.
Through an executive coaching programme, I support the person (coachee) in the development of skills to achieve specific professional objectives and/or overcome critical situations.

When is coaching important for top management?

Executive coaching can be helpful in different situations:

• The organisation is facing substantial changes. These changes can be:
  • strategic (i.e. the company is changing its positioning, launching products/services that represent a disruptive innovation, or facing radical changes in the scenario);
  • organisational (i.e. centralisation/decentralisation of decision-making, new corporate strategies);
  • related to the company’s identity (mergers, acquisitions, change to the organization’s mission);
• The manager must develop the skills necessary for successfully managing a new role with different or higher responsibilities. It may be the case, for example, of people who have had mainly technical training and experience and are asked to manage roles in which leadership, public speaking and staff management play a decisive role;
• The manager must fill in specific gaps regarding skills that are fundamental to performing as expected. It may be the case, for example, of managers who:
  • are not exactly brilliant when preparing and managing effective presentations;
  • find it difficult to assign objectives and manage the performance appraisal;
  • do not possess suitable organisational planning techniques;
• The manager must face and solve specific problems. It can be the case, for example, when he/she may find it difficult to:
  • provide staff members with feedback to help them improve their performance;
  • manage the relationship with the boss (colleagues, board members, other;
  • manage time and priorities effectively/efficiently;
  • express a satisfying performance (low self-esteem or lack of confidence);
• The manager is changing the job. This phase may be quite complex; in this case, the coach provides support in assessing knowledge and skills (and possible actions for filling emerging gaps), developing options, identifying solutions and implementing the related actions.

In similar situations, the support of a coach with suitable experience, knowledge of the context and ability to manage multiple tools can be useful to shorten the time necessary for reaching the goals.

For the plan to be successful, it is essential that the coachee is determined to reach the objectives by working with the coach, and that he’s confident about the final result.

The role of the organization in the Executive Coaching

With an executive coaching programme, the organisation intends to support the top manager’s commitment to improving his or her performance, taking advantage of the skills he or she will develop: for the programme to be successful, it is essential that the top manager/executive is determined to achieve the objectives and is confident about the result he or she will be able to reach with the coach.
In addition, the coach will count on the support of the company functions that contributed to the definition of the coaching programme (human resources department, other top management figures, board, other).

The structure and tools of the coaching programme

The structure of the coaching programme can be developed according to the following guidelines:

• the coach collects information useful for designing the plan and the expected results from the sponsor of the coaching programme (HR Department, General Manager, Managing Director, other);
• the coach and coachee work together to:
  • appraise the awareness of the role, strengths and areas of improvement;
  • identify the performance objectives;
  • define a plan able to help the coachee reach the goals (6-12 months usually);
• during the program, the coach will take care of:
  • managing the implementation;
  • supporting the coachee in overcoming emerging difficulties;
  • maintaining contacts with the manager to whom the coachee reports.

The executive coaching programme can rely on different tools:

• coaching sessions, which usually do not last longer than 60 minutes, also in a video conference (one every 1-3 weeks);
• e-learning courses developed by the coach to help learn specific topics faster (the coachee studies autonomously);
• individual work by the coachee, which can consist in reading articles, books and watching films concerning matters related to the programme;
• exercises and simulations or role-play, useful for overcoming emerging difficulties or reinforcing satisfactory performance.

Management of the coaching programme

The coaching programme does not require stopping ordinary activities and, thanks to the effectiveness of the tools used, it is of a moderate length.

Do you find this coaching programme interesting? Contact me using the form here below.