09 Nov The 5 Attributes of an Effective Leadership Team Coach
There is a tendency on the part of most members of a Leadership Team to be strong individual performers but, for a variety of reasons (i.e. individual organizational interests, gaps in their managerial/leadership skill sets), weak team players. This is why most Leadership Teams need assistance to reach their full potential as “the point of the spear” for organizational improvement and change. This assistance usually comes in the form of a Leadership Team Coach – an impartial person who operates outside the organization, and whose only goal is to work with the Leadership Team:
- To identify the objectives the organization needs to reach to get to the next level of performance and profitability.
- To assist the Leadership Team in creating the Action Plans which will prioritize and then achieve those objectives and
- To work with the Leadership Team to effectively and efficiently implement those Action Plans.
While there are many valuable attributes Leadership Team Coaches bring to the Leadership Team Coaching Process, I believe the following five are the most important for the success of the Leadership Team:
Integrity:
A Team Leadership Coach must have the ability and desire to speak openly, truthfully and candidly about the Leadership Team, its individual members, its objectives and its performance; and to ensure every Leadership Team Member’s voice is heard without risk to themselves or their department/team.
Experience:
Leadership Team Coaching requires a different level of expertise then Individual Leader Coaching. Before they can work effectively with the Leadership Team, Leadership Team Coaches need the experience of working with a variety of organizations in the areas of change management and group dynamics so they can act as an authoritative sounding board and present realistic alternative solutions for the Leadership Team to consider as they face a rapidly changing marketplace.
Organizational Insight:
To effectively assist a Leadership Team, a Leadership Team Coach must know how business operates and be able to quickly understand the organization’s culture, its place in the marketplace, its internal and external issues and barriers and how the business makes money.
“Clean Eyes” for Change & Innovation:
The Leadership Team Coach must bring “clean eyes” to an examination of an organization and how it conducts its business so their recommendations for change and the introduction of innovative practices are realistic, pragmatic and can dramatically improve the Leadership Team and the organization.
Accountability:
Because successful Team Leadership Coaching is solely about assisting a Leadership Team in achieving measurable bottom line improvements, a Team Leadership Coach must to be able to hold a Leadership Team accountable for creating appropriate objectives, achieving tangible outcomes and be able to address disruptive/unproductive behavior by Leadership Team Members.
The Bottom Line:
Have I missed an attribute you think is essential for the success of a Leadership Team Coach and the Leadership Team?
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