Reasons New Leaders Hire a Coach

When I’m asked why organizations hire me as a coach for new leaders, I share that often it is because these organizations recognize that 70% of leaders provide a negative ROI based on how they treat their employees.  And, these high performing organizations want to create exceptional leaders from the start.    

A New View – Emerging leaders and new leaders have a very real challenge of moving from subject matter expert to supervisor/leader.  Working within change management concepts, the process of moving from one role to another is paramount for immediate results. Coaches help to identify challenges that limit optimal transformation, while steering focus on high-level vision and culture goals, to promote emerging leader development. 

Fear of Failure, Fear of Rejection – We all have fears, limiting beliefs and assumptions, we all have an inner critic (mind talk) that stops us from optimal performance.  When promoted into a role that is responsible for the success of others and for delivering team results, these fears are amplified.  New leaders who have coaches have the support of confidential, non-judgmental experts who help to identify specific fears and to move new leaders past the fears into exceptional results.

Vision/Values Statements – Most successful organizations have a vision, mission, value statement that are then incorporated into policies, procedures, and practices.  Leaders, on the other hand, know their mission (what they need to deliver and to whom), but often do not consider the vision and values they want their department to live by.  Coaches often support actions that leaders can cultivate with others.  A few questions that help to identify this: What do you want your team (or department)to be known internally and externally? What is the message that you want everyone in the company to say about your team when they interact with your team or receive a product/service?

Personalized Training– Let’s be real, most organizations do not have the time or resources to focus on talent development, let alone a personalized individual development plan (IDP).  Coaches educate on exceptional leadership practices and support IDP based on organizational needs and the individual’s needs.  The goal is to position the new leader to deliver exceptional organizational outcomes, with a shortened learning curve.

Celebrating Successes– Research shows that it takes five to seven positive comments for one negative comment to be taken without it feeling like a personal attack and for the most productive teams (Losada & Heaphy, Zenger & Folkman – HBR).  Yet, so often leaders tend to focus on the negatives when chatting with team members and often overlook the many actions, efforts, results that support the team’s goals. A coach is a natural cheerleader and educator on best practices for engagement and organizational commitment – two key deliverables provided by exceptional leaders.