| Developing
Your C-Suite
Talent is any company’s most fundamental asset, and nowhere
is that talent more important than in the C-suite, where, because
of the power and influence they wield, executives’ capabilities
and behavior have a disproportionately high impact on a company’s
fortunes and future. It would be foolish to assume either that
senior executives promoted to the C-suite arrive there fully developed
or that their capabilities and experience will always be a match
for whatever challenges they face as their company competes in
a dynamic environment. This Lore paper provides the tools to ensure
the continuing development of executive talent in the C-Suite.
Executive Coaching for Women and Minorities
Executive coaching for women and minorities requires
special knowledge of the unique needs and challenges of those
who are different. Although literature on executive coaching has
exploded in recent years, research on executive coaching for women
and minorities is essentially non-existent. This paper describes
these challenges and the role of the executive coach in helping
their clients, and sometimes their organizations, to meet them.
Measuring the Effectiveness of Executive Coaching
Coaching is one of a number of tools for developing talent within
an organization and may be the best tool for developing executives.
The anecdotal evidence from coaching suggests that the outcomes
for executives can be profound, but how do we know for sure? This
Lore paper suggests an approach for measuring executive coaching
effectiveness that has proven to be successful. Along with an
exploration of the issues and challenges in measuring coaching
effectiveness, the author uses a comprehensive case study to illustrate
what is necessary to set measurable developmental goals and then
measure an executive’s improvements and the effects of those
improvements on the business.
Nondirective Coaching: Helping People Change
The purpose of coaching is to help people change. The problem
is that change is difficult for most people, and research shows
that most coaching is only moderately effective. The irony, of
course, is that coaches can't make people change; they can only
offer guidance and help. Change is the coachee's responsibility,
and no change will occur, no matter how helpful or brilliant the
coach, if the coachee isn't able to make it happen.
Recovering Executives at Risk of Derailing
Although many executives experience rapid success, a
sizeable number derail and are frustrated by the lack of assistance
and warning they received. Some companies watch employees fail
because they can't find a way to tell them something is wrong.
Organizations need new methods to identify executives at risk
for derailment, better ways to give them feedback, and better
strategies for intervention. This paper explores the magnitude
of the problem, identifies barriers to executive success, and
provides suggestions about using coaching as an effective intervention.
The Case for Executive Coaching
Coaching is one of the principal tools businesses have
for developing their people and an especially useful tool at the
executive level because busy executives have few other assisted
means of continued development. Coaching can fulfill specific
individual needs and ensure that executives deliver the leadership
that their firms require. This leadership capability is a significant
investment and directly tied to success and profitability for
most organizations. This Lore study reviews the use of executive
coaching, the reasons why companies have selected coaching as
an intervention, and documents the benefits of executive coaching.
Why Gender Matters
The leaking pipeline of women from the corporate world
and their relative absence from higher levels of executive leadership
has been a subject of concern for decades. Less understood, but
equally important, are the expectations and blind spots with which
the present generation of 20- and 30-something women frame their
experience of work. Their inability to understand their career
path as a gendered one, and to act accordingly, contributes as
much to women's glacial progress in corporate life as do the conditions
of the corporate world itself.
Velocity and Vitality
Velocity is about making a dramatic difference in an organization.
You know your role, and you make things happen on a consistent basis.
Your position on the organization chart doesn’t matter. You
can make a difference no matter where you are in the organization.
Vitality is having the energy, drive, enthusiasm, creativity, and
innovation that feed right back into velocity. It is a direct loop.
Even when things are not going well in your organization. You can’t
sustain the velocity without the vitality. Having both creates real
power and seamlessness, and vitality is not just about physical health;
it’s about having enthusiasm for your self, your work, your
family, and your community. This paper helps you design a life that
sustains extraordinary performance. It includes a self-assessment
of physical and mental vitality.
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