You may be faced with an interesting change going on right now. We know change happens all the time, and maybe it’s an organizational restructure or there are massive layoffs happening at your company, or maybe just for you, you’re at a professional crossroads. One of the things that I talk about during our Five Star Leader Workshop is having key people in your corner at all times, but especially when we’re going through times of change.
And one of those key people that could be in your corner, not necessarily always but could be in your corner, is an executive coach. If you are in one of these situations and you might be thinking, hey, should I have an executive coach? I want to give you a few things to consider before making that decision.
I find very often that if you are an emerging first-time employee, I’m going to say Gen Z right now, it is not an appropriate time to have an executive coach. There are so many other resources that you can tap into, including mentors, online resources, and just reading and researching on your own. But for those who maybe just transitioned into a full people manager role, that’s a great time. If you’ve received specific feedback from your manager that you need a coach, yes, that’s obvious. For those of you that are looking to really advance into more of a senior leadership role, that is a prime time for you to hire an executive coach.
Once you get past that Manager/Director level and you’re seeking more of the Senior or VP and above position, it becomes about tiny nuances, and that’s where you need to have expert eyes on you.
You need to have somebody working directly with you, hearing you, seeing you, engaging with you, and giving that customized, personalized feedback. If you are in a particular area where you need to up-level your communication, your executive presence, your public speaking, how you actually lead people, those are all very specific situations that absolutely warrant having an executive coach.
So I encourage you to take just a couple of minutes today and think about where you’re at in your professional journey. Are you experiencing some changes? Are you wanting to move to the next level? Where are you? An executive coach is somebody who has skin in the game, they’re different than having a mentor. They are someone who is really holding you accountable and is an expert at the specific skills that you’re interested in.
I hope that this helps! I want you to evaluate where you’re at and not allow your professional journey to go on its own. Be intentional. Take time to think about currently where you are, what resources do you need, and if it is continuing with a mentor, if it is seeking additional online resources, fantastic.
Go do that today! Take your professional development into your own hands so you can be the best possible leader that there is.