Executive coaching and other leadership development interventions are becoming more popular in today’s workplace. But how do you know which one is best for you? This blog post will examine the difference between executive coaching and personal coaching, as well as other types of interventions that can help develop your skillset to become a better leader. If you’re interested in learning more about what could be right for your organization, read on!
Executive Coaching
About: Executive coaching is a leadership development method that helps leaders improve their performance by focusing on their personal and professional growth. A leader’s coach, who may be internal or external to the organization, can help executives gain new insights into themselves and work through challenges in their areas of weakness.
What it includes: Executive coaches work closely with leaders to explore what they want to achieve. Coaching sessions are typically one-on-one, with an executive coach helping the client identify behaviors that could be holding them back.
Why it works: Executive coaching is based on the fact that every individual is unique; each person has different strengths, weaknesses, values, beliefs and attitudes that shape how they think about problems they encounter. An effective executive coach uses their knowledge about these unique traits to help an executive develop new ways of looking at problems, therefore improving managerial performance.
Personal Coaching
About: Personal coaching is a leadership development method that taps into the client’s personal life in order to enhance professional growth. A personal coach may be internal or external to the organization and can work with clients on whatever they want. For example, some leaders receive coaching around their relationships, while others use it as a way to solve career-related challenges such as lack of motivation or direction.
What it includes: Unlike other types of leadership development intervention, what happens during a session can vary depending on what the client wants to achieve. Sometimes this means exploring one’s feelings and emotions, while other times it could involve trying out a new strategy. There are no set rules, and this is what makes personal coaching so flexible as a leadership development approach.
Why it works: Personal coaching focuses on the client’s ability to develop into their own unique, authentic leadership style by leveraging existing strengths and interests. This often leads to increased satisfaction with work and higher engagement in the workplace.
Action learning
About: Action learning is a leadership development method focused on solving problems. Leaders in this type of program work in teams to tackle organizational challenges by discussing, role-playing, and even brainstorming ideas about how to solve them. Teams are encouraged to talk through potential solutions rather than looking for the “correct” answer.
What it includes: Each session could include hands-on learning experiences that help leaders explore different perspectives when exploring issues related to their organization’s challenges. Sessions may also consist of discussions with peers around specific topics, presentations and group activities that allow members to share what they’ve learned and apply new concepts back home.
Why it works: Action learning allows leaders to discover which strategies work best for them by providing opportunities for deep reflection and evaluation that leads directly to improved performance. Action learning often works best in organizations with high employee engagement, as it provides employees with opportunities to voice their opinions and influence organizational resource allocations.
Self-Directed Team Learning (SDTL)
About: Self-Directed Team Learning is a leadership development method that allows teams to meet throughout the course of a workday to discuss what’s going on at the organization and how they can help improve different processes or procedures. Leaders can choose from a variety of activities to incorporate into their meetings, which typically take place over 1-2 days. What happens during sessions will vary depending on what teams want to achieve. For example, some may want to practice giving presentations while others might want to learn from their peers on a certain subject.
What it includes: Some of the activities used during sessions could include exercises that help team members strengthen interpersonal relationships, leadership skills and decision-making capabilities. In some cases, leaders may also provide an outside expert to guide a team of employees through a discussion or hands-on activity that explores key issues facing them at work.
Why it works: When given an opportunity to step away from their daily responsibilities for two days, leaders can deeply reflect on important organizational challenges in order to develop solutions that really make a difference. Because the program is flexible enough to meet the needs of different teams, SDTL can be very effective when implemented with different types of organizations in mind.
360 Degree Feedback
About: The premise behind 360-degree feedback is to help leaders become self-aware so they can develop into their best selves by leveraging existing strengths. Leaders are evaluated on various dimensions, including leadership skills, interpersonal competencies, and professional values, by the people who work closely with them. This includes direct reports as well as peers, managers and even customers.
What it includes: The amount of time needed for a 360-degree feedback program varies based on how many employees will be participating in the process. When using an online or open platform, there could be one round of data collection spread over two months that consists of one survey given to each participant’s manager and one given to each participant directly. Feedback results could then be shared with participants after all surveys have been collected, which typically takes another two months.
Why it works: 360-degree feedback is ideal for helping leaders get the perspective they need to improve on different work-related behaviors that could be preventing them from achieving their full potential. It can also serve as a great way to strengthen leadership skills by moving conversations about strengths and areas for improvement away from the organization’s hierarchy.
Leadership Training
About: Leadership training programs are designed to help employees become more capable leaders by exploring what makes them – and their colleagues – tick, as well as how they can develop on the job. Often included in leadership development programs, these sessions make it possible for workers to increase their sense of engagement on the job by learning about things like company values or vision statements.
What it includes: Leadership training courses typically include informational activities that equip participants with knowledge about relevant organizational processes. They might also include interactive activities that allow learners to practice skills like negotiation or give presentations.
Why it works: Leadership training seminars offer employees an opportunity to build work-related skills that will ultimately lead to career advancement opportunities. By arming workers with information to move up the corporate ladder, leadership training can be an effective way to contribute toward employees’ professional development.
Mentoring
About: Mentoring is a relationship in which one person helps another reach their full potential as a leader through guidance and support. While it can be offered formally, mentorship often occurs informally at work when employees share advice with their colleagues on the job.
What it includes: Mentors can offer different types of support to their proteges, such as allocating time to discuss their progress or working with them on professional development goals. Although formal mentorships could involve face-to-face meetings, mentors can also provide feedback and advice via phone calls and emails.
Why it works: Mentorship offers employees an opportunity to build connections at work that could lead to stronger bonds and increased opportunities for growth down the line. By helping individuals navigate workplace relationships, mentorship can be a significant benefit for employees looking to keep their resumes up-to-date and build new skills.
Partnership networks
About: Partnership networks bring together individuals from different organizations to create opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing. Leaders often participate in partnership networks as a way to share best practices, collaborate on projects and promote inter-organizational learning.
What it includes: Partnership networks might have an annual meeting that brings network members together or conduct smaller events throughout the year where they can discuss what’s happening at their respective companies. Networking activities might also include peer advisory boards, which consist of a group of employees who meet regularly to provide advice on things like strategy or management challenges.
Why it works: Participation in partnership networks can be beneficial for leaders because it provides them with more exposure to other popular initiatives taking place at different organizations. By developing these cross-company relationships, leaders can boost their network of contacts and gain new insight on how other organizations are tackling difficult challenges.
Conclusion
In today’s modern workplace, executives are recognizing the need for leadership development interventions to help them become better leaders. However, it can be difficult deciding which type of intervention is best suited for you and your company. The difference between executive coaching and other types of coaching will help guide you in selecting a personalized approach that works best with your unique needs as an employee or boss. If this sounds like something you want to explore further, don’t hesitate to reach out by filling out our contact form! We’ll get back to you within 24 hours with more information on how we might be able to help develop your skillset so that one day soon, perhaps even sooner than later -you could be sitting where they’re sitting too- leading.