When you hear the word “leader,” what comes to mind? Depending on context, you may think of someone who is always on the front lines pushing forward into new ground in the business world. Perhaps you think of your parent, a mentor, or a spiritual leader.
Leaders are an interesting group. Driven and motivated, they are pioneers looking for new territory to conquer. They are incredible people.
They are also frustrated with constraints. They look hard for answers where answers are hard to find. They try to fix what is broken. They battle fatigue and fear failing. They are human.
Leaders know that if they fall short, their vision will fail to come to fruition. They know that if they fail, their team will replace them and keep moving ahead. They also know that if they don’t succeed, someone else will pass them by and make it happen with or without them.
Welcome to the minefield of leadership.
Too many leaders work alone, unaided, without someone to give them honest feedback. You can do something about it! Coaches can partner with leaders so that they are not laboring by themselves.
It’s no secret what happens to isolated leaders: blind spots are hidden, ethical mistakes are made, revenue and opportunities are lost, etc. The list is long and unfortunate.
It is vital that leaders have a sounding board outside of their regular circles. Leaders encounter intense pressures in their fields. When coaches partner with leaders, the leader’s shift in perspective is huge.
How Coaching Helps Leaders
That is exactly what coaching can do for them!
As a coach, you can have a significant impact upon business and ministry leaders. Leaders often say that coaching is saving them from making mistakes; coaching aligns them with their mission, purpose, and values; coaching drives them forward faster than they could go on their own.
Unfortunately, leaders sometimes make such painful statements as, “Coaching could have saved my marriage…if only I would have known what to do earlier.”
You can help these leaders. You don’t have to be an expert on what they are experiencing. The very fact that you have some emotional distance as a coach is a huge factor that often helps the client process with much more clarity. After all, you are processing experts!
Every leader is looking for someone they can trust to discuss issues without it coming back to them in negative ways. Very few leaders feel like they have an unbiased, third party who believes in them. Even fewer have someone who can help them when they cannot see solutions for themselves.
Consider what your coaching can do for a leader. Then look for a leader you already have a relational connection to. If they know, like, and trust you, then you have a strong platform from which to help them.
Look around you…the leadership fields are white with harvest!
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