The fast-paced and ever evolving world in which we find ourselves has presented
business leaders with many challenges - often unprecedented challenges - that need
innovative and flexible solutions.
Today?s successful leaders, from business to politics, find authentic and creative
ways to approach these challenges - often transforming challenges into
opportunities.
One of the fundamental shifts that leaders have had to face in recent years is
the closing gap between the professional or business world, and the personal world.
Business leaders and politicians are often confronted with the ethics (or lack thereof)
of their personal behavior, and their so-called "private lives' are anything but.
Similarly, a leader?s personality and ability to deal with conflict, change and other
people, is more important than ever in terms of inspiring and manifesting success.
With this shift of personal and professional becoming almost one and the same,
being able to live and lead with authenticity, creativity and power is more important
than ever. It is therefore critical to bridge the gap between personal growth and
business leadership and success.
20 years ago business and personal coaching was seen as a remedial effort
aimed at poor performers, but most corporate budgets now focus on investing in high
potential individuals. Coaching in 2014, is about delivering robust psychological,
social, human and economic value.
A focus on coaching for these high potential individuals, especially the top
management and leaders within organisations, is of particular importance. Coaching
for these individuals would focus on personal and professional goals - and finding
what people require to improve their performances and achieve these goals.
Coaching in the business environment takes place with individuals and teams to
define purposeful personal strategies though conducting professional life audits and
aligning challenges and competency to reduce anxiety and increase confidence and
accomplishment.
By focusing on the individual within the professional context, coaching prepares
high potential individuals for accelerated development, inspires innovation and
creativity, as well as builds resilience capability for tougher times.
Of particular importance, especially in a business environment where attracting,
hiring and training top talent is extremely expensive, coaching can align the personal
identity and values of individuals with the values of your organization.
So what does this mean for you and your business?
Many of us are by-products of an education system that did not expect us to
succeed by using our unique brilliance, thus we were required to be good at
everything. This process continues in many businesses where our focus is taken from
what we are good at, to what we are bad at.
Following on from this, businesses often invest in learning solutions to fix what
their people are bad at as opposed to a more creative and flexible solution. Why
send an introvert on a presentation skills course when no matter how much they
acquire the functional competence to present they will feel anxious and stressed in a
presentation situation?
Send your stars. That would be the extroverts, on the presentation skills
course. They will relish every opportunity to put this skill to great use, loving the
limelight and delivering an amazing result.
How often have we seen very successful people promoted into positions that
take them from their area of excellence to an area that is completely contradictory
to their mastery? The superstar sales or customer service person gets promoted to
sales manager and quickly fails. This is because you have taken them from their
unique area of brilliance and asked them to perform in a structured, detail oriented
and regulated way.
This is the joy of diversity in organisations. If we first know our unique talent and
temperament we can all contribute in a far more meaningful way. Stress and anxiety
become a thing of the past and colleagues understand and appreciate the value of
variant personalities.
The coaching process addresses the challenges facing individuals, teams, and
businesses within this creative and transformative approach - delivering results that
can be seen in happier, more productive and successful staff, leaders and
businesses.
For more insights visit
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