Lucas is a talented, energetic rising star at his high-tech firm. Analytical and focused, he caught the attention of his CEO who saw great potential in Lucas as an executive leader. The company was prepared to engage an executive coach to help Lucas advance his communication and leadership skills.
Often, an individual executive coaching engagement is precisely what is needed to help executive talent move to the next level. However, with a number of retirements on the horizon, Lucas’ CEO had identified several other individuals with great potential as executive leaders. They would benefit from executive coaching as well.
Should each person be provided an executive coach? Was there a way to develop this new cohort of executive leaders in a way that would result in a common point-of-view about leadership, communication, and team performance?
The CEO thought, “Almost everything we do is now accomplished through cross-functional teams. Team leadership, team development, and team execution are essential to our overall performance.” In addition, the CEO realized that his executive leadership group was itself a team.
“How do I provide the benefits of an executive coach, but engage a larger group of people to get them singing from the same sheet of music?”
Effective executive coaching in a group setting
Maren Perry, president of Arden Coaching says, “I like how Lucas’ boss is thinking. In our executive coaching and leadership training engagements, we see a powerful connection between individual and team coaching — that is, getting everyone in an organization on the same page while building personal leadership skills.”
Integrating individual executive coaching with team performance in a group setting offers numerous benefits for both the individual and the organization.
Individual Benefits
- Enhanced awareness of personal strengths, thinking and behavior patterns, and areas of opportunity
- Personalized leadership action plan
- Effective communication with colleagues and clients
- Improved ability to work productively in group and team settings
- Individual goals aligned to that of the organization
- Sustained learning and lasting results
Organizational Benefits
- Increased group leadership skills
- Higher levels of group engagement
- Improved levels of communication
- Elevated group productivity
- Continuous learning with concrete results
- Retention of highly desirable group/team leaders
- Positive cultural impact that goes beyond the immediate participants
Arden Coaching has created the Arden Leadership Academy to provide executive coaching in a group setting. “The Arden Leadership Academy delivers a unique two-tier approach which combines group training modules with individual, one-on-one executive coaching,” said Perry.
“Our clients customize their coaching and select learning topics to address their highest priorities at the beginning of the Academy. For example, depending on your needs, we might focus on utilizing emotional intelligence, cultivating innovation, or building a culture of accountability.”
Bringing advanced group training and individual coaching to your organization produces strong results and advances groups and teams to the next level of leadership and executive development.
To learn more about executive coaching, team development, and the Arden Leadership Academy, contact us at [email protected] or 646.844.2233.