Executive Coaching: The Difference between a Great Leader and a Mere Manager

In many organizations, almost everyone has a chance to get a promotion to become a manager as long as they play the politics in the workplace right. This doesn't guarantee, however, that such a manager will be an effective leader.

If you were to be promoted to a management position, you need to know which one you would be - a great leader or a mere manager.

Here are some important differences between being an effective leader and just a manager:

1. A good leader thinks long-term, while a mere manager only looks at the short-term.

It's way too easy to be focused on the urgent matters compared to the important ones. A mere manager spends a lot of time and effort on their short term goals, and they are likely to reprimand their people for not achieving their short-term goals.

On the other hand, great leaders don't care much about how employees are doing their day-to-day jobs. Instead, they are focused on how their team will achieve their main and long-term goals.

2. A good leader sees his/her team members as people, while a mere manager only knows organizational charts and titles.

Great leaders don't refer to the people on their team by their titles, but rather, by their names. They also think of their members individually and as a team, and they do their best to know and understand each of their needs, strengths, and even weaknesses.

3. Good leaders work to earn their subordinates' respect, whereas mere managers long to be liked by their people.

Good leaders are not always likeable people. In fact, their goal is to make their team members do those things that nobody wants to do, just to make sure they achieve their goals. In contrast, mere managers want to be liked, so they are likely to do only the things that will make them likeable, which are not always for the benefit of the organization.

4. A good leader is happy to see team members excel, while a mere manager may feel threatened.

A mere manager knows to himself or herself that they don't have much, and that they are in fact, replaceable. Thus, they are likely to feel threatened whenever there is someone or some people in the team who are doing a great job.

On the other hand, true leaders take pride in their team's success and accomplishments. They recognize that their greatness in leadership isn't only based on creating good followers, but great leaders as well.

5. A great leader is not afraid to lead with transparency, whereas a mere manager chooses what information to reveal to spare himself or herself from trouble.

Any executive coaching expert would describe a great leader as someone who isn't scared to be honest because they know they're doing their best. They also know how to take responsibility for any problems in the workplace, and they're always ready to take the blame.a

Executive Coaching: How to Train Yourself to Be a Better Leader

Not all of us are natural born leaders, but this doesn't mean that you can never be an effective leader if you were not born with natural leadership skills. As a matter of fact, many of the most successful leaders in the world have taken responsibility for training themselves to be great leaders.

Do these 5 things to train yourself to become a good leader:

1. Keep every promise that you make.

Avoid making promises that you don't think you can keep. The fastest way you can kill your credibility is to breach a promise or commitment. To be a good leader, you need to develop integrity and discipline to fulfill every commitment and promise you make. You should practice it with your colleagues and even with your kids, too.

2. Be properly dressed so you can influence.

You don't have to dress to impress. Instead, you should dress to influence. What it means is that your appearance has to be consistent with your professional and personal brand. Just try to imagine how you want your leader to look. You also want not only yourself to look good, but your company as well.

3. Treat your own employees the way you want them to treat your customers.

It would be hypocritical for you to ask your team to be kind and courteous to clients while you are being rude to your employees. When you are a leader, it doesn't mean you have the right to be mean to the people under you. Good leaders always find a way to support their employees so that they may be successful.

4. Ask for feedback and don't just wait for it.

There are some leaders who are not comfortable with unsolicited feedback. They treat such feedback as criticism, and so they fail to use it as a chance to learn and be better. Good leaders know the importance of feedbacks, and they know how to use them to improve. Instead of waiting for your team to be brave enough to give you feedback, ask for it instead. The best way to ask such information is by asking something like "What do you think I can do to become a better leader?"

5. Demonstrate your commitment to personal growth.

When it comes to growing your business, there are two things you should do - grow your team and grow yourself. When you and your team improve, the quality of work that you all do get better as well. As a result, services are more efficient, and your products are higher quality.

There are several ways to grow your employees. You may give them training, or opportunities to be part of a coaching program. For leaders like you, an executive coaching program will help you develop into a more effective business leader.

Different Types of Executive Coaching

In the past, executive coaching was done confidentially because leaders were embarrassed. In fact, many professionals would even do it without the knowledge of the HR. Thus, it was difficult to know if the coaching actually worked, and if it did, to what extent.

But so many things have changed in the past decade already. In fact, executives are more enthusiastic about the benefits of coaching in their business and in their professional development.

Executive coaching is indeed a dynamic field, and these are the main types that have emerged over the years:

Therapeutic

The goal of therapeutic coaching is to help professionals or employees become more motivated, creative, and productive. In this kind of program, the "patient" is asked about what he or she felt when a certain incident happened, or what caused him or her to do a specific thing.

Life

Life coaching is actually a new part of the coaching market. People in this field are generally very caring and warm people who are committed to helping their clients move on from a bad experience and move to a better life. While, this kind of coaching does not have a huge corporate following yet, more and more professionals are beginning to appreciate the positive impact of this kind of coaching on their professional lives.

Career

Career coaches work with people who are looking to change jobs or careers, as well as those who have just been promoted into a new position. A career coach will help you identify what your passions are, and will also create a plan for you to help you incorporate those passions into your career life.

Command

Command coaching or directive coaching is where you have another person hold you accountable for your own actions. A good example of this is a fitness coach. Your fitness coach will come up with a fitness plan for you, and will tell you how to reach your goals, but it will be entirely up to you how you are going to stick to your fitness plan in order for you to succeed.

Business

Business coaches typically work with CEOs and business owners who are seeking a high return on investment. These clients believe that when they perform better, their organizations will do better as well.

Business coaches are often considered as consultants. However, they are not paid to execute anything. Their main responsibility is to equip leaders with knowledge and expertise that will make them better leaders of their organizations or businesses.

Executive coaching is very common in the workplace nowadays because of the many proven benefits of it. While this could be considered as an extra investment for organizations, the long term benefits are well worth it. 

Executive Coaching: Is Your Business Prepared For An Older Workforce?

According to studies, 25 percent of the workforce in most companies around the world will be 55 years old and up. The challenge for businesses is not the fact that many of their employees are getting closer to retirement age. As you may know, a huge percentage of millennial workers are just a call away. The bigger challenge for business leaders is how they will be able to realign their workforce and hiring strategies to meet the demands of a modern business environment.

With the right preparation, you will be able to take advantage of this situation. Here’s what you should do:

1. Have an exit plan for older workers.

You need to know what to do with employees who are nearing retirement but are just not ready to quit. Phased retirement plans are a good solution to this. With this program, your older employees will gradually have reduced work hours. This is beneficial for both the employee and the company, especially if the worker is among the top performers in the organization.

2. Consider flextime scheduling.

As people grow older, they naturally develop more desire to be with their family more. They also tend to enjoy their hobbies, or simply take more time to relax. By providing a flextime schedule, you will prevent absenteeism, and also increase job satisfaction and employee retention.

3. Give equal treatment to everyone.

It is important for you to not think of age when dealing with your employees. Although it is true that having older employees around means taking the risk of paying higher healthcare costs, you shouldn’t use this as a reason to get rid of those who have stayed with you through thick and thin and have helped you reach business success. After all, doing business is not only about making money, but also making good relationships with people.

4. Being young does not always mean being productive.

Yes, there are now so many younger, more enthusiastic, and more talented workers who can easily replace your ageing employees. This doesn’t always mean, however, that they will be more productive than your older employees. Keep in mind that younger workers are more easily distracted, and according to studies, younger people are more likely to jump from one job to another. In short, the availability of younger employees should not in any way become your basis for getting rid of the older and more reliable ones.

5. Find ways to develop your workforce.

The biggest advantage of younger workers is that they are the experts in technology, particularly. If this is the case, then it makes sense to offer your older employees some sort of training on how to utilize modern office equipment, tools, software, and so on. Executive coaching specialists always emphasize the need for employee training and development as part of building a successful business.

Executive Coaching – Helping You Branch Out Successfully

Most successful businesses often branch out when they have obtained a strong position in their initial fields. Out of a number of them, only a few companies were able to be successful in this endeavor. Business expansion is not as easy as it sounds, because there are numerous considerations that need to be made. It can put a strain on your professional team in the top management, which is why you need to seek the services of coaching agencies. This group of individuals are experts in producing a tactical plan through executive coaching.

If you want to build the leadership and management skills of your employees, this is the perfect solution. These types of agencies specialize in this business aspect. Instead of building something from scratch, they work with what is already available. Whatever skills and talents you and your team may have can be developed and strengthened. You need to hire such an agency if you want your company, and the people working for it to be more productive in their respective fields. You cannot simply rely on an individual's current level of expertise, especially if you are aiming for something better for your business. If you want to meet the goals you have set, you cannot rely on your current level of expertise to help you attain them.

In the professional world, change is very constant. In order for you to adapt to these changes, you need to build up the skills already available in your arsenal. Failure to develop these will only result in your business' downfall. It is highly important to build up your management and leadership skills if you want to adapt to these changes. These can be accomplished through executive coaching. Aside from the fact that these industry experts can help in the development of your strengths, they can also help you focus on what is necessary. They can assist you look for outside help to manage the tasks you are not good at. On top of that, they will be able to help you determine the behaviors and thinking patterns that do not benefit you, and change these to your advantage.

Through their strategic development plans, they make it possible to accomplish your objectives. With the help of the following components, you will be able to reach maximum work productivity:
•    Developing a strategy
•    Engaging the organization
•    Aligning individuals and operations
•    Work according to plan
•    Innovation and annually reviewing the overall performance

When you seem to find yourself in a rut and do not know how to get yourself out of it, they will be able to help you fully grasp where you are right now, and determine the possible paths you can take that will help you obtain the best future for your company when you branch out.