What are The Benefits of Executive Management Training?

Copyright (c) 2009 Alan Gillies

It has been thoroughly documented that Coaching is an extraordinarily effective way of managing and leading individuals toward increasing levels of personal performance. Whether on the sports field or in the business world, the increase in the utilisation of coaches has reached incredible heights in recent years.

This is not without good reason; numerous studies - most notably one called the Manchester Review, demonstrated that coaching increased the ROI and effectiveness of Managers and Executives by over 500%. Coaching as a technique is utilised throughout our world, and it's certainly of use to everyone who has any significant responsibility for individual management or leadership.

Its use in business has grown massively in recent years, as it has proven to be one of the most effective tools for gaining increases in efficiency and effectiveness. Coaching is also something that is generally viewed positively by the "Coachees", who usually see it as a beneficial interaction with their managers or superiors as compared to the more traditional methods that were used in the past.

Often, coaching is mistakenly viewed as something only for salespeople - this is a completely false misconception, as all functions can benefit from managers and senior staff being trained in the tools and techniques used by coaches.

Coaching is the approach of delivering support and advice to a person or group of people in order to assist them with finding avenues in which they can increase the overall effectiveness of their businesses. Coaches work to improve leadership, establish employee accountability, inspire teamwork, generate sales, expand communication, motivate goal setting, implement strategic planning and much more. This can be provided in a number of ways, including one-on-one or group coaching sessions. Mistakenly, coaching is often seen to be only needed when things are not going well, however successful businesses recognize the benefits of coaching even when their organisation is at its best.

Coaching is not the same as mentoring, and the two should not be confused. Mentoring involves a developmental relationship between a more experienced "mentor" and a less experienced partner, typically involving the sharing of advice. A coach can act as a mentor - given that he or she has adequate expertise and experience. However, mentoring is not a form of coaching. An exceptional coach doesn't need to have specific business knowledge and understanding in the particular field that the person getting the coaching is dealing with in order to deliver top-notch coaching services.

Coaching is also NOT training. Often, companies I have worked with have said to me that they want their managers to be coaches or that they want to improve the organisations coaching capabilities, but in reality they want people to become on-the-job trainers.

An efficient coach can add value far past the expense of the sessions or the expense of an employee utilised as a coach. In the Pharmaceutical Industry for example, Sales Managers will generally spend in excess of 120 days per year in the field with their team - working on a 1:1 basis; this is a colossal investment of time and resources. If these managers can become excellent coaches, the value gained here will be exponential, and if they can't, then that's a lot of money wasted on heating the passenger seat of a car.

Many organisations expect their senior leaders and middle managers to coach their team members toward higher levels of performance, increased job satisfaction, personal growth, and career development. Those that do, usually back up their expectations with training in coaching skills, access to feedback tools, and/or specific coaching behaviours described in their leadership competency models. However, few organisations link coaching activities to compensation, and until there is a prominent culture that links effective coaching to reward, there will continue to be minimal coaching by managers. In order to establish this culture into an company it is first of all a requirement to give proper training and support to the individuals that are counted upon to coach, and also relate their fringe benefits and payment to the noticeable improvements that they bring while in this position.