Everything You Needed to Learn About Executive Leadership Coaching

Executive leadership coaching addresses inequities women face in the workplace

These inequities result in women being underrepresented and underpaid in the workplace throughout industries including the more than 1.56 million nonprofit organizations in New York. According to research by catalyst.org women generally makeup 44.7% of the workforce and hold 39.6% of mid-level management positions but only 26.5% of executive senior-level positions and only 5.8% of CEO positions. In addition, women continue to make less money than their male counterparts. The AAUW and US Census reports that on average women make 20% less than men. Black women earn 61% of what non- Hispanic white males make; it takes a Black woman 19 months to earn what a white male earns in 12 months. Being kept out of top leadership positions in nonprofit organizations keeps you out of making decisions that affect the predominately female workforce, limits your career mobility, and lowers your income potential. Executive leadership coaching, also known as executive coaching, helps to equip women to thrive using their own unique talents and skills, within progressively higher roles within an organization. It both supports leadership skill development and is a pathway for organizations to address inequities within the organizational structure.

If you’re feeling stuck in your career, you’re not alone

In addition to structural inequities, women can experience personal obstacles that can become barriers to career success. Not finding meaning in your work, feeling burnt out, or seeing a lack of opportunities to grow are all reasons that lead women to feel dissatisfied with their jobs. However, according to research done by Pewsocialtrends.org, moving up within your career helps to decrease those issues significantly. But why? Because with leadership opportunities, can come to an increased sense of purpose, opportunity to utilize more complex skills, and increased decision-making autonomy. This is also in line with how executive coaching benefits women. Executive coaching can be a pivotal investment in bridging that gap between feeling unfulfilled professionally and excelling as a leader. But getting into the top spot in an organization is only the beginning. Feeling ill-equipped and battling feelings related to the imposter syndrome, which causes significant beliefs of self-doubt, and take away from your confidence in your abilities. Executive leadership coaching provides a cooperative space for identifying your talents and skills, skill development, unbiased feedback, and accountability whether you are a young professional or already in a Chief position.

Supervision, mentoring, and professional coaching are each different

In nonprofit organizations supervision typically serves the function of teaching staff how to do their job, administrative oversight to make sure the job is done, and managing safety and risk related to clients. But supervision often does not focus on staff development and skill-building which are necessary for young professionals and even senior leaders to improve their own skillset. Leaders can use a transformational leadership style through participating in their own coaching process and developing their own coaching skills. Unlike supervision, mentoring is an informal process between a person who has applicable experience within an industry or position who may or may not work for the same organization. This relationship can be more personal, does not require any formal agreement, assessments, plans, or deliverables. The benefit is the flexibility and supportive nature of the relationship but it also can lack accountability on the part of the mentor and mentee. While both supervision and mentoring can support leadership development this is not always the primary focus. However, professional leadership coaching is a formal process where the goal is for you as the learner to develop or strengthen your skillset in order to be the most effective leader you can be. The coaching process may vary based on the coach’s approach but the process is clearly laid out at the start and there are clear indicators that can gauge the success of the process.

Here’s How to Start Working with an Executive Leadership Coach 

Executive Leadership Coaches can be brought in by an organization to work with one person, a department, or a cross-sectional group within the agency. You can also hire your own coach privately or you can discuss with your agency’s leadership if they will provide a professional coach for you as part of your hiring or ongoing development plan. Coaching is an investment but the returns will benefit you as well as your current or future employer. Whether you or your organization decides to hire an Executive Coach there are some key things to consider like what are the desired outcomes and what type of expertise will best meet the targeted goals. Executive Coaches generally have experience related to leadership and development. They may have gained this through their own career, as well as the training they have received related to leadership skill development and/or formal coaching training. As a Certified Executive Coach, I utilize my years of working in New York, in the nonprofit sector both in direct practice but also as an executive leader and formal Life and Executive Coach training through an ICF-approved program. Understanding the coach’s professional background and approach to the coaching process will help to determine if there will be alignment throughout the process.

Breaking down the coaching process

Once an Executive Coach has been hired, the first phase of the coaching process involves an assessment. You’ll likely start by discussing where you are in your career, your educational and professional experience, and where you want to go in the future. It’s also valuable for an Executive Coach to understand the organizational culture that you’re working in or that you desire to be a part of. If an organization has facilitated professional coaching, it’s important to know that topics discussed, although not confidential, are between the coach and you, the learner. Privacy supports the integrity of the process and allows you to be more open. With the guidance of your coach, you will layout goals and identify check-in points which will help to keep the process on track. At the beginning and end of each session I check in with my clients to get feedback, but we also have a formal discussion at the mid-point around the 6- week mark for my 12- week coaching program to discuss progress and identify areas where we need to focus more. When we reach the 12th session, we do a wrap-up and review. I provide recommendations and we work to create a plan that will support their ongoing growth.

Coaching takes place in different forms and formats

Executive leadership coaching takes place between a professional coach and their client, but it can be provided in different ways. The executive coaching service agreement will lay out the frequency and duration of coaching and sessions as well as expectations for the coach and learner, and the deliverables. An individualized coaching plan can include objective and/or subjective assessments, goal setting, implementation, feedback, and a post-coaching plan. A coaching group with 2 or more people or a membership cohort will provide much of the same but sessions will be designed to meet the broader needs of the group. Coaching can also be provided through half-and full-day workshops, webinars, and self-study courses focused on executive leadership topics and skills. Additional opportunities to practice what you’re learning, and have it reinforced outside of the coaching sessions will help to support accountability and sustainability.

There are significant benefits from Executive Leadership Coaching

Coaches can help leaders to develop soft skills like emotional intelligence, strategic thinking, and innovative problem-solving skills, and effectively managing common workplace conflicts. Group coaching allows coaches to work on targeted goals like improving work culture, group cohesion, and adapting to macro-level changes like becoming a remote workforce. These groups can be also be facilitated within an organization, for example, a group for Directors but you can join groups externally. Our membership coaching group, for example, provides both a space for leadership growth but also a supportive network of other women who are nonprofit leaders. Webinars, workshops, and courses are other opportunities for leadership development that compliments the development process. Organizations also see an ROI as well. By creating pathways for leadership development, they can increase their staff retention, tap into the diverse and relevant experience of the predominant workforce, improve productivity, and successfully engage in succession planning.

Make Coaching a part of your success path

There continues to be a disparity between the number of women who make up the workforce and the number that holds executive leadership and c-suite roles within organizations, including in the nonprofit sector.  Women have consistently shown the ability to be in these key leadership roles. However, there are social and structural issues that continue to exist.  This includes a lack of opportunities, child and family care responsibilities, and lower pay rates than men. In addition, women struggling with their own self-doubt being unclear about their talents and skills, or not feeling qualified enough can also lead to them be less likely to pursue higher levels of leadership. Executive leadership coaching is a way to address some of these issues that can have a significant impact on a women’s personal development but also organizational culture. An Executive Coach can work with you individually, your team, or your organization and result in a positive ROI. In addition, webinars, courses, and group coaching all can support leadership development and sustained gains.

If you’re wondering how executive leadership coaching could work for you, set up a free strategy call here and we can discuss how coaching can get on the right track to maximize your talents and skills so you can advance your career.