Why Every New Leader Needs a Coach
Leadership is a BIG deal. Why?
- Leaders set the tone and create the “feel” of the workplace.
- What’s it like to work here? Is this a good place to work? Am I appreciated?”
- Leaders impact both the bottom line and people’s livelihood.
- “Is my job safe? Do I have a career here? Does the company care about my future?”
- Leaders connect employees to the organization
- Do I want to work here? Am I giving 100%? Will I stay?
Yes, leadership is a critical differentiator for a company, and extreme care should be taken when deciding who to place in this role. And because successful leaders don’t operate in a vacuum, it’s imperative that they’re given the resources and support they need to lead effectively.
This is a really important subject to me because I have seen the impact of both good and not-so-good leadership. That’s why after 20 years coaching leaders within a large corporation and being a leader myself, I have decided to focus my coaching business, in part, around helping leaders be better every day.
Setting a New Leader Up for Success
Leadership can make or break a company so getting a leader started out on the right path is absolutely critical. Too often, companies help new leaders by sending them to a training program. Leadership training can be a great thing and has its place. However, it should not be the singular way to prepare an individual for a leadership role. Having the support of an experienced coach can be very valuable in a leadership transition. A coach can help an individual:
- Develop and execute plans to tackle their new responsibilities effectively
- Reflect on what they are learning
- Tackle some of the challenges they may face early on
- Gain confidence to take on future challenges
Everyone needs someone on their side – especially new leaders. And let’s face it, a new leader’s manager can (and should) provide support but they get busy and their sole focus cannot just be on helping in this transition. That’s why having an experienced coach is so important. Good companies understand this and recognize that surrounding new leaders with the right help and support will return multiple benefits.
Assigning a coach also sends the message — “I care about you and I want to help you be successful”. Employees want to do a good job and investing in this level of support demonstrates you have confidence in them and care about them as an individual.
Leadership is important and what you do to develop leaders matters. Give new leaders the successful start they deserve and consider providing them with a coach — because having great leadership is a BIG deal.
