Often leaders know coaching is a great tool to support their growth and development. In the middle of the leadership grind, the urgent tasks and press of business, leaders struggle to know WHAT to coach on that will really be supportive. Here are a few questions that help to assess your goals in a coaching engagement as well as help to get a focus for a coaching call.
Why Coaching? What do people coach on? How could it support me?
Here are some examples of coaching agendas / priorities:
COACHING FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT (CXOs, Owners, Entrepreneurs, Directors, Managers, Leaders)
- I would like to have a sounding board and get perspective from a neutral source on my thoughts, feelings, and action plans.
- It is important how I come across, and want support to assess, reflect and ensure my communication is delivering the message I want to share.
- I have a vision, and I would like to design a plan for that to happen.
- I have a team, but it can be “lonely” at the front/top, I need a safe person to share my thoughts and confide in as I strategically evaluate and plan for my business steps and growth.
- I am a leader with many things on my plate. I know it is important to be a “model” and want accountability to “walk the talk” and be an example for my team.
- I work with a team and want to understand those I work with so I can ensure they are working to their strengths, and we connect well. (DISC and strengths personality assessment)
- I want to shift to “coaching” my reports vs. managing them. I need to develop coaching skills.
- I need to create my annual strategic plan for my business/with my team.
- I want to develop my emotional intelligence or other soft skills of leadership. I have the tactics of my business down, but people can be tricky and want to lead well.
- I realize the world of work is changing, I know we are leaving a “traditional” era of directive leadership. The new 4.0 era of compassion, engagement and empathy-based leadership is challenging. I want to understand how to do that better. (Also related is 2.0/3.0 masculine energy leadership style vs 4.0 feminine energy leadership style)
- I realize the landscape for hiring and building a team is different. I want to grow in my ability to lead well myself and develop leaders on my team (duplicate myself and work my way out of the daily center).
- Other __________________________________________________
COACHING FOR PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY (Entrepreneurs, Professionals, Work-from-home people)
- I want to identify or better articulate the goals I have. I need to make clear progress.
- I want to improve my performance and effectiveness and be consistent as well.
- I want to tweak the design of my time, my life, my day, and/or my priorities. My time matters.
- I am not doing what I need to; I need to be challenged and find a way to stay focused.
- I am more creative and productive when I have a person to brainstorm/collaborate with.
- What I really want is the weekly structure of having a coach; that will get me going.
- I need to understand my strengths, maximize them, and minimize my weaknesses.
- My day runs me; I want more control of my time and energy.
- I am in the middle of a big project, and I could use a person to provide support/reflection.
COACHING FOR SMALL, GROWING, or START-UP BUSINESS
- I have an idea for a new business; I need to figure out if it is a good fit for me.
- I need to create my business plan and need to think through it (SWOT, plan, etc.).
- I want to have a clear mission and vision to be a base for making business decisions.
- I want to understand my values so I can run my business in alignment with them.
- I want to reduce my stress at work and need to figure out how.
- I work by myself and need encouragement and a person to help me see what I am not.
- I have a problem that needs to be solved; I need to understand what is not obvious.
- I need to make an important decision and want to brainstorm/tease out my best options.
- I have a large goal and I want help to develop a strategy to reach that goal easily.
- I want to build a skill set or part of my business and need focus/push to make it happen.
- I want to articulate better who I am and what I do for networking, marketing, etc.
- I need to explore new ways to expand how or ways to approach my business or goals.
LIFE or PERSONAL GROWTH/DEVELOPMENT COACHING
- I am ready to design my environment to profoundly support, stimulate or inspire me.
- I would like to pursue several personal interests, but I cannot seem to find the time.
- I am transitioning and want to figure out what I really want and design my life accordingly.
- I want someone to tell it to me straight; to be forthright with me about my situation.
- There is something more for me in life and I’d like help finding out what that is.
- I am on a path of self-awareness, and I want to move forward more quickly.
Coaching is a great way to dig into any of these topics and more. What is on your mind? What would support you to upgrade and upskill your leadership?
To discover more, schedule an explore coaching call to talk about your goals and desires at: http://synergystrategies.youcanbook.me
If you are in coaching, consider your leadership growth path. Where are you growing; where do you NEED to grow? What would you like to accomplish in the next quarter that you make a difference for yourself, your team, and your business?