­­­­­­More and more businesses are beginning to see the value of executive coaching – here’s how executive coaching can help your organisation.

Regardless of existing skillsets, experience or knowledge, everybody can learn and improve both professionally and personally. To support this continuous development, spending time with an external coach outside can help refine, nurture and properly channel your executives’ skills.

Unfortunately, outdated views of executive coaching have resulted in a perception that, taking part in coaching programmes, you were admitting that you were insufficient at your job. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Executive coaching has never been about undermining an individual’s abilities, but instead supporting them in growing and excelling in leadership roles. Thankfully, more and more businesses are beginning to see the value of executive coaching – research found that 86% of companies feel that they recouped and improved upon the investment they made into coaching programmes.What is executive coaching?Defined as a professional relationship between a trained coach and an individual or group, its goal is to enhance the coachee’s leadership and management qualities. An extremely interactive experience, the coach acts as a sounding board for the individual to examine how they can improve their existing qualities, as well as fill any skill gaps.

As each executive is unique, so is their coaching. The process will be adapted depending on the communication between coach and client; making for an entirely personal and tailored experience, targeted at helping everyone in a uniquely different way every time.

So, while the benefit to the executive is clear, you may be wondering how investing in coaching programmes can benefit the organisation?5 business benefits of executive coachingIt’s important that key decision makers can take solace in the knowledge that their organisation is being led by the most qualified and suitable people. Executive coaching is now allowing more and more business owners to have this confidence in their workforce.

Here are 5 organisational benefits of executive coaching programmes:

1. Aim higher: Executive coaching sessions help executives evaluate their definition of success. When holding a senior position for a long time, people can become stagnant regarding what they see as a triumph. Especially if business performance is steady and everything is ‘in the black’. To combat this, coaches will focus on encouraging executives to recalibrate their goals and ambitions, asking them how they can aim higher and take themselves, and the business, to the next level. Having this growth mindset instilled in your executives, will help develop a business culture that is centred on continuous development. If you want your business to grow, coaching is a worthy investment.

2. Develop specific skills: A common attribute that executives struggle with is delegation. It’s understandable – they’re experienced and have been doing their job for many years; they know how to fulfil certain responsibilities and don’t feel comfortable handing them down. Unfortunately, this often leads to unmanageable workloads and increased stress for senior staff.

Executive coaching can help your business leaders focus on specific skills, such as delegation, that need improvement. Working on their weaker attributes will make them more well-rounded professionals and better leaders; a conclusion reinforced by Forbes’ article where 70% of executives involved with executive coaching reported an improved working relationship with peers. A happy workforce equals better productivity.

3. Overcome challenges: Not all areas of a business will be growing at the same rate at the same time, and your executives won’t always be able to find a solution. They may have fallen into a mindset that prevents them from seeing a way past the problem, or they simply may not have the skills or time to tackle it.

Instead of investing in new talent, in the hope that a fresh pair of eyes will make the difference, encourage your executives to spend time with a coach. They’ll learn how to approach and evaluate challenges from a difficult angle, helping them develop a solution that they previously wouldn’t have considered. Investing in, rather than replacing, your executives will save your business money and increase the effectiveness of your workforce.

4. Employee satisfaction: It’s easy to forget that experienced and senior employees need the same support as any other staff member; and should also be spending time on continuous professional development. They may have reached the most senior position within the organisation, but there will always be some element of their personal or professional repertoire that they want to improve.

Providing them with the opportunity to undertake executive coaching will ensure your senior management know that you value their development and growth; leading to increased job satisfaction and a higher chance of retention.

5. Return on investment: When you consider the fact that executive coaching can be delivered to your entire senior management team, the value for money is clear to see. Your executives will be able to lead the business more efficiently, ambitiously and effectively; resulting in exponential improvement in productivity, performance levels and staff commitment.

Therefore, by investing the money and resources into helping your entire C-suite develop and grow, you’re enabling every department and area of the business to be led by a beneficiary of executive coaching.

Organisations have a responsibility to ensure that senior executives are provided with continuous professional development opportunities. Executive coaching is one of the most popular resources available to businesses, ensuring leaders are prepared and ready to lead through whatever change the future may bring.

To learn more about the impact of executive coaching, watch this short webinar.