Anyone who reads my blog knows that I’m a fan of the Center for Creative Leadership.  One feature of CCL’s newsletter and website is called Ask CCL.  A recently published Q&A deals with leadership coaching.  I’m sharing it here because it is great advice and clearly explains the benefits of leadership coaching.

“Question: I’ve got much more visibility and responsibility that I did just a year ago. How do I make the case for working with a coach without letting my boss think I can’t handle my job?

Answer: To make the case to your boss – and to get the most out of a coaching relationship – think about what you want to change or what skills you need to develop to meet the needs of your organization. You and your boss can probably agree on areas for improvement without suggesting that you aren’t up for the job at hand.

Meanwhile, let your boss know that research shows that leadership coaching helps to improve individual performance in several ways, including:

• Greater self- and contextual-awareness. Coaching is about you and where you work. You will gain insight about yourself as a leader within your organization.
• Greater understanding of others. A coach helps you understand why others might think and act the way they do. You’ll learn about about actions you can take to help them or to focus them in a direction that is better for the organization.
• Enhanced ability to communicate. A coach works with you to find ways to improve how you convey what is important to you, to the business and to others.
• Enhanced ability to coach others. Once you have experienced the value of coaching for your own development, you will be much more prepared to notice and leverage coaching opportunities with your team. This capacity will be a key differentiator between a good leader and a great one.

Finally, be careful what you wish for. Don’t sell yourself and your boss on the benefits of a coach if you aren’t serious about learning and making smart changes. If you aren’t willing to put in the effort, coaching will be a waste of time and dollars – and you will lose credibility with the boss.”

That last piece of advice is right on.  Coaching is about learning, growing, making necessary changes, getting into action and staying on track.  If you aren’t ready to take a hard look at yourself and stretch outside your comfort zone,  you aren’t ready to work with a coach.  If you are ready, then contact me, CCL or another leadership coach and get to work.