Operating at Peak Performance: 5 Benefits of an Executive Coaching Partnership

Earlier this month, quarterback Tom Brady earned his sixth Super Bowl title by leading the New England Patriots to victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Not only is Brady the first player in NFL history to win six Super Bowls, but no quarterback has even played in more Super Bowls than Brady has won.

Considering he is clearly at the top of his game, some were surprised to see that during his playoff bye week, Brady had his personal throwing coach, Tom House, in town to help sharpen his fundamentals. Whether in sports or in business, it’s easy to think of coaching as a tool most helpful for underperformers. However, as Brady knows, long-term success requires the ongoing drive for continual improvement, and therefore a peak performer has just as much to gain from enlisting the support of an expert coach.
So as you work to further maximize your own capabilities and potential, we encourage you to consider the following five benefits of partnering with an executive coach.

You will gain an unbiased & confidential sounding board

When your decisions greatly impact those around you, it can be challenging to find knowledgeable, unbiased individuals to share your candid thoughts and early-stage ideas with. From obtaining impartial advice on potential future endeavors to having a safe outlet to talk through pent-up frustrations, a trusted executive coach is an excellent source of critical third-party perspective. As explained in Philadelphia Business Journal, “Coaching is a place to test out ideas and strategy with someone you trust who has no vested interest or competing agenda.”

You will boost your self-awareness

Many leaders have a knack for identifying strengths in others, but accurate self-assessment rarely comes as naturally. This is unfortunate, as Forbes explains that “accurate self-awareness in leaders is highly correlated with organizational effectiveness and profitability, and employees prefer to follow leaders who see themselves clearly.” Not only can a good coach help you identify and tackle opportunity areas, but he or she can also help you identify and build on your key strengths.

You will sharpen your focus

Most executives have earned the freedom and flexibility to determine their own schedules and to-do lists; however, that also makes it extremely easy to get sidetracked from key initiatives—especially for leaders who are constantly being pulled into the day-to-day minutia. To combat this common challenge, a good coach can serve as a highly-valuable accountability partner, helping you to focus your time and energy around your most critical, high-impact responsibilities.

You will drive additional profitability within your organization

Just as entire sports teams reap the benefit of a well-coached teammate, so too do entire organizations. According to Philadelphia Business Journal, a global study revealed that executives from Fortune 100 companies who had participated in coaching for 6-12 months evaluated an average rate of return of six times the cost of the coaching. So on top of delivering countless personal benefits to you, a good coaching partnership will also help you maximize contributions to your company.

You will get pushed outside your comfort zone

Once you’ve experienced success, it’s easy to fall back on the skills and techniques you leveraged to get there. However, relying on what worked for you in the past can actually hinder your ability to see and respond to each new situation uniquely. We’ve all heard the phrase “what got you here won’t get you there”, and a good executive coach will help you stretch your capabilities with a focus on the future instead of the past.

So what does all this mean??

Success is a journey, not a destination, and just as high-performing athletes continue to leverage coaching as a tool to help maximize their performance, so too do many of the world’s most successful business executives. As New York Times best-selling author and executive coach Don Yaeger explains, “The highest achievers are people who set goals about the opportunity to wake up every day and be better than they were yesterday.” And those who never outgrow that growth mindset never outgrow the need for a coach. Here’s to teaming up to make 2019 your best year yet!

Click here for a PDF of this article.

Are you interested in partnering with an executive coach to enhance your capabilities and performance as a leader? At RRG, our certified management coaches offer customized one-on-one sessions that are forward-looking and outcome-oriented to ensure that our time together results in personal growth for you and increased profitability for your organization. To learn more, give us a call today at 708.738.5040, or visit our website at RRGExec.com.