Every executive wants his or her leadership team to be effective. And from my experience, most of these senior executives do make the effort to help their leaders develop.
But the problem is that there are several hurdles to successfully developing leaders internally. Here’s what makes things difficult:
1. Addressing Symptoms
Typically, executives see one or more issues with a leader’s effectiveness and attempt to address/correct the behavior. But more times than not, the effort is at best only mildly successful.
The reason is interesting. In my years of coaching leaders, I’ve noticed that the issues a leader wants help with are often symptoms, rather than problems. And as we know, addressing a symptom rather than the problem usually makes things worse.
The art is in uncovering the underlying problem(s). It’s often a matter of asking the right questions and successfully changing their perspective. It’s one of the reasons bringing in a good executive coach is helpful.
2. Interpersonal Dynamics
For meaningful improvement to take place, open, honest, challenging, and confidential conversations with a leader must take place. But it’s virtually impossible for a leader to be completely open, honest, and vulnerable when those conversations are with the person who will decide their role in and future with the company.
It’s unrealistic to expect a leader to acknowledge their shortcomings and fears in a conversation with their boss. It’s unrealistic to expect a leader to share their frustrations and dissatisfactions to that boss. And it’s unrealistic to for a boss to challenge a leader’s thinking or judgment and expect them to respond transparently and honestly.
The interpersonal dynamics between boss and leader make it nearly impossible for an executive to effectively develop his or her leaders. It’s another reason bringing in a good executive coach is helpful.
3. Objectivity
Virtually everyone around a leader has an agenda – their direct reports, their co-workers, their spouse and especially their boss. They either want things to change or they want things to stay the same. They want the leader to act and make decisions in a way that gives them what they want. Consequently, for a leader to hone their thinking and judgment, they need an unbiased sounding board.
Because getting objective perspective and having an unbiased sounding board are essential to improving a leader’s judgment and decision-making, it’s nearly impossible for a boss to effectively develop his or her leaders. Yet another reason bringing in a good executive coach is helpful.
In summary, dealing with symptoms, interpersonal dynamics, and lack of objectivity can all limit the effectiveness of an executive’s efforts to develop his or her leaders. These issues are why utilizing an executive coach has become so popular.