Joel Gumba, Negosentro | Top organizations have the good fortune of having highly talented managers. But these managers also need a little help in reaching their full potential. In fact, billions of dollars are spent by organizations as they try to train and coach their managers to perform to the best of their abilities. As a result, executive coaching has become increasingly popular; and many people are showing interest in entering the field.
Why Corporations Love Executive Coaches
Executive coaching is believed to offer many advantages over typical learning. For instance, those getting the coaching can identify problems, work them out and come up with solutions; a process that has the advantage of making the knowledge received during the training longer lasting.
Executive coaching jobs have therefore become quite desirable for many graduates. However, if you want to become an executive coach, there are some things you should take into consideration.
Experience an Important Requirement
A degree, unfortunately, is not all it takes to become an executive coach. Experience is critical. But how do you get this experience when executive coaching jobs are so hard to come by without experience?
One way to do this is to offer your services for free in the hope that one day someone will be willing to pay for your executive coaching services. You can also volunteer to offer feedback to business school students. A lot of business programs offer a means for executive coaches to provide feedback that can help their business school students understand their reports.
Proper Training
You need to have the proper training to get a position as an executive coach. Getting your masters in executive leadership is a good start. Organizations such as iCoach and CoachU offer formal executive coaching programs for those who want to specialize themselves once they finish college. They have experienced coaches that will guide you through your training, giving you all the tools necessary to become a successful executive coach.
Have the Right Attributes
To be a successful executive coach, there are some characteristics you should portray. For instance, you shouldn’t be judgmental, but you should be a natural teacher. Coaching sessions are also confidential, and trust is essential since personal information has to be shared during the sessions to ensure the effectiveness of the coaching process.
As a coach, you should also inspire new ways of thinking so that your corporate clients can build on their ability to solve problems in new ways. Professionalism is also critical, and you should have the ability to make clients feel safe so that they feel free to express their fears and weaknesses in order to get your assistance. By getting an executive leadership masters, you’ll learn all the technical aspects of being a good executive coach.
Conclusion
Executive coaching does have its perks, and it’s understandable why many people would be interested in pursuing this career. If you want to make it as an executive coach, make sure that you get the best training as possible if you want to get taken seriously.
