All leaders make decisions, in the moment, with—at best—80% of the information they would ideally want. Granted, the challenges CEOs and senior managers face are of a different nature than those tackled by middle managers and team leads. Therefore, leadership development strategies are no longer optional as they greatly assist leaders at all levels to navigate high-stakes environments.
Leadership training courses--a popular option among organizations today-- offer one type of leadership development practice, but there are 14 more to choose from. Organizations use training, facilitated workshops, counseling, mentoring, reflective writing, journaling, action learning, role play, simulations, leadership exchange, psychometric testing, 360-degree appraisal, leadership consultancy, e-learning, and leadership coaching to develop emerging and experienced leaders (Bolden, 2005, p. 16). Whereas each intervention can stand alone, leaders can also use any combination of these activities to fit the organization’s needs.
As a leadership development intervention, coaching delivers results for individual leaders, work groups, and the organization-at-large. In a study of executive coaching, Larcker et al. (2013) found 100% of coaches enjoyed receiving coaching and leadership advice, but only 33% actually receive coaching or leadership advice from outside experts (p.1). A 2018 study by HR.com found 56% of organizations use instructor-led training to provide leadership development, and 51% use coaching.
We released a short insights paper that explains how to use a stakeholder approach to leadership coaching efforts to produce results for individuals, groups, and the whole organization.
Click here to access your "Coaching for Leadership Development" insights paper.