Why Every CEO Should Have a Coach
It’s true what they say. It’s lonely at the top. As a CEO, you have less people you can go to, to help solve your problems. Below are eight reasons every CEO should have a coach.
1. You make it significantly more difficult to win without a coach.
Look around you – professional athletes, public figures, leaders – they all have a coach. To operate without a coach is like operating with the attitude that “I know I am right”. This know it all attitude is what brings down many organizations, particularly when it is coming from the top.
2. A coach reveals your blind spots.
CEOs don’t have many people that are willing to give them honest feedback. It’s difficult when you’re in a position of power to receive critique from those who fear they may lose their job if they’re honest. A coach is an unbiased, third party that is able to help you see any barriers or blind spots and come up with a game plan to overcome them.
3. A coach takes an unbiased view.
The coach can say it as they see it, because as mentioned above, their career isn’t dependent upon the CEOs approval. Additionally, they are able to take a dispassionate view of the organization because they are not emotionally or personally invested in the success it. Others in your organization may have a difficult time with this, as they are personally invested.
4. They can ask the tough questions.
The coach asks you pertinent questions, those that others do not have the courage or the authority to ask you. These questions open up a whole new world for the CEO – one that was not available to the CEO prior to the conversation.
5. A coach encourages a culture of learning.
If you want to to build a learning organization, and you should, you need to lead by example. If you as the CEO are willing to admit that you don’t know it all, but you are taking the necessary steps to learn more, you allow your employees to feel comfortable doing the same.
6. A coach helps the CEO manage conflict effectively.
Often, decisions of the CEO please one group, and displease another. The CEO has to walk the tight rope walk, and this skill is built with the support of a coach.
7. A CEO needs someone they can be open with.
There are certain conversations you cannot have with the board, and then there are other conversations you cannot have with your second line. A coach is someone the CEO can be open with; one who is going to be sensitive, and yet objective; honest, and yet respectful.
8. A coach helps the CEO see different options.
The Coach helps you significantly expand your options. And when you expand your options, your decision-making significantly improves.
As a CEO, you shouldn’t wait until you feel like you can barely keep your head above water to look into a coach. You should be proactive and begin your journey with a coach as soon as possible. Center for Victory can help with you take the first steps. Contact us today!