Elevating leaders to high performance… while removing the obstacles of health risk and physical location
While the fundamentals of executive coaching have not changed despite a large segment of the workforce transitioning to digital commuting, the needs of our executive coaching clients have changed.
One Unexpected Benefit of Virtual Executive Coaching
The first important difference between virtual and pre-pandemic executive coaching, is that virtual engagements don’t allow for an onsite job shadowing session. For many clients, there is currently no office to shadow.
While we’ve lost job shadowing, we are enjoying significant improvements in our coaching sessions through the mass adoption of Zoom and other video conferencing platforms. These face to face tools have made coaching sessions more interactive and dynamic than ever before.
In the age of the Zoom call, the executive coach now has the opportunity to see the client on screen, and draw on a wealth of subtle and visual cues to help inform the process of serving as a sounding board and trusted ally to the client.
Supporting Executives To Lead Virtually
Many executives and their teams are working remotely. The new digital workplace requires the executive to:
- Develop and maintain a high performance culture remotely
- Apply leadership and managerial abilities in a virtual context
- Keep teams aligned
- Keep the people on those teams connected to each other, and supportive of each other
- Encourage and sustain morale
- Effectively lead team members who may be facing varying degrees of personal and/or family challenges that influence them as they work from home
The Basic Premise
While specific attention is given to individual development, attention is also given to the individual’s function within the group – that is to say, attention is also given to how each of the individuals works within the dynamic of the organizational leadership structure.
The process of Virtual Executive Coaching, which includes conversations and meetings, is designed to:
- Expand self-awareness and self-knowledge – the key to a leader’s long term success
- Enhance the executive’s leadership skills for building an engaged and aligned organization that reflects a performance culture based on transparency, accountability and openness
- Develop a compelling professional/personal vision that is aligned with a clear understanding and appreciation of individual core values and the organization’s impetus to be “best company I ever worked for”
Methodology
Our “hands on”, available and proactive approach includes the following:
- Weekly goal setting pertaining to personal development and high performance results - establishing checkpoints and coaching through to completion.
- Executive communication directly with the coach (via Zoom) approximately 1-2 hours per week.
- Indirect communication (emails or messages) an additional 1-2 hours every two weeks.
- Available to executives in the event a special opportunity or crisis arises. While we are not executive hand-holders, we are committed to clearing, when appropriate, and moving on.
- The precise amount of coaching time correlates to individual need, timing, and what is at stake. However, Hallett Leadership is rigorous in its respect for clients’ full schedules while remaining capable of facilitating increased performance in measurable ways.