Written by: Linda Allen-Hardisty, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Why do people get a coach? I am often asked this question, usually by people who have not worked with professionals like me – a certified executive leadership coach. The best way for me to respond is by sharing stories of leaders’ results in an anonymous and confidential way. After 10 years of coaching, over 2,500 coaching hours, and more than 150 clients across Canada, I’ve got many wonderful examples to choose from! Here are my Top 3 coaching moments that changed leaders’ lives forever!
One: Working on Themselves
Leaders ask me to coach them because they want to keep working on themselves. Think about the magnitude of that for a moment! Working on yourself! It is a serious commitment that may involve heavy lifting and epic self-awareness strengthening, as highlighted in this coaching moment where she changed her own life forever:
“I have such a heightened sense of self-awareness now. Our coaching sessions made a huge difference for me.”
This life changer has gone on to grow the brand of her company by shifting how she approaches tough conversations with her business partners. One of the results of embracing tough conversations in new ways has been in the company’s ability to recruit and retain diverse talent and elevate them to partner roles, to a level which is unheard of in her industry – until now. The key to her success is her courage and curiosity to keep working on herself as a leader.
Two: Getting Through the Fog
There is such an upside to being stuck on something or not being able to move forward at times. The upside is that leaders often discover something new and so powerful about themselves. This time period can be uncomfortable, yet it is so worth it. In coaching, I invite them to see in new ways and then help them get practical about how they will move forward into action. Sometimes it is an awareness of overcoming perfection or dealing with uncertainty, as with this game-changing moment for this leader mapping out his development goal for a path to C-suite leadership:
“Your powerful questions in our coaching sessions actually guided me to explore. I was able to fully discover and define my own path. Something that would have been significantly more challenging without coaching.”
Coaching creates space for leaders to find their aspirations in the struggle –don’t rush the struggle. It is a valuable period of time being in the fog because look what tremendous reward awaits on the other side! This leader’s confidence and effectiveness have skyrocketed because he did the hard work of getting through the fog.
Three: Judgement-free Safe Zone
When leaders decide to keep working on themselves, it is personal. Coaching provides a space for leaders to be vulnerable without judgement. Sometimes it is having a thinking partner walking shoulder to shoulder with a leader on this part of their journey, as captured in these quotes:
“You create a safe and confidential environment for me to share and explore topics that are personal and sensitive.”
And
“I gain so much from the time I give myself in coaching. I always get to think through things here and then decide what to do. I can’t do this anywhere else.”
These two leaders often judge themselves more than others do. Being in a judgement-free zone gave them time to unpack what they are feeling and figure out what is really going on below the surface and what they really want for themselves. The bonus is that each of them now shares how they continue to create safe spaces for their teams and peers to do the same.
In summary, these moments represent just how capable people are to fully embrace the wins and challenges of leading. I coach because I believe in human capacity and capability. I think of coaching as a process that enables me to get out of their way! Coaching works if two things happen simultaneously: the coachee is engaged and the coach is a solid professional. Work on yourself, get out of the fog and create a judgement-free zone. Do this for yourself and you will create your own life-changing moments!
Linda Allen-Hardisty, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Linda Allen-Hardisty, is a leader in executive coaching, emotional intelligence and leadership team performance. After her own corporate leadership experiences left her full of curiosity about development, Linda discovered strategies to dramatically strengthen leaders and their teams. She has since dedicated her professional practice to coaching leaders in the C-suite and on leadership teams to do the inner work of achieving tremendous results. She is President and Founder of Allen-Hardisty Leadership Group, the executive leadership development firm with clients across Canada. Her clients include industries of oil and gas, utilities, aviation, universities, crown corporations, Indigenous business, agri-value, and more. Linda is a lead facilitator in the Organizational Development Program at Queens University IRC, Professional Certified Coach with the International Coach Federation, a keynote speaker and author on emotionally effective leadership, and a national award winner. Her mission: Spark new insights in each coaching conversation
