Why Everyone Needs a Coach

“Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” – Shakespeare, Henry IV

It is not easy being at the top. The perks are nice, but nobody who has been in the CEO seat would claim that it’s an easy job.

Executive coaches make leading great organizations easier on the leader and have the power to make leaders who are open to the feedback much better at their jobs. In fact, United States corporations including GE, Goldman Sachs and Google now spend over $1 billion per year on executive coaching.

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  1. The ROI can be Huge – Spending $200 to $500+ per hour (Marshall Goldsmith charges north of $100,000 per engagement) to have your executives talk about their problems seems like an incredibly expensive perk until you look at the return on investment that these corporations are seeing. According to a PriceWatershouseCoopers study the average return on executive coaching was 7 times the initial investment while over 25% of the respondents reported an ROI of 10 to 49 times.
  2.  Strategy is Rarely Executed – Strategy is largely regarded as the most effective tool for creating value in organizations today, but it is rarely executed well. According to many studies, less than 15% of strategic plans are executed by senior leaders. Leaders are subjected to the tyranny of the urgent and find it increasingly difficult to focus on the not urgent but most important goals of the organization. An executive coach can help keep leadership focused on the things that deliver the most value to the organization.
  3.  It Helps Keep Top Talent – In the PWC study, 96.2% of the clients coached said they would repeat the experience. Leaders gain value from having a coach and in turn deliver more value to the organization. Effective leaders are happier leaders. Happier leaders stay in their positions longer and are far better to work with, causing their direct reports to stay in the firm longer as well.

These are just a few of the reasons to consider executive coaching for yourself and for leaders in your organization.

Do you use coaching services? Tell us about your experience in the comments below!

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