If you’re looking into consulting an executive Coach, you may be curious about the kind of skills they have, and what makes a truly great coach stand out from the rest. In a sense, they need to have the same sort of skills as the business leader themselves, but also the ability to communicate and develop these. One of the most important skills a business coach can have is being able to build a strong trusting relationship with the client, and being able to understand their clients, the situation they are in including their challenges and objectives.  This understanding will often only be possible when the coach has a strong background in both both business and coaching.

Some of the key Executive Coaching Skills that Stepshift clients value include:

• The ability to ask great questions, to listen and really understand you and your situation. One important thing a coach must do is be open and flexible to the exact circumstances the client is in, and where and how they can achieve their desired outcomes. This can only happen if the coach is fully listening to the client’s needs and concerns and taking them on board, not just applying a routine of knowledge and prior experience. Asking the right questions can often bring real clarity to the situation in terms of the best way forward.
• The ability to challenge thinking and inspire new actions, approaches or behaviours. Where clients want new results in a particular area these new results will often come of the back of new thinking, new behaviours or new approaches. Where new thinking, behaviours or approaches are likely to deliver the results being sought then the coaches role is to question or challenge the old thinking, behaviours or approaches to test whether these are working and still relevant. The client will always make their own decision on what changes are made and the coaches role is be the facilitator to ensure the road taken is most likely to lead to the preferred destination.
• The ability to bring and independent perspective while at the same time doing what they can to assist you to achieve the results you want. The strength of a coach is providing an outsider’s unbiased viewpoint, but it’s also important that they’re invested in the success of you and your business. Being able to do both and remaining firm but fair is an essential skill for any executive coach.

If you’d like to know more about the skills that executive coaches can provide and how they might benefit you and your situation, talk to the team at Stepshift.