Comp. Leadership Self-Assessment PDF - measure yourself on 7 levels of success: http://t.co/rD8DY6XA
"I'm already at the top - why would I need a coach?" A fair question that can be answered 5 ways:
1.The most successful leaders aren't playing an endgame. They are always finding themselves at new frontiers. The nature of a frontier is ambiguity about way forward, challenges to fundamental beliefs and assumptions that can blindside even the best of the best, and multi-faceted decision-making that simply can't be done from only one perspective.
The benefits of executive coaching that's more like that of an Olympian or professional athlete who sometimes spans an entire career with one main coach and supplementals as needed, far exceed the benefits of peer mentoring, limited goal-oriented executive coaching and consulting, CEO executive courses, or delusions of "self-made" at all costs. The fact that an athlete coached takes nothing away from the gold they win - quite the contrary.
2. Personal executive coaching is more like Olympic coaching than therapy. An Olympian doesn't hire a coach to fix a broken ankle and, likewise, you won't get your best return on investment in executive coaching fees if you hire a coach just to fix problematic personalities. Although much executive coaching and consulting is initiated to problem-solve, the research is crystal clear that although coaching to solve problems pays - about 150% return on investment - it's in coaching the way Olympians do through highs and lows, through the tangibles and intangibles, and by letting outside input in. Just like for Olympians, the leaderful edge is where executive coaching fees yield their highest return on investment - up to 689%.
3. CEO's need input. CEO groups afford excellent opportunities for peer mentoring but that still isn't 
coaching. Executive leadership development includes an element of mentoring but it's much more than that. The best benefits of executive coaching are achieved from again borrowing from what Olympians have always known - there's minimal value in just coaching for one race or to handle one problem. The best coaching relationships develop over time so that the executive best capitalizes on the highs and the lows.
4. If you have an unshakeable belief that there's no value in professional development, you may not be coachable. To be at the top and uncoachable means you may not have surrounded yourself with truth-tellers - which might imply a continual talent drain or, at the very least, under-utilization of resources.
A lack of coachability may indicate a need to do "personal homework." An executive coaching consultant is not a therapist whose time is best spent breaking through rigidity, arrogance, and limitations of ego. If your organizational culture isn't full of vitality, doesn't innovate, or maintain high retention rates, ask yourself hard questions about whether or not your personal limitations are limiting your team's potential.
5. You don't see a gold medalist or winning professional athlete fire his/her coach because s/he did well - there's wisdom to that! Executive development coaching is a unique partnership that alleviates being lonely at the top. Whether you're on a nice plateau, a meteoric rise or down in the valley, executive coaching and consulting is the best way to leverage your position.
