Executive Coaching for Achieving Goals: Linking Personal and Business Goals

Achieving Goals

Are you working in a company or law firm where leadership requires people to establish goals when engaged in an executive coaching relationship? How do leaders in your company or law firm assess an individual’s success in achieving goals in their executive coaching program?

One of the most powerful questions one can ask is “Does our company leadership encourage participants in an executive coaching program to link personal and business goals?” Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent leaders are excited about further developing their leadership skills by achieving both personal and business goals.

Linking Personal and Business Goals

There may be insufficient time and attention during the contracting phase in defining goals and outcomes for the coaching relationship. Surprisingly enough, many executives have trouble defining what they want out of coaching.

There are two kinds of goals for leaders to work on in executive coaching — business goals and personal goals. Getting external results is linked to what the leader has to do differently in order to get business results. The personal goals must follow the external business goals.

During the contracting phase with the executive, it is the executive coach’s responsibility to ensure that the goal-setting conversation is sequenced for best results.

• Encourage the high potential leader to name the business results needed.
• Find out what team behaviors need to be different to accomplish the results.
• Explore what personal leadership challenges the executive faces in improving these results and team behaviors.
• Identify specific behaviors the leader needs to enhance or change personally.

The goal setting process is not as easy as it may appear. Many busy executives have a bias for action and operate in a fire-ready-aim mode. It may be necessary for the executive to slow down long enough to establish clear goals. Sometimes a business situation is ambiguous and it is difficult to clarify what work process or human relationship goals would support achieving the bottom-line result. The coach who persists in inquiring about these specific goals will help an executive toward better focus and effective action.

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the Bar-On EQ-i and CPI 260 can help you become a leader who links personal and business goals. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged and aligned with the vision and mission of your company or law firm.

I am currently accepting new executive coaching and career coaching clients. I work with both individuals and organizations. Call 415-546-1252 or send an inquiry e-mail to mbrusman@workingresources.com.