Authentic Leadership Coaching

Transcription

1 THE DIVERSITY PRACTICE Authentic Leadership Coaching A new leadership paradigm Carol Campayne, Caroline Harper Jantuah, Lori Shook Of all the personal development and leadership interventions available to grow modern leaders and address the transformational economic and demographic changes take place, authentic leadership coaching may be the most effective vehicle. Authentic leadership coaching is the skill, mindset and attitude a coach needs to be able to skilfully coach and support their client in confidently and competently bringing the full essence of who they are into their leadership.

2 Authentic Leadership Coaching By Carol Campayne, Caroline Harper Jantuah, and Lori Shook A New Leadership Paradigm. The time has come for us to boldly re-write the leadership paradigm. Businesses need a radical leadership correction as the traditional models of the 20 th century, which in the main have been grounded in the western philosophy of leadership, have served their time and purpose. The big question is what do we replace the old with? What we also know is that of all the personal development and leadership interventions available to grow modern leaders and address the dynamic economic context and moral crisis of the 21 st century, executive coaching may be the most effective vehicle to deliver the change we need to see. But the powerful question is what kind of coaching and what kind of coach can create the deep levels of change that the corporate world requires? Companies have a greater global reach than ever before and project teams are spread across the world. At the same time, talented, ambitious individuals are more willing to travel the world in pursuit of rewarding, fulfilling careers. All of this means the demographic profile of organisations is rapidly changing, alongside the demographic of the marketplace in which they operate. Diversity of age, gender, social class, race, ethnicity, nationality, culture etc. can mean more ideas, more possibilities, and more creativity 1. But this only happens if the individuals, who may have a capacity different than the norm, see this as adding value, have learned how to draw on their differences and also work within an environment where they have permission to express and use their differences to inspire their creativity. In turning our attention to the leader, what has also become increasingly evident is the acceptance that there is more to a great leader than brains. Various studies have found that high potential employees are increasingly questioning or seeking to find meaning in the work they do, less willing to compromise the quality of their lives outside of the workplace, much more aware of the importance of being comfortable in their own skin, living their own values; and in the words of John Bersins - less accepting of the status quo and more strident in negotiating the terms and corporate conditions required to engage, motivate and retain them. If ever there was a time for authentic, fiercely courageous inclusive leaders, who are fully grounded and accepting of who they are, and who live their values, it is now! 1 The Diversity Practice Ltd Page 1

3 But we also know that shifting the way we have always done things is often a protracted, long winded process, with the powers that be determined to hold fast to the old, comfortable and known; whereas what is required is to go where there be dragons! We have clearly entered into a time which has huge consequences for organisational growth, talent management and leadership. To both survive and thrive in this new and different global landscape, organisations need to harness and execute a new and profoundly different approach. Yet there exists a paradox in organisations that claim to know exactly what s required - the plethora of leadership competency models across the global organisational landscape confirms this. Organisations say they want great leaders, can describe their characteristics in finite detail but do they really want great leadership - leadership that comes in every shape, size, culture, ethnicity, perspective? More importantly do leaders across the full spectrum of difference have the courage to be their true authentic selves?. Requires a New Leadership Coaching Approach This transformational shift of the context within which corporates operate has big implications for coaching generally and leadership coaching in particular, as some of the more traditional approaches to coaching the client may no longer work. This is where authentic leadership coaching can be the bridge that connects. Authentic leadership coaching is the skill, mindset and attitude a coach needs to be able to skilfully coach and support their client in confidently and competently bringing the full essence of who they are into their leadership in other words awakening their client to their full authentic self. The client is encouraged to engage with and discover the full spectrum of who they are and to integrate this into their leadership style and approach. As a result they are able to connect in a more meaningful and personal way with others; their power to influence thus increases and together with others they are able to accomplish much more. Coaches who are able to give clients permission to bring out their full authentic self, do this by creating safe, trusting, respectful environments where clients feel that no judgement is being made of any aspect of their identity. This is easier said than done. To do this well we must see our clients for who they really are and deeply embrace every aspect of their being, person and journey. Yet the truth is most coaching frameworks don t adequately address the critical role that diversity and inclusion plays in delivering truly meaningful and impactful coaching. To the contrary, a paradigm exists that suggests that difference and, in particular, visible difference is to be treated as though it were invisible, does not matter and has no place in the coaches work with clients. The Diversity Practice Ltd Page 2

4 Consequently, in the absence of courageous, respectfully curious conversations, as coaches, we may step over perceptions that trip us up - make wild assumptions and stories about who our clients really are. We can quickly spot their gremlins- but our own gremlins -of bias and stereotypes go unnoticed, remain unchallenged. We stunt our clients growth by failing to put fierce courage into action, challenging the messy stuff of race, culture, religion, sexual orientation that gets in the way. Can we really be of service to our clients, see all of their possibilities, push them past stuck, if we don t engage and embrace the full spectrum of who they are? Can we be real catalysts of personal, leadership, community or global change if we, as coaches are not fully authentic; if we can t, won t and maybe don t even understand how to be with our own bias, challenge our assumptions and lead at a higher level? A coach s job is generally to free up peoples sense of possibility and creativity. So it would be natural for the coach to work with all kinds of differences. But this is not always the case. Because of social conditioning, many times coaches will step over the differences their clients have, especially if the client is of a different culture. Too often we ignore our differences for the sake of politeness. It has become ingrained in us. Coaches need to learn how to get beyond their own social conditioning so they can address the possibilities, power and creativity locked in the attributes of the client. Coaches who learn to work with all kinds of people will be better able to address the needs of more clients. The Diversity Practice Authentic Leadership Coaching Framework Through our work at the Diversity Practice we see that those who develop into outstanding authentic leadership coaches start their journey with themselves and work from the inside out. In addition to having well developed coaching skills, being fully authentic when coaching clients presumes that the coach has worked and continues to work on their Self Mastery. That is, they have done the discovery work to develop a deep awareness of who they are - their identity; what they stand for - their values and beliefs, particularly in terms of their own dimensions of difference; and where they might trip up - their biases and micro-triggers. It also requires the coach to be well grounded on a number of levels physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. In addition, to be fully authentic with your client also means a willingness to self-disclose appropriately, to acknowledge vulnerability, being comfortable with ambiguity and not knowing, as well as being open to new insights, perspectives and experiences. The coach must walk their talk and practice what they preach. The Diversity Practice Ltd Page 3

5 The Diversity Practice Authentic Leadership Coaching Programme is for coaches who wish themselves to become more fully authentic in their relationships with their clients whilst also developing the fierce courage and competence to work with clients who are seeking to bring more of who they are to their leadership. The Practitioner workshop builds your awareness and understanding of the interface between authentic leadership, diversity and inclusion; and equips you with the skills to work with individuals across the diversity spectrum. The Master Practitioner trains you in the use of our cutting edge leadership diagnostic tool the Factor8 Different Leaders Assessment Tool; a proven leadership development framework that we have used across the public and private sectors and with diverse leaders at all levels within an organisation. Want to know more? Join us on our webinar and sign up for our next Authentic Leadership Coaching Workshop. Find out more at: Authors Carol Campayne is Executive Director of The Diversity Practice. A professional executive coach and acclaimed trainer for over 15 years, Carol specialises in working with clients to maximise their leadership, strategic and business performance, building upon their core values, diverse strengths, and personal aspirations. Her clients describe her as authentic, dynamic, inspiring and direct, with a tangible passion and belief in the extraordinary potential, capacity and capability of individuals to transcend beyond the mediocre, lead fulfilled meaningful lives at work and be the change they want to be! Caroline Harper Jantuah is Executive Director of The Diversity Practice. A certified executive coach and master practitioner in NLP, with more than 25 years experience in coaching, training & facilitation, human resource management, organisational change and cross-cultural team development for organisations across Europe, North America and Africa. She uses executive coaching and team development, to focus on increasing personal and organisational effectiveness and successful change management, in line with business goals. Her style is pragmatic, thoughtful, challenging yet supportive, aiming to enable others achieve their potential. Lori Shook, CEO of Prana Coaching and Training, has been a certified professional coach since 1997, holds the prestigious designation of Master Certified Coach (MCC) from the International Coach Federation. She has coached a variety of clients including consultants, small business owners, engineers, managers, and executives. She enjoys working with people from many cultures and has worked in 17 different countries throughout America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. She is a masterful trainer especially for in-person experiential training programs and is known for her ability to train others in experiential program facilitation. The Diversity Practice Ltd Page 4