Self as Coach, Self as Leader

The best coaches are leaders. The best leaders are coaches. Both need to understand organizational systems, the psychology of leadership, the new dynamics of the global marketplace, and the challenges of living in an unpredictable and often volatile world. Like everything else in our fast-paced, rapidly evolving world, the field of coaching has changed dramatically over the years. There are hundreds of books on the market, an impressive body of multidisciplinary research, and well over 500 coaching schools in the United States alone. Coaching has become a multibillion-dollar business. As in other fields that have experienced explosive growth, the risk of complacency, the “business as usual” attitude, is ever-present. To excel as a discipline, we need to be consciously innovating and constantly improving. We need to cultivate great coaches that do far more than listen well and ask questions. The process of developing coaches has traditionally relied almost entirely on skill-based competencies. While still important, competencies alone are inadequate preparation for developing true mastery of coaching. We need to understand organizational systems, the psychology of leadership, the new dynamics of the global marketplace, and the challenges of living in an unpredictable and often volatile world. The traditional belief that a good coach — or even a good leader — can coach anyone is no longer valid. Today, we need coaches and leaders that can navigate complex and ambiguous issues, be agile, responsive, and adaptable. The best coaches are leaders. The best leaders are coaches. Self as Coach, Self as Leader focuses on the concept of use of self as instrument—a key dimension in the practice of developmental coaching. While remedial, tactical or performance-based coaching may…