Your career can feel very personal at times. You chose your path. You pursed it via your studies and work experience. You have built and nurtured your network of connections, contacts, and colleagues through the years. You have experienced the highs of success and lows of setbacks, the pride of a promotion, the stress of a deadline, and the other range of emotions in between. Your career is a part of your legacy and the impact you make on this world. With all that in mind, it makes sense to want to be in full command of any career moves you might make. But sometimes, to keep moving forward, you may need to seek specialist external support to improve your career valuation and change trajectory.
Executive career coaching can help professionals gain a valuable new perspective on their goals and objectives, their position in the competitive marketplace, the skills needed for the future, and the steps to take in order to reach that next level. But, what benefits can a professional career coaching programme really provide?
Today’s marketplace is more competitive than ever, moving at a faster pace and with greater ambiguity. Desirable positions that are a step up are not as readily available, so when these opportunities do arise, there will be many of your peers, both internally and externally vying for the role. With the rise of remote work, qualified candidates can be sourced both nationally and globally, adding to this competition and making it more difficult to stand out.
Executive career coaching can help you as a candidate put your best foot forward whether you are looking to pursue an entirely new role, rise in the ranks of your own organisation, secure an outside opportunity such as an NED position, or take your career to the next level. Coaches are here to help you strategise your options and prioritise your next move, determine what it will take to get there, and execute the right approach.
Because our careers are so personal, it’s easy at times to get stuck in old habits or wear blinkers or put blinders on. An executive career coach is able to look at your skills, experience, values, and capabilities through an objective lens and help you to become clear on what you have to offer and how to optimally position yourself. This strong self-concept is incredibly important for executives to have as they navigate the shifting world of work and an increasingly competitive landscape.
The most common time to seek a coach is typically during a career transition, between roles, or while angling for a new opportunity or promotion. But you don’t have to be in the job market to benefit from the expertise of an executive coach. In fact, this third-party perspective can be invaluable when making any major career decisions, building and expanding your network, or establishing yourself as a thought leader.
At Rialto, the executive coach can wear a lot of different hats depending on the needs of the client. The coach can take on an information-focused role if the executive needs insights, advice, ideas, expertise, inspiration, guidance, or consumer intelligence in order to achieve their goals. If the executive needs access to the right people or resources, the coach can help to unlock those doors, make those introductions, offer endorsement or credibility, or lend thought leadership or influence. Other times, the executive just needs support and encouragement. The coach then takes on the role of cheerleader, challenger, motivator, stabiliser, and sounding board.
An executive might choose to seek out a specific individual that has a special niche in one of these areas or seek out a programme or coach that fulfils all these roles. For example, in a Rialto executive coaching programme, clients work closely with our team of specialist accredited executive coaches and mentors, all of whom possess extensive business and leadership experience. These coaches help clients understand their capabilities and where they can deliver impact, where they stand amongst their competition, realise their goals and ambitions, and remain competitive in the future of work. These coaches can play whatever role the client needs them to fulfil, whether it be the role of an advisor, connector, or supporter.
You have worked hard to make it this far in your career and should not entrust the future of it to just anyone. If you are investing time and money into an executive coach or programme, it needs to be a worthwhile fit with clear targets.
As with any successful relationship, there needs to be a good rapport between you and the coach or coaching team. Trust is a crucial component for success. Career coaching is a vulnerable process. You need to feel comfortable enough sharing both your strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures with your coach or coaches. You also need to be open to accepting their insight, advice, and criticism. If you do not trust and respect the person you are working with, then all of this effort goes to waste and you will not get the results you desire from your programme.
Credibility is also essential in these relationships. As an executive, surely you would not want to accept career advice from just anyone. If you are looking to move up, you’ll want to work with someone who has been in the shoes you are looking to fill, or someone who can lend relevant insight and experience that is applicable to what you are trying to achieve.
You might often see loads of people on social media promoting themselves as career coaches with flashy advertising or attention-grabbing posts. But is it all smoke and mirrors? A read through their LinkedIn profile or even a quick Google search should be able to tell you if that person has the background and skills you need in your corner. A credible coach’s experience should speak for itself, and you should feel comfortable enough to enter that relationship without any doubts that he or she will be able to walk the talk.
A safe method is to go through an accredited provider such as Rialto, where the expertise of our team and their proven track records in industry have been vetted to back up their promises. At Rialto, we have worked with thousands of executives through the years to take their careers to the next level, with much success.
Entrusting your career to an initially unknown individual can be intimidating, but it can make all the difference when looking for a new role, building your network, securing a board position, earning a promotion, or preparing for the future of work. If you are interested in taking the first step to improve your career trajectory, earnings potential or work-life balance in the coaching process or would like to learn more about our executive career coaching programmes, get in touch with our team.
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