Retail Observer

February 2019

The Retail Observer is an industry leading magazine for INDEPENDENT RETAILERS in Major Appliances, Consumer Electronics and Home Furnishings

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RETAILOBSERVER.COM FEBRUARY 2019 40 D o you need a coach? I've had many wonderful opportunities to work with leaders at different stages of their careers. Some were new to their roles as directors or CEOs. Some were seasoned leaders who were feeling a bit stuck and were seeking fresh ways to look at their work and their organizations. Some were leaders in the final phases of their working life, wanting to pay close attention to the legacy they were creating and how they wanted to leave. Each of them took the wise step of consulting a trusted partner outside of the daily organizational dynamic — because they recognized that expanding their perspective was important. NEW LEADERS Organizations will often allocate time and resources to supporting their new leaders, managers, and supervisors by offering them training, workshops, skill-building sessions, mentoring, or coaching. We instinctively know that new leaders are particularly vulnerable because so much is at stake. Although they may be subject matter and content experts, they may not be experts at leading an organization or unit, or getting work done through others. Thus many new leaders begin their roles feeling excited about the challenges and opportunities, only to become weighed-down by the incredibly hard task of transitioning from the role of peer to that of supervisor, or the challenge of having been viewed as the most experienced and respected in their jobs, and now being looked at with suspicion regarding their ability to lead. A newly promoted engineering manager struggled to find his way through a management development course. Finally, on the last day, he broke through with an insight: Wow. This is a totally different skill set! Another new leader had the respect of his crew until he became their supervisor, whereupon his friends began resisting his direction and suggestions. It makes sense to nurture these leaders and help them develop their practical and interpersonal skills, and their strategic skills for leading effectively. SEASONED LEADERS But what about leaders at the pinnacle of their careers? What about those who are mentoring other leaders? Surely, if they are coaching others, they don't need coaching themselves. Not true! In fact, when you're feeling most confident and accomplished may be a perfect time to assess what's on the horizon. A danger is that you may become complacent or stagnant, which can lead to a feeling of stuck-ness, burnout, or outright apathy. To keep evolving and growing, we need to stay curious and open to learn about ourselves, our colleagues, and our world. Coaching experienced leaders is different from coaching new leaders. It's less developmental and more holistic. It's more about mindset and less about skill set. It takes the long view as well as the short-term view. It's less urgent and more thoughtful, because experienced leaders have already built a foundation of success. CONSIDERATIONS Take time to review the following questions and assess if this might be a good moment to engage with a coach to help you evolve as a leader: 1. Have you reached a threshold or transition point in your work or personal life? What kinds of new ideas or skills is the transition demanding of you? 2. Do you sometimes feel that something's missing from your work, or that you're experiencing too much "sameness" in your day-to- day interactions, decisions and activities? 3. Do you feel you want to or need to grow, but you aren't sure what that might look like? 4. Do you sense that you're at an end-point of some sort, but you can't quite identify what it is? 5. Are you rarely uncomfortable because most things seem easy to you? 6. When was the last time you reviewed, assessed and articulated your right relationship to your livelihood? WHY EXPERIENCED LEADERS NEED COACHES, TOO Libby Wagner Culture Coach RO Libby Wagner, author of The Influencing Option: The Art of Building a Profit Culture in Business, works with clients to help them create and sustain profit cultures. www.libbywagner.com

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