LEADERS COACHING LEADERS: A COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT

摘要

The author, a co‐founder and president of a software company, notes that people leave organizations because they don’t feel supported and want different work environments. “The underlying issue,” she writes, “behind so many of these departures—as well as a lack of employee engagement for those who stay—is poor communication.” She outlines three success keys for people within organizations, which in her words are: Success Key #1: Work on one skill at a time. Success Key #2: Practice the skill often to create mastery. Success Key #3: Get coaching to support and accelerate your learning. Within point 3, she notes “companies often hire executive coaches for top‐level leaders. But these services are expensive, so it’s not practical to invest in them for all levels of leadership. The answer is peer coaching—leaders coaching leaders.” She believes this is a cost‐effective solution and outlines six areas in which leaders can support each other. In her words, they are schedule accountability meetings, listen, get them to think, help them learn from their experience, give feedback that feels good, and offer encouragement. She concludes that “a leader‐to‐leader peer coaching program is a realistic way to make sure new skills become permanent habits.”