What is Leadership Coaching? | The Principles of Leadership Coaching

You’ve noticed that people of all ages come to you for advice and guidance. They tell you how much they like your calm manner and how well you listen. You know just how to challenge them while also motivating them. The real plus? They trust you implicitly. Does this sound like you? Leadership coaching could be an avenue worth seeking if you feel the urge to stretch yourself in your career and also want to contribute to others’ lives in refreshing ways.

What is Leadership Coaching, Anyhow?

Leadership coaching is an emerging field that advances the knowledge of executive functioning in our complex world. In other words, leadership coaching helps managers adopt the skills and demeanor necessary to lead with integrity and passion, in order to help their organization or business meet its goals.

This style of coaching integrates management and supervision with the optimization of human potential. A coach guides his or her clients’ leadership development by helping them learn to:

• Provide thoughtful & constructive feedback
• Actively listen
• Motivate teams to succeed
• Set priorities and goals that align with business-needs and employee-strengths
• Mentor team members to assist with their own leadership development

Coaching is individualized to the leader being coached, and sessions are typically held in a one-on-one setting. Inherently, the coach must possess the skills that they’re teaching to their clients.

What’s the Market for Leadership Coaches?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not yet started to collect data on leadership or executive coaching. Let’s look at positions that are likely to benefit from the skills and attributes of this emerging function.

• Human Resources Managers are forecasted to have a 7% growth rate from now through 2028, exceeding the average of all positions.
• Medical and Health Services Managers are expected to grow at a rate of 18% over the next 8 years, far exceeding the average growth rate!
• Social and Community Service Managers are also well positioned for above-average growth at 13%.

Advancing your leadership development can place you in a healthy position for career advancement.

Where Do Leadership Coaches Practice Their Craft?

As leadership coaching is an emerging field, settings for its practice are also growing. Coaches are positioned to shape the future of this field as they design their own practice. Here’s a sampling of professions and positions that align well with leadership coaching:

• Human Resource (HR) professionals and managers
• Entrepreneurs
• Education administrators
• Healthcare project managers and administrators
• Politicians and political activists
• Leaders in the nonprofit sector
• Clinicians, be they psychologists or other licensed professionals in practice
• Organizational consultants

The Principles of Leadership Coaching

Leadership coaching employs the principles that apply to various forms of coaching. These principles include:

1. Creating a safe environment, as well as one that promotes growth, expansive thinking and risk-taking.
2. Honoring the coaching relationship by sticking to the coachee’s agenda.
3. Using the Socratic method that encourages exploration of potential.
4. Promoting self-awareness, encouraging others to examine their assets and limitations.
5. Creating experiences for learning.
6. Being a model of what you are coaching, by “walking your talk.”
7. Adhering to a set of accepted standards of practice.

Leadership Coaching Skills

As a leadership coach, you can further develop skills that promote a sense of security and openness with clients, including:

• A person-centered focus, whether that is with an individual or team.
• A reflective practice that enhances:
  • Active listening
  • Observant interactions
  • Mutual planning and goal attainment
• Being a present, centered collaborator.
• Heightened, honest self-awareness that is modeled for coachee clients.

Combining these skills with an advanced degree from Regent University could add further value for your future!

Let Regent University Help You to Become a Leadership Coach

Regent has outstanding options for combining educational goals with becoming a leadership coach. Let’s look at our array of choices that offer coaching courses as part of an advanced degree program.

The M.A. in Organizational Leadership – Leadership Coaching & Mentoring features courses that can prepare you for becoming certified as a leadership coach. As you do so, consider the values-based actions you are exploring as you expand your career opportunities.

You can choose a Doctor of Strategic Leadership (DSL) to combine your interest in leadership coaching with a terminal degree. This program further opens your career path, welcoming the potential of independent practice and consulting in addition to organizational leadership.

The M.S. in Psychology – Leadership Coaching offers a concentration in leadership coaching that can lead you in the direction of consulting or as a marketing psychologist, among others.

With an M.A. in Human Services – Life Coaching, you can help others to effectively achieve their goals. This choice makes you an apt candidate as a career counselor or human services manager.

Steps to Becoming a Certified Coach

Regent University coaching courses content align with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) Standards. Links to certification and information about this organization and its credential are available at: International Coaching Federation.

Let Us Know When You Are Ready to Take Your Next Step

Has learning about leadership coaching sparked an interest in the field? Regent University’s admissions counselors are ready to answer questions and help you work through financial aid so you can move ahead in this promising field. Whether you’re ready to take the leap, or simply want some more information, you can reach them at 800.373.5504.