This paper presents a personal coaching and leadership development plan built on a candid self-assessment of strengths and areas for improvement as an executive coach. The author identifies empathy, active listening, verbal communication, and interpersonal adaptability as core strengths, while acknowledging a tendency to avoid conflict and a habit of solving problems on behalf of subordinates rather than guiding them toward self-discovered solutions. The development plan centers on the positive principle, appreciative questioning, and emotional intelligence as practical tools for closing these gaps. Regular individual and group meetings with subordinates are proposed as the primary vehicle for deploying these strategies in alignment with both business and employee career objectives.
My coaching and developmental plan generally consists of utilizing my strengths as a coach and as a supervisor to balance out my opportunities for development in this position, so that I can improve the efficacy and performance of those whom I coach. In this respect, my plan consists of identifying what I do well as a coach and relating that to my competencies as a leader. Similarly, I will identify what facets of my coaching provide opportunities for improvement and align those with areas in which I have potential to grow as a leader. By analyzing both of these aspects of my coaching, the goal is to perceive the ways I can utilize my strengths and close my perceptual gaps, resulting in action that improves the performance of those whom I supervise. I believe I can best utilize my strengths by conducting individual and weekly meetings with subordinates while applying the positive principle and other hallmarks of effective leadership to promote their business and career growth.
The past several weeks of coursework have allowed me to gain meaningful insight into some of my more commendable qualities as an executive coach. Entries in my personal journal and self-assessments have provided opportunities to objectively view my strengths in these areas. I have learned that my empathetic nature is a valuable asset that allows me to build rapport with those I supervise. This quality is augmented by my cultivation of active listening skills, which requires effort to extract meaning from verbal and non-verbal cues (Jalongo, 1995, p. 14). These traits, along with a degree of adaptability in my personality that enables me to quickly find common ground with most people I encounter, are directly related to my leadership competencies. An analysis of my Coaching Process Questionnaire reveals that I am an effective verbal communicator who generally has positive interactions with my subordinates.
Ironically, many of my greatest strengths also influence my opportunities for development as an executive coach. Due in part to my empathetic nature, I have traditionally sought to avoid conflict. This tendency can become an occupational hazard when it conflicts with organizational objectives as well as those related to my coaching. Additionally, I have learned that I am not always as patient as I could be. I am somewhat of a perfectionist and oftentimes do not wait for others to fully adapt to their roles by working through their own problems. A true leader teaches others how to do for themselves. In much the same way, a good coach should teach followers how to function independently, so that they fully learn the various roles for which they have been hired to fulfill.
A rational analysis of both my competencies and my areas for potential growth as a coach reveals that I have sufficient strengths to offset my areas for improvement with a proper coaching developmental plan. The most significant perceptual gap I have is my proclivity for avoiding conflict, due in part to the fact that I generally like to please those I work for and those I coach. The fundamental tenet of my development plan for closing this gap — and that involving my traditional lack of patience in allowing subordinates to solve their own problems — is to utilize the positive principle, which states that positive, supportive interactions and attitudes can produce beneficial results for all parties involved (Orem et al., 2007, p. 14). By internalizing this principle and aligning it with my coaching objectives — which are to improve the aptitude and proficiency of those I coach to benefit both our company and their overall careers — the first step in my plan is to view these potential shortcomings as opportunities to leverage my strengths.
Therefore, the next component of my plan is to anticipate and identify various ways in which I can utilize my strong verbal communication, affable rapport, and active listening skills in positive interactions with my subordinates. A formal means of actively doing so is to schedule both group and individual meetings with those employees. Such meetings will allow me to employ virtually all of my strengths and provide opportunities to gauge areas of challenge for those I supervise, as well as identify areas of their work in which they could improve. Furthermore, once those areas are identified, I can implement a positive approach while coaching — as opposed to problem-solving for them — by guiding them through a variety of options that can help.
"Using appreciative questions in individual meetings"
"Reframing conflict using emotional intelligence tools"
Ashkanasy, N., Hartel, C., & Zerbe, W. (2000). Emotions in the workplace: Research, theory and practice. Westport: Quorum Books.
Cram, F. (2010). Appreciative inquiry. MAI Review, 3(1), 1–13.
Jalongo, M. J. (1995). Promoting active listening in the classroom. Childhood Education, 72(1), 13–18.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science, 211(4481), 453–458.
Orem, S., Binkert, J., & Clancy, A. L. (2007). Appreciative coaching: A positive process for change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.
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