How to Be Your Own Executive Coach

At some point in your career, you’ve probably thought about hiring an executive coach to help you get/stay on track - that is, if you haven’t already done so. But if you haven’t and would like to, you might be happy to know that there is a way to be your own executive coach, and it’s much less expensive.

You just need a few simple tools to work with, and a little bit of time on your hands, and you can identify your own leadership potential and push your career in the right direction yourself. Interested in finding out how? Read on …

What You Need to Get Started

Before you start your first executive coaching session, you need to gather a few items. First, you’ll need to get your hands on a journal that can be used for personal professional development. Then you’ll want to look for free online coaching resources, which can be found all over the Internet. And you’ll also need a good friend who can serve as your coaching partner.

Step #1: Perform an Assessment of Your Leadership Style

Once you’ve gathered everything you’ll need to begin your executive coaching, you can get started. The first step in the process is to assess your leadership style. You can do this by taking an inventory of your current skills. For example, you can use your personal professional development journal to record three or more leadership skills you would like to develop and improve. Then you can jot down any new skills you would like to develop, as well as what you will need to know to develop these skills and what process you will use to coach yourself.

Step #2: Utilize Free Online Coaching Tools

Once you’ve identified the leadership skills you’d like to develop and improve, as well as the new skills you’d like to acquire, you can head to the Internet to search utilize free online coaching tools and exercises. There are a number of professional executive coaches out there who offer materials on their websites, so there should be plenty for you to take advantage of.

Step #3: Decide On a Coaching Schedule

Just as you would schedule a day and time to visit with a professional executive coach, it’s important that you set aside a day and time to coach yourself. Now that you have taken the necessary steps to start the process, you want to make sure that you move forward regularly to proceed with your professional development successfully.

Step #4: Bring in Your Coaching Partner

While a coaching partner is not required for every coaching session, it is good to bring in a friend you trust to help you move through the process. It’s easy to slack off when you’re working alone. By bringing in a coaching partner, you can better map your progress, as well as ask for feedback and support.

It’s good to know that there may be both good and bad days associated with executive coaching. However, if you encourage yourself when you make progress and forgive yourself when you make mistakes, you can quickly and honestly develop the skills you need to acquire your next executive job.

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