Executive coaching has been turning a huge corner as proven from a recent survey conducted mid-2013 by Stanford University School of Business and The Miles Group. Most significant is senior leadership’s shift to embracing coaching as desirable if not necessary! Polling over 200 CEOs, senior executives and board members, almost 100% of the respondents said that they wanted coaching! This tells me that coaching has nicely moved out of the “remedial” or “penal” zone and virtually into the “must-have’s.”

Survey highlights:

• Performance Improvement – They Want It! – Of the 200 respondents, 78% said that coaching was their own idea. As the survey noted, coaching is now seen as  “…something that improves performance, similar to how elite athletes use a coach.”

• Conflict Management – The most common growth area that CEO’s noted for themselves is conflict management, coming in at 43%. Managing multiple agendas was also high on their list. FYI – CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND TEAM LEADERSHIP IS A SPECIALTY AT P. A. WEISS.

• What the Board Wants –  Board members who participated in the survey said that they want to see CEO’s developing their people more. In other words, talent development and succession planning is high on their list.

• Highs and Lows –  The top areas that CEOs use coaching to improve: sharing leadership/delegation, conflict management, team building, and mentoring. Bottom of the list: motivational skills, compassion/empathy, and persuasion skills.

Do you or a leader you know need to up the game? All major athletes continually improve their performance and every one of them has a coach. Why should leadership be any different?