by Trudy Waterman, Programme Implementation Officer and Executive Coach, CARICAD “E veryone needs a coach.” These were the words of multibillionaire and co-founder of the technology giant Microsoft, Bill Gates, during an official Ted Conference in 2013. Indeed, many of the world’s top leaders, including media mogul Oprah Winfrey, former president of the United States Bill Clinton, and professional tennis player Serena Williams subscribe to this mindset, having partnered with high performance coaches on their journey of success. How can our regional leaders utilise coaching to become top performers in their chosen careers, and in life? At CARICAD, we recognize the key role that coaching plays in leadership development. We employ executive coaching as a fundamental building block in our Leadership Development Programmes. What is coaching? The International Coaching Federation defines coaching as “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximise their personal and professional potential.” Executive coaches aid with the personal development of leaders. This is vital to leadership development because people produce results. It is impossible to see improved outputs without investing in the people. When organisations invest in the development of their leaders for improved organisational results, the increased results provide a positive return on investment. However, before delving deeper into coaching, it is important to understand what coaching is not. Coaching is not counselling, mentorship or consulting. From the coaching perspective, there is no need to dig into the past to achieve desired results. Instead, we adopt a future – focused approach to client success. Furthermore, at the highest level, coaches do not give advice. We recognise that since we are not experts in the lives of our clients, it would not serve their best interest to provide a generic solution for their challenges. On the contrary, we acknowledge that the client already has all of the resources that they need for success. Initially, some persons may doubt this process because they lack the awareness and the confidence that they already have everything they need within them to accomplish their goals. Instead, they are comfortable with being told what to do. However, it is important that clients take complete ownership for their results. Through trusting the process, initial skepticism is replaced with a sense of empowerment and assurance in the knowledge that they are already resource – full. Clients are then supported in creating a roadmap for their own success. Continues on the next page 24
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