Leadership Coaching 2.0: More Than Another Name for Executive Coaching

Session Submission Type: Workshop

Short Description

For leadership coaching to mature, links between the varied and vast knowledge of leadership and the art and science of coaching must be made. This workshop will draw upon the experience and expertise of participants through a shared inquiry toward a future where leadership coaching is something more than another name for executive coaching. In small and large group dialogues, participants will work toward enhancing leadership coaching as a viable pathway for leadership development by identifying the assets and limitations of leadership coaching for leadership development, formulating perspectives on foundational knowledge, and synthesizing
practical knowledge in coaching with practical knowledge in leadership.

Detailed Abstract

This workshop is engages participants in a shared inquiry on what the future of leadership coaching ought to be in order to fulfill its promise and potential as a viable pathway in cultivating leadership intelligence in the people and in culture in organizations and institutions of all kinds (Van Den Poel, 2007). There are three primary ways that leadership coaching can enhance leadership development and practice, they are as follows:

1. Coupling coaching with formal immersive leadership training, education and development programs. Research has shown that when coaching is coupled with formal training, development and education programs, there is more success in achieving short and long-term learning outcomes and in transferring the learning beyond the program (Ely, Boyce, Nelson, Zaccaro, Hernez-Broome & Whyman, 2010; Ciporen, 2008).

2. As a stand-alone leadership development pathway for individuals and teams. Coaching has shown to be effective in providing customized learning and change, which can be responsive and adapted to the varying needs and developmental levels of the clients and culture (Allen & Roberts, 2011).

3. As part of a manager’s repertoire of responsibilities. According to Anderson (2013) managers fold coaching into their work with staff and teams, this can have a “trojan horse effect,” in so far as it cultivates and distributes leadership capacity more widely and promotes a more leadership oriented organizational culture.

For leadership caoching to fulfill its promise and potential for leadership development it needs to become something more than another name for executive coaching (Korotov, 2016)). Because there is little engagement with the vast and robust theories of leadership, leadership coaching is limited to coaching a leader (Otter, 2015).

This limited view of leadership in coaching reflects the early years in leadership studies, in which a self-reinforcing circle predominated (Hunt, 1991). It went like this: since leadership is what leaders do, then the study of leaders tells us what leadership is and should be (Rost, 1993). By virtue of growing interest in leadership over recent decades, and the study of it from multiple disciplines the understanding of leadership, the field of leadership has matured in both theory and practice (Harter, 2006; Bolden, Hawkins, Gosling & Taylor, 2011). Leadership is now understood to be more than a role and position to also a process and a practice; more than merely the traits and behaviours of someone in charge to also a property of a system, enacted by multiple stakeholders; to more than an individualistic activity to one that takes place as part of collective and a culture (Alvesson & Spicer, 2011; Denis, Langley & Sergi, 2012; Grint, 2010; Kezar, Carducci, Contreras-McGavin, 2006). With this in mind, the future of leadership coaching becomes something more than merely coaching a leader, to coaching to enhance the practice of leadership that reflects its full spectrum of complexity in context appropriate ways.

For leadership coaching to mature in this way, it needs to do what most coaching specialities do. In such specialities as health, business or financial coaching, the knowledge and theories of the speciality is linked together with the knowledge and theories of coaching Cox, Bachkirova & Ashley, 2014). This is our focus in this workshop. In it leadership scholars, educators and practitioners engage in a shared inquiry on what the future of leadership coaching can be. We draw upon two literature reviews of leadership coaching Korotov, 2016; Otter, 2015) and preliminary findings of research into leadership coaching practice to describe its current state (approximately 20 minutes). To explore a possible future state of leadership coaching we engaged in small and large group dialogue in three cycles. The first cycle is to identify what from the field of leadership studies should be part of the leadership knowledge base of leadership coaching (20 minutes). The second cycle is to review the practical knowledge base of coaching and its underlying theory of change, particularly workplace, organizational and executive coaching (20 minutes). And the third cycle is to link these two knowledge bases to sketch some propositions of what the future of leadership coaching should be (20 minutes), and identify the next steps, including future research, in advancing the development leadership coaching as a more mature coaching speciality (10 minutes).

In summary, this workshop draws upon the experience and expertise of ILA participants to contribute to incorporating a more sophisticated understanding of leadership theory and knowledge in leadership coaching. It is centered on the question what ought to be the futue of leadership and how do we get there. This engagement is necessary in order for coaching to become a viable pathway for leadership development, and toward cultivating the kind of leadership intelligence needed in today’s interdependent, pluralistic, complex, dynamic and uncertain world.

By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

• Assess the present state of leadership coaching;
• Identify the assets and limitations of leadership coaching for leadership development;
• Formulate a perspective of the foundational knowledge in leadership and leadership development for leadership coaching;
• Synthesize practical knowledge in coaching with practical knowledge in leadership toward enhancing leadership coaching as a viable pathway for leadership development;
• Practice shared leadership;

The workshop closes with the opportunity for participants to identify ways they would like to remain involved in contribution to the maturation of leadership coaching for leadership development.

Sub Unit

• Leadership Development

Presenter

• Ken Otter, Saint Mary's College of California