3 Reasons Every Executive Needs Mentorship | Executive Coaching

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Karie Kaufmann, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

Are great leaders born or made?

As Ben Horowitz stated, “That’s kind of like asking if Jolly Ranchers are grown or made.”

Being a great CEO is a very unnatural job, and even the most charismatic of leaders need mentorship to help you hone your skills, challenge your biases and get the most from your team.

In my 17 years of coaching over 1,000 businesses, there’s one thing I’ve found that all my clients have in common: the CEO knows that they – and their company – are capable of more. That’s where mentorship comes in.

Here are 3 reasons every executive needs mentorship:

1) Increase Emotional Intelligence and Self Awareness
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to be more influential than others? It takes self-awareness and the ability to engage others in your vision.

As Les Brown says "you can’t see the picture when you’re in the frame.”

When a CEO is aware of your own strengths, weaknesses and preferences, as well as those around you, it helps you understand how best communicate with each individual on a personal and emotional level. That is the key to real engagement, and improved performance at all levels – from bottom line, up!

2) Become a More Effective Communicator
Every leader in the world says, “we need more/better communication.” However, few can describe what that means or how to achieve it. The truth is, the skills of communication and influence don’t come naturally to most people – it must be developed.

Communication is a mirror.

In other words, if your team doesn’t seem to “get” your vision, priorities or instruction, that is a direct reflection of what you did (or did not) communicate. The reason for this is that each person has their own unique communication style and preferences, so if you don’t have a structure in place to ensure your message is clear at every level, the gaps and breakdowns are inevitable.

Your primary job as a leader is to provide clarity that keeps the team engaged, and moving forward in sync to accomplish the organization’s top priorities. Even a one percent difference in how each person interprets the goals or priorities will compound in chaos, and reduce the overall effectiveness of the team’s efforts.

3) Set Clear Goals – and Achieve Them!
Here are a few questions I ask leaders when we first start working together:

 What’s the #1 thing that needs to happen this quarter to move the company forward?
 If I were to ask everyone in your company that same question, how many different answers would I get?
 What metrics do you use to track progress? In other words, how do you – and everyone else – know if the team is winning?
 What roadblocks or constraints are currently keeping you from your goals?

Recently I separately asked five executives from the same organization to tell me their company’s #1 priority. The CEO was shocked when I informed him that I got 5 different answers. He thought he had been clear and assumed they were all on the same page, but in reality, nothing had ever been written down or clearly defined. As their Executive Coach, I am now helping them to fix that by providing them with tools to create the plan, and accountability to execute.

This is a particular challenge in high-growth companies, where things are changing so fast that you’re making a year’s worth of progress in a quarter. It’s easy to get off track fast.

Remember, setting the goals is only 20% of the battle. 80% of success is in execution.

Final Thought:
Whether you want to drive transformative change in your business, or just fine-tune your skills as an executive – a great mentor can help. If you’re ready expose blind spots and take the next step towards achieving your goals, it’s time to find an Executive Coach who will challenge you, give you honest feedback, and help you become a more effective executive.