Leadership Competence Coaching: Learn To Listen

Posted by George Purdy

May 22, 2008

by George Purdy

Power is both the most indispensable and the most mistrusted component required for human advancement. Power requires the ability to influence people and affect the course of future events. While often misused, power is still essential if an organization wishes to see its proposals applied. The organization must rely on leaders who understand the uses of power and act accordingly in a responsible and ethical manner.

There is a burgeoning need for leadership competence coaching. Negotiation, communication and expertise are elements of leadership by persuasion and inducing. Giving orders and using rewards and punishment to enforce those orders are elements of leadership by commanding. Employing networks and shaping organizational agendas are elements of leadership by shaping. Leadership competence coaching teaches a leader to be a well-rounded, effective leader through the use of persuasion, commanding, shaping and inducing, and how to balance and choose between those disparate styles on the basis of the given situation.

Business leaders can become exceptionally skilled negotiators with leader competence coaching. In organizations, good negotiating is a very important skill to possess. Leaders must also implement the right approach to negotiation. The objective should be to reach agreements that satisfy all persons involved and are equally fair to everybody.

Because all leaders need to play the role of executive coach for their employees and/or teammates, they must have excellent communication skills. Although written communication is useful for articulating formal policies, like mission statements, oral communication plays a more important role; generally, in common situations, people are more likely to be influenced by verbal than written messages.

One thing that you will definitely learn from your leadership competence coach is that listening is the most important part of communication. It’s ironic that listening is often downplayed. Receiving information is the foot in the door if you wish to influence others. An excellent venue to practice this important skill is in a group. Before anyone takes a turn to speak, he or she must summarize what the last speaker said.

Thus, a business leader’s actions should foster strong business practices to follow. Which means that the leader needs to follow up their words with actions that demonstrate their commitment to the strategy. They should be available to administrate, strategize, plan, transform, and problem solve. Leadership competence coaching shows the leader how to do these things and so much more as well.

In order for companies and individuals to compete in today’s business market, it has become vital to employ the services of a coach. Individuals who are employed as a business leader in their companies may want to investigate leadership competence coaching. Leadership competence coaches teach leaders the different types of leadership and when to use each one. This type of executive coach will help a person understand his or her team members better, will have a variety of leadership techniques at their fingertips, and will become a superior leader, able to inspire their team to set goals and achieve these goals.

About the Author:

George Purdy recently published some articles on coaching. He’s an established public speaker and writer on this matter. Look for more great tips and tricks to boost your knowledge on management coaching.

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