THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 1
The Executive Role for the Next Generation
Derrick Strickland
Liberty University
BMAL-501
Dr. Barry Bunn
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 2
Abstract
The executive leadership style and coaching is a technique that has been crucial for the success
of not only the business organizations, but also the societies at large. The coaching ensures that
the subordinates are able to apply the high-quality skills that they learn from their coaches and
mentors in various scenarios and handing the skills down to the next generation. Various
organizations and coaches apply diverse techniques to ensure the success of the coaching.
Critical among the techniques applied include deliberate practice, and the enhancement of a
positive culture in the organizations. For instance, coaches that operate on a friendly basis with
their subordinates have been able to record tremendous success in their projects. To ensure
effective performance, managers need to inculcate appropriate practices to conduct effective
training for their subordinates.
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 3
Executive Leadership Style and Environment of Coaching
Strong leadership has emerged as one of the most valuable assets in the new millennium.
The abilities and positions bestowed upon individuals in present-day society often come with
immense responsibilities. Executive coaching has often been enhanced within business
organizations that are very complex to improve their success and operations. Executive
leadership and coaching refer to the aspect of training others identified, mostly younger people in
the environment, to learn and to equip them with tools and skills for improved performances. In
the work environments, executive leaders have been using the technique to solve performance
problems and improve the employees, teams, and departments' work.
While the two appear to be almost similar, there is a significantly slight difference
between coaching and mentoring. Mentorship generally helps an individual shape his values and
beliefs from someone in the industry who has been there for long and is willing to share the
wisdom amassed over the years. The mentors are usually more experienced versions of their
mentees. On the other hand, coaching refers to increasing the technical know-how of an
individual in the industry. Coaching is often short-term, structured, and focuses on a specific
development affair.
The study of executive leadership and coaching is vital for enhancing the navigation of
change in senior positions at various social levels. All organizations and societal leadership
positions must encounter change at some period in their existence (Rosha & Lace, 2016). As
such, it is always important for the new individuals taking the mantle of leadership to
demonstrate high levels of competence from the start. Another significant importance of the
study is for the improvement of other societal factions. For instance, individuals that have been
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 4
taken through the coaching process can always be released to lead in other areas. The studies are
often crucial for the production of strong and better leaders in society.
Themes and Trends
Various themes and trends often emerge from executive leadership and coaching. The
first significant theme that has been established from the study entails increasing the self-
confidence of the subjects. The individuals exposed to coaching and effective executive
leadership have often registered a significant improvement in their self-confidence while
carrying out various duties. The aspect has been witnessed as coaching has become a mainstream
leadership development in various organizations and societies. Another significant theme that has
been witnessed in the study involves making career transitions. Significantly, most people that
have been coached and trained effectively tend to shift from their current careers to new
employment opportunities. The aspect has been coupled with the pursuit of one’s passion.
Theme One
The first crucial element of coaching and executive leadership entails the approaches
employed in practice. To effectively enhance learning for the individuals, the coaches often apply
strategies from five essentials of learning: cognitivism, behaviorism, humanism, social learning,
and constructivism (Allen & Buller, 2018). The authors, Allen, Jenkins, and Buller, offer
reflections on the leadership domains they have learned, practiced, and coached. Scott Allen
analyzes his experiences in springboard diving. The author spent considerable years in the pools
and coaching high school students and other teams through college. Allen asserts that one of the
tactics that he passed on to his trainees was deliberate practice, a skill that set them apart from
their competitors throughout their practicing. The author gives an example of Greg Louganis, a
diving group that posted the highest results in the games for years.
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 5
Deliberate Practice
According to Allen, one of the most crucial factors that enabled the teams to record such
significant performances was self-confidence. As an athlete, Allen did not begin on a 10-meter
race. He instead began from the one-meter diving board, where he continued to jump forward,
increasing his skills on a gradual basis. The development of the athlete's self-confidence was
greatly attributed to his coaching and the continued practice that he undertook under supervision.
For years, the coaching he received often got him out of his comfort zone for the 60 minutes of
the 90 minutes of practicing. Due to the games' competitive nature, there were significant trench
marks that all the athletes and the coaches drew their focus upon. The coaches were keen to
ensure that they took their subjects through perfecting the game. For instance, the degree of
difficulty for the particular game kept increasing year in ear out during the training and
practicing period. The aspect was coupled with the incorporation of the new techniques that were
emerging in the sport. Such measures were critical for increasing the participants' confidence as
they were in a position to take part in the competitions effectively. Through coaching and
training, the trainees became perfectionists and trained the next generation of players.
Dan Jenkins analyzes his encounter with Jazz, where he would coach CLC teams for
years. Jenkins worked in teams where interdependent individuals were empowered and equipped
with sufficient skills that could be used in the achievement of collective goals in Jazz music. The
author asserts that one of the critical factors for coaching's success was servant leadership that
was applied by all the coaches. Significantly, he asserts that effective coaching and executive
leadership requires a leader to understand the varied nature of all the trainees. This aspect will be
vital for seeking ways to blend the varieties and harmonize them to produce the desired
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 6
objectives. The blending, however, does not occur aimlessly. The leaders often undertake several
steps to enhance the success of coaching and executive leadership.
Jenkins posits that one technique often employed is the crafting of an informed
curriculum that is guided by the accomplishments made by the best performers. This aspect is
often fundamental in ensuring uniformity throughout the coaching and practice sessions.
According to the researcher, shining as an individual does not mean you will shine as a collective
group. Therefore, it is often vital for the individual members to ensure they contribute positively
towards the group performances' success in their quest to sharpen their individual skills. To
enhance effective coaching, it is always paramount to compare the groups with the current best
perming teams to enhance the performance analysis and determine the areas that need
improvement. The learners being coached often develop mental representations of what the high
performance looks and feels like through deliberate practice. The aspect propels them to work
extra-hard in ensuring they achieve their desired best performances.
On the other hand, Eric Buller states that deliberate practice is one of the hallmark
techniques used in training the United States Army in preparation for combat. “The trainings are
often conducted in mock military operations to allow the officers to ensure instant evaluation in
from the simulations.” Throughout the training, the cadets are always introduced into the small
units of tactics and leadership. Significantly, the units enable the cadets to practice forms of
leadership that are fundamental in the battlefields and have been crucial for ensuring the victories
attained by the army for years. Significantly, the training often provided in the military settings
allows the trainees to understand the complexities of their work and provide effective responses
to the war events. Other business organizations apply simulation techniques to train their
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 7
employees (Lipshitz & Nevo, 1992, p. 6). The simulation processes convey to managers
concerning what they should do to ensure that their work becomes effective.
Theme Two
Executive Coaching in Project Management
The application of personal competencies has proved to be consistently reliable in
enhancing the success of project management. Executive coaching has always been critical for
improving project management's personal competencies in fields (Ballesteros-Sanchez &
Rodriguez-Rivero, 2019). Ballesteros, Marcos, and Rodriguez conducted a study by observing
30 project managers and 30 observers determine the impact of coaching on different
competencies. Significantly, the study results showed that executive coaching has the greatest
impact on several behaviors of the trainees in project management. Such behaviors include
leading, managing, and finding effective strategies for coping with challenging situations in
organizations. Different executive coaching styles are often employed in ensuring that the
trainees are better suited for performing the vital tasks in project management.
Training the junior organizational members through executive coaching equips them
with technical skills that enhance the organizations' success, with the trainees in the frontline.
The study was in line with the complex theory. The theory asserts that the present day
organizations are complex and it takes the employees a significant amount of time, training and
induction processes to fully understand them. According to the theory, the current businesses
take a lot of time and effort to exert control and maintain a large centralized system to enhance
the effective control of their large organizational structures. Most organizations have found it
difficult to maximize their potential to enhance success due to the small number of trained
employees to conduct such duties. As a result, junior employees have since been gradually taken
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 8
through trainings through various platforms such as workshops. The organizations have taken
several measures to enhance the effectiveness of the trainings. The first crucial step has been the
simplification of the organizational rule structures. Under the technique, the companies have
been reducing unnecessary rules and procedures in their line of operations, to enhance the
employees' efficiency. The organizations have further ensured that all the requisite materials for
the pieces of training' conduction are available. Through such measures, the junior employees
have recorded tremendous improvements in their operations, hence the organizations' overall
success.
Putting Coaching Leadership Style into Practice
There is a great need for organizations to ensure that they put the identified coaching
leadership styles into practice to enhance their success. The project managers' main
responsibilities include planning, organizing, staffing, monitoring, controlling, and evaluating the
organization's operations. However, the job comes with immense challenges such as coping with
a complex project environment, dealing with issues across the functional lines, handling conflicts
in the organizations and managing change in the organizations (Berg &Karlsen, 2016). As a
result, it becomes quite hectic for the managers to apply the effective coaching leadership styles
in the dispensation of their duties.
According to the research conducted by Berg and Karlsen, the success of coaching
leadership styles in organizations depends on several factors. The first critical aspect that
determines the aspect involves the given organizational culture. Organizational culture is built on
organizational members' values and principles and is often inculcated in its mission and vision
statements. To enhance the coaching leadership, they have to first develop a culture of
friendliness with the junior employees. Different organizations apply diverse techniques to
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 9
enhance friendliness and effective coaching techniques (Sarsur & Parente, 2019, p. 140). Critical
among the techniques include creating a time where the junior employees and the management
interact informally on a friendly basis (Tews & Noe, 2017). The method has been vital in
enhancing employee satisfaction and increasing their probability of improving their
performances. A culture of friendliness enhances cooperation among the trainees, increasing the
chances of success for the coaching processes (Matsudaira, 2019, p. 12) Another tactic employed
to enhance an environment of friendliness is the junior employees' involvement in the crucial
organizational affairs.
A culture of friendliness in an organization motivates the employees to learn from their
managers in various ways. Employees that are free with their managers are, for instance, often
ready to ask questions and to push their managers into teaching them more skills and techniques
to enhance their success in the coaching sessions. On the other hand, a culture that does not
support the junior employees makes most of them begin considering other employment
opportunities. Besides leading to high turnover rates, there is a high possibility for the
employees not paying attention during the coaching sessions, which leads to the projects' failure.
Another element that can enhance the success of executive coaching entails self-
management. Executive coaching's principal objective is often to empower the employees into
believing that they have powers and the capacity to influence their work. According to the
research, the success of the coaching leadership styles relies on the employees' ability to develop
positive thoughts, positive feelings, and positive behavior, which will culminate into
commendable results. The approaches applied in the coaching often determines the adaptive
performance of the subordinates and the feelings of anxiety in the workplace (Hui & Sue-Chan,
2018, p. 675). The positive thoughts may often involve the goals to be achieved by the
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 10
employees, the projects that require implementation, the individuals' strengths, and success
stories. The coaching is often enhanced through appropriate engaging technique that incorporates
the lessons learned in the business schools (Butler & Spoelstra, 2018, p. 440). The inculcation of
such attributes by the individuals increases the chances of recording high levels of success from
the coaching sessions and offering leadership in such fields. Positive emotions include the
elements of commitment to the processes, passion, joy, self-efficacy, and optimism. Significantly,
the techniques are often vital for ensuring that the junior employees have the requisite level of
motivation to acquire the skills being passed on to them. According to the research study,
employees that have successfully inculcated positive emotions have, in most cases, been able to
excel and surpass the skills of their trainers.
The researchers posit that positive behavior involves delegation of tasks, conflict
resolution, applying incentives, listening attentively, and seeking clarification. The achievement
of the goals in project management requires the employees to be very effective in their self-
management. Such employees are often better placed to conduct organizational project activities
sufficiently. Such techniques are known to produce positive results for the various business
organizations' project management.
Another significant aspect that contributes immensely to the success of the coaching
leadership projects entails the coaches' signature strengths. Most project managers are often
tempted to become mentors or use more directive strengths if they feel the time is not in their
favor. Other managers may lack the requisite self-discipline and the patience to offer high-quality
coaching. One crucial technique through which the managers can enhance more successful
coaching involves understanding their signature strengths. These involve the basic aspects that
define the individuals, such as discipline, creativity, courage, and emotional intelligence, among
THE EXECUTIVE ROLE 11
other qualities. Ethical leadership, further, enhances the success of the coaching leadership styles
(Tu & Guo, 2018). The signature strengths enhance the corporation of mindfulness, which allow
the managers to perform exemplarily well in their coaching (Passmore, 2019, p. 170). Managers
who have successfully applied their signature strengths in their coaching have enhanced
successful coaching experience for the junior trainees.
Interpretivism
The coaching leadership styles rely on the principle of interpretivism. The aspect involves
a people-centered approach embedded in applying mixed methods to enhance its success (Ellul
& Wond, 2020). Ellul and Wond conducted a research study on executive coaching in Malta. The
results of the study indicated that there exists a significant misunderstanding of the type of
executive coaching being applied in the country. The misunderstanding spun from the confusion
between the role and those given to the people that undertake the duties of supervision,
consultation, therapy, mentoring, and auditing.
The research study has been vital as it highlights the specific areas that can be improved
upon to enhance managerial effectiveness, especially in public affairs. To enhance such
efficiency, there is a great need for the organizations to ensure the restructuring of the systems,
structure, and dynamics with the public administration. The technique will enhance the
recognition of talents among the stakeholders, hence improving their skills and operations.
Matsudaira (2019, p.17) postulates that it is essential to improve on managerial effectiveness by
working on a five plus-year timeline. Essentially, this includes documenting priorities, sustain an
open communication among team members, and ensuring one is always updated on the industry,
just to mention but a few (Matsudaira, 2019, p.17). The research further found out that
organizations need to create specialized coaching for the various employees to enhance an
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increase, not only in the employees' performances but also in the performances of the
organizations at large.
Impact of CLS
A great difference has been recorded between the managers that enhance the coaching
leadership styles on their junior employees and those that do not. Significantly, managers who
ensure that their subordinates receive career mentoring often record higher performance ratings
than their counterparts (Wang & Lim, 2018). The managers often enhance the companies' overall
success. The employees who have been taken through such training pieces are often able to lead
in the vital organizational projects in the absence of the senior management teams. The CLS
enhances the reduction of insecurities among the trainees in the employment sector (Debus &
Konig, 2019, p. 334). The trainings enable the employees to apply appropriate stress reactions
and techniques in dealing with difficult situations.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Executive leadership coaching is a critical element for the success of organizations and
societies. The managers and coaches often employ various techniques to ensure the success of
the training sessions. Typical examples of the techniques that have been employed include
deliberate practice and the measures such as enhancing friendliness with the trainees. The
techniques have often set the managers apart concerning the amount of success they record. To
ensure effective performance, managers need to inculcate appropriate practices to conduct
effective training for their subordinates.
