Your Coaching Questions - Answered

A: While everyone has their own definition, we’ll take it from Richard Kilburg – a world-leading consulting researcher. He defines business coaching as a helping relationship built to develop the coachee’s performance and elevate the organization’s overall effectiveness. This is exactly what we do at Burrows. We leverage a rainbow of potent behavioral techniques to pinpoint and reach milestones in terms of performance, business growth, and personal satisfaction.

A: Leadership agility refers to a vertical, or staged development framework. There are various distinct levels when it comes to increasing leadership effectiveness, which leaders carry with them as they progress higher on the leadership ladder – from “expert” to “achiever” to “catalyst”. Agile leaders don’t hesitate to move between stages to leverage skills from earlier levels where needed. Think of agile leaders as a camera. They have the capability to zoom in and focus on tactical issues or zoom out for a wider perspective where necessary. They can focus on things that matter at any given moment, from systems to stakeholders, time frames, and beyond.

A: Similar to agile leadership, an agile organization is one that can quickly and efficiently change and grow, depending on the situation. Agile organizations are human-centric and stable, even in VUCA conditions (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous). Agile organizations are hellbent on pleasing customers and delivering reliably, by adapting quickly to market changes.

A: While we don’t have magic wands, we do have numbers. Studies show that companies that hire professional business coaches experience an 88% rise in productivity. Managers also report an average conservative financial return of 6x the cost of coaching. Ask any of our clients, and they’ll tell you the same thing: Leadership coaching isn’t an expense; it’s a long-term investment that almost always pays off with astounding returns. Why? Because coaching makes training stick.

A: No. Quite the opposite. Coaching is key to fueling high-potential employees and feeding their room for growth. While companies did indeed engage coaches to fix toxic executive behavior in decades past (according to Harvard Business Review), times have changed. Today, business coaching is an essential tool in developing high-potential talent, facilitating transitions, and giving leaders a sounding board. Addressing toxic behavior matters too, but it’s not priority #1 when it comes to hiring a coach for leaders.

A: While there are plenty of leadership coaching packages online, that’s just the problem. Most are cookie-cutter solutions that are just as inflexible as the companies that provide them. Like you, we think differently. That’s why we tailor all packages to suit your unique needs. Prefer something pre-compiled? Each leadership coaching package includes:

Verbal 360 with 3-4 stakeholders

 ✔ Leadership agility 360

 ✔ Psychological testing

 ✔ Strengths assessment

 ✔ Access to personalized client portal