I have been an Executive Coach for 15 years. Before that, I was a vice president in the business. So I understand both sides of the equation. If you are a CEO, HR leader, or someone else tasked with managing leadership development, this article is an important read for you.

The difference between an ultra-successful development strategy untilizing executive coaching and an okay one is the systemic coaching approach. This requires a little bit of effort on the part of the coach and the organization, but the extra steps are well worth it!

I would not consider myself the most patient of people. I know that a lot of my Type A, hard-driving Executive Coaching clients find themselves in the same boat. Over the years, I have moved the dial in my level of patience but I still have room to grow.

On a recent retreat, I found myself standing outside this Labyrinth. I have walked Labryths before. Normally, I focus on walking mindfully. I am aware of the feel of my body, my feet crackling on the dried fallen cedar branches crushing against small pebbles embedded within the soil. But, this time I found my intention to be different. As I started the walk, I tried to shut off thoughts from my brain and just trust my body to find its way through this winding path.

As an Executive Coach, I work with a lot of leaders to prepare them for entering into and then succeeding within C-level roles. What is important for people interested in entering into the top tier of leadership to develop and know to set themselves up for success? Here is a summary of my top tips…

Resilience is something we develop when we go through tough experiences. I think of my Dad when I describe this. Growing up, we had a lovely,well-manicured yard. My Dad wouldn’t have ever thought about hiring a maintenance crew. He did it all himself with the help of my Mom for planting and watering Other than that, it was all Dad. He would shovel and hoe almost every day. When I looked at the inside of his hands, they had callouses on them from the use of these gardening tools over time. These callouses emerged because tough work had required them to grow to help my Dad’s hands to be able to do everything that his life was telling them through experience he needed to do. The callouses helped him to carry through. To handle the tough stuff better.

And that is exactly how we grow our resilience. We develop this inner strength over time because we have to. This growth does not feel so comfortable at the time and often can feel like pain, but it forces us to shift and change to be able to carry the heavier load more efficiently.

One of the top 5 issues leaders and aspiring leaders come to me as an Executive Coach to work on is improving their executive presence.

I believe everyone can 100 percent have an executive presence. To me, it is the ability to own who you are as a person/leader and display that authentically and confidentially in the workplace.

How does your Executive Presence stack up? Take my quiz!

How do you know if working with an Executive Coach is right for you, or executives or high potentials at your organization?

I have learned that when it comes to ROI of working with a coach, the best return for your dollars is pairing a leader/high potential with a coach when the leader is showing great promise but needs to help work out a couple of issues or wants to reach for more.

Measurement in coaching is key. I work with assessment tools to help the leader learn where there could be hidden strengths and areas of improvement. We formulate three goals in the beginning which sets the focus for the coaching relationship. The client’s leader or mentor then is included in the conversation to ensure all goals align with strategic development plans. Action plans are developed and then measurement occurs throughout to ensure the client is on track to get exactly what they signed up for

I have worked with a lot of people over my years as an Executive Coach and seen them make amazing transformations. How are most of them doing it? Baby steps!

I know there can be the appeal of waiting for that one life-changing moment to turn things around and propel you to where you want to be. But, the reality is that it often doesn’t happen like that.

Sustainable change happens when we take small steps every single day, which alters our habits and rewires our brains so that over time, a real shift can take place.

Earlier on in my adult life, I seemed to thrive on adventure. I was always going here and there, pushing myself physically and loving the challenges. But, after having kids and more senior roles at work, adventure became about doing the best I could each day to keep all the balls up in the air! And, if I am being honest here, my carefree attitude in life became more about being a responsible adult.

Priorities change throughout the different stages of our lives. But, when I was recently talking to one of my clients about his adventures in Patagonia, Argentina, it lit a spark within me.

When you think about adventure, what comes to mind for you? How can you fit more of that into your life now?

Do you feel you are on the right path now? The path I am on is definitely not the path I thought I would be on at this stage in my life. I envisioned things looking very differently. I never thought my spouse would die so young and that I would be raising our children by myself and with a brain injury myself. And let’s not forget about COVID. That has made everyone’s paths veer off a bit from where they likely thought they were going to be.

But regardless if this is the path you saw for yourself or not, this is indeed the path you are on. How do you make the most of it?

I think this is a question we all ask ourselves at least once in our lives. For me, I seem to ask this question every few years. Just when I think I have the answer, something in my life shifts, and my life experiences evolve me into a different version of myself.

It can be fun experiences that allow us to grow, but I find change often comes when we have to dig deep within ourselves to get through a period of sadness, change, disappointment, or fear. Not dissimilar to the caterpillar in the cocoon, when we face struggle and challenge, we grow into something else.

Many of the leaders I coach have to sell as part of their roles, even if they are not in a direct sales position. Being able to sell your product, business or even your own ideas is a crucial part of creating success. But, it is not easy for a lot of people to do.

Why? Well, it can feel vulnerable. What if that person doesn’t buy what I am selling? What does that say about me? Or, “I don’t want to bug people.”I get it. But, changing your perspective to one of helping and serving others can help change everything for you.

Very few people I know have received any formalized mentorship training/coaching. Yet, most people have a strong component of mentoring others as part of their job.

Mentoring others isn’t just a nice to do, it is a need to do. If you want to be competitive in the marketplace, you need to have strong people. One of the best ways to create strong people is for them to have mentors. Either everyone struggles themselves along their career journey, or they have people to help teach them.

Tips to continue to grow to be a strong mentor?