Can executive coaches help in changing jobs or careers?
Absolutely they can. However, this is a good time to point out that there are many types of coaches working today and they have different areas of expertise. When it comes to your professional life, executive coaches are great resources when considering a job or career change. But there are executive coaches who specialize in career management. They provide professional guidance in everything from resume development to interviewing techniques. One of the best coaches in this category is Andrea Kay.
One of the main reasons people change positions is because they have become frustrated with their inability to move within their current position. This usually involves the lack of a promotion but also can simply be a feeling of being under appreciated. Before pursuing a new position, you need to assess why that promotion isn’t happening. Take a look at your job appraisals and review discussions regarding career advancement that you may have had with your boss. It is likely that you will find the answer that there is something holding you back. There is a skill that you do not have, or a weakness in your management style that keeps you from being promoted. Engaging an executive coach is a perfect way to address this situation.
An executive coach can help to clarify the reality of the situation, identifying the specifics of why the promotion or job change is not happening. The coach can then help you to plot a course of action to address the issues. The coach can show you how to promote yourself and becomes your own strongest advocate within the organization. The coach can also help to identify when it is time to move on – to find a new ladder to climb.
There are many factors that affect why people are being held back from new opportunities. Some are as straightforward as they do not have the skills. Some are more complex because they are rooted in complicated office politics. And, although many people do not like to face it, there is a point at which they simply do not have the talent to perform at a higher level. A good executive coach can identify all of these situations. They will help their clients change where improvement is possible and accept the reality of situations that the client may be ignoring or avoiding. But always, they client will be in a better position as a result of working with the executive coach. They will either have improved their skills or, at the very least, they will have gained a true insight into the reality of their own abilities and the situation in which they work.
Jerry Kleinhaus
Oakley Advisors
Certified Executive Coaching
Cincinnati, Ohio
