Not all leadership skills are innate. Many of them can be taught. Why do executives fail to understand that?
There is no magic to improving leadership skills. It should come as no surprise that leadership encompasses a set of skills and many of these can be taught and learned. Many executives have coaches for their golf games, financial planners for their personal finances, and personal lawyers for legal advice. They are proud of having a well-known golf coach, financial planner, or a prestigious attorney. BUT they do not think they need an executive coach. Why is this? In most cases, it is because they see having an executive coach as a sign of weakness. They think that they already know and practice all the traits of superior leadership. After all, how else would they have gotten to where they are?
The truth is that most executives rise through the ranks without any formal leadership training. They think because they make that rise that they must have the skills that it takes. And, they must exercise them pretty darn well. But that is not always the case. Just as in golf or any other discipline, there is always a professional technique for a given skill that can vastly improve your game. Executive coaches have been taught these techniques and how to instill then in others through rigorous certification programs.
