At Waterline Leadership we primarily use a methodology called Stakeholder Centred Coaching. Having been involved in coaching for several years we believe that some leadership coaches are paid for the wrong reasons. Their income is largely a function of time or the number of sessions they coach a client. These are not good metrics for achieving positive, long-term changes in behaviour. By using Stakeholder Centred Coaching we can guarantee positive, measurable change, mostly through the regular involvement of stakeholders.
At the beginning of a coaching relationship, aside from creating a clear understanding of what desired leadership behaviour actually looks like, we get an agreement on the key behaviours that will make the most influential change in leadership effectiveness. We find that many leaders are challenged by one or more of the following:
We believe a leader can be considered highly self-aware only when they completely understand the impact of their behaviour on others. To genuinely cultivate a heightened level of self-awareness, one must therefore seek and receive the feedback of others. This stakeholder feedback is the imperative element of our Leadership Coaching Program and we acknowledge that it’s not an easy thing to undertake. Regularly asking others for insights on behaviours that need improvement and sharing development goals takes courage. It also requires humility and discipline and an ongoing commitment to succeed - in full view of others. The wonderful side effect of this is an unusually high degree of accountability.
The thoroughness of the Stakeholder Centred Coaching process guarantees measurable positive change in leadership behaviour over a minimum of 12 months. As the process works on one or two key behaviours, identified by the Leader as important for growth, many other facets of their professional life will improve. Over time, an enhanced ability to lead and get the best out of their team will result in improvements on almost all of the perennial leadership challenges mentioned above.
"Will started out as my leadership coach but has become as an invaluable member of my inner circle. As a busy CEO I found our regular meetings something to look forward to because having a non-judgemental, confidential sounding board is really remarkable. The 360 feedback combined with my CliftonStrengths set me up brilliantly and Will’s coaching skills, listening and expert questions, helped shift me from ‘tentative’ to ‘self-assured."
"Thank you Helen and Will for the wonderful training that you have provided to the managers and the team leaders at Woollahra over the last year. Personally, I found the whole experience very useful and enjoyable. The Strengths assessment at the start of the program helped me to increase my self-awareness. The 360-degrees feedback tool and the thorough analysis provided by the team gave me a good insight on how my own perception of my leadership skills related to those around me. Creating a leadership statement based on personal strengths and values crystallised for me what I can bring to the team. The encouragement provided in one-on-one sessions increased my confidence and desire to achieve more. Helen’s and Will’s ability to create a relaxed and productive atmosphere in the workshops allowed the group to work well together, learn from each other and build connections. The strength-based vocabulary is now used by the team to highlight each other’s abilities, and the level of understanding of individual strengths has increased dramatically.
"I found the leadership coaching provided by Helen and Will to be a very valuable experience. It was a tailored process, which allowed me to reflect on my natural strengths and leverage them to grow my capabilities as a leader. They were both very personable, and created an open environment in which it was easy to absorb their extensive knowledge."
