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Mike Bundrant

iNLP Center

Co-Founder and Lead Trainer

Read more from Mike Bundrant

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Is An Executive Coaching Program Right for You?

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One of the commonly cited reasons for clients to seek out executive coaching is their feeling that their careers have stalled or that they have not reached the height of success that they desire. It has been found that programs that are short in duration and very targeted in nature can yield the best results. If you are considering such an executive coaching program, there are many excellent reasons for joining such a program. 

Benefits of a Group Coaching Model

If you are seeking to boost your career, and have found that you may not have the skill set necessary to make it to the next level, an executive program can help you to achieve the results that you desire. Once you have achieved a certain level of success, the benefits of a group training program may outweigh those of a more traditional one on one arrangement. To wit, there are many roadblocks that are common across industries and companies, and the feedback that one receives from their peers can prove to be more impactful than advice from a third-party observer. 

The Role of Group Dynamics

Additionally, group dynamics can play a role that mimics that which is experienced in a corporate or another work environment. When there is a group framework, the shortcomings and strengths of each participant can be amplified. Such amplification is helpful in yielded the desired results and outcomes of the group experience. Executive coaching also focuses on the development of leadership skills, thus making the group set-up quite beneficial. Leadership skills are quite difficult to develop in a vacuum and even the most effective coaching relationship can have limitations in this area. 

Utilizing a Psychodynamic Coaching System

Such a system allows the participants to gain a greater understanding of what leadership means in practice as well as the theoretical components. Such a system allows all group participants to gain further insight into their leadership strengths and challenges. These skills can then be put into practice with the group members who are in a similar career position as themselves. 

Working with other executives also provides a certain level of feedback that one may not experience from subordinates or general trainers. The Psychodynamic Coaching System also has the added benefit of decreasing the likelihood of a participant skating by without fully engaging in the group training. Executives may suffer from emotional issues that are now creating roadblocks in their success. As previously mentioned, many participants are drawn to executive coaching programs because they believe that they have reached the highest possible level of success that is attainable on their own. 

The psychodynamic coach will provide the framework for the participants to further explore the emotional and behavioral realities that are now holding them back. This process can be difficult, as many participants will have achieved some level of success already and may be reluctant to revisit these old wounds. This is another factor in the success of the group dynamic, as the client will feel less alone as they realize that other participants have similar unresolved issues. 

In such circumstances, it is vital for the coach to recognize this reluctance as a natural defense mechanism rather than an unwillingness on the part of the participant to advance their progress. 

A clinical approach is typically the most effective, and it is up to the coach to provide a framework that allows the participant to draw their own conclusions. Rather than telling the client how their past pain is impacting their current success in a negative manner, it is more beneficial to allow them to make this discovery on their own. This clinical approach allows the participants to reap the benefits of both a group dynamic as well as more didactic experience. Coaches must allow the participants the room that they need to expand their own observations and reach the conclusions that will help to further their careers.

Group executive programs are an effective way for clients who feel stuck and stymied to reach the next level of professional success and is a viable option for anyone who is looking to rise to the next level of success in their careers. 

Author Profile Picture
Mike Bundrant

Co-Founder and Lead Trainer

Read more from Mike Bundrant
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