Thinking of becoming a leadership coach? Just starting your coaching career? Or are you contemplating a decision to specialize at this point in your coaching career?
Being a leadership coach is an extremely rewarding career. Fame, fortune…! Well, perhaps not fame and fortune right away, but it’s a great way to earn a living. You help people discover how to use their own talents and personality traits to achieve career and life success. Their success means your success. A true win/win situation – w-hat could be better than that?
However, is leadership coaching the right choice for you? Do you have what it takes to be a successful coach?
5 Traits Needed to be a Leadership Coach
- Passion for coaching
- Persistence
- Flexibility
- Integrity
- Trustworthiness
If you are currently in the coaching field, you already know you have the passion and love for helping people. If you are currently deciding whether or not coaching is right for you – ask yourself if you have the passion. A passion for coaching is very similar to a competitive nature. Just as a competitive person will out work, out think, and flat out try harder than their opponent, a person with a passion for coaching will do everything it takes to help clients achieve their goals or reach their dreams. Now, that’s leadership!
Persistence pays off in the coaching business. You need to be persistent to achieve anything of value in life, and you must be able to convey that sense of persistence to your clients. Lead by example; your persistence will show your clients the determination, dedication, and drive it takes to lead and succeed.
Doing the same things and expecting the same result is the definition of insanity. A leadership coach needs to be flexible when dealing with clients. Be open to suggestions, new ideas, experimental methods, and any scenarios that may benefit your clients. On first look, flexibility may seem contradictory to persistence, but it actually goes hand-in-hand with it. If you are persistent in achieving a goal, you will be flexible enough to try anything and everything.
Integrity is one of the most valued commodities in the coaching business. In an industry where sales is an integral part of the business, some coaches go too far when making claims. Hype does not mean help. Maintaining honesty and good character, even when promoting yourself, will provide value in the long run. Though it often seems like we live in a world where only hype and promotion count, integrity still matters.
In a recent interview, after becoming the winningest coach in Division I college basketball history, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, was asked what he thought was the most important trait for a successful coach to possess. He answer was trustworthiness. Coaching young college basketball players at the highest level is very similar to coaching clients to succeed. As a leadership coach, taking the advice of the most successful college basketball coach in history would be a very wise move.
If you possess a passion for coaching, persistence, flexibility, integrity, and trustworthiness, it’s time to hang out your shingle and start your career as a leadership coach. With those five traits, your going to be very successful!
Fred Philips
Business Coach
Writing Team, Coaches Training Blog Community
Hi Fred, thanks for this great article. I think the points that you talked about are important for any type of coach. As a career coach, I know that those same 5 traits: Passion, Persistence, Flexibility, Integrity, and Trustworthiness, are important to be successful in any coaching/entrepreneurial venture.
A leadership coach can help you clarify the leadership skills and behaviors that are important in your job, assess your strengths, and identify areas where you want to improve as a leader.