So, how can you make sure your career isn’t a flop? The difference between a successful production and a woeful failure is a good producer. One of the most under-utilized resources for C-suite leaders in all industries is leadership coaches. If any sector should understand the importance of mentoring and training, it should be higher education. Our firm has offered leadership coaching for years and we have found that it is not only beneficial for the mentee, but meaningful for the mentor. Leadership coaching is their encore. This positive relationship spurs untold growth. There are two key reasons that a leadership coach can propel your career forward.
Outside Perspective
The nature of blind-spots is that we don’t realize what we don’t know. Even our trusted inner circle is often too close to the scene to have a proper perspective. A leadership coach is able to be impartial about situations, while having a vested interest in your success. This is the best of all worlds.
The external vantage point of a leadership coach offers another benefit as well. You need confidants outside your organization. It will not profit your staff if you vent about the unreasonableness shown by the chairman of the board. You need safe, neutral parties with whom you can decompress and process.
The Voice of Experience
The perspective that leadership coaches bring is broad. A leadership coach is not only looking at the big picture of your institution, they are looking at the bigger picture of higher education as a whole. They have hard-won insights that they’ve garnered over decades of experience across multiple organizations. If you wait 40 years to gain this wisdom for yourself, it will come just in time for your retirement party. Don’t shortchange yourself on the insights you could be putting into practice in your career now. Leadership coaches are able to bring awareness and acumen for the betterment of your career.
One final piece of advice I have for all new presidents: take a walk. Just as performances are more dynamic when performers are in touch with their audience, you must know your campus. Get out of your office and spend an hour each week on campus with students and front-line employees. Eat in the cafeteria. Stroll through the quad. Browse the book store. Understanding the everyday experience of students will not only give you fresh insight into how to lead, it will remind you why you became a president in the first place.
Related:
3 steps to pursuing the presidency
Cheryl Hyatt is a founding partner and CEO of Hyatt – Fennell, Executive Search Plus and President and owner of The Charitable Resources Group, Inc.
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