CEO MONTHLY / FEBRUARY 2025 15 The Role of Executive Coaching in C-Suite Development - Kate Executive coaching in C-Suite Development is vital to the success of your organisation, yet many organisations are missing out on huge opportunities for growth as they believe that those in the C-Suite don’t need further development - that couldn’t be further from the truth. When Serena* took over as CEO of a £30 million technology firm, she inherited a fractured executive team and declining market share. Within six months of working with me as her executive coach, employee engagement scores rose by 40%, and the company secured its largest contract to date. Serena’s story illustrates a fundamental truth I’ve witnessed repeatedly in my years coaching C-suite executives: the most capable leaders know they need support to unlock their full potential. Research by the International Coach Federation shows that 87% of organisations report they recouped their investment in coaching and more, with median returns of 700%. More specifically, companies that invest in executive coaching report higher profit margins and a significant increase in both employee engagement and leadership succession readiness compared to those that don’t. The Evolution of Executive Leadership In my years of coaching C-suite executives through periods of intense transition, I’ve seen a fundamental shift in what makes leaders successful. One CEO I worked with captured it perfectly: “I’ve finally understood that my role isn’t to run the company, it’s to set the direction, and then make sure everyone has what they need to run it better”. This insight transformed not just his leadership approach, but his entire organisation’s performance, leading to a huge increase in innovation output and a 45% improvement in employee satisfaction scores. Today’s business landscape demands a different kind of leadership. Recent McKinsey research shows that companies with strong leadership development programmes are 2.4 times more likely to hit their performance targets and 3.5 times more likely to outperform their peers. The Self-Awareness Imperative Perhaps the most profound lesson from my coaching practice is the transformative power of self-awareness at the executive level. When C-suite leaders understand their own patterns, triggers and biases they make better decisions, build stronger relationships,and create environments where others feel safe to do the same.’That leads directly to higher levels of performance across the organisation. One CEO I worked with initially dismissed the idea that his communication style was affecting his executive team’s performance. Through our coaching partnership he came to recognise how his tendency to jump in with solutions was inadvertently suppressing his team’s initiative. Now he understands his impact and the team dynamic, the executive team are now engaged and empowered, their teams collaborate better and the CEO is no longer a decision-making bottleneck. Hiring is smoother and they even have a better calibre of candidates coming through the pipeline. Building Relational Intelligence In my experience coaching mid-sized businesses through transformation, the differentiator between good and exceptional C-suite performance often comes down to relational intelligence. Think of relational intelligence as the secret sauce in a leader’s toolkit - it’s how the best C-Suite executives read the room, connect the dots between people and get things done without leaving scorched earth behind them. Beyond just being emotionally savvy, it’s about knowing when to pull which strings, understanding the hidden currents of power and influence and building genuine relationships that weather tough times. The beauty of relational intelligence lies in its ripple effects. When a CEO truly gets it right, you see it everywhere; from the candid conversations happening in corridor meetings to the smooth execution of thorny strategic changes. These leaders aren’t just respected, they’re able to turn potential corporate battlegrounds into productive debate spaces. They have a knack for spotting and defusing problems before they explode into full-blown crises. The ROI of Executive Coaching The financial impact of effective executive coaching is compelling. Beyond the ICF’s reported 700% median return on investment, my clients typically experience improvements in: • executive team effectiveness • employee engagement scores • executive staff retention and the cost savings of executive recruitment • acceleration in revenue growth during transformation periods Perhaps more telling than these statistics are the real-time transformations I witness in organisational culture and capability. When leaders develop greater selfawareness and improve their relational intelligence, the effect multiplies throughout their sphere of influence. One recent client saw their employee Net Promoter Score increase by 45 points within eight months of beginning our coaching engagement, simply by making one key change Looking Forward As businesses continue to face increasingly complex challenges; from economic uncertainty, digital transformation to sustainability imperatives, the role of executive coaching becomes ever more crucial. The most successful organisations recognise coaching not as a perk or intervention but as an essential component of leadership development and business success. Through my work with mid-sized businesses in transition, I’ve developed a coaching approach that balances individual leadership development with organisational impact. It’s not just about improving executive performance, it’s about building happier, stronger, more resilient and more successful organisations. The evidence is clear: when leaders grow, organisations flourish. In today’s fast-paced business environment the question is no longer whether to invest in executive coaching, but how to leverage it most effectively to develop the leadership capabilities required for future success. *Name has been changed to protect their identity. About the Author: As founder of Meraki People, Kate Davis specialises in coaching C-suite executives through periods of significant organisational transition. She is ICF and GiANT accredited and is the current UK National Coach of the Year. Visit www.merakipeople.co.uk or connect with Kate on LinkedIn: katedavisleadership
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