how to grow your business

Business Results

In this new article, The Business Results Coaches, Managing Directors and Presidents guide the reader through an intuitive and comprehensive exploration of how mentors can help an organization achieve business results. In short, good leaders and good coaching really do make a difference. While there certainly is no question that effective leadership is key to driving excellent business results, there is also no denying that good coaching helps employees understand how they make a difference in the larger scheme of things. While there is no question that great leaders can offer clear direction and a strategic vision, what many companies fail to recognize is that they also possess an intangible leadership quality that can affect the effectiveness of their teams – and even determine the success or failure of that team.

The Business Results Coach explores this through the lens of organizational change. Transformative leadership, as the authors describe it, is a unique type of leadership which seeks to create lasting positive changes in organizations by encouraging the change-makers to take a “short-term view of the organization’s mission and strategy.” Specifically, the author contends that managers must be able to recognize when short-term gains (i.e., achieving business results) are outweighed by the long-term cost (i.e., creating changed behaviors). According to The Business Results Coach, “leaders who view the organization holistically will also have an essential skill that cannot be learned or cultivated: they will be able to make important decisions based on the information available to them.” In other words, true leaders are able to weigh the costs of acting on their beliefs and values (which may include losing sight of their original vision for the organization) against the cost of hiring outside expertise to guide them toward a predetermined course of action. Those that lack this insight are typically ill-equipped to effectively navigate the often-daunting minefields of organizational change.

Finally, The Business Results Coach recommends that leaders not only attend seminars to further understand the theories and applications of transformational leadership, but that leaders should develop “new skills, which they can apply to their own style of leadership, and use to build their success.” These new skills, according to the author, include: developing “a vision and a mission statement,” “establishing a vision for employees,” and “creating a high performance environment where the employee and the employer to cooperate.” Other suggestions include making “fast decisions” and “honoring the people involved in your decisions.” To achieve business results, leaders must be able to control emotions, adapt quickly to changing environments, and foster a work environment where people feel safe expressing their opinions.