November 13, 2009 – Government Executive – Washington, DC, US

Something appeared in my inbox this week that sparked an opportunity to follow up on a post from last week – Feedback: Why You Need It and What To Do With It. As an alumnus and faculty member of the Georgetown University Leadership Coaching Certificate Program, I’m a member of a Yahoo list serve in which all of us in the community share resources and get advice from each other. It’s a wonderful ongoing conversation from which I learn a lot.

Yesterday, one of our members put out a question about how to deal with an executive coaching client who has received some clear developmental feedback from colleagues that doesn’t square with his self-image. As my colleague described it, his client spent his energy in the feedback session comparing all of the constructive comments to his own standards and arguing that everyone offering the feedback should be more like him.

By definition, executive coaches coach executives. Most executives have become executives because they’re smart and focused and driven to succeed. Sometimes, their track record of success reinforces a self-perception that they’re right all or most of the time and that everyone else should get with their approach and program.

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