Leadership Revolution

CHAPTER 6Breakthrough

I tried using a new skill I'm really excited about, but it didn't pan out.

Coach: Do you still feel like that skill is valuable?

Absolutely. I know it's going to help me. That's why I was anxious to try it.

Coach: Then maybe the problem was that you used a good skill but in the wrong situation.

Many managers and aspiring leaders—and even many seasoned leaders—struggle with the idea of leaving behind old habits and making new choices. Or, actually, they don't struggle with the idea; they struggle with the practice.

Most can understand (especially in the current, constantly shifting work and business environment) that success requires fresh decisions, new actions, and novel solutions. Unfortunately, few have been trained or developed or guided to execute on that core insight. That's why, as we saw in Chapter 5, even ambitious and accomplished individuals and organizations so often backslide into familiar modes of thinking and behavior. Even after doing the hard work of breaking down what's holding them back, they can have trouble breaking through to a new way of doing things.

Coaching can be particularly helpful in achieving those breakthroughs, because it takes a more nuanced and individualized approach to leadership development. By the midpoint of a coaching engagement, the coachee is often actively experimenting with new ideas, but still tentative about committing to them. That's part of the process of getting to breakthroughs.

Here's a helpful framework ...