559: Marshall Goldsmith - The Power of Executive Coaching, How To Give & Receive Feedback, & Attributes of The Best Leaders (What Got You Here Won't Get You There)
Marshall Goldsmith discusses the attributes of the best leaders he's worked with: courage, humility, and discipline. He also explores the concept of happiness and its independence from achievement. The chapter 'The Importance of Having a Coach for Leaders' highlights the significance of coaching for positive behavior change. Marshall provides general life and career advice for making a positive impact. The hosts reflect on leadership attributes, coaching, and happiness, emphasizing the importance of having a coach and the relationship between happiness and achievement.
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Quick takeaways
Attributes of the best leaders: courage, humility, and discipline.
Successful coaching requires clients who are open to feedback, apologize for mistakes, and actively seek personal growth.
Deep dives
The Makeup of an Excellent Coach
An excellent coach understands that the most important factor in coaching is not the coach themselves, but the person being coached. Success in coaching requires letting go of ego and recognizing that the client's life, not the coach's skills, determines the outcome. Marshall Goldsmith emphasizes the importance of being a good client, willing to accept feedback, apologize for mistakes, learn, and follow up on a regular basis. The key to success is understanding that the coach is there to support the client's growth, rather than taking credit for their improvement.
Finding the Best Clients for Coaching
When it comes to finding the best clients, Marshall Goldsmith looks for individuals who are willing to receive confidential feedback, apologize for mistakes, and actively seek personal growth. He emphasizes the importance of clients being open to learning and demonstrating commitment by following up and getting measured in order to see progress. Goldsmith prioritizes working with individuals who are motivated to create positive change in their lives and are willing to acknowledge their own role in the coaching process.
The Power of Stakeholder Center Coaching
Stakeholder Center Coaching is a process that involves getting confidential feedback from key stakeholders, publicly acknowledging areas for improvement, apologizing for mistakes, and consistently following up and measuring progress. Marshall Goldsmith believes that involving key stakeholders is crucial for effective coaching. By collecting feedback from various individuals in a client's life, such as board members, peers, and direct reports, a comprehensive understanding of strengths and areas for growth can be gained. This feedback-driven approach helps clients make positive changes and achieve long-term success.
The Qualities of Successful Clients
According to Marshall Goldsmith, successful clients possess three key qualities: courage, humility, and discipline. Courage is needed to accept feedback, look in the mirror, and face the truth. Humility allows clients to recognize that they need help and that no one is perfect. Discipline is essential for taking consistent action and putting in the work required for improvement. Goldsmith believes that the combination of these qualities paves the way for personal and professional growth, leading to long-lasting positive change.
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Notes from my conversation with Marshall Goldsmith:
Attributes of the best leaders he’s worked with:
They are courageous, they have humility, and they are disciplined.
Do we all need a coach?
"I don’t know, but if we’re honest with ourselves, we all need help. And a coach can be someone to help…"
Happiness and achievement are independent variables.
I felt we kept going around in circles because I’m a prescriptive thinker and like actionable takeaways. And I feel like Marshall was helping me understand it’s more of a mindset.
With a PhD from UCLA, Marshall is a pioneer of 360-degree feedback as a leadership development tool. His early efforts in providing feedback and then following-up with executives to measure changes in behavior were precursors to what eventually evolved as the field of executive coaching.
“Fate is the hand of cards we’ve been dealt. The choice is how we play the hand.”
“Getting mad at people for being who they are makes as much sense as getting mad at a chair for being a chair.”
“Successful people become great leaders when they learn to shift the focus from themselves to others.”
“People who believe they can succeed see opportunities where others see threats.”
“If we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us.”
“A leader who cannot shoulder the blame is not someone we will follow blindly into battle. We instinctively question that individual’s character, dependability, and loyalty to us. And so we hold back on our loyalty to him or her.”
“Peter Drucker, who said, “Our mission in life should be to make a positive difference, not to prove how smart or right we are.”
“People will do something—including changing their behavior—only if it can be demonstrated that doing so is in their own best interests as defined by their own values.”
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