Although we shrink from talking about pastors as CEOs, a
recent survey of over 200 CEOs has some implications for pastoral leaders.
The 2013 Executive Coaching Survey poll was conducted by Stanford
University and The Miles Group. The study inquired about the kind of leadership
advice that CEOs and their top executives are–and aren’t–receiving, and the
skills that are being targeted for improvement.
The emphasis, of course, was on identifying the need for and encouraging
executive coaching.
According to
the survey, “Top areas that CEOs use coaching to improve [are] sharing
leadership/delegation, conflict management, team building, and mentoring. [At
the] bottom of the list: motivational skills, compassion/empathy, and
persuasion skills.” CEOs steer away from
coaching around the “soft people skills” because they either are uncomfortable
with those skills or feel that they don’t have the capacity to develop
them. The report does go on to say, however,
“When combined with
the ‘harder’ skills, improving a CEO’s ability to motivate and inspire can
really make a difference in his or her overall effectiveness.”
Although this was a survey of business
leaders, we should consider what we can learn from this about the commonalities
and differences of coaching ministers. Those
who coach pastors realize that most ministerial leaders are usually competent
in the relational skills. Their ability to
motivate, empathize with, and persuade people often led them to Christian ministry.
My experience, however, is that most
pastors could use coaching around maximizing both “hard people skills” and “soft
people skills” in their settings.
Challenges in a particular setting may require a minister to revisit how
he or she relates to people in the congregation. Those relational skills that drew him or her
into ministry may need to be revisited, encouraged, or refocused for a
particular setting. A coach can help
with that process.
The concerns that I find myself coaching
ministers around most often are time management, team building and staff
development, leadership, mentoring and supervision, and spiritual
development. These topics usually
require a mixture of “hard” and “soft” people skills, learning how to balance
the two.
The bottom line is that leaders realize
that they need an objective, knowledgeable coach to help them to become more
effective. The challenge for the CEOs
surveyed is to ask for that support. Two-thirds say they need it but don't ask for it. For
one reason or another, they pull back from seeking coaching.
The same is certainly true of the majority of
pastors. Ministers often resist seeking personal assistance—whether it be counseling,
mentoring, or coaching—because they fear being seen by their parishioners as
inadequate in some way.
Both types of leaders often miss the
opportunity to be more effective because they do not seek coaching. Isn’t it time for a change?
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