Professional jealousy and the race to outdo each other are very obvious in the corporate world. Have you ever been a part of it?
Working as an executive business coach at Pinnacle Wellbeing, I have often come across executive leaders who are still committing some serious mistakes in their leadership careers. Nobody bothers to correct them. These mistakes could have been ignored when they were at the beginning of their career but now that they have leadership roles, they need to quit them.
But how could they when they don’t know about them being wrong? This is what executive leadership coaching London helps with.
What Is Marshall Goldsmith Leadership Coaching
Marshall Goldsmith was a well-known coach. He introduced a method of coaching for seniors and executive leaders working in the corporate sector or executive businesses. The reason for introducing this executive leadership coaching was to coach the people in senior positions who were unable to make further progress due to some behavioural issues that made them successful in the past but were now causing hurdles in their path of success.
He noticed that nobody points out these mistakes of the senior leadership, so he also introduced a fair feedback system that included feedback from the seniors, peers, and every staff member. The feedback was completely honest and helps the leaders improve their skills and issues that hinder their growth.
For example, speaking up without being asked or giving clues to prove your point may prove helpful when you become a leader from a starting position, but when you are a leader, you need to rework on your skills as the expectations from you have changed with your role.
Now you are expected to behave as a leader, but the problem begins when nobody is willing to train the new leaders and tell them how they need to change according to their senior rank. This is where this executive leadership coaching in London helps.
How Does Leadership Coaching Help Senior Executives Improve Performance
The higher you rise in an organisation, the less honest feedback you receive.
People around senior leaders stop telling them uncomfortable truths. They agree in meetings and complain in private. They filter what they say and say what they think the leader wants to hear. This is how senior leaders end up surrounded by agreement and still wondering why things are not working the way they should be.
An executive business coach from Pinnacle Wellbeing will help you adapt to changes in your attitude and behaviour according to your rank and people’s expectations from you as a senior leader. Unless you know what is lacking in your behavior or what you need to change, you can’t become a good leader with the desired leadership qualities. Everybody is not born to be a leader but executive leadership coaching helps people learn leadership skills effectively.
Key Principles Behind Marshall Goldsmith’s Coaching Approach
The Marshall Goldsmith approach is built on principles that make it different from other leadership development programmes.
The first principle is that change happens in daily interactions, not in training rooms. A leader can attend workshops and read books and still behave exactly the same way on Monday morning when they are back dealing with real pressure and real people. Executive leadership coaching focuses on changing behaviour in actual situations where it matters.
The second principle is that the people around the leader are the true measure of success. It does not matter whether the leader feels they have changed. What matters is whether the people around them experience a genuine change in how the leader behaves. The change has to be real and visible to others.
The third principle is that successful leaders need to let go of behaviours that no longer serve them. People believe that the qualities that helped them become a leader in the past are still helpful and hence they don’t let go of them. However, it’s not the case for many behaviors. You need to let go of your desire to win every argument. You can’t pose as the smartest in the room anymore. You shouldn’t try to always win an argument. These are some behaviour changes that need to be changed when you have secured a senior position. And this coaching is aimed at helping you let go of these habits.
The fourth principle is feedforward over feedback. Instead of focusing on what went wrong in the past, leaders ask the people around them for specific suggestions about what they could do differently in the future. This shifts the conversation from criticism to practical improvement and forward focus.
What Results Can Leaders Expect from Executive Leadership Coaching
The results from this approach are visible and measurable.
Leaders who go through this process consistently find that the people around them notice a genuine change in behaviour. Direct reports feel more heard and valued. Peers experience less friction. Senior leaders see more confident and decisive leadership from the person they have been working with.
These changes translate directly into business results. Teams perform better when they feel genuinely led. Decisions happen faster when honest input is welcomed rather than filtered. The process takes time. Meaningful and lasting behavioural change in senior leaders takes twelve to eighteen months of consistent work. The coaching doesn’t bring a change overnight. The change becomes obvious when the leaders start putting effort in changing their behaviours towards the pointed issues.
How Leaders Maintain Long-Term Behavioural Change After Coaching
This is one of the most important questions in executive leadership coaching.
The honest answer is that behavioural change requires ongoing effort. Leaders who complete the coaching process and then stop asking for feedback and stop paying attention to the behaviours they worked on will gradually drift back toward their old patterns. This is normal and human. The difference is that leaders who have been through this process know what to watch for and have the tools to catch themselves and correct course when they notice the drift happening.
At Pinnacle Wellbeing, we support leaders beyond the formal coaching engagement through ongoing check-ins and refresher sessions that keep the behavioural change alive and developing over time. The goal is not a leader who changes during coaching. It is a leader who has genuinely changed and stays changed.
FAQs
What is Marshall Goldsmith’s leadership coaching?
It is an approach to executive business coaching that focuses specifically on changing the behaviours that limit a leader’s effectiveness at senior levels. It starts with structured, honest feedback from the people around the leader and then works on a small number of specific behavioural changes through a consistent, ongoing process.
How does leadership coaching help senior executives improve performance?
It gives them honest information about how their behaviour is actually experienced by the people around them, which most senior leaders have never had access to before. This forms the basis of a focused change process that produces improvements in relationships, team performance, and leadership effectiveness that are visible to everyone in the organisation.
What are the key principles behind Marshall Goldsmith’s coaching approach?
Behavioural change happens in daily interactions, not training rooms. The people around the leader are the true measure of success. Successful leaders need to let go of habits that no longer serve them. Feedforward is more powerful than feedback. These principles together create an approach that produces lasting change rather than temporary improvement.
What results can leaders expect from executive coaching?
Improved relationships with direct reports, peers, and senior leaders. Better team performance and engagement. Faster and more confident decision-making. A leadership style that creates genuine trust and openness in the people around them. These results build over twelve to eighteen months of consistent work.
How can leaders maintain long-term behavioural change after coaching?
You can keep improving by prcticing what you been taught during your leadership coaching and seeking continuous feedback from your peers. It will help you keep a track of your progress and you can keep improving till you attain the desired attitude.
Conclusion
Leadership at senior levels is ultimately about behaviour. How you show up in daily interactions, how you make the people around you feel, and whether the way you lead brings out the best in your organisation or quietly limits it.
Marshall Goldsmith’s leadership coaching addresses this directly in a way that produces changes that actually last. If you are a senior leader who wants to perform at a genuinely higher level, or an organisation looking to develop executive leadership capability, we at Pinnacle Wellbeing are here to help. Our executive leadership coaching in London is delivered by certified professionals with real experience working at senior levels across the UK. Reach out today and take the first step.
