A Good Coach = A Good Leader
Originally published in The New Corporate University Review
July-August 2000
Honest, earns the respect and trust of others, builds long-term
relationships, makes good decisions and is patient.
These are the qualities of a great human being, leader and coach,
according to Mark David, an executive coach. With more than 20
years of experience, Mark David, 53, during the 1980s was know as a
turnaround expert because of his role in restructuring several San
Francisco area companies.
Today David is the president of The Mark David Corporation in San
Mateo, California, where he coaches managers in building
high-performance teams. In his newly released book, Coaching
Illustrated: a proven approach to real-world management, David
describes the 30 principles he considers to be essential in
becoming a successful coach and leader. In a recent interview,
David said the book is for those who were looking for one source to
help improve their coaching techniques.
"I wrote this book for people who are looking for rules and
regulations, ways and techniques to be a better coach," David
explains. "I found that in the corporate environment where I came
from, there was no easy access to this information. I read Ken
Blanchard, Peter Senge, Steven Covey and others, but there was no
one place for this information.
"Basically, this book is for anyone who is looking to become a
better coach, though you don't have to be one in order to benefit
from it. This is for people who want to manage those around them,
who are looking for ways to influence others proactively."
David adds that the book also helps managers assess their own
behavior and take into account whether they have actually followed
through on the 30 principles.
"It's all about communication," David says. "Recently I started
working with a high-tech organization. Everyone there is a
scientist with an Ivy League education. I started with the
following experiment. I gave all of the top managers and executives
a test with 100 questions on how to be a coach. All of those tested
scored 100 percent. Then I took the same 100 questions to the front
line and asked them the same questions about their bosses. Their
employees flunked them."
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