Coaching: A Must Have In Your Leadership Development Plan

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Ian Coyle
November 11, 2024

“A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” – John Wooden

Executive or leadership coaching, herein referred to as coaching, is gaining in popularity in the ranks of those in leadership positions in the public sector. Heretofore, this was a service more confined to the c-suite of the private sector. I come at this discussion and commentary from a duality of perspective. I have availed myself of a coach and I also serve as a coach via 1:1 coaching work with Executive and Director level position-holders, most in the public sector.

As a chief administrative officer for many years,I get the trepidation to partner with an executive/leadership coach for purposes of personal growth and professional development. CAOs, good ones at least, are sort of built to lead and do stuff individually and get things done by themselves. Seeking assistance on matters such as these are often foreign concepts.

That being said, the clients I coach universally tell me—I needed this type of arrangement. Why? CAOs of local governments are high performers. To excel they need supports just like anyone else does, to further refine talents, to recognize areas of weakness and to hone developmental skills. A competent executive coach can work with a willing and engaged leader/manager to tap into areas of growth and to get over humps and obstacles that were initially seen by the CAO, formerly operating just within their solo lens, as impenetrable.

I would assert that the coach doing the coaching is important. Speaking individually to my specific consultative service experience, CAOs want to talk and be coached by someone who has done this type of stuff before, who has walked the walk so to speak. Someone who has negotiated dicey labor agreements and dealt with a politically toxic board. Someone who has been challenged with both hiring and firing decisions, and big and small picture planning processes at the local government level.

There was a time that coaching was deemed to be a sign of weakness. Who needs a coach? I’m fine. While coaches are not clinicians in the medical sense of the word, this reminds me of the antipathy and steadfast stubbornness of some people with clear needs—“Who needs a doctor (or therapist)? I’m (mentally or physically) fine.”

In fact, securing professional, experienced coaching consultation is the exact opposite of a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength. It is likely that the CEO or CAO you follow or the sports star athlete you emulate or the actress you love to see in the movies or the business guru you strive to replicate the success of, all have or have had coaches. Growth patterns can be developed and adhered to with the help of a coach. And if you are already strong and successful, sustainment would be the goal for a coaching service and also work/life balance and strategic planning and stretch goal attainment.

Coaches like me work with clients of all types, young and old, experienced and inexperienced, middle managers to top-level, 1,000+ staff organizations. The commonality is: Each of these individual clients has recognized coaching as a necessary component to their success and their overall professional and personal development plan.

Think about questions you might process and talk through with an experienced coach who actually has the breadth of lived professional and personal experiences to both understand and empathize with whatever you are wanting to connect on. What’s the meaning behind what you do? What are you meant to do? What is your next step? We hear these questions come up on podcasts, in business texts and in the self-help section of the paper, online mediums and libraries.

It’s singular. What I challenge my coaching clients to think about and these are usually CEOS of high-performing local government organizations, is that you mustn’t and needn’t be defined by an individual meaning, calling or passion. Instead, think of your life as a series of these things and you will be better off. When we define ourselves solely as our job—I’m a City Manager. I’m the Director of Public Works—It loses the emphasis of the multitude of passions that exist for you. Parenting, friendship, service in clubs, coaching sports, mentoring, consulting, volunteering, teaching, etc. When assessing performance, life, goals and career situations, do not let yourself confine your introspection to a single so-called “calling.”

As someone who is transitioning to another chapter in 2025, looking back, I wish I would have partnered with an executive coach earlier in my local government management career. I think I would have really benefited from the tutelage, mentorship and sounding board. Coaching, while not for everyone, is often a vital professional development and growth experience for public sector leaders.

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Author: Dr. Ian M. Coyle, ICMA-CM is the County Administrator in Livingston County, NY. He has worked in government for 20 years and has taught MPA courses for a variety of universities. Through his consultancy, Pracademic Partners, Ian also provides assistance to other organizations in four key areas: executive search; management consulting; executive/leadership coaching; and teaching, training & professional development experiences. Email: [email protected]

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