The Inner Game Of Leadership

Leaders that strive to be dynamic, successful and effective must develop their ‘inner game’ of leadership. Tim Gallwey created this term in The Inner Game of Golf, The Inner Game of Tennis and The Inner Game of Work.

Qualities such as vision, courage, passion, wisdom, intuition and the like are what make up one’s inner game of leadership. In order to address this area and grow, one must have a leadership coach.

 

Three reasons to consider a leadership coach to improve your inner game include:

1. We are limited.

As a leader, you have your own mindset and limited experiences to pull from. A coach is able to expand our thinking to help us improve our inner game. People fear failure and a coach will go alongside them to encourage, bolster and critique as needed.

2. Leaders become more effective.

Leaders that receive leadership coaching are able to realize a quantifiable return on investment. They are able to observe behavior without criticism and appreciate that change is possible.

3. A leadership coach helps us observe nonjudgmentally.

Gallwey talks about the fact that we all have a Self-1 (the big ego) and Self-2 (the wise one). A leadership coach helps their client’s inner game by seeing to it that they’ll learn how to observe nonjudgmentally.

Self-1 isn’t trusting and is more fearful. Self-2 is the real person with potential and the desire to enjoy life. When leaders act from Self-2, they are more receptive and unbiased to those around, which is important in leadership. A coach is able to encourage leaders to act more from Self-2.

 

In order to expand your inner game, be sure to set goals with your coach. You need to know what you are working towards in order to pull off your action plan. After you accomplish your plan and goals, you’ll want to regroup with your coach in order to measure your changes and provide the highest amount of growth possible when it comes to your inner game.

Dynamic and successful leaders focus not only on their outer competencies but their inner game too. A leadership coach is extremely helpful to growing as an effective leader.

 


Written for us by our associate Gary Sorrell, Sorrell Associates, LLC.

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