13: REFLECTIVE RESPONSE 1 ■ 317accessible to a team with an open door policy and creating office time for the leader to
be alone in the their second case study. In addition to finding their balance of creating
relationships and finding the balance of being available to the team, I found additional
challenges in transitioning from the bedside to a management position.
The hidden challenges in professional transitions reflect a previous reality that I
experienced in the acute care setting. Loneliness, wavering confidence, boundary set-
ting, questioning my own competency, and staying true to my own identity clearly
haunted me as I made my various transitions from bedside to the boardroom. Over
the past 12 years, having an executive coach allowed me to overcome these hidden
challenges. I believe it is an art to learn how to find your own voice and ensure that it
is heard in the appropriate settings. The executive coach is the person who encourages
and supports you in finding your voice and reminds you that your main responsibility
is to speak the truth. Coaching allows professionals to become neutral and objective per-
sons who can be a mirror to reflect their true sense of self.
As Weinstock and Glasgow mentioned, there are many different approaches to
coaching. I have found that to be true in my experience as well. Each coach and client
will establish how they collect and analyze data, involve other key players in the insti-
tution (or not), and establish the specified number of sessions and time frame in which
the coaching process takes place. I have found that the use of a “360-degree”-feedback
survey enriches the coaching experience. Thach (2002) used a “360-degree”-feedback
instrument to determine the impact of executive coaching on leadership effectiveness.
Two hundred and eighty one leaders participated in “360-degree” feedback before
and after an average of 6 months of coaching. During the two phases of the study, the
overall impact of leadership effectiveness, as perceived by direct reports, peers, and
managers, was an average of 55% and 60%, respectively. I have experienced similar
results when coaching was combined with a “360-degree”-feedback tool. Combining a
tool that gives a leader insight into her style with an executive coach who can assist in
further refining the leadership behaviors and competencies that are critical for success
is a perfect formula for leadership effectiveness. Laske (2004) investigated the mental
and emotional growth of six executives who were coached over 14 months. Coaches
and participants’ developmental and behavioral profiles were assessed before and
after coaching. Three executives made significant developmental progress and were
perceived to have improved their leadership effectiveness through the use of coach-
ing. This type of developmental progress takes time and a willingness to reflect on
your own personal growth opportunities.
It is important in this period of significant change that nursing leaders take the time
to reflect upon their own journey. Weinstock and Glasgow provide reflective questions,
which stimulate the reader to pause and become introspective about their own lives.
As nursing leaders take the time to become introspective, having an executive coach
at their sides will only accelerate their personal and professional growth. According
to Wales (2002), coaching provides a space for profound personal development and
enables leaders to understand how to translate personal insights into improved leader-
ship effectiveness and, ultimately, organizational development. As these authors noted,
executive coaching can inspire and support the nursing profession as it attends to its
mission of creating strategies and solutions that improve, and heal, the human condi-
tion. I believe that creating caring, healing, and compassionate cultures for our team and
patients we serve takes an incredible amount of stamina and resilience. The research
and evidence is clear: executive coaching can have a profound impact on the conscien-
tiousness of nursing leaders. This leadership intervention will help ensure we lead with
our values intact.