Arden Consulting believes leadership coaching's main role is to assist the leader in achieving professional growth and the business results they desire. Coaching is a highly individualized process. No two people need exactly the same coaching to achieve the results they desire. Coaching offered by Arden Consulting is tailored to the needs of the client and is conducted in a highly collaborative manner.

While the exact nature of the coaching relationship will vary by client, most coaching packages include the following components:

• Contracting with client and client's direct supervisor
• Needs assessment
• Development Plan
• Regularly schedule one-on-one meetings
• Fieldwork, interviews, and feedback
• Practices and self-observation exercises
• Final meeting and follow-up plan of action

In the first phase of leadership coaching clients create a clear vision of their goals, aspirations and desired business results. In addition, clients describe their current scope of leadership and the strengths they feel they possess, as well as areas they recognize as needing further development. Arden Consulting offers a number of processes to assist a leader in putting this picture together. We may conduct a "laser 360" assessment in which one-on-one interviews with a sample of the leader's direct reports, colleagues and supervisors are held. Use of assessment instruments like the "Leadership Architect Competency Sort Cards" created by Lominger Limited, CCL's Benchmarks or PDI's Profiler, may also prove helpful in the assessment phase. Information attained from interviews and assessments is organized and reviewed with the client.

Following assessment a development plan that will guide the coaching relationship is formulated by the consultant and client. A variety of consultant and client-coaching contacts are useful, including on-site meetings, phone conferences, check-in phone calls, "office-work assignments", e-mails, referral to pertinent articles and books, and on-the-job observations. All of these approaches provide timely support and help insure forward momentum. In order to achieve lasting results, it is recommended that coaching relationships of at least three to six months be planned. Limited, or "one shot" efforts do little to enhance leadership skills.

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