INVESTING IN WHAT MATTERS: THE IMPACT OF EMOTIONAL AND SOCIAL COMPETENCY DEVELOPMENT AND EXECUTIVE COACHING ON LEADER OUTCOMES

Emotional intelligence has been considered a hallmark of successful leaders for nearly three decades. During the same period, executive coaching emerged as a beneficial resource for leader development in organizations. The purpose of this pilot study is to investigate the impact of emotional and social competence (ESC) and executive coaching on leader job performance, personal vision, engagement, and career satisfaction. Eighty-five senior leaders in a North American financial services organization completed a development program, which included classroom learning, ESC assessment using a multirater (or 360-degree) feedback instrument, and executive coaching to encourage ESC development. Survey responses were collected and triangulated with job performance data and 360-degree feedback. Results indicated a relationship between ESC, coaching and desired leader outcomes. What does it mean? Findings suggested that emotional and social competence and executive coaching can have significant impact on leader performance and work engagement, and quality of a coaching relationship moderates the relationship between dimensions of leader ESC with work engagement and career satisfaction. Additional results indicated a direct connection between quality of the coaching relationship and personal vision, work engagement, and career satisfaction. The results of this pilot study have important implications for scholars and practitioners interested in emotional competence and executive coaching and organizations focused on developing leaders through coaching.