Executive coaches can toss out their normal play book when taking on the Egotist executive client In fact, effectively and productively coaching the ardent Egotist is a steep challenge that many executive coaches are ill prepared to tackle. There are three distinct traps coaches may get caught in while working with the Egotist. These traps can hinder, or even ruin, the coaching relationship and progress.
The first trap to be wary of is that while good news sells, it is not enough. While developing and leveraging a leader’s best strengths and talent is a pivotal part of the executive coaching process in many instances, focusing predominately on strong suits alone with the Egotist executive can be counterproductive.
The second executive coaching trap is that the inherent nature of the Egotist is to reject negative feedback. Candid criticism, and anything less than glowing reviews, is not something that Egotists accept easily. Their sense of being uniquely superior and gifted is naturally at odds with these critiques. The CDR Risk Assessment describes that the Egotist leader
“is self-centered, has a sense of entitlement, takes credit for others' accomplishments, is viewed as a hard-nosed competitor, has a sense of superiority, and expects to be looked up to.”
The third problematic trap is the lack of essential baseline data collection early in the executive coaching process. When working with limited data, executives are provided only partial, potentially skewed, and superficial findings.
Clever and manipulative Egotists are adept at dismissing easy-to-mold, incomplete data. 360 feedback is not enough. It is important to have personality characteristics, risk and motivational data to get a clear reading on why behaviors manifest they ways that they do. Then, along with 360 feedback, there is no wiggle room for the Egotist.
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