Rabbinic coaching is something of a newer phenomenon for rabbis. The professional and personal sides of a rabbi’s life are not always predictable. As a leader with significant responsibilities, situations can arise that demand attention either immediately or in the near future. Regardless of one’s experience, there are times when an outside professional coach can be an essential resource to assist rabbis to navigate their professional and personal challenges.
The development and growth of rabbinic coaching is attributed to the awareness of the success of professional consulting to corporate business executives. Corporate America invests billions of dollars annually on executive coaching. The growth in coaching is due to a heightened focus on developing high potential leaders rather than a remedial effort to assist challenged employees. Business leaders themselves say this strategy is working: A survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Association Resource Center found that the mean return on investment (ROI) in coaching was seven times the initial investment, and over a quarter of coaching clients reported an ROI of 10 to 49 times the cost. Few if any other investments in the business environment produced such returns.
Management consulting principles can yield substantial benefit when applied correctly to the range of rabbinic responsibilities. At times, such advice can even save careers. Moreover, this realization is something that each shul’s president and board can see as greatly productive for both their rabbi and synagogue.
What is Rabbinic Coaching?
An effective rabbinic coach will make no assumptions about what a specific rabbi needs to function successfully. Instead, he works from the rabbi’s agenda to identify areas for change and/or improvement. The coach will then strategize and implement an accelerated plan to address each identified area, whether in enhanced communication, time management, building high-performance teams, or some other area of focus. Self-reliance, and not dependency, is the goal. The reason to strive for such high returns is clear: effective rabbinic leadership matters.
Even when everything is going well, we have the tendency to look inward and blind spots are less obvious. A rabbinic coach is a tremendous asset who can be of significant benefit. Whether you have been a rabbi for three months or thirty years, there is a rabbinic coach ready to assist you.
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Having served as a rabbi for almost a decade, Rabbi Leib Bolel understands the necessity for executive leaders, rabbis and leadership as a whole within non-profits and synagogues to utilize a resource that is available in many other professional settings – coaching. In addition, Rabbi Bolel has the experience and credentials to consult for synagogues with a focus on the non-profit or synagogue trajectory, leadership, finances, membership and more. For more information visit: Bolelcoachingandconsulting.com
