Although executive coaching is gaining a higher profile in the corporate world, some employers are still confused about its purpose and benefits. But it only takes a single example to show the advantages of bringing coaching into the workplace.
Picture this: A 45-year-old senior executive of a large packaged goods company was well known for his frequent angry outbursts at colleagues. His superiors, fed up with this behaviour, decided to refer him to a coach to deal with the problem.
In their first coach-client meeting, the coach recognized this top exec didn’t comprehend the impact of his outbursts, instead he perceived these occurrences as “just part of his personality.”
The coach helped him discover his cutthroat disposition was based on the belief that being aggressive leads to career advancement and success.
What seemed like an acceptable behaviour, in his eyes, was now holding him back. After the first few sessions, the coach and client developed goals, strategies and an action plan to improve his performance and create more harmony at the workplace.
Coaching is designed to assist executives in identifying and understanding their behaviours and how they contribute to the organization’s effectiveness. While there are various definitions of executive coaching, the objectives are the same.
There should be a helping relationship between coach and client, and it should bring about sustained change related to performance and personal growth, with the ultimate focus being to achieve better business results.
Typically, executive coaching is thought of as an elitist service, available only to the upper ranks of the corporate office — CEO and senior management. However, coaching is now accessible to individuals at all management levels. This includes front-line management, high potential employees and technical professionals moving to management roles.
The difference between coaching, therapy and consulting
It is important to make note that the service offered by an executive coach is different than that of a therapist or even a management consultant. A therapist attempts to repair past problems and deficiencies, the management consultant is project-oriented and assists with strategy formulation and implementation, but the coach is future-oriented and works to increase future productivity.
Nevertheless, the lines between a consultant and a coach are often blurred. If a therapist and a consultant were polar opposites, an executive coach would lie directly in between.
Coaching benefits
Many senior managers were promoted or hired based on their technical abilities and skills, rather than on their leadership and managerial skills.
Having a coach can change that. As a coaching term is completed, the employee will have a greater self-awareness, which will provide a better understanding of their key behavioural strengths and development issues thus making them better leaders.
In a study conducted by Manchester Inc., an American company that customizes executive coaching programs, 100 executives from Fortune 1000 companies participated in coaching and the calculated ROI was almost six times the investment.
Aside from benefits to the organization (see box page 7), many of the respondents reported individual benefits including improved working relationships with direct reports and better teamwork.
Common forms of executive coaching
There are three prevalent forms of executive coaching. Feedback coaching typically lasts one to three months and provides immediate feedback to leaders in order to create a development plan to address specific needs, for example presentation skills, negotiation or delegating.
In-depth development coaching lasts six to 12 months and requires a close, long-term relationship between executives and coaches to address specific needs.
Content coaching varies in length and provides leaders with knowledge and skills in specific content areas to heighten certain skill sets.
Essentially, with these three forms of coaching, the coach helps the employee develop her own solutions and articulate her own answers.
The common sub-areas of coaching include leadership development, goal implementation, teams and individuals, responding to project derailment, succession planning, career development and accountability measurement.
To serve its intended purpose, coaching requires different lengths of time (depending on the form of coaching) and different levels of interaction. Most coaching requires assessment tools and several developmental sessions.
The following coaching process would have been used in the case study mentioned at the beginning of this article.
1. Opening session — goal setting and designing the alliance. At the orientation session, the overall objectives for the coaching experience are developed by reviewing the business challenges and environment, establishing the coaching alliance, clarifying the process and focusing on the client’s development priorities. Various personality or behavioural instruments may also be used, as well as feedback from colleagues (360 degree feedback). In addition, an executive coach may use leadership, communication and emotional intelligence assessment tools. At the initial coaching meeting (usually 2 hours), a coaching partnership is formed between the client and the coach and they collaboratively determine specific goals for the coaching.
2. Development sessions — the work. Subsequently, a series of coaching sessions (usually these consist of eight one-hour sessions, either face-to-face or by telephone) are scheduled where the coaching “work” occurs around the goals of the leader or team. At each session, “doable” projects and action plans are created to practise aspects of the development goals. Feedback on project outcomes and action plans from previous coaching sessions are discussed and the “next steps” are detailed, continuing the growth and learning. Sometimes the coach will “shadow” the executive to observe behaviour and performance in meetings or presentations.
3. Review sessions — accounting for success. After every 10 to 14 hours of work, progress is reviewed. The coach assesses whether the client is reaching goals. If goals are achieved, the coach creates new stretch goals to keep the client on a path of professional and personal growth.
The role of HR and executive coaching
HR is in a key position to provide the direction necessary to ensure the effectiveness, integrity and accountability of executive coaching.
HR’s involvement may take on a variety of forms that include supporting an ad hoc request for coaching, developing a coaching program as part of an overall organizational initiative or providing executive coaching directly with an internal coach.
Usually, the coach’s initial assignment is for a performance problem, however coaches can be used for other purposes such as working with top performers to give them an “edge” in executive development. It’s important to educate employees on the many uses of coaching so it’s not viewed as an intervention for performance problems only.
Sandra Bobkin specializes in executive and personal coaching. For more information contact her at (416) 920-3302 or [email protected]
Picture this: A 45-year-old senior executive of a large packaged goods company was well known for his frequent angry outbursts at colleagues. His superiors, fed up with this behaviour, decided to refer him to a coach to deal with the problem.
In their first coach-client meeting, the coach recognized this top exec didn’t comprehend the impact of his outbursts, instead he perceived these occurrences as “just part of his personality.”
The coach helped him discover his cutthroat disposition was based on the belief that being aggressive leads to career advancement and success.
What seemed like an acceptable behaviour, in his eyes, was now holding him back. After the first few sessions, the coach and client developed goals, strategies and an action plan to improve his performance and create more harmony at the workplace.
Coaching is designed to assist executives in identifying and understanding their behaviours and how they contribute to the organization’s effectiveness. While there are various definitions of executive coaching, the objectives are the same.
There should be a helping relationship between coach and client, and it should bring about sustained change related to performance and personal growth, with the ultimate focus being to achieve better business results.
Typically, executive coaching is thought of as an elitist service, available only to the upper ranks of the corporate office — CEO and senior management. However, coaching is now accessible to individuals at all management levels. This includes front-line management, high potential employees and technical professionals moving to management roles.
The difference between coaching, therapy and consulting
It is important to make note that the service offered by an executive coach is different than that of a therapist or even a management consultant. A therapist attempts to repair past problems and deficiencies, the management consultant is project-oriented and assists with strategy formulation and implementation, but the coach is future-oriented and works to increase future productivity.
Nevertheless, the lines between a consultant and a coach are often blurred. If a therapist and a consultant were polar opposites, an executive coach would lie directly in between.
Coaching benefits
Many senior managers were promoted or hired based on their technical abilities and skills, rather than on their leadership and managerial skills.
Having a coach can change that. As a coaching term is completed, the employee will have a greater self-awareness, which will provide a better understanding of their key behavioural strengths and development issues thus making them better leaders.
In a study conducted by Manchester Inc., an American company that customizes executive coaching programs, 100 executives from Fortune 1000 companies participated in coaching and the calculated ROI was almost six times the investment.
Aside from benefits to the organization (see box page 7), many of the respondents reported individual benefits including improved working relationships with direct reports and better teamwork.
Common forms of executive coaching
There are three prevalent forms of executive coaching. Feedback coaching typically lasts one to three months and provides immediate feedback to leaders in order to create a development plan to address specific needs, for example presentation skills, negotiation or delegating.
In-depth development coaching lasts six to 12 months and requires a close, long-term relationship between executives and coaches to address specific needs.
Content coaching varies in length and provides leaders with knowledge and skills in specific content areas to heighten certain skill sets.
Essentially, with these three forms of coaching, the coach helps the employee develop her own solutions and articulate her own answers.
The common sub-areas of coaching include leadership development, goal implementation, teams and individuals, responding to project derailment, succession planning, career development and accountability measurement.
To serve its intended purpose, coaching requires different lengths of time (depending on the form of coaching) and different levels of interaction. Most coaching requires assessment tools and several developmental sessions.
The following coaching process would have been used in the case study mentioned at the beginning of this article.
1. Opening session — goal setting and designing the alliance. At the orientation session, the overall objectives for the coaching experience are developed by reviewing the business challenges and environment, establishing the coaching alliance, clarifying the process and focusing on the client’s development priorities. Various personality or behavioural instruments may also be used, as well as feedback from colleagues (360 degree feedback). In addition, an executive coach may use leadership, communication and emotional intelligence assessment tools. At the initial coaching meeting (usually 2 hours), a coaching partnership is formed between the client and the coach and they collaboratively determine specific goals for the coaching.
2. Development sessions — the work. Subsequently, a series of coaching sessions (usually these consist of eight one-hour sessions, either face-to-face or by telephone) are scheduled where the coaching “work” occurs around the goals of the leader or team. At each session, “doable” projects and action plans are created to practise aspects of the development goals. Feedback on project outcomes and action plans from previous coaching sessions are discussed and the “next steps” are detailed, continuing the growth and learning. Sometimes the coach will “shadow” the executive to observe behaviour and performance in meetings or presentations.
3. Review sessions — accounting for success. After every 10 to 14 hours of work, progress is reviewed. The coach assesses whether the client is reaching goals. If goals are achieved, the coach creates new stretch goals to keep the client on a path of professional and personal growth.
The role of HR and executive coaching
HR is in a key position to provide the direction necessary to ensure the effectiveness, integrity and accountability of executive coaching.
HR’s involvement may take on a variety of forms that include supporting an ad hoc request for coaching, developing a coaching program as part of an overall organizational initiative or providing executive coaching directly with an internal coach.
Usually, the coach’s initial assignment is for a performance problem, however coaches can be used for other purposes such as working with top performers to give them an “edge” in executive development. It’s important to educate employees on the many uses of coaching so it’s not viewed as an intervention for performance problems only.
Sandra Bobkin specializes in executive and personal coaching. For more information contact her at (416) 920-3302 or [email protected]
