Why Executive Coaching?
Companies are investing in coaching, not only in an effort to develop a new generation of leaders
to replace retiring baby boomers, but they're also trying to improve the performance levels of their younger first
line supervisors, managers, and leaders - those who don't have much-if any-experience overseeing other people.
On top of that, organizations are often frustrated because managers weren't putting into action the skills they'd
been taught in extensive leadership training courses the company put them through.
The above are just some of the findings in a major study of business coaching published in June 2010 by the
American Management Association in conjunction with the Institute for Corporate Productivity, an HR industry researcher.
For the study, the AMA and i4CP surveyed CEOs, HR managers and other corporate executives at 1,030 United States
and international companies across multiple industries. Approximately 41 percent of the participants had 1,000 or
more employees and about 42 percent reported annual revenue of $500 million or more.
Among other major findings:
- Business coaching is more popular than ever, boosted by companies struggling to develop a new
generation of leaders to replace retiring baby boomers.
- Of U.S. companies surveyed, 52 percent said they had business coaching programs in place and another
37 percent said they would be implementing coaching programs in the future.
- Companies use coaches to work with executives, high-potential employees, problem managers and expatriates
headed to overseas assignments.
- Companies that use formal metrics to measure performance of coaching programs are most likely to report
that those endeavors are successful.
Another factor motivating companies to use business coaches is that it works. According to the AMA survey,
companies that use business coaching report performing well on such measures as revenue growth, market share,
profitability and customer satisfaction. According to the survey, individuals who had received coaching were more
likely to set work-related goals and believed subordinates trusted their leadership abilities.
The bottom line - executive coaching is all about making poor managers better, okay managers good, and good ones great.
Why Create a Culture of Coaching?
A "culture of coaching" means your executives, managers, and front-line staff brings out the best in each other,
constantly improves results, and builds an unstoppable team which works toward the goals of the organization.
Ultimately a culture of coaching encourages and enables all employees to not only delight their internal and external
customers, but to implement ideas which will increase revenues and profits and increase the value of the organization.
Here are five reasons why you get an edge with a culture of coaching:
- Improve accountability and results. Coaches create significant, measurable improvements in performance.
They do this by agreeing on specific performance metrics, tracking results, and having appropriate conversations to
keep people accountable.
- Develop leaders who continue to improve the organization. Coaching builds organizational capacity by developing
leaders. With coaching, people gain insights into their own strengths and capabilities, embrace the vision and
potential of their organization, and take responsibility for moving the organization forward.
- Improve communication up, down, and across the organization. Coaches train people to have open, honest conversations
about how to make things better without getting defensive, protecting turf, or blaming others. Coaching ensure that
everyone is aligned and working towards the same strategic priorities.
- Give employees the skills they need to perform. Coaching builds expertise in key areas required for high
performance; specifically by learning how to: communicate powerfully, engage employees, manage up, build
relationships, influence without formal power, develop one's career, manage change, build teams, set strategic direction,
focus one's time on key priorities, and develop others.
- Become a magnet for top talent. The best talent insists upon opportunities which advance their skills and career.
When you have a culture of coaching, you tell prospective and current employees that you care about their ongoing
development. You also create an environment that reduces turnover among your best-performing employees.
Our Five Step Coaching Process
- Assessment (Why do I want to do that?)
- Diagnose (Where am I/Where do I want to be?)
- Design (How do I change that?)
- Implementation (How do I get there?)
- Follow Up (How am I doing?)
The Seven Orientations of an Executive Coach
Every Executive Coach should have seven orientations or mindsets in everything they do as a coach.
These orientations define who we are as a coach and they are the context in which we work. To be successful,
we need to incorporate these orientations throughout our practice inasmuch as each of these orientations is inter-related.
- Relationships As a coach, we strive to build positive business relationships with our clients.
We do this by providing value to them, serving them, being the consummate professional, and standing for their success.
- Outcomes We focus on results; and while this may seem obvious, it's not. Many managers focus on
tasks to the point that they sometimes forget where they're going. We help them focus on the end result, on the powerful,
compelling future they want to create. Sometimes we have to balance relationships and outcomes. If we push too hard for
outcomes, we hurt the relationship and come across as coercing. If we focus too much on the relationship, we won't achieve
results and will be perceived as too passive, as avoiding conflict.
- Possibility When others are stuck, mired in complaints and negativity, we create a sense of possibility.
We are not unrealistic in what is possible, but our way of speaking and acting encourages people to keep pushing
forward in the face of uncertainty and difficult challenges.
- Stand for the client's commitment and potential We think of ourselves as our client's commitment
and potential - that's who we are. We are a "stake in the ground" for what our client can do and become. If the client
wavers, we don't; because we're his or her potential and commitment. We represent the client's most ambitious, noble,
and inspiring goals.
- Equal Footing We are on equal ground with our clients, no matter how wealthy, powerful or
accomplished they may be. We are open, honest, and authentic about our reactions to the client's words and deeds.
If they don't do what they say they will do, we have every right to "call them" on their behavior. This doesn't give
us free reign to judge or preach, but we do feel comfortable speaking to our clients as an equal.
- Dialogue Executive Coaching is not about lecturing. It happens through a dialogue with our
clients. It is therefore essential to be sure we've heard our clients, explored their issues, and tested our
solutions with them.
- Capacity We are not working with our clients to just get it done. Rather, we want to help our
clients improve their capabilities and performance over the long term. There are many ways to build capacity:
letting the client reach their own conclusions and insights; serving as an example or role model; training and
teaching; providing challenging assignments; or even following the medical school model of "see one, do one, teach one."
