Ten years ago if an employer asked
you to work with a business coach,
you might have taken it as a hint to update your resume. Now, coaching is perceived both as a valuable perk offered to
high-potential individuals, and a strategy
for companies to avoid the enormous costs
related to executive failure in the first year.
But what actually occurs between a
coach and executive to propel an already
successful individual even further toward
his or her goals and objectives?
“It’s like a brain massage that produces
permanent shifts in attitudes, belief systems and how people operate,” says
Madeleine Homan, founder of Coaching
Services at The Ken Blanchard Companies
in Escondido. “It translates into observable
differences in what executives do and say
— and that’s what organizations are looking for.”
Smart Business recently spoke to
Homan about how a clear mission will produce the most successful coaching results.
Why are leaders and organizations working
with coaches?
It’s rare that an individual wakes up one
day and says, ‘Wow, I really could use a
coach.’ The main reason for bringing in a
coach is that an organization is seeking
extra support for its leaders. With the trend
toward the abolishment of middle management, your new managers may only have
time to do the bare minimum. They may
not know anything about leadership and
haven’t had time to develop good management practices for themselves. That’s
where coaching comes in.
Coaches have all of the content background about best leadership and management practices, phenomenal communication models, skills around how to deal with
power and influence models, and they’ve
read all the books that you don’t have time
to read. A coach can share the one concept
in a book that’s going to be useful to you
right this minute. Organizations also are
utilizing onboarding coaching for people
starting new jobs or making the transition
from individual contributor to manager or
from manager to senior leader.
What mindset can help maximize coaching?
Coaches understand organizations and
understand people’s temperaments, personalities and types, and they don’t judge.
Many executives go into coaching thinking
their organization is giving them coaching
because something is wrong. That’s not
coaching. Occasionally, there is coaching
to close a gap in a skill set, but mostly, it’s
for development, because leaders today
need to go from A to B so much faster than
they have in the past.
People are realizing that coaching is a
perk for those who are adding value to the
organization. That is changing the mindset
of people going into coaching. Participants
should be oriented to coaching thoroughly
so they truly understand what it is, what
they can expect to get out of it, and what’s
expected of them. It’s like anything else —
you’re going to get out of it what you put in.
Sometimes people come in and try to
‘yes’ the coach. They try to fake it and
make their coach feel like they’re actually
working. Good coaches know how to recognize that and call it out. Coaches also
challenge people when they’re willing participants, but are not stepping up or taking
the risks.
What are turning points in a coaching program?
There is a positive turning point when the
organization’s sponsors first see that the
coaching is paying off. But the first individual turning point is not always a good one.
When people start the coaching, they
establish some useful areas to focus on
with their coach, and they get into action.
They get the low-hanging fruit and make
some easy changes. But sometime around
the third or fourth session, they’ll get up
against it with actually challenging themselves to do something that’s hard. They
become a disillusioned learner and hit the
wall. The coaches know this happens, and
they’re very adept at helping them work
through to the next level of having a win.
How is a coaching relationship concluded?
It’s a mark of a novice or unethical coach
to try to keep himself in the game. Both
you and your coach have to aim for a good
ending point. If you complete the program
and say, ‘Wow! I want to keep working with
my coach to accomplish a whole new set
of objectives,’ that’s fine. But when executives hang out with their coach without
clear objectives, action items and milestones, organizations start to feel like
they’re wasting money — and they are.
Unless the mission is clear, nobody will
know what has been accomplished.
Can coaching become a permanent activity?
The amazing part of coaching is that
when you’re facing big transitions — a job
change, a move to a different company, a
huge promotion, or you’ve left the work-force to become a full-time mom — it’s
great to be able to go back to your coach.
You can cut right to the chase because
there’s all that history, and the coach
understands your values and who you are.
MADELEINE HOMAN is founder, Coaching Services, at The
Ken Blanchard Companies, a global leader in workplace learning, productivity, performance and leadership effectiveness. She
can be reached through The Ken Blanchard Companies Web site
at www.kenblanchard.com/homan.
