Getting the most from executive coaching

Senior managers, partners and executives are in high-pressure positions: there is little time to reflect on their decisions and performance. They are also in isolated positions; there are few people inside the organisation that they can turn to for objective advice and support and that they can openly talk to. Jo Larbie explains how executive coaching can fill this void.

In working with an external coach, senior managers are buying a space which is focused entirely on them, a space that is safe because the coach is detached from the politics and culture of the organisation, and a space that is developmental because the coach helps them to:

review their performance
learn form experience
plan effectively for and affect change.

What is executive coaching?

An executive coach is a professional advisor who works with a client – whether an individual or a team- on issues of leadership and performance. The client and the coach draw up a contract that describes the specific issues and challenges to be worked on and the expected outcomes and then meet regularly over an agreed period – often 3 to 12 months.

Executive coaching draws linkages from the client’s leadership challenges to his or her personal motivations. Concerns about work/life balance, dreams, fears and insecurities, the ongoing influence of past relationships, deeply embedded interests – all these can have an impact on the client’s leadership skills and on-the-job performance. Our experience has shown that developing insights into personal motivation enables clients to accelerate their development as business leaders.

To build the level of trust and confidence required for successful coaching, the coach agrees a contract of confidentiality with the client. The ideas and feelings shared over the course of the relationship are kept in strictest confidence – the coach’s primary loyalty is to the client, even if the client’s company is paying the bill. The coach will encourage the client throughout the assignment to seek feedback on progress from his or her boss and other key colleagues.

A coaching relationship can help business leaders hone skills that are crucial in today’s economy – for example, the ability to exert influence across organisational boundaries, to manage conflicts and to create and articulate a vision. But perhaps more important, coaching can help new leaders deal with the aspects of the transition and change.

Why is coaching important?

Leadership is not an innate quality. Rather, it is a combination of skills, aptitudes and perspectives that can be learned and developed. To hone your leadership skills, you need practice and also frequent opportunities to reflect on your own actions and feelings. Many leadership-development programmes are too general in scope to allow such intensive, personalised work. Coaching fills this void.
Coaching has been shown to help leaders develop a clearer understanding of their roles and responsibilities. When leaders are more confident about what they need to do, they are better able to motivate employees and mobilise them for action.

Who can benefit from having a coach?

Any business leader and partner, but particularly one who is in transition. For example, someone who has recently promoted to a senior position, or someone who is in line to run the company or partnership when the CEO or Managing Partner steps down.
High-potential executives in their late twenties or early thirties who may need help with their communication or relationship skills.
Teams, especially those that are just forming or that must produce significant results within a relatively short time frame. For example, the management team of a start-up or a team that is carrying out a merger or implementing a restructuring plan.
High-level managers who need to learn how to be coaches themselves.

What does the coaching process look like?

The typical ValuePlus coaching assignment has three stages:

Stage One. In Stage one, the coach and the client meet to decide whether there is the potential for an effective coaching relationship. Are we comfortable with each other? Do I really need a coach? Is it a worthwhile use of my time? How will we know we are making progress? We do not embark on relationships if we do not feel that we are able to add value, both to the individual and their organisation.

The remainder of the meeting involves assessing the client’s business and relationship challenges including motives, values, concerns, self-image and the level of self-awareness. Self-assessment questionnaires, 360 –degree performance reviews and other tools are often used. The client’s strengths are recognised at this point and the development needs acknowledged and addressed. The parties also reach an agreement on the number and frequency of their meetings: typically six 90-minute sessions at every two weeks or monthly intervals. The relationship is reviewed at the end of this block and further sessions planned if and as appropriate.

Stage One. The key question in Stage One is what does the client need to change and do?

Stage Two. In Stage Two, the key question is how does the client go about changing? We get down to work. The client and the coach contract together on the methods they’ll use to improve the client’s leadership capabilities and the performance measures they’ll use to assess the client’s progress. The coaching relationship becomes the arena for practising behaviours and integrating new perspectives with existing strengths.

Stage Three. In Stage Three, the coach seeks to embed the new leadership behaviours, to highlight their impact on the organisation and to integrate them into the client’s day-to-day responsibilities. The key question at this stage is how do we make the learning stick?

What does an executive coach offer?

The job of the coach is to listen, to reflect to advise to create new frames of reference and to help the client to develop needed skills and behaviours. The executive coach is a sounding board, a mentor a source of creative ideas and honest feedback. In working with an executive coach the client is buying a space that is entirely focused on them, a space which is safe because the coach is detached from the politics and culture of the organisation. The coach’s loyalty is to the individual, not to the company, even though they may be paying the bill. A successful relationship will run the gamut from tactical discussions and strategic planning exploring values, motives and feelings. They set achievable goals.

The client looks to the coach to help heighten his or her self-awareness, to provide honest feedback and to remain a constant source of advice in a world of persistent change. People need an executive coach when their skills aren’t sharp or sufficiently developed to achieve their business goals.

How is coaching different from training?

Organisations spend millions on training programmes each year. Yet research conducted by the Center for Creative Leadership suggests that only 8 to 12 per cent of those who attend training courses translate new skills and knowledge into measurable performance improvement or business results. Essentially, this is because most training programmes do not allow for the skills to be put into practice, and there is no feedback or ongoing support. Subsequently, when the employee’s skill level deteriorates during the initial trying out of new skills, there are no mechanisms in place, so the individual reverts to the previous behaviours.

Some differences between training and coaching include:

The training agenda is fixed and set by the trainer, whereas in coaching, the individual sets the agenda, which can be fluid and flexible.
Change comes from outside in training, whereas coaching works with the client to clarify values and enhance intrinsic motivation.
Some trainees benefit from a training programme while others do not. By contrast, the coaching intervention is personalised and geared towards the individual’s needs and aspirations.
Trainees are frequently assigned to a training course, whereas, ideally, coaching is voluntary.
Training rarely involves feedback, whereas the coaching process includes ongoing feedback and continuous learning.
Training tends to reinforce a traditional, hierarchical style of management, whereas coaching is a more democratic, collaborative process.
Coaching is about sustained behavioural change, whereas training tends not to bring about major shifts in thinking and action.

These differences should not obscure the fact that a coach can function in a trainer/teacher role and that a trainer/teacher can adopt some of the essential ingredients of successful coaching.

What are the business benefits of coaching?

There is a strong link between business results and emotional intelligence (defined as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and social skill). In one study, the heads of department outstripped their annual targets by 15% to 20% when the departmental heads had a critical mass of emotional intelligence skills. In contrast, when the head of department lacked emotional intelligence, the team underperformed by almost 20%. Coaching helps leaders to acquire and improve emotional intelligence skills that lead to better organisational performance.

Research shows that there are six basic leadership styles. But no one style works best in all situations: the most effective leaders are able to match the style they use to the specific circumstances. The coaching relationship provides a safe environment in which executives can experiment with the six different styles and become adept at moving seamlessly from one style to another.

An organisation’s climate is a function of many variables: how free employees feel to innovate; the level of standards that people set; the clarity they have about the mission and the values; their level of commitment to a common purpose; as well as their feelings about the aptness of the rewards and compensation the organisation offers.

The climate can account for as much as a third of the organisation’s financial performance. Leaders who are able to use styles that positively affect the climate produce better financial results.

In order to achieve the kind of breakthrough performance that separates them from their competitors, companies and partnerships must have leaders who are totally engaged-who bring their hearts and minds to the workplace. Moreover, with top-flight leaders in such great demand, companies risk losing their best employees if they don’t provide them with challenging work opportunities. In both instances, the secret is to tailor wok responsibilities so that they align with the individual’s deeply embedded life values and interests. Coaching provides the forum in which this integration can happen.

A coaching relationship can help business leaders hone the skills that are crucial in today’s economy – the ability to exert influenc across organisational boundaries, to manage conflicts and to create and articulate a vision. But perhaps even more important, coaching can help new leaders deal with the aspects of transition and change.

Jo Larbie is a Director and founder of ValuePlus. ValuePlus is a UK-based people development consultancy which specialises in helping organisations and individuals to achieve their goals. Jo is the Law Society Council non-constituency member for Education and Training. ValuePlus is contactable on 0115 9623450 or jo.larbie@valueplusconsultants.co.uk.