Coaching; Think Different
By Dale Biron / Core Action Assoc., Inc.
As more and more evidence of executive coaching’s subjective and objective return on investment (ROI) emerge from organizations large and small, the old ways of thinking are falling away. And that’s good news for leader-managers, business owners and professionals alike.
Until just a few years ago, there were often only two kinds of business leaders who ended up with executive coaches. Ironically they were very different. The first group being high-flying executives at the top of their game from large Fortune 500 corporations who needed an impartial sounding board, consistent development, and a reliable source of valuable, unbiased feedback. Just the kind of assistance an executive coach could provide. Paradoxically, the second type of person most likely to have a coach was the manager in trouble. This practice left coaching with a kind of split personality. On one hand, coaching was considered a form of recognition, appropriate for high-level executives of large organizations, who warranted extra attention precisely because of their top performance, talent and extensive responsibilities. On the other hand, was the proverbial problem manager, who found themselves mired in difficulty. Interestingly, both strategies worked rather well, even though the catalyst for beginning the coaching process was radically different.
The unintended consequence, however, has historically been a huge swath of leaders, managers, professionals, and business owners without the success and performance-enhancing benefits of good coaching. After all, many a leader-manager looked at their own situation and concluded either consciously or unconsciously two things: since I’m not running a multi-billion dollar, Fortune 500 operation with thousands of employees, and I’m also not a manager in trouble, coaching must not be for me. Happily, that’s all changing. These days executive coaching is throwing off the shackles of those old and limited ways of thinking, yet the stereotypes still live on in complicated ways.
Would John Wayne Have Hired A Coach?
To put it plainly, I don’t think so. Well at least the characters he played wouldn’t be caught dead with a coach. After all he was always playing the poster boy for rugged individualism, the lonesome hero, the person who had all the answers, the strong silent type who took only his own council. He was the one who rode off confidently into the sunset, after having single-handedly solved all the town’s thorniest challenges. So what’s the problem with this approach? Well, nothing if you’re a made-up hero in the movies. But if you are running a team or business that’s operating in a highly competitive, razor-margined, customer-focused, ever-changing market, this view could well prove detrimental to the health and wellbeing of your organization. In fact, this view has little to do with the way the world actually functions these days. For most of us who lead and manage, the business world has gotten so complex, so fast-changing, so filled with ambiguity, that we can’t possibly do it all on our own. We must collaborate with employees for the best, most informed, most creative, most realistic thinking we can muster. We must collaborate with customers to more fully understand their needs. And yes, as a leader or manager of an organization of any size, we must consider using the services of a qualified executive coach to help ensure our best, most focused, most clear thinking and actions. A coach to help us see our blind spots, our unaware patterns, and most importantly to help us leverage and use our greatest strengths.
As a long time organizational coach, one of the most heartening things for me to witness is how quickly coaching is being embraced in organizations of all sizes. And while individual leader or team troubles are still primary motives for starting a coaching relationship, there are just as many leaders and teams these days that are going for the brass ring of personal potential and sustained excellence. And just as critical is the attitudinal shift underneath. Far from indicating weakness, we now realize a leader or team that takes on an executive coach, is showing a refreshing willingness to grow. And is actually demonstrating a fierce self-confidence and inner strength, as well. After all, it’s hard to learn new things if our cup is already full.
Coaching Has A Proven ROI
Is coaching profitable? The short answer is yes. In fact, in a widely reported study by Manchester Inc., the business impact of executive coaching was put under the microscope. The study included data on executive behavior change, organizational improvements achieved, and the return on investment (ROI). The study included 100 executives who had received coaching. Companies that provided coaching to their executives realized improvements in productivity, quality, organizational strength, customer service, and shareholder value. They received fewer customer complaints, and were more likely to retain executives who had been coached. In addition, a company's investment in providing coaching to its executives realized an average return on investment (ROI) of almost six times the cost of the coaching. The coaching programs that executives participated in were a mix of both change-oriented coaching - which is aimed at changing certain behaviors or skills - and growth-oriented coaching - which is aimed at sharpening performance. Which brings us to the main reasons leaders, managers and executives hire coaches.
Don’t Waste The Pain!
A sage client made this comment to me about pain many years ago. She was talking, of course, about the potentially motivating pain derived from either calamity and woe or success and opportunity. Of course we know about the pain of business setbacks, reversals and challenges. The other kind of pain is the pain of unrealized potential. And coaching is helpful in both cases. So for example, here are five situations or catalysts for executives, leaders and managers to consider coaching: 1) A promotion with significantly new and different responsibilities, particularly one requiring a new level of focus, leadership and people skills; 2) A significant performance shortfall, setback, or project failure; 3) A leader-manager experiencing significant people and team motivational challenges; 4) Becoming part of a new team, start-up business or division that is forming due to an opportunity, change or promotion; 5) A burst of new career energy that compels a leader-manager to “go for” a much bigger piece of the pie, to more fully utilize their full potential and compliment of natural strengths.
Here it’s critical to remember the John Wayne Syndrome we talked about earlier. Remember, going it alone works wonders in the movies but in real business life it’s a very unreliable strategy for success. So if you do happen to run into a “real leaders don’t need coaching” attitude within your own head (or) in the greater culture in which you work, listen politely, then if you still feel its right for you, get a coach anyway. By the way, John Wayne had a whole team supporting his work including a director whose main job was to help draw out the best in the legendary actor.
What Leaders Value About Coaching
Here again we don’t have to guess, as there’s been research to tell us exactly what leaders and executives most appreciate and value about coaching. As reported in the May/June 2006 edition of the Ivey Business Journal Online here’s what executives said about executive coaching. The number one value was described as continuous one-on-one attention. It was this individualized attention over time, which was most appreciated and seemed to yield the greatest learning and self-insight. This was closely followed by a second self-reported benefit described as expanded thinking through dialoguing with a curious outsider. Of course conversations fueled by relevant and powerful questions is at the very core of good coaching. Leaders gain tremendous benefit from having a safe non-judgmental place to “think out loud” where the coach can play the role of thinking partner, confidant, provocateur, challenger and reminder of the leader’s primary strengths and highest intentions.
Another significant benefit of coaching reported by leaders was the ongoing task of increasing self-awareness including blind spots. In my decade-plus experience of coaching leaders of all types and at all organizational levels, this is truly an area of significant benefit. Left in the shadows, blind spots are the fastest way to sabotage an otherwise great career and even at times a whole team or company.
The fourth area of benefit that the surveyed leaders described was personal accountability for development. I know this one particularly well from my own experience and research. One leader I worked with described it very simply and elegantly: “Dale, I want you to help keep me honest.” He wanted a structure to help him stay centered and focused on his highest developmental intentions. Of course, many of us are familiar with coaching as it relates to sports. One manger in the Ivey study commented, “Olympic medalists have coaches and I plan on being an Olympic medalist in the business world.” Finally, leaders reported that coaching provided a kind of just-in-time learning structure meaning the coach could help create real-time practice and dress rehearsals for critical conversations and meetings with others.
Coaching Creates Leverage
It’s clear that skilled coaching creates multiple benefits. Good coaching has the potential to reverberate benefits deep inside a team and even throughout an entire organization. To begin with, the goals of the coaching should be crafted to meet both the personal goals of the individual leader, as well as the strategic goals of the organization. In this way all developmental work is pointed in the same direction. Another sign of high leverage skillful coaching is depth, meaning a leader is able to become more aware of the actual driving beliefs and assumptions underneath their behavior. This allows a leader to make much deeper, more fundamental changes that are both effective and sustainable. Also, skilled coaching has as a critical secondary goal, that being the ability to self-coach. So for example, a client may learn to self-monitor in such a way that they are able to step back and reflect on their behavior at critical moments that have historically taken them off their plan and purpose. Lastly, good coaching is contagious. As a leader begins to change their way of leading, communicating, listening, collaborating, etc., these changes will invariably begin to ripple through the entire team. This effect can be magnified, of course, when all members of a team are being coached, as well as the team itself as a group. Having facilitated a number of these unique individual and team coaching projects, I know what a powerful combination this can be.
Change: It All Starts With Focus and Control
As a coach I’ve discovered over the years that the trajectory of a leader’s personal development actually happens in stages. The foundational stage is getting more centered. This means getting clear, focused and in control of our own schedule. In today’s business world it’s easy for even the most seasoned and skilled leader to lose focus and control of their work lives and schedule. The reasons are complex and varied but the effect is always the same, where the leader is constantly plagued by a never-ending series of emergencies while bigger more strategic goals go unrealized. In such a triage environment, burnout is frequent and high performance nearly impossible. So we can see how critical this first stage is for a leader. The second developmental stage is getting connected. This means honing our EQ/people skills such that we’re able to sustain strong, trusting relationships on our team. The third stage is collaboration. This means becoming the catalyst for our team’s alignment, growth and change. The fourth stage is creative. This stage is about realizing bold, creative goals for our team and ourselves.
Is It Time For A Coach?
As an executive-leader, manager or business owner, if you’ve recognized some part of your situation or your team’s situation in this report, a coach may help. Perhaps there’s a challenge you’re working with that would be helped by an impartial thinking partner. Or perhaps you, or others on your team, are experiencing the pain of under utilized strengths and unrealized potential. Maybe you’re weary of putting off personal goals and larger strategic plans, feeling as though your time is not your own. Lastly, if the timing is right, a coach should be hired based upon chemistry, coaching experience and process. The first you feel, while the second and third should be discussed. Please call if we can answer any questions about coaching or discuss details about your needs.
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Democracy cannot thrive if ... day in and day out we go to a workplace that breeds helplessness and compliance.
— Peter Block |
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