27 January 2009
Successful Intentions Newsletter
Hi ,
Executive coaching is a popular and highly tailored engagement for an individual leader, but what goes on behind closed doors?
In a recent survey of 140 experienced executive coaches from the USA and the UK, Carol Kauffman (Director of the Coaching & Positive Psychology Initiative at Harvard Medical School in Boston) and Diane Coutu (Senior Editor at Harvard Business Review) got some revealing answers.
The most frequent engagements described by these coaches were:
- Facilitating a transition (in or up).
- Developing the capabilities of a high potential manager.
- Acting as a sounding board on organizational dynamics.
- Enhancing the interaction of a team.
- Addressing a "derailing" behaviour.
What should companies be looking for when seeking an executive coach? These coaches said the most important considerations were:
- Experience coaching in a similar setting.
- Clear methodology.
- Quality of client list.
- Ability to measure ROI.
Experience as a psychological therapist was given as one of the least important. Yet executives are certainly not immune from mental health problems. Organizations that do not insist on coaches having some training in mental health issues could risk being negligent in their ethical obligations.
The key success factors in coaching were reported to be:
- Chemistry between the coach and the executive.
- Support (for coaching) from the organization.
- Willingness of the executive to learn and evolve.
Executives with significant character flaws or deep-seated behavioural problems were seen as poor candidates for coaching. Although most recognized that the coaching engagement invariably shifts from organizational issues to personal issues over time.
Coaching is expensive, but "it works!" Specifically, coaching helps executives manage increasingly global business complexity. Coaching targets leadership development, it provides a place of safe dialogue for executives, and a replacement for mentors who have been relegated to an earlier age when executive turnover was lower and organizational culture was more stable.
Executive coaching has certainly created a space for itself. Although the field is probably still in its "adolescence" according to this particular sample of coaches. The lack of entry barriers leaves the profession vulnerable. The future may depend on more rigor in practice and more research on effectiveness.
Keep your intentions clear,
Peter Webb
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