COACHING
THE OMINTOOL FOR TALENT DEVELOPMENT COACHING:
Make talent development is a 365 day affair
The practice of coaching as a tool for work force and leadership
development has gained popularity in India
¨ As managers became
more transitory in their careers and organizations, the sense urgency for
investing in people's long-term development has increased .
¨ the knock-on effects
of the downsizing of recent years, resulting in ‘lonely’ and isolated senior
managers who welcome support and challenge from someone external to their
immediate work environment
¨ the increasing demand
by organisations for senior managers with key ‘soft skills’. Many standard training
& development initiatives have failed to embed the kinds of feedback-based
approaches necessary for self-insight for young managers.
¨
Some senior managers consider they have ‘made it’
and worry that being seen to undergo development may be perceived by others as
admitting they have a weakness. The nature of the executive coaching
relationship is private and avoids that public gaze
WHAT IS EXECUTIVE COACHING?
Executive coaching is an individualized approach to professional
development that focuses on results and outcomes. The cornerstone of this approach is to
encourage employees to learn on their own instead of providing them with
solutions straightaway. Coaching is a different delivery system …the coach works with the
manager to tailor the program in skill areas where we will have an impact or
problems which need to be addressed in private. Executive coaching is an
interactive process that is usually work related and focused on improving
performance or behavioral changes needed for growth . It is a goal-orientated
form of personally tailored learning for a busy executive.. It is a action
orientated, personally tailored approach to learning which utilizes
feedback and offers some objectivity .
Managing people today is less about command
and control and more about development and empowerment. Instead of
operating from a position of power, managers need to become cheerleaders and
coaches to their employees. The current trend of flatter organisations and
frequent downsizing puts pressure on employees to constantly cope with
changing requirements in skills, responsibilities and performance.
Individuals are being called upon to take ownership for their own development
and even training, which is the prompt for the transformation of the
manager’s role into that of a coach.
In this new capacity, the manager-coach
is expected to guide, encourage and suggest rather than direct individuals
to optimize their potential and performance.In reality,
coaching asks managers to spend more time giving constructive, individualized
feedback on performance to subordinates, rather than barking orders and sending
their troops to boot-camp training programs.
Why Top Companies An Executive Coaching Program ?
What motivates
employers to commission executive coaching? What is it they hope to gain? Coaching
is taken for granted in the world of sport where individuals and teams have a
coach to provide motivation, enhance skills and refine performance. Ultimately
a coach aims to bring out the best in an individual to enable the team to work
better as a whole. The same can be said of business and its leaders.
We have found five
main motives for organisations in introducing executive coaching. These were categorized
as:
1. to support the
induction or appointment of a senior person into a more senior, or different
role
2. to accelerate the
personal development of individuals defined as ‘high potential’, or individuals
from a minority group identified for affirmative action
3. to underpin the
effective implementation of organisation change, through supporting teams and
individuals
4. as a critical friend
or independent sounding board to a senior individual
5.
Executive Coaching works best when used to help individuals address
specific personal development issues or to assist when taking on a particularly
challenging work role or project.
Executive coaching is not a passing fad. What was stigma
("You're so broken you need a coach?") has become status symbol
("You're so valuable you get a coach?"). Tiger Woods and Michael
Phelps have coaches. Even President Barack Obama has a coach.
THE SCOPE OF THE
EXECUTIVE COACH
Executive coaching--personal should be used like a powerful
prescription drug that works best under certain conditions. Since 1993, we have
had numerous coaching assignments and candidates These have been at different
levels and different functions. Here are some diagnostic questions we ask
before making the decision to function as
a coach.
1. How valuable is
this person's performance and potential to your organization?
2. What is the
challenge the person is facing right now?
3. How willing and
able will the executive be to work with a coach?
4. Is the need for
coaching well defined and accepted by the candidate
5.What alternatives
to coaching are available?
6. Is the organization environment ready to support this person's
efforts to grow and change?
THE G.R.O.W
MODEL is a well-established framework for executive coaching. It is
an acronym that expands into
GOAL: defining what is to be achieved,
REALITY: exploring the current situation,
relevant history and future trends,
OPTIONS: coming up with new ideas for reaching
thegoal and
WILL: deciding on a concrete plan of action.
This simple yet powerful approach is at
the root of many successful coaching endeavours
working with business owners, executives, and people
at every level in the company. The G R O W
MODEL spells out into the following points
1. Set and achieve higher quality goals
2. Ensure people are accountable and take responsibility of their
actions
3. Accelerate development in business processes, skills, knowledge,
and relationships
4. Eliminate rather than tolerate the negatives in their life
5. Encouraging you to focus on your key priorities
6. Providing you with an impartial sounding board
7. Supporting you in making better decisions
8. Giving you greater confidence
9. Helping you achieve new levels of job satisfaction and motivation
THE MODUS OPERANDI WE USE…
Phase One—Develop Formal Commitments
During this phase we meet with the client/sponsor to identify the performance issues, formulate outcomes, clarify expectations and get commitments.
This phase can be
completed either face to face or on the telephone. There may be some supporting
documentation that will need to be completed through email/post.
Phase Two—Gather Information & Creation of Professional Development Plan
During this phase we gather information about the client's performance issues, we will review any existing performance data, conduct some interviews and ask the client to complete some assessments/questionnaires. We will provide feedback and help the client create a professional development plan. We also get commitments for Phase Three. (Note: Phases One and Two usually take 2 to 4 weeks.)
Phase Three—Coach
During this phase the actual coaching process begins.
Depending on requirements this can be a mixture of face to face,
telephone and email sessions.
We are completely flexible with regards to this.
Phase Four—Evaluate and Follow-up
During the final phase we report on the client’s progress, evaluate the coaching assignment and help the client build support structures to maintain new behaviours and relationships.
Phase Five – Fold Up
Don’t drag it on. We found that most coaching assignments last between six and 12
months. Determine the appropriate end point and stick to it. Much of the
individuals learning can and should be continued without a coach.
In Closing…Organizations that are serious about executive coaching
are willing to make a “leap of faith” without having solid, metrics to
determine the ROI of their anticipated investment. The real the impetus behind
executive coaching is both the satisfaction and returns the beneficiary of
coaching get ……Much more than the business
results - which is often evident.
Best wishes
Wilfred Monteiro