Why Coaching Works by Bill Templeman

When my father joined the workforce, the idea of hiring a coach to help him develop his career performance skills would have seemed utterly absurd. Human Resources would have regarded such a suggestion as beyond lunacy. Why spend a penny on one-on-one coaching? You either quickly learned on the job what was expected of you or you were fired. After WW II, both public and private sector organizations began to invest substantially in staff development. The ruling model was classroom training. New employees were shipped off to career training programs and given thick 3-ring binders to learn. On-the-job training continued to be the dominant staff development model for small organizations as it still is today.

Today we know much more about how adults best learn job skills than they did in the 40's. On-the-job training and classroom programs still have their place, but computer-based training, web casts over the Internet, video-based training, teleconferences, phased learning, project simulations and coaching strategies have given decision-makers more flexibility in how they invest in developing their human resources. What method is the best? It depends on the situation. No single method works for every need. But job performance coaching in particular has expanded rapidly in the past 10 years.

Coaching in the workplace, particularly executive or leadership coaching, is gaining wider acceptance. In a recent study released by Square Peg International the authors quote estimates that have put growth rates of executive coaching at 500% over the last 5 years and a similar increase over the next 5 years. There are three reasons behind this explosive growth:

• More effective management leadership is needed in all organizations given the ever-expanding complexities of doing business
• There is an accelerated change in executive offices around the world as aging baby boomers retire and the next generation takes over
• Job coaching is unique among the available strategies in that it can help organizations manage the risks associated with hiring and developing new business leaders

Two other factors are driving the growing popularity of coaching for developing employees further down the hierarchy:

• The ability of coaching to deliver results over time. Many of the other staff development strategies listed above are event-based. The classroom seminar or web cast or video program is scheduled, attended, evaluated and the process ends. They are events in time, then they are over. Job coaching can be continuous. Employees are continually involved in their own career development.
• Coaching can be adapted to the needs of an individual. Have you ever attended a seminar that was designed to help you perform your job better but totally missed the mark? You might have endured it by daydreaming, doodling and watching the clock or maybe you just walked out. This happens so often because the content is not what an individual needs to learn, or the way the content is presented simply doesn't work. In a one-on-one coaching relationship, the content of each session comes from the employee. Mentally checking out is not an option.

Here's an example: A newly promoted supervisor in a well-known Toronto, Ontario based company is having trouble getting the best out of her staff team. Her boss assumes she needs a supervisory skills training program. She is sent on an expensive classroom program. Upon return she reports that the content was very good, the facilitator interesting and that she enjoyed meeting the other people in her class. But three months later her manager notices that her team is still performing below par.

A few sessions with a leadership coach might have revealed that this new supervisor knows her job, has solid technical skills and has potentially great leadership skills but she has a problem with managing her anger. She uses cutting sarcasm to get results. She expects the worst from her people and that is exactly what she gets. So her classroom based learning program totally missed the mark. It may have been an enjoyable experience, but in the end it was largely a waste of time and money. All of which is not to say that all classroom training is worthless. Effective classroom training delivered at the right time can really help develop capabilities, but there are situations in which it cannot be used as a substitute for performance coaching.

How do you go about finding the sort of coach who can best help you in your career? Look for a coach with at least three of the following factors:

• Experience in coaching people like you on issues such as the ones you want to work on
• Certification from a respected coach training organization, preferably one that is associated with the International Coach Federation or ICF
• An intriguing career history that reveals an ability to take risks, cope with change, thrive on uncertainty and persist through difficult challenges to achieve success
• An open, co-operative and empathetic communication style supported by exceptionally acute listening skills

Remember that the person you select as a coach has got to be someone who can help you help yourself. Beware of anyone who has all the answers. Trust your intuition.

Another possible criterion to apply in your search for the right coach is exposure to your target industry. For example, if you work in health care and wish to stay in this industry then a coach with experience in health care somewhere in his or her background may be an asset. Or if you are contemplating a career change from banking to independent consulting, you might think about selecting a coach who has a background that includes solo entrepreneurship or consulting.

But a coach's experience in your target industry is by no means a pre-requisite to effective coaching. Keep in mind that a coach is someone who asks you the right questions rather than gives you answers.

Once you have committed to investing time and dollars with a coach, how can you best prepare yourself to reap maximum value from your coaching experience? Rule#1: Come to each coaching session with an agenda focused on what you want to achieve. Share this agenda with your coach.