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.
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