Critical Clarification on Coaching
Stanford University/the Miles Group research finds that 96 percent of CEOs say they want coaching and leadership advice from outside coaches and professional advisers, but less than one-third of them receive it (Larcker et al. 2013). Therefore, it seems that extremely good coaches are needed more than gold or oil today. Before making clear what extraordinary coaching really drives at, let’s zoom in on different types of “helping” available.
Different Helping Roles
We all have blind spots, and hence we seek help to learn and develop. Professional help may typically come from teachers, trainers, therapists, consultants, managers, mentors or coaches. They all demonstrate different attitudes, behaviors and competencies (ABCs). By way of illustration, the teacher teaches, shows and tests. The trainer, for example, identifies gaps and develops skills by training. The therapist goes back, diagnoses and fixes dysfunctions. With regard to the consultant, (s)he answers and tells as well as influences but has no direct power. Relating to the manager, (s)he manages and has direct responsibility. The mentor advises and supports.
Critical Clarification on Coaching
Coaching is all about building and sustaining high-quality links. Evidently, coaching works. But what do extremely good coaches actually do? They look forward and help clients develop themselves and achieve their personal and professional best. For that reason, coaching is all about the relationship. How does it work? The coach energizes the relationship. At the same time, the coachee empowers it. As a result, the link re-energizes the coachee, and thus the coachee’s now able to better figure out, ideate, transform and deliver. (On “self-coaching”, twelve powerful coaching questions, and how daily check-ins stimulate self-improvement, see Tkaczyk 2014).
Five Fundamental Principles of Extremely Good Coaches (FP-5).
Hiring a coach is a major decision. Plus, finding an extremely good one is not as easy as rolling off a log. Before you do so, please consult Coutu & Kauffman (2009), The ICF and Sullivan (2014). I recommend the following five fundamental principles that should be adopted in executive coaching.
#FP1. The client sets the agenda.
#FP2. The client’s resourceful and has potential.
#FP3. The coach uses clear evidence-based methodology but doesn’t deliver answers. The coach energizes, asks, listens and invites the client to discover, dream, re-design and deliver.
#FP4. The coach helps extremely good leaders further succeed.
#FP5. The coach/client link is a synergistic, professional and equal one.
Hey, are you managing today or creating for tomorrow?
Bart Tkaczyk
Bart Tkaczyk, MSc in Human Resource Development & Consultancy (Birkbeck, University of London), Fulbright Scholar (University of California at Berkeley), Member of Association for Talent Development (USA) and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (UK), CEO of ENERGIZERS, LLC is the creator of FOURFOLD LEADERSHIP DESIGN, a leadership model internationally recognized for efficacy and awarded for research excellence. Dr. Tkaczyk believes in developing talent in organizations through research-based practice and practice-informed research, in particular, positive Organization Development (OD), Design Thinking and Executive Coaching, and has applied these principles on projects for AstraZeneca, Cisco Systems, Estee Lauder, Fluor, HP, Moody’s Analytics, Nycomed, and Oracle. Follow Dr. Tkaczyk on Twitter: @DrBTkaczykMBA
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