A Primer on Executive Coaching

By Margaret New

     Executive Coaching has been getting a lot of press in recent years. "So You're a Player. Do You Need a Coach?" was published in Fortune (February 21, 2000).  Instructions for "Building a Better CEO" appeared in The Wall Street Journal (April 14, 2000). Two years ago Consulting Today devoted a special issue to "Coaching in 1999." The magazine Fast Company regularly features articles on Executive Coaching.

      What's behind the intense interest?  Corporate leaders are recognizing that executives who have the support of a coach-whether called a coach or a mentor or an "un-therapist"-achieve greater stability for navigating the rough watersof economic change. With the economy going through what amounts to a "perfect storm," it makes sense to give the corporate leaders all the help they need. In a growing number of companies, in fact, one of the perks of employment is having a coach. As we enter the new millennium, Executive Coaching appears to be an accepted part of corporate life.

          Generally speaking it can be said that executive coaching is designed to bring out the best  traits in the people in leadership positions. The role and purpose of a coach may vary, based on four distinct focuses:

      ˇ     Coaching for skills

      ˇ     Coaching for performance

      ˇ     Coaching for development

      ˇ     The Coach as confidant or "personal trainer" for top executives     

      There are important commonalties among the four types, especially in the one-to-one relationship between coach and client: the situation is confidential, personal and scheduled to suit the client's timeline. It must be based on mutual trust and a shared interest in learning.    

Coaching for Skills

      It is not unusual for an executive to find herself or himself in a project or job that demands enhanced skills. It could be anything from learning a new computer system to adopting basic communication techniques that were not required in the past. An organization may decide to bring in a coach to help an executivemaster this skill to save time and inconvenience. A coach can help focus on the needed training and expedite the learning process.

      This can be compared to the Five O'Clock Club process of helping people master their Two-Minute Pitches. After a few hours of writing, practicing and polishing, people can deliver animpressive Two-Minute Pitch.  One of my clients was far too talkative for the average situation or introduction. As the independent outside observer, I could tell him what he was doing wrong. We discussed his need to sharpen his presentation. He practiced his edited and crisp Two-Minute Pitch at the Five O'Clock Club branch until he got it right. 

Coaching for Performance

      In today's quickly changing work environment, the inability to change direction and keep on the cutting edge of knowledge management and new technology means an executive can face career stall or career crash.  A company may bring in a coach to help tutor an executive before his/her career derails. Or an individual who has been passed over in the succession plan may hire a coach to insure that it doesn't happen again. The focus of the coaching is the present job and the need to perform more effectively. It is possible that the client may need corrective measures or may benefit from being exposed to new ideas. Frequently a 360-degree multi-rater assessment is used with executives to give them the feedback they need to hear from peers, support staff, their superiors and customers. 

 Coaching for Development

      Life was simple when we only had a choice among three jobs in our hometown. Now we are faced with a wonderful abundance of opportunity that can be overwhelming at times. Life is full of choices, and if we don't like our first, second, or third choice, we are given the opportunity to try the fourth, fifth or sixth. The learning in this dimension of coaching focuses on the person's future and how they will fit into the company's succession plan-and how it all relates to their personal mission. This can be very heady stuff. The challenge for the coach is helping to identify leadership skills to be strengthened or the liabilities to be minimized or removed. Many, many hours can be spent with an executive developing the résumé, strategizing the future, plotting for maximum personal growth.

The Coach as Confidant or Personal Trainer

      I've heard about coaches with the challenging assignment of shadowing an executive daily, weekly or monthly and giving feedback or advice (some coaches in this role making $4000/day!). It can be lonely at the top and indeed CEOs and other top executives may have anxieties and dilemmas that cannot be shared with direct reports in the organization.  The coach can become confidant, ally or even mentor, offering the insight, perspective and constructive feedback that anyone in leadership needs.

      The coach is hired to critique, support and reflect on whatever agenda the Executive has at that particular time: reorganizing the company, dealing with labor or legal difficulties, perfecting public relations skills prior to an IPO.  Properly trained retired CEOs make very good coaches for stressed out CEOs who need confidential, trustworthy support in making critical decisions.

Benefits Will Trickle Down

      Because of its positive impact on many individuals, executivecoaching is likely to spread downward through chain of command. As long as executive coaching remains expensive, anywhere from $200 an hour to $4000/day it will be limited to those senior  executives who can afford it and whose success is critical to the organization. As more coaches get into market, however, we may see prices fall, and more layers of corporate structure will benefit. There will be additional specialties, including enhancing spirituality in the workplace and work-life balance management. The possibilities are endless.

And There's Do-It-Yourself Coaching

      There is also a trend to develop in-house coaches. Companies are sending interested employees to be trained, so that managers can now use coaching techniques in working with staff and building teams. Many books now available to help people self-coach, e.g., Chris Wahl's Be Your Own Coach and D.A. Benton's Secrets of a CEO Coach. While self-coaching may seem a paradoxical idea, it clearly reflects a growing sense that coaching is an indispensable tool in the culture of the changing workplace. 

For Those Who Would Be Coaches

      Coaching as we know it today began in the1980's. Thomas J. Leonard, a financial planner in Seattle, is frequently cited as a pioneer in the coaching trend. He first offered his clients lifeplanning consultations and in 1992 started a training program for professionals called Coach University.  A subsequent manifestation was the Center for Creative Leadership. Robert Hargrove's Masterful Coaching defined and celebrated the concept of transformational learning. It remains the book for aspiring coaches to read. In 1998 Whitworth, Kimsey-House and Sandahl published Co-Active Coaching, which has become a standard training text at the Coaches Training Institute and George Washington University. Marshall Goldsmith's Coaching for Leadership (2000) is a compilation of authoritative articles by the most recognized people in this new field in behavioral science.

      This is not a licensed profession. Anyone can hang out a shingle proclaiming "Coach for Hire." But obviously academic credentials and professional affiliations can certainly contribute to one's success. The International Association of Career Management Professionals regularly offer speakers at its annual conferences addressing the topic of executive or leadership coaching. In the early 1990's the International Coach Federation was founded to establish criteria and has instituted a credentialing division.